Bumpy landing

I thinik this is the aircraft that 1st Melbourne were on coming into land at Schiphol just as the storm was easing off

27th July re-cap- Sports

Monday the 27th of July saw the weather slowly improving with extremly heavy showers in the morning giving way to slightly less heavier showers by the afternoon, however it would still be afew days before it started to get warm.
 While the Scouts were out and about on the various Sports activitys, Leader wise Tom M, and myself were out and about trying to find a timber merchants in Haarlem in order to obtain some wooden sheets for the table- see picture ( taken when the weather had changed form cool and showery to hot and sunny)

To get hold of this ply wood, we had to ask at the camp information centre, and armed with an address, and nothing more than Google Maps/navigation on a phone, off we went in the van

To find the woodyard, Which fortunatly with the aid of some technology was reasonably easy to find, however once we had the ply wood, we ran into a slight hitch, in that none of our payment cards would work in the machine, so this then ended with a quick dash on foot to find a bank machine at Haarlem central railway station, then a return back to the builder/wood yard with the cash for payment.
 We eventually made it back to the camp site, parked the van up, and returned where the table could then be finished.
  Hence the lack of photos etc from the sports activity day, below Youtube video of some of the Sports activity's at this years Haarelm Jamborette

Another few  post camp updates still to come..

All packed away ( mostly ) Post Camp update 19th August

Over the last week or so we have been busy sorting kit the equipement came back in a van  five days after the camp  late sunday/early hours Monday morning and was placed roughly in two piles in the Scout Hut at Melbourne, one pile being mostly Eccleshall kit, and the other being mostly Melbourne kit. Needless to say some of it was well and truly mixed up, so over the next few days most evenings were spent at the Scout hut sorting it all out - it could have been sorted in Holland when we loaded, however it was much much easier just to load it all up, and sort later

So we went from the above situation to the one below ( the broom was used to sweep up  ) the trailer was loaded and off we went up to Eccelshall to unload the rest of the kit.

And that was that the last bit of physical  stuff for the Harlem Jamborette ( apart from a few nylon tents drying in the loft ) Theres still a few more bits to add to the blog - and if anything is discovered then it will be posted here, next post camp update to this blog due Sunday evening sometime

Silent Disco: Post Camp update Sunday 16th August

Apart from a fully packed daytime activity programme, there were also aplenty of activitys happening elsewhere.

On Thursday the 30th of July there was a Disco at the Subcamp, not just a  normal Disco but a Silent Disco where those taking part wore wireless  headphones linked to the DJ desk/sound equipment - this is what it looked and sounded like if you werent wearing the headphones 

Another update Due tomorrow ( or on Tuesday depending upon time) with what details of  (for us ) what will probably be the last bit of physical action  as a result of the Haarlem Jamborette - returning the Equipment to Eccleshall after sifting and sorting all the Melbourne /Eccleshall kit from the Scout hut floor

Shut up and Jambo

Were still sifting through the tents and equipment that came back in the early hours of Monday morning/Sunday night - ( see previous post)  and this will take up to Sunday evening  at the moment its all mixed up, tents/poles/pegs/cooking equipment and so on so this is the last post camp  update until the weekend ( unless something else crops up)

In the meantime - heres two Youtube Videos showing ( some of ) the volunteer staff that helped to make the Haarlem Jamborette a success, and without who's hard work the Haarlem Jamborette wouldnt be possible

Video 1 - Shut up and Jambo

Video 2: Haarlem jamborette staff + behind the scenes If you are on Facebook and would like to leave a comment for the Haarlem Jamborette staff to see then you cna do so here Haarlem Jamborette Main Facebhook page https://www.facebook.com/HaarlemJamborette

And on the Subcamp Facebook page here Redington Harbour Facebook page

A big festering pile of ............stuff. Post camp update 10th August

End of Camp day +5

Last night, at around midnight the Van containing all our equipment, tents, cooking gear etc returned to Melbourne where it was emptied into the Scout hut, at the time o f writing this its in a large pile in the main hall where it will be sorted out into Melbourne/Eccleshall and 'other' piles, with the "other" being any personal kit that made it back OK

The next challenge is to check it all then put it all away


another update tomorow

Still not over yet+Reflection, Post camp update 9th August

 A camp isnt usually over until all the equipment is packed away and put back in the stores shed, all ready for the next camp.

as you probably know we were a combined group at the 12th Haarlem Jamborette, consisitng of 1st Melbourme, 1st Eccleshal, and Zharki Scouts from Russia, Melbourne and Ecclesahll left Holland on the 5th of August. However the van that transported our equipment stayed for a few extra days to provide equipment transport to the Zharki Scouts from Russia, who stayed on and went to a few other coutries after the Jamborette was over.
 Tonight this van returns back to the UK, and sometime this evening/night it will be emptied into the Scout hut at Melbourne  and the equipment will then be sorted out in the next few days, with Melbournes Equipemtn being returned to the stores shed, and Ecclesahlls equipment will be returned to Eccleshall once sorted.

Reflection / open house

On the Second Sunday of the camp we had 'Reflection' this is for everyone to gather together and briefly pause in thought, as part of that  we had a show by the The Sand Wizzard, Gert van der Vijver
Here are a few clips from the Sunday Reflection

and a Short piece on what Co-operation means tosome of the Scouts at the Haarlem Jamborette

In the Afternoon it was open House, in other words visitors afternoon between 2pm and 5pm, here are a few photos from the open house

Check your e-mail for a photo view of the reflection area+instructions on how to use it to virtualy stand in the crowd ( requires a smart phone/tablet) Next Update due Tomorrow evening

Hikes, Drawings, and Toilets - 8th August post camp update

Bit of an odd combination, but all will become clear, the Camp theme was Cartoon your camp.

On the Tuesday we set out on the Hikes day, and on this day the weather was beging to show some signs of improvement, in that the heavy torrential downpours of rain were becoming less frequent, it was however still incredibly windy, and quite cool as well with temperatures only reaching around 13-14c.
 Most of Eccleshall Scouts completed the 40km drop off Punisher hike, with Melbourne and some from Eccleshall completing the Polder hike.
 We originally had 3 From Melbourne down to do the Punsisher hike, however after they found out a little more about the punisher they decided to switch to the shorter 14.5 mile long Polder hike, which was a cricular route to and from the campsite.
 First of that morning was the punisher hike, leaving site at around 7:15am towards the bus pick up point at Gate B, it woudnt be until later that evening they returned.

At the slightly later ( and more social ) time of 9:30 Melbourne and some from Eccleshall reported to the Hikes team tent complete with the required list of all those on the hike which was handed in to the Hikes team, there was then a safety briefing road safety - footpath/Cycle path/Road - kit check and a few other bits before we were handed the hike route.

This being the Haarlem Jamborette it wasnt  map with a route, Grid references or anything approaching 'normal' what we got was a a set of drwaings depicting junctions and bridges,

 

 

This was followed by by some pictures of the local landscape, where the photo showed the direction of travel, then the colour route

followed by a story route - Check your e-mail ( if your on the mail list ) for the full Polder Hike, it basicaly worked along the lines of as the story was read out, you followed the route the main character(s) took in that story, heres an excerpt of that story

Not very much is known about Claes; he must have lived from the late 13th and early 14th century. In fact, the only official record is of him visiting England in 1296, in the company of a small party of Dutch noblemen who probably invited him along to impress their hosts. His appearance had been described as ugly and fearsome; children wouldn’t dare to look at him, but he was known to be a friendly guy, a gentle giant, a BFG avant la lettre so to say.

So its someone from the late 1300’the story continues.....

At first he met quite some noisy traffic up there so he had to be careful. After a quarter mile the traffic all turned left into the Houtrak, so the man decided to just continue on top and go straight on. He kept riding until on his right he saw a bunch of red and white barriers with flashy lights, and some big noisy machine rushed by on seemingly endless iron rods.

Hike Drawing challenge

Along the route there were various check points and some head counts, some checkpionts had a few simple challenges, and at the central checkpoint ( under a lift bridge ) the Task, in line with the camp theme "Cartoon your camp" was to draw a cartoon, or a cell to form a comic strip, on a long roll of paper where the next group could only see what the previous two had drawn, this was then un-rolled and displayed in the Redington' Harbour subcamp tent for all to see...

So there it is, the picture roll laid out across the Subcamp tent, moving form Left to Right, we have 1st Brussels, and 1st Stavanger (Brittish) Scouts drawing, nothing odd there, and then 1st Eccleshall and 1st Melbournes Drawing ( under the marquee hire companys logo ) again nothing unusual there, but from then on it started to get weird, with a distinct toilet theme creeping in, South Marches declaring that "My Poo is bigger than your poo" after that things didnt exactly improve on the toilet / poo/sh*t references - all proudly displayed in the subcamp tent, starting in the food supply area so it was impossible not to notice it..

 But why the obsession with piles of poo???, its something that the Scouts from Melbourne, Eccelshall, or Zharki didnt mention or pick up on - although at the start of the camp some trekked all the way to subcamp Green village in order to use the English Style toilets that exisited over there.

Some people will be aware of Squat toilets, some may have even experienced them, however theres another toilet type - and the Drawing displayed proudly in the subcamp tent only became clear after talking to the Leaders from other Groups

The Dutch Style Toilet

Toilets in the UK, and in most other places are pretty straight forward, you do your business and it drops down into water, however this straight drop toilet we are all oh-so familiar with is not universal, theres another type ( at least), one with what can best be described as having an inspection shelf inside.
 Instead of landing in water, your droppings fall onto a shelf, see below:

Initially it looks quite normal, however the bit inside the bowl at the back is horizontal, it is in fact a ledge and whatever you drop onto this ledge sits there exposed the open air until you get up, push the flush button, and a jet of water sends it down to the front and from there underneath and onwards and away into the sewers.
In effect your droppings pile up on the shelf, hence the drawings about my poo being bigger than yours., there is, beleive it or not a practical reason for this, as it can be possible to tell if you have any ailments from the state of your droppings
Fortunately the cubicle doors opened straight out into the open air, with sinks+soap provided at each end of each  toilet block.

So there is is, Hikes, Drawings and Toilets. Another post camp update tomorrow - if your on the email list you should also receive a pdf copy of the Polder hike

 

Opening and Closing - recap

Despite the rain the Opening Ceremony carried on, with a sort of explanation of the theme.
 As ever at the Haarlem Jamborette the theme/opening  and closing were unlike anything I've ever experienced at any other Camp of its type - or even at any other camp, anywhere.
 In a previous post to this Blog here http://haarlemjamborette.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/not-over-yet.html#comment-form I attempted to explain some of what its about/what could happen.  This resulted in this comment " have you been on the vino ..... ????? Ha ha"

No vino was used, although I'm not sure what goes on behind the scenes during the creative process

Below the official opening ceremony ( edited/clip) video

Next a clip from the Closing Ceremony

;'

and an official edited version

Another Addition to come tomorrow evening

Day 1 re-cap, the storm

On the first day of our Trip to the Haarlem Jamborette, we encountered a delay at the airport, This was due to a Storm in Holland which struck at about 1pm, and didnt finaly abate until 5pm.
 Due to the Storm Amsterdam Schiphol was effectivly closed for a short while, and being stuck at Birmingham Airport was probably the best place to be, as opposed to being on a very wet and extremely windy campsite - surrounded by Trees.
 Eccleshall Scouts had their own interesting journey with the group being split in two due to an overbooking on the aircraft, one group from Eccleshall was on an aircraft that made an aborted landing at Schiphol, after being nearly blown off the runway during landing  the aircraft then aborted the landing and diverted to Brussels, where it remained for a short while before heading out to Amsterdam Schiphol.

Meanwhile at the Haarlem Jamborette, groups that had already arrived at the airport before the storm ( and soon after ) were held at Schiphol airport, those on busses on the way were held at a coach park, and those on site were taken to safe areas in marquees.
 From what I understand the organisers of the camp were very close to enacting one the emergency plans which would have meant the first night would have been spent in local school halls, and sports arenas.

 Fortunately when the storm hit, there weren't that many groups on site, however those that were on site suffered damaged tents and equipment.
 As most of the participants were en-route they were either held at Schiphol Airport, on the buses ( if they were on the way to the camp ) or stuck in delays ( like Melbourne ) at their local airports in their home country's.

The Campsite area at Spaarnwoude is best described as open grass areas, surrounded by trees, and as a result of the storm some of these large trees had come down, not only did the important camp infrastructure need checking to make sure it was safe  such as large marquees, the big video screens, internet/wifi masts etc, the surrounding woodland also needed to be checked for any dangerous trees, which also had to be felled and cleared.

As a result of all these delays, and the fact that the well planned bus system from the Airport to the campsite was rendered inoperable due to the backlog of people stuck at Schiphol, we, like may other groups were very late arriving on site.

The ingredients for the first meal would have usualy been provided by the camp, for the groups to cook, however for those who arrived late, had damaged equipment, or equipment that hadn't arrived the Haarlem Jamborette opened up the Staff catering tent/canteen and provided a hot meal to the Scouts/Guides/Leaders etc

Needless to say the Volunteer staff at the campsite did an amazing job in getting everything up and running again, and making sure that everything was safe for the participants that were due in on the Saturday, Some of those due on Saturday didnt in effect get there until the Early hours on Sunday, and a  by Sunday evening most of the 4,000 had arrived

 Below a video of some of the damage that the storm caused in the surrounding area ( this is not at the campsite )

Above video of storm damage in the surrounding area

Below interview ( in Dutch ) with the camp leader, Robin Midel. use the CC ( subtitle button ) for English subtitles if you cant see them

Also Check your e-mail for the Subcamp Redington' Harbour Song

End of Day 12, last day at the Haarlem Jamborette site

Fortunately unlike the previous morning, this morning was off to a dry start, as most of the tents were down, and the Mess tent/dining shelter were available to use for sleeping accommodation, ( however some of the Scouts chose to sleep outside )
 The remaining tents were soon cleared away, and any excess bagage as well as the tents were loaded in the van.
 Soon it was time to say goodbye to Zharki Scouts from Russia, with who we had been camping with, and Eccleshall who also left around the same time.
 This left just Melbourne, who then proceeded to the main subcamp tent, where we helped put tables away onto the pallete/racks, and with a bit of clearing up in the subcamp main area ( lighthouse ally )
 Soon it was time for us to go as well, so we picked up outr bags, and headed for one last time to Gate B, then onto the bus to Schiphol.
After getting the Scouts and Dave through the electronic check in ( that refused to read passports on cases/covers or with anything else inside ( ie EHIC cards)  we then went on to departures and a brief stop at Mc Donalds followed by a wait in the departure lounge, where the scouts had the chance to go to the shops inside the departure area, or just fall asleep for a while on the seats.
 Before long we were soon on board the aircraft, and heading home.

After gettign off the aircraft we then endured the painfully slow process of passport control at Birmingham Airport, beofre baggage claim, then out and onto a minibus back to Melbourne.

More tomorrow....

Still more to come later

Still to come.....
End of day 12 report
Youtube videos
And more  including the storm which was the reason for the delay on day1
More In the next few days.

More later this evening.....

On the road

Packhorse road, back :)

On the road

Cocksut lane

On the road

Melbourne Arms,
strange things outside  think there called hills

On the road

Now at Ashby tesco roundabout, Scouts have woken up

On the road

Staunton Harold

On the road

Lount tip

On the road

Just passed turn off for Snarestone

On the road

Just passed J11 for burton

New youtube video

YouTube video now up, scouts at schipol on 1st melbourne youtube channel, more to go up later

Moving

Out of the traffic jam now moving, should be back around 6:45 pm

Cleared the airport,

Now on the minibus back and stuck in traffic, sat nav says 6:30 pm, I think it may be later than that, we will soon see.
More updates later

Passport control

Now in the queue pen at birmingham airport for passport control.

In the airport

One of the scouts had left their passport on the plane, and is now returning to fetch it, guess who? (Hint could be a family trait)

Just landed

Just landed at birmingham. Next stop customs, and then all the fun of baggage claim, with Dave, yay.

Photos from the flight

That's it from Holland

Just about to leave, dave and some of the scouts are already asleep next stop Birmingham, even we get back to melbourne we wl have a short badge presentation.

Next stop UK, flight mode on.

On board

Departure time 4:20 Dutch time, 3:20 UK tiome in birmingham

Boarding

Now boarding

Departures

Playing cards with some other scouts, just about to go to departure gate

Departures

A few photos from just now, there's currently 5 different scout groups in this area from 3 countries,  almost all of them are flaked out

Cleared check in with its electronic touch screens and security

Guess where now?

Just arrived at Schiphol

Next up check in, and as a bonus it's an electronic E-check in system
(All the following posts relate to melbournes journey home)

Camp cleared, now on the bus to schiphol

Photo

Photos, and we have just been interviewed by jambo fm

Morning

Day 12, most tents are down, scouts are just getting up, the sun is shining and it's time to get cleared up

End of day 11

Today after a very wet  start we have had water activities,  for melbourne this has been sailing and beutvaart. Then wet have had the Subcamp and main closing, described on a previous message. (No vino used in the description) I will try and upload a video excerpt of the closing once back in the uk. The mokkie party area was In full swing until midnight, the scouts have just got back, and are now going to sleep.
Tommorow we start the journey home, and  all being well there should be a few updates on here with our progress. Pick up times should be as advised.

That's it for tonight, the last night @the Haarlem jamborette, more tomorrow and  in the following days after for as long as there's material left to post.

More photos

Still at mokkie party, its now 1140, scouts are buying coke, the no alcohol rule for under 18's rule is relatively new in Holland ( it was previously  no alcohol for under under 16), and is being strictly enforced.

Still nOt over

Closing done, next molkie closing, its 11:30 and the place is still as lively as ever, some of the younger scouts are still partying away

Not over yet

The tents are down, the scouts are camping in the mess tent tonight, and we are now at the Subcamp closing ceremony, from there we assemble and head to the main arena/jambo boulevard.
Keep,an eye on the official camp facebook pages, redington harbour facebook page, hj 2015 Twitter feed, haarlem jamborette youtube channel and more.
As far as camp closings go, and going by previous haarlem jamborettes this is going to be wierd. Have enough development quotients (DQs) been collected to make the Redington avatar the most highly developed? To quote from the opening ceremony, "are we still in the shit with the planetary alignment"?  What's the fifth, ever so shy grey avatar about? And who is the woman with the silver beehive haircut, flowing blue and silver robes, and long scroll?
More later.....

Boat Trip done

We're now on the bus back to camp, from there we need to start getting food on the go and packing up, loads to do and not allot of time before the Subcamp closing then main big camp closing. The next 24 hours are going to be busy, so any updates will be as, when and if time permits.

If all goes to plan there will be updates on here later. and tomorrow with our progress on the journey home

As well as More stuff to add to the blog in the days and possibly weeks after the camp is over

Water activities

Melbourne are on boatrip (see photos) eccleshall are on dymanique water games

Water activities

Water activities day, boat trip. as part of the boat trip we are on a walking tour of haarlem

Beurtvaart

Photo s

Beurtvaart

Now on the beutvaart (boat trip) last daytime activity of haarlem jamborette

Sailing

Just finished, now having lunch

Sailing photos

Continued

Sailing

Continued

Sailing

Just now

On the bus out

Normally on a bus ride out, is quite lively with excited scouts, the last few days have been different, with hardly any noise on the way out. Today we have sailing this morning then beutvaart this afternoon.

Aqua

Now on the bus with a load of very tired scouts and leaders, heading out for another day of full on activities

Morning

Just getting the scouts up, we've just had some heavy rain that appears to be clearing. Shortly it's breakfast then on to the bus for aqua

End of day 10

Today we've been to a local theme park, walibi world, we got up at 6am, had breakfast then went to gate B at 7:45 fur the bus to the theme park. As there were over 950 people from the Subcamp Visiting the theme park all leaving at the same time. each group was assigned a bus to avoid chaos (we were assigned bus 53) not many photos today as they have been on the loose in the theme park.
Everyone made it back to the bus at the end of the visit, at the right time and the right place, and once back on camp the subcamp staff had a cold drink for everyone as today had been the hottest day of the camp with temperatures over 30 (it was tempting to sit in the large walk in fridge container at the Subcamp food supply area which is at a chilly 4c inside).
We have some better weather forecast for tomorrow, with a few showers of rain in the morning and then sunny but cooler later .
Tomorrow's activity is aqua, sailing and beutvaart for melbourne and water games for eccleshall, and yet again another early start of 6am.

Back

Back on site, next stop food supply for evening meal

Walibi

Photos

Bus back

Now on a hot bus back from walibi

At wallibi

Scouts are now at wallibi world, out on the rides. Daves sat down with a rapidly meeting ice cream, after finally getting past the electronic ticket scan machine. the temperature here is currently pushing 30c.