J-W a month or so ago, stayed up Bentley Copse so the Wardens could go to a County Event, so I went too, so I have a nights away from that.

As normal on the Wednesday to Friday after Easter, the Guildford East Scouts went for a three day swim round the New Forest.  It should have been a walk, but looking at the number who needed to change clothes each evening, I think it should be called a swim.  We had one Scout who was still laughting about a friend in another group who had gone up to mid-shin in a river, when he walked into a sink hole and when up to his knees in it.

Second day started bad, we were meant to go out of north side of camp site and turn so we were going south.  Even I know that means to follow the white pointy thing on the compass.  So one km to the north J-W asks the navi' where we are going.  At lunch one of the scouts went for a bath with his cloths on.

Day three J-W had the girls from Merrow and or Ripley.  We were all singing Camp Fire Songs at one point, with actions. 

The weather was good, J-W only had to get the rain cover out for an hour on the last day.  It makes a good tent fo soft toys!

So 3 more nights making a total of 90.

As you can see I got J-W to build me a Snow Bear, when he got back from work.  I borrowed his waterproof coat bag, so I could give instructions.

J-W was working on the Bentley Copse Frost Camp.  We went up in Emma's car on Friday and did not come home until Sunday.  J-W did get scar but not from the Wide Game.  The Guides I liked were there again, and I got some badges from them.  J-W was doinf Shooting Instruction and photoing.

2 nights, so now 87 nights away.

Mood:  happy

Hello all, we are back from the District's Christingle Service for the Cubs.  I put on my neckerchief, Kandersteg Bell and I had a nice beard as I was being Father Zippy!

This was cold on the Saturday morning, the roofs down the road were wearing a white shiny layer of something.

J-W had to be down the Scout HQ for 7:30!

We took some bits from the HQ, and got a lift to Walton Firs, which was not furry at all!?  There was a lot of noise coming from something called the A3.  I do not know what that was, but I could hear cars on a big road!  J-W and his group put up a big tent and a patrol tent to sleep in.  I went to sleep in J-W's bag, as it rained most of the day, and he had to go and learn things.  We had a Camp Fire in the evening.  Sunday was wet and J-W did more learnting, and cut up lots of veg and fruit, as he had to help cook for about 12 people!

85 nights away now.

Last weekend (13th and 14th) J-W had to go on a Nights Away Course and then go camping with the Cubs.

He had to cycle over to Ripley, which is ten miles away and the other side of the Downs (which go up as well).  We had to be there for 8:45, but the keyholder was not there! After the course J-W cycled off down some roads which went up and down, left and right.  It was like a bad fair ground ride.  We went up onto Ranmore Common and then down one hill and up something called Box Hill.  I did not see any boxes, but quite a bit of a long zig-zag road, which is called the Zig-Zags.  Who said humans did not have a sense of humour.

The cubs took  ages to pack the next morning and were off finding insects and other minibeasts.

We cycled back down the zig-zags (on Sunday), which were now facing down the hill not up it, how did they know which way we wanted to go. It was slow as we got stuck behind a car, so J-W did nor pedal for most of the way down.

84 nights away now.

Hello again.

Essex International Jamboree.

21st July to 3rd August 2008.

We went off to another Jamboree in Essex.  J-W had to pack a lot on Sunday, and finished it off on the Monday morning.  Took about 5 hours to get there, including going shopping in Guildford on the way.  We went on a bus, a train, two tube trains, two trains that seemed to think they were cable cars and then we got picked up in a pickup truck. We were camping in the WSJ tent, which seems to be changing.  The red printed bits are now a pinkish white!  J-W says this is due to the tent always facing the sun, due to him pitching it that way at the WSJ and the other camps.

We found Vix who is a Gojammer and Scottish on the first day there.

J-W was helping with the build from Tuesday to Friday.  I was supervising him and the work teams he was with. I got a bit worried as he was driving the Pickup Trucks around the farm.  At one time he said he had a pig in the open bit.  All I could see was a 8 foot long metal tank with water tap points down both sides!  One of these 'Pigs' had broken the weld and was making  a fountain.  So J-W and crew took this thing over and helped change it and bring the dead one back.  J-W did  a lot of water pipe work including digging them into the ground.  He also moved hundreds of tables and chairs around the site.  He was loaned out to Security at one point on the Friday, as all their stuff were being trained.  He got to sit in the control room for an hour or more eating biscuits!

We were by the Big Blue Wet Thing (J-W: he means sea) near Clacton-On-Sea.  The places have funny names.  We got off the train at Thorpe-Le-Soken and were in the village of Kirby-Le-Soken.

One of the kids in the second week, did ask J-W about if they were near the Big Blue Wet Thing (sea) and J-W said "See that bank at the end of the field, well it's called a Sea Wall!", and got the reply " Oh so the seas behind it?"

On the Saturday when the camp site became a car park, J-W was raking the grass up as the grass was cut down from about my height to an inch or so, where the targets and nets would be.  This went on for hours. The archery range they made was twenty metres from targets to the shooting line, and we had thirty bases on the line, but no zippy lenght bows.  Some small bows were made later in the week!

We met lots of the Go-Jammers.  Saw Becky and Plop a lot, Mary and Colin, and all of the Rangers with Merry and Co.  Saw most of the Bugs and the Beaver who was with the Rangers, who I meet last year.  I got a badge from the Rangers.  J-W also put a badge on my blanket, a Dutch Archery instructor gave him.  Also I got my 75 nights badge sown on my blanket.  J-W seems to thing it was funny that I kept getting stuck upside down in a lot of different beer glasses.  He would not believe I was helped by the Gojammers some of the time.

When we left we got a lift out to the station with Vix and her friend and two others, so we all got the same train down to Liverpool Street Station. So the five humans took up about eight seats in the end due to the bags not fitting inthe luggage racks.  The train got packed due to a Footy match in London.  Vix was taking one of the bugs home, so I got to talk to someone on my higher brain power level.  Took less tha five hours to get back, not bad as the trains and buses are lazy on a Sunday.

13 nights away, so that's 83 nights away.

19th July.

J-W cycled up  to the Albury Cricket Pitch up on the hill above Albury, on the Friday evening.  We camped on the edge of the Cricket Pitch in the Silver Tent.  We were helping run the Show, which meant putting up lots of tents and making bacon sandwichs!!  J-W spent a lot of time taking photos.  I was riding around in his pocket ringing my bell for a bit.  There were three groups of humans with bells on their trousers, ans they had a lot more bells than me so I stopped ringing mine.  (J-W here: They were Morris Dancers, and no Zippy they were not all called Morris). 

Seven-Five nights away. I must be due a badge soon, as J-W has gone quite when I keep on about the badges.

25th to 27th June.

1st Shalford's Family Camp. 

We did two nights, where most of the Families only did one.  As normal it rained a lot on the second day, up to the point we decided to go home earily.  J-W was walking around in a funny suit, as he spent most of the first day in the river doing pond dipping. How that works in a river I do not know.  The water was too deep in places for the Cubs and Beavers, so J-W was carrying them.  It was fun when the dippers had to dodge the canoes as they came through.  Three types of fish were caught, as well as some insects in there water swimming stage, or so J-W says.

J-W helped with the Camp Fire, but got a bit hot from the fire.

74 nights away now.

19th to 21st June.

Went to the South of England Show Ground, for the 2008 Scoutabout.

J-W says it is a camp for the Scouts and Guides of Surrey.  We went in the Minibus from Shere & Peaslake.  I saw Charliestar from the Gojamboree lot.  I got handed into lost property, when I was sitting and looking after J-W's camera on the archery range.  I got taken to the radio station, and I got to ring my bell on the air.  J-W told me off for lossing my Go-Jamboree necker.  So I need a new one.

Two nights away, so on  72 nights away now.