The English Leaving Party

This was our final weekend with the host families - some went shopping, bowling, golfing, etc. Tom, Dan and I were very fortunate and went with the Wright family to the Opal Coast of France for a long daytrip (through the Chunnel!).

Randy & Tom having real French pastries in Le Touquet, France...

We had our English leaving party Sunday evening at a pub called the Shepard Neame. Paul prepared a wonderful dutch meal for all of our scouts and their host families. The pub also had an outdoor and highly convex (meaning the ball mostly rolled/bounced towards the sidewalls) bowling alley, at which most of the Scouts and guests all a little bit of a go.

The pub where we had our leaving party (upstairs and out back).

Josh and others try outdoor bowling.


The pin monekys...


After dinner Tom made several presentations to our host families, including making the English Scouts honorary Troop 1 Scouts by dressing them in our 100th anniversary Troop 1 scarves. Paul also handed out some mementos to our group.

Tom handing out scarves to Kingsley, Joe, and Robert.


We didn't stay at the party too late, as tomorrow will be a very long day. We meet at 9 a.m. for the ride to Heathrow and then will touchdown in Salt Lake about 21 hours later, likely getting back to the Cache Valley right around 24 hours after we leave our hosts here.....sounds tiring when I calculate the numbers, but as much fun as we've had here, I think we are all looking forward to coming home.

I would like to thank Paul Sillibourne and all our hosts and new friends who helped make this trip an exciting, wonderful, and successful adveture. I hope that we can retrun the favor about 49 weeks from now...

And in closing, here's a brief list of some of the new (and socially acceptable) vocabulary we've picked up over the past few of weeks...

bangers - large link sausage
bin bag - trash bag
biscuit - cookie
bonnet - car hood
boot - car trunk
boot fair - kind of like a flea market where people sell things from their car boots
candy floss - cotton candy
caravan - travel trailer
cheers - informal "thanks"
chips - french fries
chock-a-block, chock - crowded, jammed in
cinema - movie theater
coach - a hired bus
courgette (core-zhet) - zucchini squash
crisps - chips (potato chips)
daft - stupid
does my head in - annoys me
dust bin - trash can
film - movie
fizzy drink - soda
gamon - ham
Gang show- community, group talent show
give way - yield (on road signs)
hire - often means to rent (hire a car)
Hoover - vacuum cleaner
jumper - sweatshirt
lift - elevator
loo - toilet
lorrie - large, transport truck
Mac (Macintosh) - raincoat
mad - crazy
mash - mashed potatoes
minibus - minivan
mobile (moe-bile) - cellular phone
motor van - RV
nil - zero (as in a score)
p - pence (100 p per quid)
pants - underpants
petrol - gasoline
plaster - band-aid
presenter - television or radio reporter
pudding - any dessert after a meal
queue - a line or to line up
quid - pound (as in money)
ring someone up - to call on the phone
rubbish - trash
shattered - really exhausted
smart - good-looking, well-dressed
squash - a highly concentrated fruit drink to be individually diluted to taste
squirty cream - pressurized, canned whipped cream
sweets - candy (especially ""gummies"")
take the mickey - make fun of
telly - television
trainers - tennis shoes
Tube or Underground - the London subway
water closet (W.C.) - see loo
Wellies (Wellington boots) - muck or irrigation boots
zed - the letter "z"

The Final Castle...Dover

Our last official group tour was today to Dover Castle. We got somewhat of a late start, as everybody was still dragging from the past week of KIJ. Besides ourselves (including Paul Sillibourne), we were joined by Dean, Robert, & James Wright, Mary Sillibourne, and Oliver Webb.

We got to the castle shortly before mid-morning and did a guided tour of the underground tunnel and hospital complex. Although the tunnels were set up as they were during WWII (HQ for the equation of Dunkirk and other notable naval operations), we were told the tunnels actually dated back to the Napoleonic Wars and were initially used as barracks for soldiers.

The Wartime Tunnel Entrance...

Dover Castle dated back a bit farther. It was built in the 1180's by Henry II and his wife Elanor of Aquitaine - but there were other structures (the Pharos - lighthouse) at least dating back to the Roman period about 700 years earlier. Dover Castle is quite a large, well-preserved, and impressive structure. We had the opportunity to roam all through the rooms and tunnels - lots of ups & downs - hills, stairs, and ramp ways. They had several rooms set up with medieval furnishings and had some costumed players roaming here and there. Dan got dragged into a performance between Henry II and his court as a the brother of a murder victim. The Scouts did seem a little bit disappointed (but maybe that was just tiredness), that they couldn't get into the education building to try on armor and chain mail.

Walking up to Dover Castle...

Dan taking part in the Royal Court...

Ryan trying to lift some chain mail...

Up on top of the Keep looking across the Channel...


The also had a nice little museum showing the history of the Princess of Wales Military Regiment from the 16th century to today, including a not-too-biased bit on the American Revolution (although it gave a bit too much press to the French in that conflict).

The weekend is planned as host family experiences, although Sunday we are scheduled to have a Leaving Party at a nearby pub.

Wrapping Up KIJ

Today was "Leaving Day" at KIJ, so we packed up and headed back to our host families, but I thought I'd throw up some random pictures from the last couple of days - since I was unable to do it from KIJ.
Andy doing the "Bob for Sweets in Flour", with help for Jacob. The results....

Ryan in the stocks at the wet sponge throw.

Randy shooting an English longbow. Andy, Joe, and Jacob performing with some new friends on-stage to the Queen song "I've Got to Break Free". It was such a hit the first night, they were asked to perform the next night at the camp-wide "Gang Show".

We've all been really fortunate in meeting lots of incredibly friendly and marvelous people, including folks from Bromley, the Isle of Sheppy, Canada (Calgary), Faversham, Leicestershire, and Ireland (please forgive the spellings, as appropriate and the lack of other locations I've left off). We did have some guests from Leicestershire and Bromley join us for dinner one evening at our camp...

Back to More Recent Updates.. The last couple of full days were taken up by making friends from across the U.K. and elsewhere, on the activities field, and at a Scout's version and a Leader's version of what was called "It's a Knockout" - which is best described as a team series of stunts and inflatable obstacles.

Dan & Emily (one of our group's UK Scouts) shooting archery

Josh and Ryan trying SCUBA, sort of.... Nick testing to see if he has a fear of heights... The first half of the "It's a KnockOut" were typical dry, teamwork stunts, while the afternoon was mainly watered & soaped inflatable team races. Nick also represented our Troop in the Leader's challenge and led our SubCamp team to first place!

The Spider Ball Carry. Robert Wright (one of our affiliated UK Scouts) zipping through a modified potato sack race. The last official night in camp, our Scouts and Leaders scattered for dinner's all over the KIJ camp, and some other Scouts came to dinner at our camp, although or the evening it was turned into Pizza Hut. After dinner, we all marched down to the main Stage area for closing ceremonies. Josh, Andy and Jacob were asked to participated in the lowering of the flags and they did so looking very smart in their class A's. The kids were turned loose to dance and socialize with their new-found friends after the ceremonies, while the leaders joined other leaders for all over the place for a cold ale or soda at the on-site pub - The Crooked Staff - it also happened to be karaoke night. After a few of our other new acquaintances took the stage, Tom, Nick, and myself screwed up our courage, with the help of some of our other new friends from Ireland, we actually took the stage for a horrendously fun version (say that with an Irish accent) of Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl". Our sincerest apologies to Mr. Joel, but we did receive wild applause. You'll have to wait for the evidence.

As mentioned waaaayyy above, today was the final packup. It was quite hot and humid, but thanks to a challenge from some of the nearby Irish Scouts, we did get a chance to blow off some steam and cool down with a bit of a water fight.

KIJ Day 5

Well for what ever reason. I am still unable to upload photos to the blog -- so y'all just have to wait until I can get to a network that will allow such, we break camp here on Thursday.

Just to catch up...yesterday was "SubCamp" day wherein the Scouts first had a community breakfast out in the roadway between all of the individual troop camps and then did activities sponsored by each troop with our SubCamp and some activities sponsored by the SubCamp directors. The former was essentially a field full of carnival games such as snail racing, wet sponge throwing, plastic bottle bowling, etc. Under Paul Sillibourne, our troop had a modified game of Bob for Apples, except the tub of water was replaced with a plate of flour and apples were replace with "sweets" (gummy lifesavers). The broader activities was called the "Circus Experience" and gave the Scouts the chance to do things like unicycles, slack rope walking, etc. Also many of the Scouts repeated some of the
previous days general activities.

Probably the most anticipated part of our day was the evening's talent show. The genesis of our participation started with some Girl Guides, who had been occasionally hanging out with some of our boys, asking me at the archery range if any of the guys would be willing to perform a Queen song with them. Without pausing I said "Sure!", figuring Andy most definitely, and he could probably drag along a couple of more. The they asked if they would mind dressing up in dresses. I had to think about that one for a moment, but thought the boys might still do it and suggested they hunt them up and ask them directly. We they did, and our boys did (Andy, Jacob, and Joe - the last being one of the local Scouts). Anyway, the performance consisted of the girls singing while our guys danced in the background - Jacob did get an air guitar solo. Pictures do exist, so just stay tuned.

On a personal note, down at the archery range, I did get to shoot an English long bow! As usual, more updates, and eventually, pictures, to come.

KIJ Days 3.5 and 4

To complete the previous blog (at least the other half of day 3), Jim and Dan along with a few of our accompanying English scouts went to Whitstable (sp?) an oceanside area where they did power boating and sailing. Scouts being scouts (or kids being kids) they all just said they had a good time, although Jim said he just hung out on the beach. The rest of the group headed to Faversham for a great day of rafting, kayaking, and canoeing. From a leaders perspective it was a total success, "these boys got so wet there was barely any water left in the lake", reports Scoutmaster Tom Hogan. Not only did the boys have a great day in the water, they slept equally good. We were able to make many new friends along the way, it's funny the number of times we're asked to say a few words just so they can hear our accent, and that's not just a request from girls. All in all, camp life is moving along swimmingly (although sometimes there are some crashing waves). Unfortunately, we didn't get too many good pictures

The weather was good until mid-day, then it began to mist and then it began to rain - fortunately most of the water activities were about over (the archery course; however, stayed open through most of the deluge). The rain really turned camp into a messy, muddy swamp for a few hours. Speaking of camp, I'll have to mention some of the logistics issues, for 2500 people we at one point had 6 working showers, 3 male and 3 female...now we're up to 9 apiece! Let's just say the queue is often lengthy. Also, there seems to be a recurring issue with the indoor plumbing, but they do get right on it. Occasionally there are (literally) a lot of unhappy campers. Glad I'm not responsible for planning such things.

For our subcamp (E - for Environment), today was "Activities Day" which meant that all our Scouts got to participate in all of the onsite activities: go carts, high ropes (a scaffolding and rope apparatus 10 meters above the ground), archery, air rifle, laser tag, lawn sledding, etc. The boys got to do most things and really enjoyed them - except for some reason they almost all passed on the archery, perhaps they had enough of Assistant Scoutmaster Randy and wanted to avoid my station. All except Joshua and RobandJess(purposely spelled as one word).

Now the Scouts are roaming around the camp - trading badges, chatting up others, and doing a few of the night activities (I think it's Beach night as I've seen several Scouts in grass skirts).

Tomorrow is Subcamp activities day (I guess are guys will be doing something environmentally related) and it is also Leader Activity Day - so we get to do all of the fun stuff. tom wants a crack at the go karts and I'm heading for the High Ropes (after my archery shift, of course). I seem to be having problems loading photos from today, I tried to load picture three times, but they don't show up - so I'll try again next time.

Kent International Jamboree (Days 1, 2, and 2.5)

Time for another brief update, this one from KIJ! We made it here (where ever exactly here is) on Thursday afternoon and went to the task of setting up camp - among the 2,500 other campers. We are packed in like sardines - and what happens in other camps most certainly doesn't stay in other camps. The grand parade of Scouts was early in the evening, and we ended marching down sandwiched between a group of Scouts (guys and girls) from Dublin, Ireland and another from somewhere here in Kent. They had an opening ceremony with all the scouts crowded around a stage and had a variety of bands and then a few brief (Whew!) welcoming speeches.




Lights out is at 11:00, but, at least the first night several of the other campers jabbered well into the night and then early (e.g. 4:30) morning. I'm pleased to say our guys were actually in bed and non-chatty...unusual I know.

Yesterday (Friday) was our designated "off-site" day, we were scheduled to visit Brighton, but apparently because of Gay Pride event we were diverted to....ta dah...London. Oh well, we got to knock off a couple of other things we didn't get done before: the Natural History Museum (which was a big hit for all) and the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace (which was a lot of pomp and circumstance combined with lots of other tourists - but we did get a lot of through-the-crowd glimpses at the uniformed guards and marching band). The coach (bus) ride back to KIJ was unexpected long due to an accident ahead of us - so we got to spend 2.5 hours on a 1 hour bus ride. Also, I would be remiss if I didn't mention we have had a few diplomatic bumps in melding our American-style camping, with two differing British-style camping (all this with in our little blended camp - but we're working through it.



So, after a late dinner the boys explored around doing a few of the activities which were still open (games and such) and some of the older guys (along with a few of the British counter parts) went to a "James Bond" disco in the evening, while this real older guy found an on-site pub (at a Scouting camp?) and tired a couple of English ales. It also gave me a chance to "chat up" a lot of leaders from around the U.K. and elsewhere (Ireland, Chatham, London, France, Calgary, Nigeria, etc.). Really a great place to network of sort - the leaders were very relaxed, and I don't mean that with a wink - just away from the herding of the Scouts.

Today (Sat.) is also an off-site day, but it is our "Water Activities" day. Along with our British host scouts, we were divided up into two groups: one going power boating and sailing, the other going rafting, canoeing, and wind surfing. Paul Sillibourne and I have stayed back in camp, he to do some administration work and shopping and I to help with the archery course (from which I'm on lunch...and hungry).

More to come when I hear back from the troops and can get web access.

Chatham Dockyards

Chatham Dockyards, conveniently located in the seaside village of Chatham, is a collection of various dry-docked vessels and related museums, and the latest victim of the Cache Valley Troop 1 on-slaught. We started our adventure with a tour of The Ropery, an operation for making natural & synthetic rope using the same techniques for the past 300+ years. The present operation is limited to making rope 1/4-mile long, as that is the length of the indoor "rope walk". Our tour guide showed us the steps to making a length of rope (only about 10 yards long for the demo) and Joshua got to help turn the rope winding crank and was awarded with a length of the homespun rope.

After our usual pause for a sack lunch, we went a board a retired British spy submarine, of the diesel & battery type, the HMS Ocelot (1962 - 1992). I think all of the Scouts were surprised about how cramped the interior was and that being short was definitely an advantage for this type of service. I'm sure I heard more than one dull clang as head met metal as we worked our way through the tiny, little hatches.

"The Happy Couple?"

We also visited an on-site police museum, where some of the boys got to try on riot gear and bullet proof vests (the picture is of Ryan testing out the effectiveness of Dan's vest).

Our one other organized activity of the day was an "Air Raid Experience" - let's just say that experience won't likely be on the repeat tour, although we did get to go down in a WWII bomb shelter. We soaked up the rest of the afternoon touring around a few other ships (a WWII destroyer and 100+ year old schooner) and/or going through an exhibit about how the HMS Victory (you can Google it on your own) was assembled at the Chatham Dockyards.
Tomorrow it is on to KIJ!

The Real Deal..and Walmer, too

Today (Tuesday, the 26th) was Castle Day, mostly, and as it turned out a day when we actually could have, should have, used some sun screen. We first went to the pier at Deal and had a "typical" English breakfast. We then gathered the troops and marched on Deal Castle - part of the shore fortresses built by Henry VIII after abolishing the Catholic Church and forming the Church of England - he was nervous that the Catholic countries of Spain and France might cross the channel and attack - they didn't, at least not then, or for that reason. Anyway, it was a very interesting & well-preserved castle and the boys and leaders really enjoyed crawling around and through all of the various rooms and battlements.

After a walk along the beach, a sack lunch at an overlooking park, and some beach combing/rock throwing, we were given a tour of the Walmer Lifeguard boats and facility. The lifeguard chap (I think I'm adapting to this proper English) was very friendly and let Andy try on all his lifeguard "kit" - dry suit, braces (Life vest), and helmet.

Then it was on to our next castle...Walmer Castle was about a 1.5 mile walk for Deal Castle and was a bit more modernized. It was "updated" in the 17th & 18th centuries to serve as home to the man appointed to watch over the coastal defense castles (Deal, Walmer, and a third which has since been lost to the sea). One of those men was the Duke of Wellington (as in Waterloo), and he died in Walmer Castle - we got to go into the room and sea the chair he died in and his rather macabre death mask (glad that's not still a popular tradition). Apparently Winston Churchill was also stationed there in his younger years and the Queen Mum spent considerable time there. Caretakers at Waldmer also have up kept a magnificent garden and lawns section. On one of the lawns we all played croquet (two 1 hour "shifts") - in which at least one of the games I can claim to have been the champion (along with Ryan).

Tomorrow is our last tour day (Chatham Dockyards) before we head off to the Kent International Jamboree!

Of Tales and Cathedrals

Yep, today we did Canterbury. After spending the weekend doing various activities with host families (beach, golf, Chinese Circus, swimming, etc. - me, I went back to London for some serious solo museum and walkabout time) we headed north to Canterbury under very drizzly skies this morning. The building is yet another gorgeous example of fantastic architecture and interesting history all rolled into one magnificent place. We got a guided tour of the Cathedral were told and showed the various stages of the Cathedrals building (Norman, Gothic, and Perpendicular Gothic) dating back almost 1000 years ago - shortly after William the Conqueror conquered. Laurie (our guide who was a he) also gave us a vividly disturbing rendition of the martyrdom of Thomas Beckett - that was likely most of the boys' favorite part of the tour. And for a change we could actually take pictures inside the Cathedral.

After the somewhat cerebral tour of the Cathedral, we let the boys blow off some energy at Planet Laser, a 3-story laser tag facility which was really close to the Cathedral. Our guys got 2nd place in both games they played (out of three total teams), with Josh coming up with almost 1/4 of our team's points in the second game.

Nick, the one we've appointed to control our weather, finally got on the job and the clouds broke in the mid-afternoon, so we spent about an hour and a half in Canterbury's shopping district and then back to the host families for dinner.

Tomorrow' tour schedule calls for two castles (Deal & Walmer) and a tour of a lifeboat station.

Brownsea Island & Back Again

Greetings all!

Thursday (7/23) and Friday (7/24) we journeyed to Brownsea Island, the home of the first Boy Scout camp, established by Robert Baden-Powell. It was a 4 hour car ride from Ashford to Poole (Poole Quay to be specific). We were joined on this trip by Paul's friend and very humorous lady, Sue Walker. On arrival in Poole we then hopped on a fairy boat for a 15 minute ride across the harbor (harbour) and checked into camp. The staff their provided us with some very nice tents - all the scouts stuffed into one big one and all the leaders getting a 2-man tent of their own, although even diagonally Nick had a bit of scrunching to do. The island is mostly somewhat of a nature preserve, so it was a fresh break from the big city and everyone just spent time exploring around or combing the rocky beaches. Weather's still been on and off - I don't think anyone's used up any sunscreen yet.

We headed back the next day, pausing in near the dockside for some fresh-out-of-the water fish and chips. Everybody made a game attempt, but apparently it wasn't all the boys' favorite meal. We then drove for about an hour and a half - Paul's GPS unit took us through the rural, longer, shall we say scenic route - to Stonehenge and spent about an hour walking around the Stones. It's not as big or as isolated as I imagined, but impressive non-the-less, especially when one let's his imagination take over. The ride back to Ashford took about an hour and a half longer than the anticipated three hours due to some horrendous traffic (English holiday weekend), but we all made it back to our host families for a weekend of "rest".



Next week we do some day tours (Canterbury, Chatham Dockyards, Deal) and then head to KIJ on Thursday. Updates to follow.

As my creativity and writing abilities can only go so far, so I've asked the group to give me a quote or listing of their, so far, most memorable English saying, event, item, or whatever. You'll have to ask them for some of the meanings later. Here's the list:

Randy: "Mind the gap." - incessant recording on the tube cautioning about the gap between the platform and the subway

Nick: "Toss! Toss!" - a line from "Wicked"

Tom: "Can you have too much chocolate?", as quoted by Sue

Andrew: "WICKED is the BesteRest"

Jim: "Oh! Paul! Do you have a pen!"

Dan: "They're just shoes (loud gasp)!" - a line from Wicked

Jacob: "I have to use the loo."

Ryan: a favorite item - A Galaxy Bar ("best chocolate in the world")

Josh: "Paul, are you sure we aren't lost?" (Josh to Paul in London)

Paul: "You've got a headache? Have you considered amputation?"

Sue: "Yeah" from all of the USA, "It's yes!"

and also from Sue this "aahhh" moment: "It has been wonderful to meet you all and I wish I was going to KIJ with you. The lads have been a credit to scouting."

3rd and Final day in London

After our "breakfast" at Baden-Powell House (I'll let the boys fill you all in later about our inglorious breakfasts another time, we boarded a double-decker "Big Bus" and toured around central London for a couple of hours. There was an on-board commentary, so we got lots of history and details as we cruised through the various sections of the city. I really should say different cities or villages - as I guess London proper is really only 1 square mile (dragon statues are on most roadways marking the boundaries) -- see there's a detail we picked up.

We got off the bus at St. Paul's Cathedral fro some photo ops -- it was another spectacular example of amazing architecture, we then walked across the Wibbely-Wobbly bridge, ducked back into the Tube and went over to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch (our best, and most expensive meal we had in London).

We then proceed to walk across the northern half of London (again, you may assume I really mean more than the 1 mile x 1 mile ancient boundaries) to do a little on-foot sight seeing and some souvenir shopping for the folks back home. W eventually made our way to the museum I most wanted to see: The British Museum. Standing just inches away from the actual Rosetta Stone was simply amazing. The museum is filled with more treasure and important artifacts then I have ever seen. Without commenting too much on current society's political correctness, the British Empire of the 18th & 19th centuries did an amazing job at "collecting" and preserving an unbelievable array of priceless antiquities. I mean massive parts from the Parthenon in Greece, remnants from the Mausoleum at Harlikanossis, colossal Egyptian sculpture, Mayan turquoise masks and a crystal skull, thousands of historic English artifacts, and thousands of more items, most of which we didn't have time to see - more reasons to come back to England on the next three year cycle.

We then head back through the Underground, caught the train back to Ashford and were reunited with our host families. Everybody's pretty wiped out, by we are getting up early tomorrow (Thursday) and heading to spend the night on BrownSea Island - where scouting all began over 100 years ago. Stay tuned the adventure continues...