BirmingJAM at Birmingham Airport

Just having a bit of a look back though my photos from the Jamboree and came across this, feels like that early morning was a hundred years ago.

We hope that today is a suitably brilliant day for everyone who’s collecting their results! We know that after all your hard work you deserve the best!

Now that we’re back from Jambo I have got time to type all of those things that I didn’t have time to do before… For example this interesting graph! Take a look at it and see if you can guess what it’s measuring, the read line means something and the brown stuff means something else. The two things are connected because when the red line stops then the brown stuff piles up… If you think you’ve worked it out then why not add a comment and let us know what you think… If you’re still confused, ask me about it.

This is the last blog from Kiaran that i couldn’t post from Frankfurt because of a dodgy WiFi signal! Anyhow, home, dry and unpacked here are the notes from a fantastic youngster!… (more from me tomorrow)!

I’m sad to say this is my fifth and final blog, it is also the 35th blog post since we set of on a trip I can honestly say I will never forget and have enjoyed at at least one point everyday :p It is the final countdown and for those of you who don’t now we all saw Europe, played live at the closing ceremony.

But anyway I want to take this opportunity to tell you about events since our visit to the zoo, with our hour and a half free time in Riga almost all of us headed once again to McDonalds and then from there we returned to the pedalos and rowing boats, this time completely successfully! Only Leo, Callum F and Nick got wet after pedalling into a miniature waterfall. Then in true Jamboree fashion we were given another challenge, we were to cook for our hosts and ourselves. We made a British classic, pizza, chips and sausages with ice-cream for dessert. I am proud to say everyone had eaten by half ten and no one became ill, although if I hadn’t cleaned the oven of it’s mouldy chips, who knows what could have happened! I think that is it for the Latvian adventure, all we did this morning was finish packing and say farewell to our hosts and to any latvian who was willing to put up with us scouts and might be reading, I would like to say a massive thank you!!!!!!!!!

On the subject of thank you’s I have quite a few to blog. Firstly I need to say thank you to the 35 other young people I have had the pleasure of sharing the jamboree experience with and the good times we’ve had over the past two and a half years with. Next I was interested to discover that the leaders have dreams and I thought I would mention them whilst giving out the thank you’s to the leaders who without we would not have even made it past our selections. John wants to open an outdoor centre for kids, I can only wish him the best and thank him for been a great patrol leader to patrol b and a great leader over all, despite at times worrying to much about time keeping and organisation. Johns fear of cheese ad being touched, combined with his love for network rail have brought all of us many great laughs throughout the camp, I’m looking forward to Kandersteg. I’d like to thank Dave next, who’s dream is to become a park ranger or something along those lines, his most famous quote of the camp “it’s not funny” has also brought many laughs to us all, but Dave’s I.T skills helped produce amazing badges and an amazing unit video, cheers Dave, also loving the hat! Maxine or mother Maxine as many of us like to call her, because that is what Maxine has become, the mother of the group, her banter and caring have kept us going throughout and I hope you someday you get the opportunity to move to the coast like you want to. Finally I have to thank Steve, the unit leader, who’s dream is just to live life to the full and his selection to the role of unit leader, just shows that he is living the dream, I wish you and the rest of the leadership team the best of luck in the future, you have made the jamboree dream a reality for us all!

Now I’m hoping everyone thanks their parents and everyone who has helped them personally when they get home, but incase I forget and incase anyone else forgets, thanks you guys, without your cake making, lift giving and time giving among many other things I’m sure, we would never have been able to raise the money so I and my companions could be sitting were we are now, hopefully more mature, understanding and wiser young people. THANK YOU!!!!!

I am going to miss you all and look forward to hopefully seeing you all in September!

Just Landed!

Now in Departures at Riga airport! Flight leaves at 14:30! Let me tell you about Bag-Gate when I get a moment!

We’re checking in now! Flights still look to be on time…

We’re all at the airport again now ready and waiting for the first plane with our beautiful Latvians! We’ve done the big lean photo and saying the last few goodbyes!

You can see bag mountain again now too!

This really is it, the end is nigh, que sera sera, auf wierdsen pet! All across Riga scouts are packing their bags and saying farewell to their host families! We’ve done it guys! Status updates from today will be here!

We finished yesterday’s free day with food and fun then headed home for a long chit chat with our hosts! Quite surprisingly I found myself talking about the rail industry again!

Today the whole unit has been to a Latvian Zoo as you can probably tell from the pictures! There were no elephants but we did see a whole host of different animals and some of the kids have been challenged to think about captivity and the drawbacks of this! More free time to explore the city then back to our families for the last meal tonight! How sad…!