Danish Camp

All most the end

2008-08-09T11:57:00.002+02:00

Well it's almost over for now I have checked the flight details and they are showing that the flight is on time. So please dont forget to come and collect your children later today.

Thank you to everyone who has made this trip possible. When we invest people into scouting we talk about the world badge which means you are part of this huge interntional family of scouting. These Danish exchanges help to reinforce this, to show that it is not just us in Barking & Dagenham being scouts.

Please check back later as I am sure that there will be further posts and photo's, Richard has been discussing keeping the blog going so that both sides can keep in touch in between visits, but more about that later.

So thats all from me, I had better get going or Richard, Nikki and most importantly by lovely nephew Thomas will be waiting for me and oh I think I might have someone called Martin to collect later.

Signing off for the time bring

Raksha

Final Farewell

2008-08-08T22:26:00.007+02:00

This will be my last post from Denmark, at least in regdards to this exchange.

Before i get to the nights events i would like to express my warmest thanks to all the Leaders/Scouts/Seniors and parents/helpers of the Bellahøj 21st Barking group for a fantastic fortnight, a camp that had so many highlights from the pioneering, earth to table, hike, rafting (of sorts) to the wonderful weather and swimming in the sea nearly everyday and lets not forget the wasps i know my 3 stings wont. Then we had our HoHo week, a lovely BBQ in 3 locations for each section, a trip around Copenhagen which ended with shop hopping to escape the rain, Tivoli, the Beach and Adams foot to the Football and then the farewell BBQ, this doesn't go into details but just ask and you shall find as they say, if you have been following the blog you may not have to.

On a personal note I would like to thank Arne for the loan of his apartment for the week and to Anna, Jasper,Karina & Kamilla for thier company and many wonderful meals during the HoHo week for myself, Nikki, Thomas and for Vic whom i'm sure would agree.

Some lovely coments have come to me from the homes, so parents be proud of how your kids behaved and yes they all know how to wash up.

My Thanks to, Malcolm, Sue, Vic, Nicola & my wife Nikki, not forgetting Thomas for making the trip with me and for making it a success.
Thanks to the Scouts & Explorers for thier efforts and hard work (yeah right :).
And thanks to all my pets you know who you are, screech, titch, bubblewrap, sonic and vileda
I hope you have all enjoyed it as much as i have.

Now to tonights activities, following on from our wonderful win at the football we all met up at the headquarters of the group for our usual farewell BBQ at around 18:00ish.
After some lovely food cooked by whoever was eating it, to a wonderful selection of salad, garnish, dips & sauces prepared in advance for us.

Following our food came the presentations, these are gifts giving and exchanged from both side. Our gift was a scarf from the 2007 Jamboree which had a map of the Jamboree and the "one world one promise" badges in all the different languages and a camp badge giving to us by the group which everyone signed (thanks to malcolm & Sue for organising it).
The gift to us was a lovely framed group camp picture, signed by the Bellahøj group with thier group, division & camp badges. (the picture isnt that good as my phone is rubbish indoors).

The next presentation was the football trophy as i would have felt silly handing it to my self I asked James Hartley to come forward (the scorer of 4 goals) to receive it on all our behalf.

The Danish seniors gave a gift to the Explorers, Nicola accepted on thier behalf the gift was a book (in danish) of camping skills. with the promise of translating it it 2 years.

This was followed by a presentation to Malcolm and Sue for thier continued efforts in the Exchanges, Malcolm has been involved since it all began with Sue not far behind, thier time of travelling to Denmark is coming to an end (Malcolms words not mine) they are aiming for 2011 as thier last one abroad, well see. If Arne is reading this maybe he could explain in a comment what followed the presentation, it is something done when this award is presented.

Then came the cake and water melon, the night was ending and scarves were being swapped, people were going to thier homes for the final time, good friendships were started and old ones were reaffirmed a new batch along with the old and older batch were preparing thier goodbyes for the morning.
Some talk of the night was about times past and of the fact that someone (me) actually had hair once well it was 1986 (my second camp) so i should hope i did.
A lot was said about the coming 50 years anniversary camp in 2011, and how special this camp would be, planning has already started with ideas from both sides, some good, some really good.
Getting as many old exchangees as possible together for a big knees up as well as some new ones, if my Thomas attends every camp till 2011 he would be on 4 camps and not even be a member of Scouts yet (1 was in mummy's belly) even then he has a long way to go to get to Malcolms tally of 24 (i think) and those go back all the way to 1961 the beginning. So don't go anywhere or you will miss it.
There is a camp in England in 2010 and ideas have been flowing for that too so watch this space.

So long, Farewell, it's only 2 years and it will come around quicker than you think.

See you in 2010 Richard signing out from Denmark.
:)

Football

2008-08-08T17:30:00.004+02:00

This is the 1st of my 2 posts today.
The second wettest day of the fortnight just happened to fall on our friendly football match, we all arrived wet to the gladiator arena and stayed that way through pretty much the entire 60 mins.
Apologies for lack of photos as electronics and water don't mix too well.
The first half started well for us with some nice goals from both sides, oh by the way there were 11 goals scored so i wont mention the score till the end. we took an earlyish lead but our Danish friends were soon on our heels.

This was taken at half time where we had a 2 goal advantage (if memory serves me) and yes i know it wasn't that long ago.
After a hard thought second half with with goals flying in left right and centre i will let the Scouts tell you the scorers when they comment and i'm sure they will.
.
.
.
.
.

This was the winning team by a very close 6 goals to 5 (6-5) thankfully the final whistle went with Malcolm getting his 30 seconds that he wanted.
Thanks to both teams for a great contested match that could have gone either way and the weather didn't spoil it too much.
Finally well done to us. :) :) :) :)

Baywatch moments

2008-08-06T18:21:00.007+02:00

Today was all about the beach, we were lucky to have some lovely weather in the morning.

Then to our horror 1 of the danish scouts got into some trouble.

A lovely day was being had by all fun and frolics with the odd mouth full of salt water thrown in, and then out of the blue i get the call "Richard" Adam has hurt his foot :( the dozy boy had cut his foot in the sea and it was now full of sand, so of we went along with Arne to the Hospital.
We weren't there long and even though i asked for it to hurt (making me miss the sun) the Doctors didn't ablige. After a Tetanus jab and 2 stitches we were on our way back to the beach.

And guess what when we returned the SUN had gone (now i was wishing that it had hurt) Mary/Cliff only joking. As the weather had taken a turn for the cooler a leader descision was made to go on the boat ride that was cancelled on Monday, so of we trekked back to Copenhagen central.

After a good look around with a commentry we could barely hear, I pointed out what i could remember from last time, trouble was apart from the Little Mermaid everything else i remembered was no longer there.

Thursday is a free day so no leaders or scouts unless we bump into them, i know myself, Nikki, Thomas & Arne are going to the Scout shop and to a shoe shop (guess who that is for) so tomorrows entry will not have a lot of interest for most so there may not be one unless anyones interested in shoe shops that is.

Friday is all about the Football and the goodbye BBQ so hopefully i will have 2 entries that day given the time. we are coming to the end of our excursion into Danish waters but i'll save the sentimental stuff till Friday.
:)

Tivoli

2008-08-05T22:39:00.007+02:00

As the weather was changing so was the programme, today we go to Tivoli, not an early start so we all could catch up on some sleep.
We meet at 13:00 at Flintholm station to make our way into Copenhagen for a day of burgers, ice cream & the odd scream or two depending on who and what ride you were on.

Walking round I bumped into the odd Scout or 5 running round like headless chickens trying to decide what ride to go on next, by the time we all meet up at 18.30 some had been on the same ride 3 or 4 times, there was also the small few who looked a little green around the edges so to speak.

For others the day just got to much and for some, some surprising gifts were won.

A pantomine started as we started to move off towards our homes or back to the rides, it got a bit confusing to say the least maybe a Danish Scout could explain.

Tomorrow we go to the beach so keep fingers, toes & everything else crossed that we get some nice weather.

Catch up

2008-08-04T23:51:00.003+02:00

Sunday was all about BBQ's some more chaotic than others but i leave that to someone else to tell the stories. The main thing to come out of the leaders BBQ was that Vic was hapy to get away from Shelley (don't call me Shirley) for 2 weeks. I think he was joking :) but he does know i'm posting this. lol

From talking to the Scouts today everyone is enjoying thier homes and enjoying themselves over here, i hope you the parents are hearing the same.

I see from some comments that this is being read. i will be sending over some pics tomorrow from my phone(if i can't bluetooth them to this laptop) of our trip to Tivoli for Raksha to post, my thanks to her and to Darren for posting for me while i was swimming in the sea nearly everyday :)

I have lots of pics over 400 so far which will go onto the District website when we return.
I will encourage the Scouts to leave comments themselves on what has already and will be posted.

Spy Work

2008-08-04T23:34:00.002+02:00

As Raksha has said today's excursion around Copenhagen started of well with most (leaders) being a little late for the meeting point.
When all were finally there we headed of to our train which didn't move, so we waited and waited some more... Finally we crossed platforms and were on our way.
The tour started of with a look around an old military base which had started of as a squatters commune way back in 1971, but which now has evolved into what is known as Christiania a partially self-governing community.
Christiania and the Goverment have a lot of issues to resolve too many to mention here but from a personnal view it was amazing to see this so close to a modern city like Copenhagen and a fasinating insight to what can happen when minds are put to something.

Our boat ride which followed lunch was destined not to happen when mother nature decided to empty her rain upon us in bucket upon bucket loads. Hence why the shop hopping some headed towards Burger king and settling for McDonalds others just looking around. after some time there we met up and went home a little soggier than when we started.

Tuesdays beach trip has been put back to Wednesday as the weather is supposed to be better so tomorrow we go to Tivoli, basically blackpool in a big square.

Sightseeing in the rain

2008-08-04T22:11:00.002+02:00

Well I have not had a 'proper' report from Richard yet, he hopes to be able to enter some information himself using one of the Leaders laptops, if not he hopes to text me latter so I can update the site.

So here is all I have for now, all is well, everyone is fine. They went sightseeing today but as the title suggests it was raining and so they spent quite a lot of the time acting like a bad spy movie by ducking into shops to keep dry!!!

If I hear anything further from Richard this evening I will update the blog later.

That's all from me for the moment folks.

Raksha

2nd August - Ho Ho week starts

2008-08-02T21:39:00.003+02:00

Camp all packed up and we arrived in town at 17.40.
All scouts and explorers have gone to their hosts home where they will sleep in a proper bed.
Tommorrow (Sunday) they will spend the day getting to know their families, followed by a BBQ in the evening.

2nd August - week one over, week two just beginning

2008-08-02T12:28:00.003+02:00

Morning has risen and the rain from last night didn't stay around for too long.

We leave camp at 14.00 and should be in Copenhagen around 17.30.

A good week has been done with just one left to go.

Tonight is all about going to our proper beds and homes and a slightly longer lie in hopefully!

1st August

2008-08-01T17:59:00.002+02:00

After breakfast and flag break, the mornings started with a game of capture the flag.

The camp was split into three teams. Armbands, bandanna's and scarves were used as 'lives'. The point of the game is that you get points for taking 'lives' and for taking the other teams flag and returning it to your own base.

After Lunch we started to strike (take down/pack up) our dining areas and patrol areas.

The weather has just given us our first bit of rain and only a little bit, so what do we do? Go swimming in the sea !!!

Tonight we have our last campfire and BBQ for dinner.

31st July

2008-07-31T20:16:00.003+02:00

Earth 2 table day, this consisted of making nearly all our own food, drink and afters from scratch.
There was sausages, fish and some liverpaste thingy!
There was also a marmalade, ketchup, rice pudding, nettle soup and bread.
We also made our own ovens and cooking equipment (well some of them).
Some scouts even did some sheepskin tanning, the purpose of this we find out next week.
Everybody is enjoying themselves with no problems.
All are looking forward to next week.

30th July - Hike Day 2

2008-07-30T14:32:00.002+02:00

The leaders meet the scouts in Augustenborg for lunch, then we all hiked back to the camp about 10km or 6 miles. All are in good spirits and each patrol slept somewhere different the night before, two under bivvy's and one in a farmers barn.

Tonight we relax after the hiking and maybe swim in the sea (who said camping was hard!!).

29th July - Hike Day 1

2008-07-30T13:42:00.003+02:00

Not a lot to report on today, everyone slept well and I mean everyone. After breakfast the scouts packed their rucksacks for a two day hike.
After the briefing and lunch they were gone.

Monday 28th July - save on air fare home!!!

2008-07-28T20:06:00.002+02:00

Once again 7.30 came and all were still asleep except the same culprit.

The morning started off with breakfast and the flag being raised.

After we had a game and cleaned up our sites we built some rafts from what wecould find in the forest.

When we had finished we took them to the sea to gain our freedom.

Our second trip to the sea of the day resulted in 6 rafts sinking almost without a trace.

Just having dinner then later on maybe a campfire. Tomorrow we go on a hike.

Opening Ceremony

2008-07-27T20:47:00.002+02:00

Today, somehow, no Scout was up before 7:30, apart from Thomas Blunden!

We had our opening ceremony with the flags being raised.

The rest of the extremely hot day we built our dining areas, finished off our campsites and most of us swam in the sea.

Tonight we have a campfire and a special event.

Having fun, hope you are all reading this to keep up with us!

(posted on behalf of Richard Blunden

We have landed safely

2008-07-26T13:29:00.003+02:00

We landed at 10:30 local time. Everybody in good spirits here, we are waiting for our coach to take us to the campsite

(posted on behalf of Richard)

Off they go

2008-07-26T12:15:00.002+02:00

Well what an early morning start we had, up and going before the sun today. Everyone was on time sort of!! but the main thing is that everyone was there in time for the coach. It was nice to see Jill and Steve there to wave everyone off especially as they were not there to say goodbye to anyone. Mark Beerling was of course the only one there to say goodbye to his parents, Sue & Malcolm are you sure your house will still be there when you get back!!

Martin Squirrell got several birthday wishes (pinches, punches etc) from other scouts with the promise of many more to come on this very long day, and we all know scouts keep their promises. Happy 14th Birthday Martin.

So off to sunny Denmark, dont forget to check back regularly for updates we hope to try and post something everyday although tommorrows one wont be updated on he site until late.

Leaving

2008-07-21T23:08:00.002+02:00

It's now just a few more days till we all head of to sunny (hopefully) Denmark.
I myself can't wait, i also hope you will be viewing this over the coming fortnight to keep up with our activities.
See you all at sillyo'clock on Saturday morning.
:)

Welcome

2008-06-08T16:02:00.003+02:00

Hello to all those out there who may be trying to find out about the Danish camp. We hope that this will be an easy way to keep you up to date with all the fun and activities your children are having.

Introduction

2008-06-08T14:16:00.003+02:00

The District has had strong links with groups in Denmark for many years.

Originally the 21st B&D had regular exchange camps with the Bellahøj Scout Group. Now the exchange camps are managed on a District level.

The camps alternate between England and Denmark.

This year B&D Scouts are going to Denmark for 2 weeks in July/August. They hope to publish regular updates on their activities on this blog.

Further information can be found at:

www.barking-dagenham-scouts.org.uk/danishcamp/