I realised recently that I hadn’t posted in a long time! So I decided that I would write a short post to fill you in. I have had some great feedback on my blog recently and there is now even a link on the unit website!
I also found this video from our day in Teesmouth which was great fun (if tiring)! See if you can spot me.
Thank you all for helping me on my journey so far, and for taking the time to follow this blog!
On a cold and sunny Sunday morning, some members of unit 48 and unit 50, another jamboree unit, abseiled from the top of the Tees Transporter bridge. The 220 foot tall structure is visible from miles around and was under maintanance, meaning that we could abseil from 160 feet on the South end, the long way down to the tarmac below.
It was a brilliant morning to be up on the bridge, we were incredibly lucky to get a clear morning and having climbed the 200 steps we were rewarded with views as far as the eye can see, it was like being in heaven (well, as close as you can get in Middlesborough!).
We took in the views and then were briefed on what to do; essentially, you chose how fast you wanted to go, and controlled your speed by feeding rope through a bracket. Whilst waiting, our nerves were made worse by the sight of the seemingly small brackets attaching rope to metal, but we were assured they were safe, and after the first abseiler went, we all saw that it was easier than we first thought.
The worst part of my abseil was when you first leave the bridge, I couldn’t feed the rope fast enough and so got caught on the steel girders, soon however, I got into the swing of things, and actually enjoyed a rather pleasant ride down to terra firma.
Last week the “York Jamboree Group” went to 6 showings of the York Scout and Guide Gangshow to sell our pens, badges and carabinier key rings. It was a great show and we raised lots of money, with a lot of thanks to the stewards at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre. It was tiring work, as shows went on till nearly 10 o’clock in the evening, but well worth it for the amount that we have raised! Thank you to everyone who donated, from those who bought one pen, to those who bought 5 badges!!!
In other news, the unit 48 leaders went on a training weekend last weekend. They found out many details about our trip, one of the most exciting was that after the jamboree itself (as you can see in the photo above) we will stay with Japanese families on Tokushima Island! Tokushima Island sounds like a very interesting place, from the huge bridge to the mainland and the whirlpools that form beneath it, to the mountains and the great gorges that run through the centre of the Island. We can’t wait to experience Japanese life there!
Finally, me and my mum finished our ‘River Run Challenge’ on Tuesday. Running out of time, we made the decision to complete our final stage on my birthday. It felt so great to have completed and achieved our target distance, and thanks to everyone who has supported me by donating to my cause, the challenge has raised over £1500!!!
The run was great, we avoided any cows, and it was mostly on tarmac. There were some great sights, like manure and a slightly odd clock but none were better than the wonderful sight of the end! We ended at the wonderful Blacktoft Sands nature reserve where we were greeted by our ever helpful support team of sister and dad.
All that is left to do is to thank my mum for running with me all the way, even when I made every run hard work!
The York group of Jamboree participants have been quite busy recently.
Unfortunately we weren’t able to run our planned japanese evening but luckily we were offered the opportunity to provide refreshments at the Scout Archery and Shooting competitions in York over the last 2 Saturdays.
Both were very succesful despite the weather not being great. I think it helped us sell more hot drinks to keep everyone warm! The weather was much better the second week but a downpour before the end of the afternoon made sure we kept to tradition and got wet on a fundraiser – we’re used to it now!
Over the last few months we’ve also been building up to our jamboree raffle. Our 2 main prizes were an iPad mini and a beautiful Japanese print worth almost £300, donated by the Japanese Print Shop in York. Our other prizes included days out, hampers and lots of other lovely gifts.
A HUGE thank you to everyone who donated prizes or bought tickets – you helped us raise an incredible £1,300 altogether!
Boothferry, Hook & Goole
Unable to ferry us to Goole, unfortunately we had to go without our back-up team this morning.
Conveniently, the stage near Goole is on a large bend in the river meaning we could run around the bend, and back to a car park where me and my mum left the car.
The paths were worn nicely and the grass was short – two things we haven’t been used to lately! There were no cows either! With so many windmills all around, we wondered at times if we had mistakenly landed in Holland not Hook!
All in all this was a pleasent run, unfortunately it is no longer just about the run but finding the time to drive out there and do them!
Cliffe to Boothferry
It was a cold afternoon and it should have been an easy run. Helen very kindly joined us again and we wanted to keep her happy!
The route took us past the huge Drax power station and the Barmby barrage where the Derwent meets the Ouse river and which stops tides affecting and silting up the Derwent. All was looking good at this point!
After that things got a bit tougher. The paths got harder as the grass got longer and it felt a bit like running through treacle at times. Then when the grass got shorter again and we thought all was well we found the reason for the short grass – cows!! Lots of them and they seemed very keen on getting a closer look at us. We hid behind some bushes trying not to slide into the river until the coast was clear. Phew!
Another few fields later and we saw some more cows up ahead so we tactically made a minor route change at that point. We’d already been running nearly an hour and a half and having still completed over 10k, we felt we’d done our bit for one day. Happily I now only have 2 more stages to go!
Its been a busy weekend already! Unit 48 went to the National Railway Museum in York where the National Scouts reporter was there, and we think we’ll be on tonights local news! We met the Sushi Steelers (Unit 47) from South Yorkshire and we even managed to get all 80 0f us onto the NRM’s Shinkansen (Bullet Train) in the 2 minutes that they stop! Believe me its hard when the door is so thin. It was great to meet another unit with whom we all got on really well; just another reason no one can wait for the Jamboree!
Having finished in the Museum, our unit split up and one half went to collect some lovely food from Betty’s (Thank you to the lovely people at Betty’s for providing it free of charge!) While the other half went to have a picture taken with Ivor the Viking at Jorvik Viking Centre.
Having sorted food, we then played a rather familiar game of York Photo Monopoly (Played at our first Unit Meeting last christmas in York). This time however, we had to tell people what we were doing, and get a photo with them and our necker (Star troopers beware!) It was great fun, but we think we got lots of people aware of the Jamboree and what an experience it is!
Yesterday I went to the York Car Boot sale at York Racecourse to sell old items from around the house, it was a great day and we sold well, probably because it didn’t rain which, if you read back, is unheard of in my fundraising! We made a great £90 and (having donated all the leftovers to an Age UK charity shop) all that’s left is for me to thank everyone for their generosity!
Meanwhile this morning in the (unexpected) heat of the sun, we were joined for another run by Helen, our 2nd running partner, for the 7th stage of our “River run challenge” – Barlby to Cliffe. The path was clear and mostly smooth tarmac although the scenery is becoming more industrial. Therefore it was a largely uneventful run – good paths, no injuries and my fitness is back up to scratch. Happy days! So thank you once again Helen and Pat for providing our taxi service!
On my recent family holiday to the New Forest and Southampton, my family and I went on a day-trip to Brownsea Island; the home of Scouting.
Brownsea was the site of the very first scout camp, held by Lord Baden-Powell himself. Only accesible by boat, the Island is now run by the National trust, but there’s still a scout centre and campsite.
I found it great as I got to visit the Scout Stone, a stone marking where Baden-Powell officially started the movement and where I also bought a very nice necker and woggle.
It was a great day, and the Island was beautiful even if my sister (not a scout) found it boring!
