So those of you who know me will know that I spend a vast majority of my life talking about Jamboree. Then I disappear for 2 weeks, photos appear on social media of me looking tired and covered in dirt, then I return and talk about it some more.
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| Norjam closing ceremony |
To be honest Jamboree always has been and always will be one of the highlights of my year. To those non-Scouting/Guiding folk, Jamboree is like a huge international camp for Scouts and Guides of all ages across the world, the best way I can describe it is 'It's like a festival but it's a week long and we all wear neckers'.
This year I made the possibly foolish but definitely worthwhile decision to do 2 back to back Jamborees; WINGS'14 held in Windsor, followed by NORJAM2014 held in Norfolk. There was a point travelling between the two camps when I forgot how to function and thought that I was going to die of exhaustion but I made it through. I joined a 1500 strong team of staff at each camp, from site services to climbing instructors and chefs to stilt walkers to deliver a diverse and exciting programme of activities to 8000 young people from across the UK and the rest of the world. We work so very hard in the day and then go twice as hard in the evenings. I had 2 of the best weeks with some of the greatest people I know.
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| NORJAM'14 Staff Bar Team |
In the past 4 years and the 6 Jamborees I have attended I have made some of my closest friends, I can spend 1 week a year with them and know that when I see them again we'll start exactly where we left off (usually drunk). You can attend a jamboree alone and within 20 minutes have friends who you'll stay in contact with for life. Scouting and Guiding is responsible for me having some of the most amazing experiences and sharing these experiences with people from across the UK and around the world. People often ask me why I'm still involved in Scouting and Guiding and I can't express in words how much of a different person I would be without it; it has shaped and continues to shape me in every aspect of my life.
Now I'm suffering from extreme Post-Jamboree blues, still finding living indoors odd, still feeling oddly naked without a necker and still feeling strangely clean. Roll on next year.
