My team arrived on-site before me, most of them arrived on July 18th. I arrived on site very late on the 20th. I had spent the day traveling. I left my house in Carlow at 7.15 on the 20th. Our flight wasn't until 12.15, as we were traveling so far we had to be there 3 hours before our flight. When I checked in and made my way through security I started meeting IST people that I knew. The flight over was smooth enough, with no complications. The flight was about 6 and a half hours long. In-flight entertainment and food..... What more could you want? I finally watched the original Lion King. When we arrived in America we collected our bags, took a group picture and got on a bus. Fr Dave Kenneally was in the airport to welcome us to America and make sure we all got on buses safely. We were a little bit early arriving in so we had to wait a few minutes for our buses. Once on our buses, we had another 6 hours to travel to get to the Jamboree site. on route to the site, we stopped at Walmart to stock up on food. the supermarket was huge. I was amazed when one of the lads told me about the gun section in Walmart, of course, I had to check it out. Low and behold he was right, there was a gun section in the supermarket. However, it is not all that straight forward to get a gun. One of our guys asked if he could just hold a gun. It was not as simple as just taking the gun out of the cabinet. Even just to hold a gun there were checks that had to be done and info such as fingerprints to be taken. He chose not to go through all that just to hold a gun. We did our shopping, fueled our bodies and it was time to get back on the bus to finish our journey to West Virginia and the 24th World Scout Jamboree. As we got off the bus to go into the shop we were told what time we had to be back for. Of course in pure Irish style, there were people who were not back at the time we were told to be back for. This delayed us a little bit. It is fairly irritating when you have been traveling all day to have to wait around for people. We had great difficulty finding the Welcome Centre where we had to check-in before going on-site and to bed. But we eventually found it and it was plain sailing from there. We put our bags on a trailer, checked in, got our registration stuff, had a couple of things explained to us and got on another bus that brought us to our campsite. When we got to the campsite our bags were waiting for us. We had Irish people on the transport team who arranged for our bags to be transported for us. When we got to our site our tents were up. However, we had to assemble our cots (beds). I was really lucky. my tent mate arrived before me and she had assembled our beds. So all I had to do was go to bed. I must admit I did get a bit of a fright when I went into the tent and seen someone asleep. I honestly thought I had the wrong tent, I was not told prior to arrival who my tent buddy would be. I found out the next morning when I woke.
Sunday 21st July, the day I first met my team in person. Up until then, I was communicating with them via email and we had a couple of conference calls. I had text my Team Lead on the Saturday asking him what time he wanted me at our work station on the Sunday. He asked me to be there at 9 AM. Despite having only 4 hours of sleep the night before I was there on time, having got breakfast and grabbed my 'Lunch on the Go' Thankfully I didn't have to walk too much, the buses were running from site to the Summit. Although if I had stayed on for another stop I would not have had to walk as far. There was a Faith and Beliefs meeting at 9AM and then it was over to our station. I started meeting some of my team and some of the bigger FAB team at this meeting. When my team lead met me he gave me a hug... I'm not used to hugs when I first meet people. As the Jamboree was not officially starting until the Tuesday we spent the Sunday putting the last few things together in our station and chilling, getting to know each other. On the Sunday I also did some exploring around the other sections of the Faith and Beliefs team, there were 11 faiths represented in one big marquee plus our Duty to God marquee at the back which we shared with an Escape Room. We also had a worship tent and a Shared Spirituality tent. And of course, we had a listening ear tent for those who were in the area during the Jamboree who needed to talk. And the Chaplains had a tent where they met and relaxed. The green area we were in was called the Faith Field. The overall site for the Jamboree was a massive site based on a Nature reserve type area. The Nationally Scouting Organisation in America, BSA, use the site for their National Jamborees as well as other Scouting events. In fact, BSA owns the whole site. We were finished by 16:00 on the Sunday. I caught a bus and headed back to my tent. Then at about 17:30 I went in search of the location of the Sunday Catholic Mass. Nobody could tell me where it was but I knew I was going in the general direction of it, I was told it was up a hill. I eventually found people that knew where it was. On my way up the hill, I made a friend, because at these events it is perfectly normal and accepted to say hello to total strangers. And then ye want to be Novus friends and ye get talking from there. Novus was a program that the organisers created where people with a Novus type watch collect points and the person with the most points at the end was the winner. You earned points by attending different activities and clicking with the Novus transmitter in the area. you could also earn points by clicking with other Novus users. When you clicked or Novused (as some called it) with other Novus users you could see their information on the app. We were very lucky at mass, we were looking at a great black cloud as we prayed. But the rain held off until the end of mass and it did not get really bad until people were off the hill. I walked down with two friends I made at mass. I went over to HQ with one of them to pick up my Faith and Beliefs post before returning to get dinner. Sunday was an early enough night for me as I was shattered from the travel the day before. As I went to bed there was thunder and lightning, no rain at that stage. The lightning turned the sky a lovely reddish/ orange colour, it was beautiful. When we registered we got lanyards with our names on it. We also got a tag with the amount of water we needed to be drinking depending on the colour of the alert for the day. We got these alerts through the Novus app. The app was great at warning us about stuff including thunder and lightning. I even think there was a warning somewhere on one of our cards around our necks about what to do in thunder and lightning. We were not to congregate in groups etc. I was wary about going into my tent that night, I was not sure how safe I would be but someone told me I'd be fine.
The troops were not due on site until the Tuesday. This meant Monday was another easy day for us. We were on our work site around 9AM. Monday was photo day so we were in full uniform. I think our slotted time for photo was after 11 but Stephen got an opening earlier so we were slotted in as we were all present. We had a few visitors to our tent on the Monday, other IST members. After our group photo, we got 4 people added to our team. Up until then the team consisted of 7 of us, the 4 more meant that when things kicked off we could take a bit of time away from our station. I don't remember much about the Monday, I was still recovering from all the traveling. Monday was also an opportunity for IST members to participate in events on-site before the young people arrived. During the jamboree there was also off-site trips and activities for any of the IST who wanted to go. I decided to stay put and explore the area.
On Tuesday the 23rd the Jamboree started to go into full swing as the troops arrived. We had a few through our door that day. The lines for the bus to our work site were always quite long but in fairness to the bus organisers in the morning, people were not left to stand for too long. However, on the way home on the Tuesday, it was a different story. I'd say we were waiting for about an hour for the bus. When a bus finally stopped and had seats for us we left poor Br Andrew behind. There were about 4 of us from the team together. I was being really conscious that if one of us got on a bus all of us were getting on the bus. If there was not space for all of us none of us got on the bus. So as I was getting on the bus that Tuesday the others were with me. However, as the bus drove down the road I looked around and asked where Br Andrew was....... He was not on the bus, we had left a man behind. I actually felt really bad as you never leave a man (or woman) behind, this is one of the things I live by in my Scouting. Andrew told me after that he chose to step aside and let others get on the bus, he was good to make the walk. Tuesday the 23rd saw the official opening of the Jamboree on the main stage. The event was been streamed live at base camp so I decided not to go as it would have meant having to walk back and I was tired and did not fancy a half-hour walk at 22:00. I watched the opening ceremony from the cinema on base-camp with a few of the team. Before leaving Dublin I bought a few Irish flags at the airport. I brought 1 to the cinema for the opening ceremony. During the flag ceremony at the start of the opening show, I jumped up and waved my flag when the Irish flag was shown. I got very excited, I think the others in the tent thought I was a bit odd. I was disappointed with the opening ceremony. The sound from the live stream wasn't great. the opening was grand, Lebo M opened the show with The Circle of life, that was good. Bear Grylls was also good and the fireworks were nice. But the rest was crap, it was scripted and you could tell. I could not stay until the end, I left when the guys were playing instruments that they made using recycled material. I just could not stick it any longer, it was time to leave. later I heard I missed the best part, there were drones at the end. ah well.
Wednesday and we were really in full swing. the scouts were only arriving on the Tuesday so our foot traffic was minimum. But they had all arrived by Wednesday, this was the scouts first day of programme. we arrived on site for 9AM and we each took a display to show those that came into us. However, it was not a planned way of working, we just kind of went with the flow. When 5 o clock came we left. My workmate who had planned to travel with me had a meeting he had forgotten about so he stayed behind. As the wait at the stop closest to our station was so long the previous day I decided to walk to Summit Central, the first stop, in the hope that it would not take so long. It did not take quite so long but I was still waiting a bit. My mate later said he too was waiting a bit for a bus. On Thursday evening we walked back, it wasn't too bad, about 30 minutes. We were on Flag break down at the water on the Thursday so once flag break was done we got walking directions off Steven and we went on our way. Along the rote we asked a couple of people for guidance but at no point were we lost, there guidance was more of a where to next. I quite enjoyed that walk and the chat with KC. The walk led us right to the dining hall so when we got there we went straight for food. Our other workmates were only getting on a bus as we arrived at the dining hall. On the Thursday I messaged Phil looking for a quiet place to pray. I knew adoration was not an option but I used the description to describe the level of quietness I was looking for. A few minutes after I messaged him I looked up from the job I was doing and there he was. He asked if he could have a word. I asked him if he had got my message, he said, 'what message' I finished up what I was doing and we went out to talk. As we spoke it was clear that he had got my message. The best level of quietness was the tent where religious ceremonies were taking place. During the Jamboree I did not actually use this tent for quietness but I sat on the steps on the side of the hill and put in my headphones. Sometimes I just sat there, I often prayed there and sometimes I prayed there. That Thursday I felt crap, pounding headache that didn't really budge despite painkillers. I fell asleep on the job at one stage which helped tp shift the headache.
On Friday Programme was shut as it was Culture Day. This was a day in which everybody had the opportunity to visit other camps and sample the cultures of the different countries through food tasting and participating in activities. I had no concrete play for the day. I started with an early breakfast as usual. I went back to Chat n Chew around 10:00 to try some of their ice cream, it was delicious. On the first or second day, I met Tom. On the Friday morning as I was going for ice cream I bumped into Tom who was going back to his tent. We chatted for a few minutes. as neither of us really had plans for the day he said he would come find me when he was finished what he was at and we'd take a wander. so that is what we did. I went to get ice cream and just relaxed in the sun reading a book as I waited for Tom, it was fantastic. We stayed in contact via messenger. and after a while, Tom came back and we went to catch a bus into town (the summit). The bus did not go as far as Summit Central so we had to walk from down the road a bit. But we did not mind. We got to see more of the site. we just wandered around the Global village and Summit central. Oh and we had to tip up to my work tent as I had forgotten my flag on the Thursday and Steven forgot to pick it up. When we were in the Faith Field we noticed something going on in the Worship tent, Muslims I think. My team leader was there so we said hello. I managed to lose Tom in the faith field, somehow. It was not a huge field but I still lost him. He was taking a photo for a group of girls and I told him I was ducking into our tent. He must not have seen the tent I ducked into as I found him at the front of the field. There were not many places open on the Friday but we peaked into the few places that were and of we went into the trading post. I was successful in walking out without buying something I did not really need. Then we went to the food village to sus out lunch. We tried different food, it was okay but we were not overly impressed. Having fueled our body we went over to the famous metal bridge on site that I had heard a lot about. I faced my fears and went up it. After a few photos, it was time to head back. This was the hard part as we knew our walk back to the bus was a good distance. But we took our time and stopped for juice at one stage. When we got to the bus stop we had to wait a bit as there was no bus there. When the bus arrived we had to wait to get on as there was a girl chatting with the driver, she was putting something on his arm. I was cursing her as all I wanted was to sit down in air-con. But then the bus driver got up and gave her a hug, it was so sweet, my heart melted. When she got off the bus I asked her if I could have one too and she gave me a bracelet. As it was culture night there was a culture show on the main stage that night. I was in two minds about going. I went in the end, got the bus down with a couple of the Irish IST. Then I joined Peter, my Canadian friend, and his buddies. Little sad when you feel you will have more fun with people from another country rather than your own group but hey, ce le vie. It was some hassle finding Peter, I was texting him looking for him when he told me to turn around and there he was. Peter and his mates said there were buses back. However, we were watching for signs of buses going down and saw none. So we decided to just start walking back. on our way back we saw...... BUSES!!!! Rage but the crack with the Canadians on the walk was mighty, there were 4 of us. We had a right laugh.
Saturday the 27th was a long day. It started off good, I had breakfast, grabbed some lunch (I was getting sick of the lunch options at that stage, chicken salad in a can and crackers, stuff like that) and made my way to work. All was well. That morning I was chatting Phil as it was my cousin's anniversary, mid-conversation and Phil says, 'your nose is bleeding' and we continued with our conversation.... as you do when somebody is bleeding. But soon we had to abandon our chat and seek out tissue as the bleed was getting serious. We went to the chaplain's tent, got kitchen roll, sat and continued our conversation. I do not suffer nose bleeds that often so can never remember if it is head up or head down so I went with Phil's direction of head back. Phil offered to bring me to medical but as it was only a few minutes I felt I needed a chance for it to settle without medical care. After a while, it looked like it had slowed down and stopped. So I went to clean myself up..... there was blood all over my hands. As I was getting cleaned up I coughed up blood, I knew that wasn't good so I went in search of Phil, I went over to his booth looking for him, he was not there but next thing he appeared behind me, with some sheets of kitchen roll I think. At this stage, I asked Phil to bring me over to medical which he did. Phil left me in the capable hands of the medics. Before he left me I asked him to let my Team Lead know. He said he would and off he went. My info was taken and I was brought straight into the nurse and army person. They did a bit of investigation, checked my vitals and stuff. With the vitals, I was raging that they used the Fahrenheit system, I would have been able to tell if my vitals were within the normal range if I heard them in Celsius. I was then brought into an exam room and given some ice while I waited for the doctor. The nose bleed had stopped by the time the doctor came so all he had to do was check me over. I couldn't tell him how long it was stopped as I had been doing what I was told, pinching my nose and applying ice.I was grand but he wanted me to stay put for observation. As I waited for the doctor the nurse told me there was somebody that wanted to see me and asked if it was okay for him to come in. I said no problem, it was either John (my team leader) or Fr Dave as I had been looking for him earlier in the day. It was John checking in. When he said hello he said he had a vehicle and would wait for me outside to bring me back. Our tent was literally just across the road so I thought John was mad. He later told me that the reason he drove me back was because of the little hill, walking up and down could aggravate the nose and cause another bleed. After a bit a nurse said hi and asked how I was. I told her I was fine and wanted to leave. She asked the doctor if I was okay to go and he gave the okay to go. So I went out, found John and off we went back to work. I took it easy for the rest of the day and my team kept an eye on me. When I returned to our tent I messaged Phil to let him know I was back and not to forget to introduce me to his daughter, a few minutes later he appeared with his daughter. There was blood on my shorts so I text my tent mate to see if she was still on our campsite, she wasn't. Then I thought of my friend who was on the transport team and text her to see if she was busy. She said she wasn't so I asked her if she could bring me down a clean pair of shorts. Thankfully I had left one on my cot so she did not have to search my bag for one. I was so delighted to put on a clean pair of shorts, there was no way I could go out of our work tent and walk around with a blood-stained one. With the clean shorts on I had a spring back in my step. I was drained from the nose bleeds. The rest of the day was uneventful thank God. Prior to the nose bleed, I had decided to take a portion of the day off as it was my cousins anniversary and I wanted to be busy rather than be thinking. The Nosebleed kept me fairly busy. But in the afternoon I did take an hour off to go exploring. An hour was all I could manage, I was wrecked. I had a fun break, I participated in various little activities including dancing, seen some Irish IST and chatted people. I had a very interesting chat with an American about the gun laws in America...... He had a load of guns, some inherited, some purchased himself. I do not like the gun laws in America. Even though the conversation was great I had to leave him, I was shattered. I headed back to our tent before closing time. When 5 o clock came KC asked me if I was catching the bus with him. I told him I'd follow him up. He waited for me. I finally convinced him to go without me. I told him I wanted to catch Phil (kind of not true, well I did want to take a detour by the Catholic booth and check if he was there). John asked me if I wanted a lift which I accepted, I was wrecked. So we closed up and went to find Alan who had a vehicle and off we went back to our site.This was the first of many rides back with Alan. Alan left me near my tent and once I had changed I walked up to them in the dining tent. We ate, chatted and parted ways
Sunday. I met John and co at breakfast. I had planned to get the bus down after breakfast but sure John was getting a lift so I went with him. Our day at the main arena started with a Scouts Own. Phil wanted me at the location of the Catholic mass at 9.30. This meant I had to leave the Scouts Own before it was finished. But it was okay, I got to hear the end of it as I walked away. I was at the C/ D stage at 9.30. I chatted a few people but there was no sign of Phil, I eventually saw him. He told me where I needed to wait for instruction. Prior to the start of the Jamboree, he roped me into giving out communion at the Catholic Mass on the Sunday of the Jamboree. After a while a guy came over to us, he was not sure if us Extraordinary Ministers would be needed as there were a lot of priests. But he wanted us on standby. So we all sat over at the side so that if we were called on we would go up together. My reason for staying with the others was so they could lead, I'd follow. The Mass was very nice, uplifting music and good homily. Us Extraordinary Ministers were called upon and with reverence, we approached the back of the Altar for further instruction. The Priests collected their Ciborium before we went up to receive Communion. It was interesting watching them navigate going down the steps trying not to fall. Thank God nobody fell. It made me nervous when my turn came though. We were instructed to go up on the Altar to receive Communion, then we were each given a Ciborium and left the Altar where we were joined by Scouts with umbrella's who accompanied us to our Communion stations. Because there were o many giving out Communion, mostly priests, Communion did not take long. After Communion, we returned to our seats. After Mass, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. Before the Jamboree started I connected with Fr Bill on the Jamboree chat. I was determined to not leave the C/ D stage that Sunday without meeting him. So I text him and told him I'd meet him at the front of the stage. Once I realised how silly standing in the open sun waiting would have been I moved to the side and text him. Next thing as I stood there waiting all I heard was, 'MELISSA WALLACE'. It was Fr Bill. That is one way of finding somebody you have never met before. After saying hi to Fr Bill I bumped into one of the guys who had given out communion, he introduced me to this guy who had badges, I think the guy didn't really speak English because he gave me a badge and said nothing, I was well confused. But the guy I knew explained, the badge I was given was a badge to say 'Thank you' for my service of giving out communion. Then it was time to walk back through the Summit to my work station. It was a long walk as the sun was beating down and I had a t shirt under my shirt, Mass was a full uniform affair but I wanted to take the shirt off after so needed a t-shirt under it. With the heat, I was so glad that I had left my bag at my station. By the time I got back, I was half dead and had to sit down, it was okay, we weren't busy. Later in the day one of the girls said that she had gone to the Catholic booth and it was closed. I responded by telling John that I was taking the rest of the day off so. My thinking was if the Catholic booth was closed on Sunday I as a Catholic was not obliged to work. John said it was up to me. I went over to the Catholic booth and they were working away, so I returned to work. I got another lift home with Alan that day.
The Monday, I was wrecked, I think I had a sore head or something. At the start of the morning, as had become custom, I took some time out. I passed Donna on my way back and went to say hello, she said that she thought I supposed to be resting. I smiled and thought to myself that nothing is kept quiet in this place. Whatever John had said to Donna was said out of concern for me. I improved a bit during the day. But the niggle remained. John was off at a meeting but Steven nagged me a bit about going to medical so I finally gave in and tipped over. The impression I got was that my vitals were okay but I wasn't sure, they were reading in Fahrenheit, not Celsius. However, because of my asthma, they wanted to check me over right. The first question I was asked when I was brought in was when was the last time I took my relief inhaler. At this question, I remember thinking, 'should I just leave now', since arriving at the Summit not once had I taken my relief inhaler despite the dust I was surrounded by, I just never thought of it. A doctor came in with a painkiller and some cordial. After taking the pill she put me on a nebulizer, the cold air was lovely. When the nebulizer was done she checked my chest and cleared me to go, with the instruction of increasing the frequency I was taking my inhaler. Back to work I went. We got dropped at the pool that evening as the pools were open to IST. Actually, I was the only one dropped as Sandy had to go back to get her swimmers and Steven decided to walk. I would have walked with Steve but considering I had spent time earlier on a nebulizer in medical I thought it best I grabbed a lift. I knew John wouldn't let me walk anyhow. I was there way too early as we closed early and the pools were not open until 6. But sure better early than late, I chatted people a I waited. Eventually, we were allowed into the changing area, And then it was time to line up to get into the pool. It was not until we were in the line or very close that we realized that we needed our credentials so we had to go back to get them. The queue was huge, they had to open all pools and we only got about 20 minutes in the pool due to the high volumes. We could queue a second time but we didn't bother. Before we got into the pool I met Sandy and her friends. We got split as we entered but it was okay, we ended up in the same pool. But there was no sign of Steve. I had been keeping an eye for him coming in but did not see him. After a while, in the pool, Sandy saw him in the pool beside us. We shouted at him but he didn't hear us. We were put out of our pool before he was put out of his. We got changed and went back to greet him as he came out. We waited for him to change and then me, Sandy and Steve walked back to our site together. On the way we picked up a stray going in the same direction, I don't remember where she was from. We got back to the site and it was straight to the dining hall. I have an inkling that we lost Sandy at some stage but cannot remember. All our crew were gone or going as we arrived but that was okay, me, Steven and Sandy sat and socialised. I don't know if it was something in the water in the pools or what but we were a tad hyper on the Monday. we decided to say hi to people as they passed us to join the queue. Then I decided to wish Happy birthday to a few. I was facing them as they passed but could not see their reaction after they passed. Steven could though and some of the reactions sounded hilarious. I even tried to say hello to an Aussie in an Australian accent. My attempt was brutal but the dude stopped to say hello and we chatted for a couple of minutes. Then it was time for a shower.
Tuesday..... I was down to take the morning off. At breakfast, John had asked me what Pizza toppings that I liked. I thought he was planning to get us Pizza but I forgot about it then. I got my lift to our tent and then after a bit, I went off. It was a very enjoyable morning. I looked around and participated in some of the things going on in the country tents, I had a right laugh, I was even talking to somebody over a radio. I also went to the Jamboree museum, that was cool. As I was looking for somewhere to eat it started raining and in pure West Virginia style it bucketed down. I stepped in to get out of it and when I looked at my phone I had a message from John about Pizzas at 12.30. I didn't think I would get back but thank God there was a break in the rain. I went back to our tent, I jogged some of it, and was back just in time for Pizza. When I was finished John said, 'I thought you weren't here'. I took this an invite to make myself scarce which I did until about 2 o clock. 2 o clock and it was back to work until we closed up. I hitched a ride back with John, Alan, and Stanley as had become my routine. I think this was the evening that we also brought Stephen Shore. it was back to the site and straight to dinner. As always our crew all sat together. Very early in the Jamboree, we got a thing going. We knew that the first in for dinner usually sat towards the back... About 3 or 4 rows up. Once we saw them we would throw our bags down and go up to get food. Our little group mostly consisted of Faith and Beliefs people. However, we had a few strays from time to time. Including the Yank who I had a great laugh with over dessert choices...…. I can't remember who that was but the crack was mighty and I ended up sitting near him a few days.
Wednesday...…. The last full day of program. morning routine as normal, up, Mass, breakfast where I conveniently found John and co, grab lunch on the go (at this stage I had well and truly given up on the meal option and just went for the snacky stuff), walk to Alan's cart and get driven to work. We opened up and all was running smoothly. I approached John early on and asked him to promise me that he would take a break at some stage that day. John was up and down with his health during the Jamboree. He said he would but I had a feeling that he wouldn't. Ron had gotten me cough medicine so I was waiting for that to kick in and it was looking positive. However, the guys were concerned with all my coughing and I was complaining of pain because I had coughed so much. I had finally given into the pain and told John I was going to medical. He asked me if I wanted him to come with. I told him I did not mind. That morning he had told Alan that he may be needed to bring me to medical. John got really drastic in that he thought medical would send me for an x-ray and the whole lot..... This was the day I learned that there was a mini-hospital onsite. Alan was in a meeting so was not available to drop us over. However, John acquired a vehicle and we headed over. As I sat waited for the doctor I thought to myself, 'because John is sitting out there in the waiting area waiting for me he is taking that break I asked him to take earlier..... My work was done'. I was okay but they gave me a different cough medicine. it was rank but it did the job and I was 100% by the Saturday. On the Wednesday afternoon Steven had a presentation thing to the Chief Scout of the BSA.... Mike Surbaugh. A few of us who worked directly with Steven went to the presentation as did others on the wider Faith and Beliefs team. After Mike was presented with his award Steven called John up as he also had something for John. John was totally gobsmacked, he was not expecting this at all. And in fairness to Steven, he kept it well under wraps. After the presentation and speeches Steven wanted to introduce me to Mike. So we waited our turn to say hi. When Steven introduced me we spoke for a bit, we spoke about the fact I was Irish and that his wife had gotten an Irish neckerchief. Next thing he was asking his aid if he had any Neckers. His aid pulled one out and gave it to Mike. Mike presented it to me and we got another photo (well I thought we did but my camera stopped working for Steven.... there has to be one out there somewhere). As I was walking away with John John asked me if I knew what was on the neckerchief and he opened it up for me...…. This was when I realized that the Necker was Mike's personal one, as Chief Scout of the BSA, it had his name on it and all. I had to go back and thank Mike again...…. I was delighted. I was on top of the world for the rest of the day. I took a photo of the Necker but until I showed it to Phil I did not want to put it online. However, later as I was scrolling on Facebook one of the Yanks had something up. So I had to put up my photo. There were a lot of jealous Americans that day and until I left the site.
Thursday, the last day of Programme, well a half day. On Wednesday Steven and I said we would walk to work together. But on Thursday morning he said he would help one of the guys with something so I had to walk alone. Probably not the greatest idea for somebody who had spent a bit of time in the medical tent since the Saturday. the walk was okay, tiring and then at the end rather than walking by the bridge I decided to take the short cut up the steep incline to our field. I was totally wrecked after that. But I recovered and went over to Brownsea Island as I did not get a chance all week. On my way over my ribs started hurting and this was when I knew walking to work that morning was not a wise idea. On the island, I was given an island passport and listened to a talk about Baden Powell's first camp. Then I participated in a few activities and returned to my work station. this time I took the bridge back..... I had learned my lesson. I told the guys I wasn't feeling great and took it easy for the morning. John asked me if I wanted to go to medical..... I just looked at him, I had spent enough time over there. Steven gave me some ibuprofen but I was holding off on taking it, trying to let the pain ease on its own. Not much foot traffic but I did give a few tours. A couple of medics that Steven knew came into our tent. knowing I was in pain he asked them if they had anything they could give me. Next thing they came over to me with drugs. I took them after they told me what they were. they were 12-hour meds. The pain eased but as the meds were 12 hours I could not take anything else for the rest of the day and there was no point going to the medical tent to get something. Some of the team had wanted a go at the panic room beside us so that morning we went over when it was quiet. We got out of the panic room but it took us a good bit of time, I thought we'd never get out. When we finished we got a photo and back to our tent. We started taking down our stuff a little earlier than planned and were ready to roll earlier than anticipated. It was mighty crack taking down the tree cause we had to take off all the paper leaves. Steven had given me a USA flag during the week. Before we left our tent that afternoon I gave him my last Irish flag. We said our goodbyes and went on our way. I grabbed a lift with John as he had his truck. He had to go out to the Welcome Centre as that was where he had to leave his truck and I went with him. It was weird, in order to get to the Welcome Centre we had to go off-site..... Out to the real world. I was in the confines of a huge campsite for almost two weeks at this stage, it was strange to see a proper road again and buildings. John parked up the truck and we went towards the bus but were told we had to wait for the next one. So we took a toilet break. Then the driver went looking for John as he actually did have room for us. So we got on the bus and it was back to Echo with us. We headed for dinner. A few of the usual gang joined us. As John had been complaining I accompanied him to the medical tent after dinner. This was to make sure that he actually went. Thursday night was the closing ceremony. As my chest had been sore earlier and the pain was starting to niggle again I decided not to go to the closing ceremony as I felt I would not be able for the walk back after. So I watched the ceremony on my tablet from my tent. I wasn't going to watch the fireworks as I was wrecked but they went on for a bit and they lit up the sky outside my tent so I had to peek my head out to see them...... I was glad I did.
Friday..... The Jamboree was officially closed and everybody had started to depart from the campsite. The gang got together for breakfast. We said goodbye to those leaving that morning. Only a few of us were staying until the Saturday. After breakfast, I popped into medical. I had a cut on the back of my heel that I just wanted to get quickly checked. It had got bigger so I wanted to be sure that it wasn't a bite. With a quick look, they just gave me strong plaster to put on it..... keep it covered. Of course, I applied that plaster wrong and it didn't stick well so later Steven gave me more. I skipped lunch on the Friday, just snacky stuff. I went back down to get ice cream later in the morning but they were dismantling the place. Steven went off to do a spot of fishing. I met him on his way back to his tent, he had broken his rod. We took some time to sit and chat, it was a great conversation indeed. As we were sitting one lad came over to me and complimented me about my neckerchief and wondered if there was anyone else trading them. I completely forgot I was wearing the one that Mike gave me on the Wednesday and thought he was talking about my Irish one. I told him I wasn't sure. Next thing another guy came over to me, a friend of the first lad Steven told me after. He asked me if I had found the neckerchief I had on as something had lost one around the coffee place. I told him I did not find it but was given it. I took this lad at face value, took from him that somebody had lost a similar neckerchief to the one I had on. Steven even came in and stood his ground even telling the young lad that he had a photo of the neckerchief being given to me (Steven didn't personally have the photo but it was out there and he had access to it). However, Steven and I spoke about it after and Steven said that this guy was trying to claim that the neckerchief I had on me I did not own but I took it. Anyways, Steven sent him packing and I still had my neckerchief. Steven and I finished up our chat and parted ways with plans to meet at dinner. Sandy joined us at dinner too. We hung around the dining area for some time on the Friday night. Then we returned to our tents, sure there was nothing to do.
Moments from the Jamboree that really touched me but I can't remember what day they happened. The biggest one had to be the young guy who came in with his dad. This guy had a disability, not sure of the diagnosis. I was not giving them a tour at the time but I was drawn to him. I went over to say hello. He reached out to me and gave me a hug. From this, I felt I connected with him because he was very shy and reserved. John later told me that this guy does not usually hug people so I knew I was right. He had a flag in his hand. I was looking at my flag thinking of giving it to him. Next thing his dad asked me if I would like to give him my flag. I said I would and I gave it to him, he was over the moon. Not a lot of Irish came into our tent. My buddy who was on the transport team made a special effort to come over. This meant a lot. When she delivered a clean pair of shorts after my nosebleed she said that she hoped to get back that day but she did not get a chance. But she did get back. She went out to the site before us so I did not travel with her. She was the one Irish person I loved randomly bumping into. The BSA gave all the American IST a special gift to say 'thank you' for your service. I got a little jealous I didn't get one. The guys said that they would try to acquire one for me. Steven said that if they couldn't he would get me a USA scout shirt. On the last Thursday evening (I think) Steven produced a shirt...... I wore it with pride on Friday evening for dinner. All IST got a thank you present from the Jamboree team, the message about it came in through Novus. We all got a little container to hold pens. I did not see much of my tent mate as our shifts were different. However, she was lovely. Across from our work tent were the messengers of peace. One guy stationed there was an Australian....... Lovely chap. He gave me a koala. He was looking for a set of Irish badges. I didn't think I had one but then I remembered that I did and I went to him...... He was delighted with that. I was delighted that I was able to put a smile on somebodies face........ Delshard, you are a legend. The other Alan...... As well as Alan that regularly drove us to and from work there was another Alan sharing a tent with John and Steven. The guys often mentioned him at mealtimes, however, I only met him towards the end of the Jamboree and he had become known as 'the other Alan' at that stage. People would often break into song at dinner, singing happy birthday....... Was it actually somebody's birthday when they sang? I do not know. Mass in the morning....... Bright and early, like 6.30 I think. I did not make it every morning, I would have liked to but it all depended on how I slept. We had two priests and a deacon. One of the mornings mass was moved as people were sleeping in our spot, tent trouble I imagine. I branded the group I worked with as my FAB team...... Something John referenced later in an email to us thanking us for our service. The coffee and water choices in the dining hall were great, they added a bit of humour to our day. The catering team put labels on the containers like 'wake up coffee' and 'instant coffee'. Of course, all the coffee was the same as was the water. A big part of the Jamboree is neckerchief swapping and badge swapping. I'm not big into the badge swapping but the neckerchiefs I am, I had 2 of my neckerchiefs arranged to swap, Phil for a USA one and Peter for a Canadian one. I enjoyed meeting with others and swapping. It was a great way to get a conversation going. On the first day that I met Phil he had a cool T-shirt on him, on the back it said, 'keep calm, I am a Catholic' I asked him if he had any spare, he produced one on the last full day of programme. During one of our conference calls prior to the Jamboree I asked the guys if they could bring me a camp chair so that I would not have to worry about transporting mine. Steven very kindly brought me one..... It was really comfy..... Others on the team thought so too as I often saw them sitting in it.
Saturday..... Leaving day for the Irish IST. On the Friday night, as we departed the dining hall, those that were left from the Faith Field spoke about meeting for breakfast. I aimed for the time Sandy said she would be there but I missed her. Steven was there when I arrived for breakfast but he did not stay long. I was looking forward to my last breakfast with the gang and was very disappointed. Steven was supposed to leave early. However, I was delighted to bump into him later that morning and he had time for a coffee so off we went to the dining hall. He was giving someone a lift out to the Welcome Centre but she was not ready so Steven had time. It was a lovely last coffee. I was all packed and ready to go so I could relax over the coffee. Then it was back to my tent to collect my bags and walk down to where the bus was due to collect us. There were 3 buses due to arrive, One bringing people to Washington and two to bring people to New York. The Washington bus arrived, collected that group and off it went. Then one of the buses for New York arrived but there was no sign of the second bus. Us in the line for the second bus was brought into the dining hall. Those in charge spoke to us and told us what was happening in relation to the buses. Those waiting for the second bus had to wait for it to arrive. However, we were given the option to go on the bus that was already outside as there were a few seats on it. I jumped at the chance to get on it as I was wrecked and roasting. So off I went. I sat beside John and the journey was grand. We stopped for lunch fairly soon into the journey. We also got a new driver when we stopped. Nice stop for us. I got food and went outside to eat it. There was a McDonalds near but I wasn't bothered. I think we stopped a second time. I got ice cream this time. Got a bit of a fright when I couldn't find my money. I had to borrow a few quid off one of the lads...... Then I found my money. The pressure. This stop was only a short one. We headed off then. We were driving for like an hour, the driver turned a couple of times. I thought he was avoiding the tolls but no..... One of the lads left his phone in the service station we had been in. Poor guy...... as if he wasn't embarrassed enough, the bus driver got him as he was getting back on the bus after he got his phone and made a right show of him. Then it was non stop to New York. We arrived at our hostel quite late. We gathered in a room and we were given our bedrooms...... People were not happy with the sleeping arrangements and changes were made the following morning...... Thank God I did not have to move. I probably wouldn't have if I was told I needed to move, you put me in a room that's my room till I leave. I was only staying 3 nights anyhow.
Sunday morning. I wanted to tip over to the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir but knew I would have been crazy to even go searching plus I was still pretty tired. So instead, after breakfast, I went off to the Catholic Mass a few blocks down. Kevin came with me. After, Kevin was going to Central Park...... I tagged along. I would have enjoyed it more on my own, I was keeping up with Kevin rather than walking at my pace. Plus the talk was minimal so not an enjoyable wander really. I ate with Kevin that evening. I got a burger...... The first time I was asked how I wanted my burger cooked. Nice meal...... Of course, I had to get a glass of wine, I didn't have one in two weeks. Then it was back to the hostel to chill for a bit and go to bed. On the Monday I explored the city some more, on my own this time, I went to Ground Zero, one of the ladies from the troop told me to make sure that I visited the Church just down the road from the towers, so I did, it was easy to find really. On the Monday I also took in other sights in the city. I took the free ferry out to Staten Island. I was advised to take that ferry rather than pay to go out to the Statue of Liberty. I saw the statue as I passed, and I took lots of photos. I walked around the Island a bit and sat with a Frappucino before I got the ferry back to the mainland. I roamed a bit. I went looking for St Patrick's Cathedral but as my battery was rather low I ditched that idea and made my way back to the subway. I may have got a little lost looking for the subway station. I had my neckerchief on me. A local noticed it and said hi. We got chatting about the Jamboree. I used this chat as an opportunity to ask for directions to the subway, he told me the way. I found the station, got on a train and it was back to the hostel for me. When I was roaming on Monday I found a lovely little chapel on one of the side streets, Dominican I think. I stumbled across it a second time later in the week too, I loved it. On the Thursday morning before he left for work Chris told me about a little Catholic Church up the road from the apartment which I went in search of before I left. When I got back a few of the lads were around, they were preparing to head away for dinner. I was only going across the road so I said my goodbyes. As I was looking at restaurants John made an appearance, he wasn't going with the lads and joined me for dinner. Back to the hostel then and bed. Tuesday was moving day for me. I was staying with a friend for 2 nights. I had to get to his place early as he had to go to work. I think I walked the whole way from our hostel....Sure I am a scout after all! I hung around Chris's place for a bit before I went out to explore more. I explored locally for a bit before I went down to time square and got my dinner in an Irish pub before returning to Chris' apartment. That morning I ended up at an Anglican Mass, prior to the Mass starting I couldn't tell what denomination the Church was as there had been a fire and the main sanctuary area was damaged. When a female minister came out it was obvious that this wasn't a Catholic Mass but it was too late to leave. So I stayed and embraced the experience. Later I found St Patrick's Cathedral. I was delighted. I was even happier when I saw there was adoration in the small chapel at the back, a bit of time with the Lord in silence was just what I needed. As I was going to the exit Holy Mass started...... I stayed for Catholic Mass. Chris works really long hours so I didn't see him the Tuesday evening. To be honest I did not see much of him at all. On Wednesday morning I stayed local before I went in search of the Irish Historical society as Chris had promised me a tour of his workplace. Unfortunately, he was tied up when I called so his assistant gave me the tour, a fascinating place. Then it was off to Broadway to see Aladin, I got a ticket the day before. I wanted to go see the Lion King but it was too expensive. The show was amazing, the whole experience of a show on Broadway was. It was a miserable evening so I decided to catch the subway back and eat closer to Chris' place. When I was coming out of the station it was lashing. I ate and back to the apartment. Thursday was flight day. I went out for pancakes before making my way to the airport. 2 subways and a train got me to the airport. I think I did well considering I was traveling alone, I did not really get lost. I ended up on the wrong train at one stage alright, well it was going the same way I think but didn't go to the airport. But I asked and got off to wait for the next train. Then I ended up on the wrong platform but I asked until I was sure. I would have went on the bus the guys got but as I had not stayed in the Hostel the extra 2 nights I wasn't allowed go on the bus where I would have been safer! Thos seemed to be the scouting spirit of those in charge of the Irish IST while we were away! The airport was fine, smaller than I thought it would be which made it hard to get the kids something. I spent all the money on my Scouting Ireland card though. The flight was a little delayed so loads of hanging around. It was lovely to meet up with John at the airport again. I did not sleep on the way home. We got into Dublin airport at like stupid o clock in the morning..... 6AM or something like that..... I was tired! But the trip was fantastic. I need to go back. Bring on the National Jamboree in 2021!
The lads hard at it
Opening ceremony
Mode of transsport for the Jamboree
The bridge
Some of the team
The gents sitting for the Scouts Own
Main stage
Our Tree
That's Phil
Coffee Choices
Dining Hall
And the Water
New York
In St Patrick's
Irish Historical Society
Last breakfast
Spotted in the airport
I believe God has a hand in the places and people we experience. If it were not for this deeply seated truth, I would say, "they say the Irish are lucky but we had all the luck to have you with us." FAB team!
ReplyDeleteI believe God has a hand in the places and people we experience. If it were not for this deeply seated truth, I would say, "they say the Irish are lucky but we had all the luck to have you with us." FAB team!
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