Well, what a weekend we've had!! Let's start with the adventure the Beavers had on Saturday.
This weekend saw the Hampshire County outing to Paultons Park in Ower. Beavers from all over Hampshire came together at the theme park for the thrill of the rides and the excitement of the shows.
We had amazing weather and were lucky enough to have chosen to attend on the Saturday as Storm Ashley swept through and spoiled the day for anyone hoping to go on the Sunday.
Our first stop was to journey back in time to the Lost Kingdom where we took the Dinosaur Safari, rode the Pterosaur roller coaster, played in the Little Explorers play area and rode the Triceratops coaster.
The thing with roller coasters is that they go really really fast! Dulcie was a little unsure but she definitely faced her fears by riding the Triceratops coaster. She really didn't like it, but that didn't stop her from trying out some of the other rides later on.
After that, we took our seats at the Little Monsters' Ball to watch the performance. It was amazing! They had so much energy! On the way there, though, we spotted some interesting things!
So on our way from the Lost Kingdom to get to the stage, we went through some really spooky scenes! There were loads of pumpkins and skeletons, but we also spotted some spooky things that weren't part of the decorations. The mushroom caught everyone's attention because it was so enormous! It was taller than the Beavers' shoes! We all thought mushrooms were really small.
The next area we went to was Critter Creek but on the way there, we met Chip, the Hampshire Beaver Mascot. He gave us all a hug, even Bagheera! After that, we made our way towards the Creek but had a stop at the Viking ship first because it was a nice slow gentle ride.
Next stop, Critter Creek. The first thing we did was take a look in the bug house where we saw all sorts of different bugs, reptiles and fish. It was really interesting! After that, we went on the Cat-O-Pillar roller coaster, then after that a nice little train ride.
After this it was time to head to Tornado Springs where it was all about the cars!
When we arrived in Tornado Springs it was time to learn to drive at the Driving Academy where we all had a car each and drove around the mini roadway, then off to the Farmyard Flier before riding on the Rio Grande Train.
So much crammed in and still not quite at the end of our adventure. Final stop; Peppa Pig World!
For the last couple of hours of our day, we went to Peppa Pig World, starting with George's Spaceship Playzone for a bit of indoor playtime. After that there was a go on the Windy Castle ride before finally splitting up for goes on Grampy Rabbit's Sailing Club ride or The Queen's Flying Coach Ride.
Wow, all of that was crammed into one day! We haven't even gotten to Sunday yet! Next up, JOTA-JOTI!
Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) was formed in 1957 by a Scout Leader who was also an amateur radio operator. It brought together Scouts from all over the world without any of them having to leave their countries as a way of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Scout movement.
Almost 40 years later, in 1995 (when the internet was still in its infancy for public use), an Australian Scout, Norvan Vogt, was an exchange student in the Netherlands. Using dedicated servers he connected Putten (Netherlands) with Queanbeyan back home in Australia. The following year the World Scout Committee decided to make Vogt's original idea an official international Scouting event due to its ever increasing popularity. Since then, the event is held on the third weekend in October, Friday through Sunday.
This weekend was the third of October and so we took part in JOTA-JOTI. And where Saturday was a County Beaver day, Sunday the Squirrels were able to join in.
For the JOTA part of the day, we had the help of the lovely John from the Fort Purbrook Amateur Radio Club. Using his radio, we were able to talk to people as close as our own home town of Gosport and across the Solent on the Isle of Wight, but on the further away end of the spectrum, we made contact with the United States, Japan and South Africa!
There were also laptops set up around the room to take part in the JOTI part of the day where we took part in things like the Scout led Minecraft server, an online water quiz and chatted to people all around the world to people from Indonesia to Algeria! It was very much an international conversation.
To end the day, we tried food from India, Egypt, Iceland, France, and Spain, while learning a bit about Scouts in their countries and a few facts about the land too.
It was nowhere near as busy as Saturday but it was still just as exciting. It might not have been the exhilaration of a roller coaster, but talking to people all across the world was just fantastic!
As ever, for more photos from our adventures, check out our public Facebook page and don't forget to sign up for our email notifications to get these blog posts sent straight to your inbox!
Comentarios