Just Another Smith...

I was up nice and early again for work this morning, breakfast was sloppy omelette so I stuck to my cereal and jam roll. I was slightly early for the morning meeting and it was weird to see that people were already queuing for the shop. A busy day ahead me thinks.   At the morning meeting, one of the main guys treated us to a samurai demonstration. It was quite something! We then did some stretching and jumping around, it was great to get the body moving. The plan is for every country to bring something to do every morning, should be interesting.   From the moment we opened til 12.30, I spent my time managing queues. Basically I spent all morning shouting "CASH", I'm still amazed at how many people have been paying by card. It was actually quite fun, although my feet did start to hurt after a while.   As we have a split shift today, I had a good 5 hours to play with. I walked over to the beach, hoping to get on as the tide was out and I fancied a stroll. I wa...

With no alarm set today, I actually got a lie in!! Didn't wake up until 7.45, by which point Alix had already gone and by the sounds of it so had most people in the tents around me. I had a message from Emily about going to Yamaguchi and we agreed to meet at 9am. This meant I had to get a bit of a groove on and get showered and fed ASAP. I joined Mike in the canteen, the queue was the longest I'd had for a while so I didn't actually get out until 9.15.   Once we'd suncreamed up and I'd been to the loo and cleaned my teeth, we were ready to go. There was a free shuttle bus to the train station, but as we left we realised we didn't actually know where to catch it from!!   Typically, as we found the right place the bus was just leaving. The next one was to be at 12.00. Another few hours to fill, we decided to visit the World Scout Centre and other Pavilions. Every country had a marquee to put up a display it play a game or plug their next camp. It was gr...

Thought I was working this morning so was up at half five to get showered and breakfasted. I met Rebecca in the queue, and during our lovely meal of a jam roll, salad and cereal, she informed me that we weren't actually working until 6pm. Another day to fill!!   We still went to the Scout Shop and queued, we were there from about 8ish to roughly 10.30. Met some lovely people in the queue, and actually managed to swap some badges! I bought a really cool Disney bag that has the jamboree logo on, decided I'm going to sew all of my swap badges on it for a souvenir.   We lost most of the crew in the shop, and Alix was meeting some other friends at GDV. Me and Rebecca decided to relax a bit more and popped to the supermarket for a cold drink. I also spotted Pringles and Sprite, they went straight in my basket!!!   After wandering around for a while, I suggested the play area (big kid I know). I'm not going to lie, it was epic. There was a bouldering wall, a ma...

I didn't give my alarm a chance to go off this morning, I was up and out of the tent by 5.45am. This may be the best time to shower, I walked straight in and was finished in no time. I swapped my shower bits for my day bag and went to breakfast.   I met Rebecca in the queue and we speculated how organised the shop would be today. Breakfast was... bread. I honestly thought I'd lose weight out here but if this keeps up I'll end up gaining it! We were now ready and rearing to get up to the shop and were surprised to see a queue forming already! The rota was up on the wall, it didn't look too bad.. a day off, a morning and evening shift, a day shift and a day off etc etc. We still didn't know which teams we were in. The Team Leaders seem to realise this too and we huddled by the swimming pool again.   We have been split by country, so all thirty of the UK Contingent on Scout Shop are working at the same time. This seems a bit odd, why not mix us all up togeth...

Did wake to the pitter patter of rain this morning, but didn't get up. It was quite a nice sound actually and reminded me of home! At 4ish I looked outside my pod to see my flip flops floating in our porch. I went back to sleep.   Decided to wake up and assess the damage about 6ish, it was still raining and we appeared to be living on a soggy beach. My toes sunk into to the sand as I walked to the showers. I gave up on the flip flops quite quickly, didn't fancy splash marks up my freshly showered legs!   As we didn't have our trial until 1 o'clock, after breakfast I decided to head out and about. I was quite impressed with the food this morning actually, bacon and bread and salad and cereal. I ate it all for once!   Myself, Darren, Fiona and Lewis walked and walked and walked... all around the campsite up to the different subcamps and back down. It was just the right temperature, and in my infinite wisdom I bought a bag of ice (!!) to split between our w...

I slept surprisingly well last night considering how well packed in all the tents were. I think everyone was knackered so there was very little noise. Woke up about 7ish and got changed ready for breakfast. I then decided it would be a better idea to shower while everyone was queuing for the canteen. I was pleasantly surprised with the showers, there are about 8 shower cubicles and a communal area in the middle. The water was so refreshing, especially after days of pure sweat!   I headed back to the tent and we packed our bags for the day - so we could head to training straight from breakfast. I don't think I've ever seen a queue quite as long, it snaked all around the car park and it took us just over an hour to get to the front. The breakfast consisted of two different baguettine sized breads and two frankfurters. Also on our plate we had salad and cereal. Very interesting! I didn't eat the frankfurters but managed most of the rest.   Once we had collected our ...

It was a 5am start this morning, that soon turned to 5.05 then 5.15.. finally up and out and dressed by 5.30. Our checkout time was between 6 and 6.40, and we were through by 6.15. We were led outside to a massive queue that spanned up a slight hill. That was fun with our bags!! We were quite near the back, but were soon given carriage 12 and organised into rows of five. It was hot already and we were all sweating like crazy. CMT were advising us of protocol, we had 90seconds to get 25 people and bags through each door. Fun.   For me, the worst part was dragging our bags down the stairs to get to the station. And then carrying them up the stairs to get to the platforms. It was very amusing to say the least! Our train was at 7.37 and by 7.20 we were ready and waiting on the platform. Although we were 12, we were told to board at 11 and walk through the train.   The train arriving seemed very impressive, but I didn't really notice the speed or much else as was too busy ...

What a day!!   I woke up around 7ish (so much for a lie in) to the sound of Gemma already in the shower. The sun was streaming through the windows and the city was already bustling with life. I then had a shower and we both dressed in our Disney tops ready for later. Around 9ish we headed down to meet the others for breakfast. I joined Darren, Mike, Emily and Phil in the Hapuna buffet. I filled up on plenty of fun and interesting foods. Who'd have thought pasta for brekkie was a thing?!   We then expertly (cough cough) navigated our way on the tube to the Tokyo SkyTree. At 634m it the tallest broadcasting tower  in the world. The CMT were very well organised and we were soon queuing to head up to the 350th floor. There was a very thorough security check that literally consisted of us opening our bags and a guard taking one glance inside. Wearing a necker gives great privileges. We then played sardines in a lift that travelled ridiculously fast.   The obs...

I know today may technically be "Day 2" but travelling all day through different time zones is confusing! So, as this is the first time since that I've had the chance to sit down and blog, we'll call it "Day 1". The flights over here were fine, on the flight to Vienna I managed to get extra legroom with my seat (win). And then on our second leg I watched four different films and slept quite a bit, skipping most of the plane food. As I didn't have a window seat I missed out on my favourite past time, watching clouds. Maybe on the way back... Once we arrived in Tokyo and were through customs, we queued to get our luggage, everyone and anyone grabbing blue bags. Mine was off quite quickly but I waited for Gemma. We then queued again (so British) to catch our transfer coach to the hotel. Walking out of the airport, the heat hit me. Even though it was spitting slightly, the humidity is a bugger and I could feel myself sweating. Cool kids that we ...

So this is it, in less than 24hrs I will be on the plane ready to leave for the adventure of a lifetime. I am used to travelling long haul, but something tells me doing so alongside hundreds of fellow guides and scouts will be an entirely new experience. I am really looking forward to meeting lots of new people, and making friends from everywhere across the globe. Just for fun, here are a few facts about the Jamboree... ◇ There are over 32300 participants  ◇ 4025 of these are British (making us the 2nd largest contingent) ◇ 144 countries will be represented  ◇ The IST/JPT includes 1000 Scouts and Guides from the UK I truly will try to post updates on here daily, I'll link through Facebook so you know where to find my excited ramblings.

Wow. What a weekend it's been. It's great to finally find time to sit with a cuppa and reflect. But first, I have a tiny announcement. It's about time I introduced one of my favourite people on this planet, she's been there through thick and thin. We've been on many adventures together, abroad and at home. We supported each other through secondary school and have been alongside each other for a fair few Guiding milestones. There's no doubt that if I have a funny anecdote, she features in it. We've been friends for nearly a decade, and basically sisters for the last 5-6 years. Like two peas in a pod, it's often not one without the other where we're concerned. For those of you who know me, you know who I am talking about.. For those who don't, meet my best friend/wife/sister Sarah . We have shared all sorts over the years; books, clothes.. and now a YouTube Channel . Yes. We vlog. It all started back in 2013 in Turkey, we then...

So, as mentioned in my last post , I am off to Japan this summer for the 23rd World Scout Jamboree!!! We fly out at 9.15 on Wednesday 22nd, which means by the time this is published I can say "in a week's time, I'll be in Japan". How exciting! I'm so looking forward to exploring Tokyo with the rest of the IST - Disneyland here we come 😃😃 Then of course there's the jambo itself, so much to get excited for!!! I am going to try and blog everyday I'm away so you can keep up with what I'm up to. Look out for a few photos too!

Accompanying the excitement and anticipation of an upcoming break or holiday is always the dread of packing. I have always hated packing with a passion. I either try to do it too early or too late. Too early and I have to repack about 50 times... too late and I have to race around town looking for things I've forgotten. And there's always the issue of packing all your nice clothes and being left wearing scraggy tops and leggings in the days leading up to leaving. I have come up with a few packing tips that have always helped me... 1. Roll . Don't fold your clothes, roll them together and they take up less room and don't crease as easy 2. Stuff . Anything that can fit in something else, should do. I'm talking socks in shoes.. shoes in jumpers.. etc etc 3. Vacuum pack . Now this doesn't necessarily mean using those fancy bags. For years I kept my underwear in bags at guide camp and just squished the air out. Zip lock freezer bags are life-savers 4. Condense ...

Tonight I had the honour of holding a Promise Ceremony for one of my Brownies. Over the years I've seen many girls make their promise (old and new) and it always sends me right back... I joined Girlguiding as a Rainbow when I was four. I remember being very excited to make my promise for the first time, even though looking back I'm not sure I really knew what it meant. Back then, the meetings were more about having fun, making crafts and singing songs. At Brownies we learnt more about what the promise, through our Starting Brownies book. The Brownie Story taught me to always be kind and helpful. I was always keen to help my leaders and fellow Brownies. As a Guide, I began to appreciate the promise on different levels, working within the community and leading others. However, I don't think I ever truly understood what the promise meant to me until I became a Leader... Leading a Brownie Unit has challenged me in many ways. Being part of our girls' personal development,...

My First World Cup As I mentioned in my first blog post, this weekend was the 8th GKR World Cup held at the Echo Arena, Liverpool. Having qualified last year, I was to be competing on the Saturday afternoon, however we decided to make a weekend of it and support as many of R33 as possible. Friday... I travelled up on the Friday with my two marvellous supporters, my mum and friend Tracy. We had a good run, with a stop at my favourite services (Keele), arriving at the Hampton by Hilton John Lennon Airport Hotel at 13.30.  After settling into the room, which was very nice, we headed back out to catch a bus into the city. A very lovely man helped us find the best bus route and we were soon on board the 86A en route to the Echo Arena. Apparently it was a busy journey, abundant with school kids and loud gossiping. Being asleep, I missed all of this!! Peeling ourselves from the seats, we got off of the bus and made our way over to the famous Albert Dock. I was itching to watch ...