As I stated in my last post I would try & bring you some shots of the International jamboree of the Scouts Assoc. Enquired with one of their many official photographers if I could take distant or not recognisable photos & he was fine about it. This year more than other years this seems to be a truly international gathering. I have spoken with American, Canadian, Polish, tried Japanese but not that successful & of course a load of Scots and British. That was just those I saw today, I am sure there are many more countries represented.
Not sure how many years this has been going now, but it really is well organised from the camping, cooking & activities provided. With the camping you can see from the first two shots, the younger ones are arranged into 6 large circles with each camp named after a Scottish clan, in the first shot that is the Stewart camp. Behind them (second shot) are the more senior scouts in their individual tents or small group. With marquees for food & entertainment being the white buildings.
Activity wise you can see in the second shot the volleyball court & football pitch, with the rest of the shots showing just a few of the fun things to do. The BMX course with see-saws & ramps. A very popular slide with soap suds & water, which you go down on a li-lo until you come to a wet soapy stop at the end. Lastly a obstacle course which included this steep bank which you had to pull yourself up while underneath some heavy duty netting & an instructor throwing cold buckets of water over you, the kids loved it. The first two out were not very muddy, so the instructor made them go down on their stomachs & crawl across the mud path. Not complaint from either of them.
Other activities included Trout fishing on our club Lochan, the scouts put in 100 fish & fish for them with rods & bubble floats, using sweetcorn as bait, about 15 up there at once for a two hour session. They can either put the fish back or take them back to camp & cook them over an open fire. Also they go on orienteering courses or day hike & camp in the hills overnight. Some just go out in the hills hiking all night & camp during the day. Cycle rides on road or track depending on their age & also camp duties such as the cooking or litter picking.
I think it is wonderful to see so many youngsters ( in the high 100s) from all over the world, getting on & enjoying the fun of unity & youth. May it continue for many years.
