Credits

Taking a contingent of 79 scouts to a World Scout Jamboree requires a lot of work both before and during the event. We have a long list of people we owe our thanks to.

We need to start with the backbone of the Jamboree Planning Team - Josephine Gatt - who despite not being able to join us for the event, has worked tirelessly and selflessly to sort out the finances and administration (and a lot more). Without her we wouldn't even have registered for the event.

Many members of staff at Island Headquarters have supported us in many ways - Leslie Bonnici, Pat Marsh, Robert Gonzi, Mark Pizzuto, David Darmanin and Joe Zerafa are the obvious ones that come to mind. Without their support we wouldn't have even have gotten close to the airport.

The Contingent Management Team - Emanuel Grech, Paul Galea, Claudette Magro and Mark O'Neill were instrumental in running the Contingent Headquarters at the Jamboree and provided me with a solid team of people I could trust to make things happen. Without them I doubt if we would even have had tents in Sweden...

The Troop Leaders of Troop 1 - Timmy Cutugno, James Spiteri, Nicola Portelli and Darren Mercieca and of Troop 2 - Ian Fenech and Edith Camilleri had the tough job of keeping our members organised, fed, groomed, unlost, sane, entertained, safe and mostly dry during the Jamboree. They had a tough job to do and they performed it admirably. Without them I would probably be arrested somewhere... and a couple of scouts might be in a container on the way to Brazil.

All the members of the International Service Team came up to the Jamboree and worked long and sometimes difficult shifts to provide the manpower to make things work on site. I had the pleasure of sharing the campsite and dining quarters with them and their energy and fun-loving spirit kept us going. Without them and the other ISTs we would have had no food, toilets, media relations, activities, and all the other services required to run a town of 40,000 people.

Finally I would like to thank the participants for being themselves and for enjoying the Jamboree experience with us. Maybe one day you will take our places and help some other crazy scouts camp in a foreign field abroad for two weeks with another 40,000 people. Without you I would have lower blood pressure, a relaxing summer holiday and no blisters on my feet  :-)

Yours in Scouting,

Kevin Camilleri
International Commissioner

Off the plane

Regards,
Kevin

We're back !

Regards,
Kevin

Flight is delayed

The flight to Malta is delayed by about an hour...

Regards,
Kevin

We're in Frankfurt

The flight from Copenhagen was short but nearly everyone slept through it.

Our flight to Malta starts boarding at 9 so we let the kids explore the area a bit before meeting up again.

Next stop... Home !

Regards,
Kevin

Waiting for our flight at Kastrup Airport in Copenhagen.

Regards,
Kevin

The last sunset at the Jamboree site.

We are packed and ready to go.

Everyone has enjoyed the last few hours of sunshine on the site and we just had a security briefing to make sure hand luggage only contains allowed items.

Be advised that I encountered quite a few interesting items in your kids' handluggage - including a crocodile, an infocenter sign, a box of lightbulbs and a couple of sombreros... Checkin at CPH is going to be interesting :)

Our homeward journey begins in a couple of hours.

Regards,
Kevin

We're waiting

The weather finally cleared and most of the campsite is practically empty.

We are waiting to check out of the jamboree site at about 22:30.

Everybody is tired but happy... And looking forward to coming home.

Regards,
Kevin

An update from the Jamboree Campsite

The weather has not been nice with us and keeping dry is starting to become very difficult.

The IST campsite has been cleared out and the Malta Contingent Headquarters has been dismantled, packed into the shipping crates and wrapped in plastic.

Both Troops have almost finished taking down their tents and the team is helping them pack the equipment crates and prepare them for shipping.

We managed to change our departure time from the site to Copenhagen Airport to 22:30, giving us less time in the wet and more at the airport where we can change and dry off.

Despite the weather, there is an impressive stock of food to keep us going until we get to civilisation.  Bad weather we can handle - but we're Maltese - so forget leaving us hungry ! Food also helps keep the morale high so I'm not complaining.

I have been advised that the internet connection at the campsite from now on might get spotty - so updates from us may not be as frequent.

Regards,
Kevin

Striking camp

Packing up go home after camp is always a special occasion and a jamboree this is no exception.
The weather is wet and grey but the participants are working with a quiet determination to strike camp and clear up the campsite.
Our buses are sceduled to collect us from the campsite at around midnight so we are working on the logistics of where to keep our kits in a dry place until then.
Early this morning ISTs Paul, Josmar, Stephen and Mark went to the Jamboree shop to acquire some of the dining shelters for the Association. They deserve an award just for getting out of their sleeping bags and braving the heavy rain !
There is a lull in the downfall right now and we are taking advantage of it to pack our kit and take down the tents.
Will update you later

Regards,
Kevin