Attended as a day visitor at the World Scout Jamboree at Hylands Park in Essex to celebrate 100 years of Scouting yesterday expecting a couple of thousand scouts in a collection of tents playing with their woggles. What I actually got was 30,000 scouts from 180 countries (only six countries of the world not represented, China biggest amongst them) with a site so vast (which will be used for the 'V' festival in 17 days or so time) you couldn't visit it all. The logisitics must have been a nightmare (the toilets certainly were) but it was all very well done on the whole. Quite impressed at the sheer number of countries represented and the impressive number of female venture scouts from Brazil/Spain/Sweden/Croatia [kidding, wife was there].
What I wasn't prepared for was that every contingent had bought bikes with them, even those from overseas (hence fair number of Schwinn bikes from the US, if indeed they came from the US). The organisers had provided pink mountain bikes for use by the workers which were great but for the fact it had been raining and the bikes had no guards. Therefore every user got a muddy back. Not so much 'be prepared' as 'be badly advised'. The other bikes there were much better suited with the step-through upright versions with fat tyres and mud guards winning the day. Huge variety of bikes on site (especially folders) with one country all having the same black folder which was very impressive (must have been the Germans). I suspect the non-racing cycling press could have a field day if anyone attended. A nice compare and contrast of countries bikes article would have gone down very well and the photos would have been good. If there's any 'Cycle' (or equivalent) journalists out there it's not too late; the Jamboree lasts until 8th August.
What I wasn't prepared for was that every contingent had bought bikes with them, even those from overseas (hence fair number of Schwinn bikes from the US, if indeed they came from the US). The organisers had provided pink mountain bikes for use by the workers which were great but for the fact it had been raining and the bikes had no guards. Therefore every user got a muddy back. Not so much 'be prepared' as 'be badly advised'. The other bikes there were much better suited with the step-through upright versions with fat tyres and mud guards winning the day. Huge variety of bikes on site (especially folders) with one country all having the same black folder which was very impressive (must have been the Germans). I suspect the non-racing cycling press could have a field day if anyone attended. A nice compare and contrast of countries bikes article would have gone down very well and the photos would have been good. If there's any 'Cycle' (or equivalent) journalists out there it's not too late; the Jamboree lasts until 8th August.
It struck me that not so long ago they would have been coming out of the trenches wearing a skull and cross bones. The leather full length ledehosen were particularly unnerving.
). 
They (rightly) assumed my main motive for attending was to be in the football team. Took 2 yrs to not get my bronze arrow.
