We woke up even earlier, because we had to be at the coaches for 8:00am and we estimated a 30minute walk. I went to get my shower, but whilst I was having it, I stupidly managed to bash my elbow against a thin metal strip in the shower. This cut through down, almost to the bone, but I didn't know at the time because I couldn't see my elbow. Everyone else had already gone down for breakfast, so I frantically tried to find a plaster without bleeding allover the room. Somehow I managed to get dressed and covered the cut with toilet paper and towels until Tom and Mike got back. Unfortunately, Mike doesn't like blood, so he went to tell the leaders while Tom helped me clean the cut and get an large plaster over it. While Tom was doing this, Emily came up and told me that breakfast had closed but she had very kindly brought some rolls and stuff up to my room.
I then finished packing and we all took our bags down to outside the entrance to the hotel. We all took the straps out of our bags and clipped them together to make them 'easier' to carry.
We then walked to the bus stop which was actually only a 10minute walk. When we got there we waited with several other units who had been assigned the same bus stop and chatted and rested - those backs hurt!
The coaches finally arrived and we all cheered. We quickly took all the bags over the coaches and started to load them in. We quickly filled up our coach and realized that there wasn't enough room for all the bags. The leaders told us to all get on, and then started loading the buses corridor up with the remaining bags but were then told that because of heath and safety they had to be taken out and put on one of the other coaches and we'd have to go and look for them at the other end. The coach then finally left. One of the Cambridgeshire unit had brought some DVD's and the coach had a DVD player so we watched 'Kick-ass' on the journey.
One the way, we went over the huge bridge that goes between Denmark and Sweden. The journey took around three hours. We knew we were close when there was a big road sign saying 22nd World Scout Jamboree. We then turned off the road onto a airstrip which led us to a tent where our leaders had to 'check us in'. A member of the Jamboree team then got on our coach and wished us an enjoyable Jamboree experience. We then drove down the main runway (the Jamboree site is a military air base), through the military area and down a track where all the bus stops were on the right.
We pulled up to our bus stop and were greeted by some Swedes who helped us get all our bags off our coach and find the other bags.
Sweden was absolutely backing and although it was great after the not so good weather in Copenhagen, it was hard doing all the setting up in the heat.
We then decided that it was easier to carry the bags by putting the day sack on (which had proper straps) and then swinging the main holdall onto our heads.
We were then guided and helped by the Swedes, to our campsite which was virtually on the other side of the main campsite.
Once there, we sat down and ate/drank for a bit. We then went down to our Sub camp HQ where our crate had been left (each UK unit got to back a crate with stuff they wanted in Sweden which the contingent shipped over for us).
We started to bring the contents of the crate back and then the crate itself. After that, while most of the people put up our tents, me and some others put up the main dinning shelter which was a large white circular tents around a main pole in the middle (this was the same dinning shelter which ever unit across the world were given). After getting the dinning shelter up, we went to get pioneering poles (there were huge piles of them all over the jamboree site which you could just take from) and then, we built our fantastic gateway.
After that, we set up the inside of our dinning shelter, we tipped the crate on its side and cooked on it as well as making a cabinet for food etc... Simon (my leader) then came to visit us before a group of us cooked dinner which was a pasta dish.
After dinner, Nick, another leader I know, came to visit and a group of us went around the site for a bit. We went to the main four seasons square and then to the Czech food house where we met Beth's Mum (as she's head of Avon IST). Simon then joined us just before 10:00pm as all the young people were kicked out of all the food houses. We then decided to go to the Irish food house as we decided that they were the least likely to kick us out.
Simon then bought us all a non-alcoholic beer and we chatted for a bit before the Irish also kicked us out. We then went back to our campsite and chatted with people there for a bit (it was easy to find our campsite because the Californians, who were opposite, us had decided to build one of the tallest flag poles on the site and put a light on top so for the first few days it was easy to find our campsite. After that, other countries decided to make flags a little bit taller than the Americans so it couldn't be seen anymore but by then we all knew our way around much better). After a while, Simon and Nick came back again (they had stayed in the Irish food house instead of coming with us earlier), and then, after chatting to them and our unit leaders for a bit (and checking in on our whiteboard which we had to do or Kev would wake us up) we all went to bed.
Kathryn, our unit leader who sadly was unable to come to the Jamboree, sent an email round every day about what our unit had been doing from what Kev and other leaders/IST had texted her. You can find what she said about this day below:
"Hi all
Just to let you know - Lucy has just seen the Avonasaurus bus arrive - by some coincidence she was very close when they arrived and waved at all of them as they passed her by - they all waved back!!!
They will get their necker and will have been checked in by now - and will be on site in five minutes - the crate we packed all that time ago is waiting for them on their pitch.
Lucy was just checking in a bus from Indonesia and Saudi Arabia - it is now very hot and sunny there this morning and Lucy says there is so much excitement that you can feel it in the air.
~The journey took them over the amazing Oresund Bridge, if you have a moment Google it!! and then they arrived. The advantage of the early start was that they did not have to wait to be checked in, and after all waving at my daughter they were all on site. Their pitch seems to be rather a long way from anything so they will all come back very fit as lots of walking will be done over the next few days.
Yesterday was very hot and sunny and they spent a very tiring day getting the camp site set up - unpacking the crate and sorting everything out to make their bit of space look like home. They even managed to get the gateway built with the two dinosaur flags on either side - good work. I think WSJ will certainly know when our group is camping.
The camp site filled up very quickly by about 4pm nearly 30,000 young people had arrived on site and check in was very, very busy with Scouts arriving from all over the World. Lucy was asked to look after three young people from Africa - they had been travelling for three days on their own with no leader and were absolutely exhausted. They are part of a Solidarity project where a little bit of the money that you all pay goes towards bringing Scouts from communities that simply could not afford to come otherwise. These three very tired Scouts arrived and could not remember where they were camping and did not speak English but did speak French. After about three hours they were on their pitch, Scouts had helped them carry their suit cases, had put their tents up for them and had got them settled in. They were given their kit, new ruck sacks and their WSJ clothing etc. Lucy said they were totally over whelmed by everyone's kindness. The spirit of a WSJ no doubt repeated time and time again yesterday all over the site.~
Kathryn"
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