The last supper 

Yesterday, sadly, was the last full day at Kandersteg and it was an eventful one. For dinner we had a barbecue burger and sausage, which was our first meal here as well. After the delicious supper, we had about an hour to relax and pack before getting our uniform on to prepare for the August 1st parade, which not only celebrates the birth of Scouting but also Switzerland as a country.

We paraded down from the campsite to the village where we gathered in a park in the town center to watch the fireworks. The show was amazing and very colourful, but mostly quite loud! After the show we were all very tired and tried to get out of the park quite sharpish to try and beat the stampeed. We went to bed quite early as it was an early start the next morning and that was our last night in Switzerland. 🙂

The End by Ben Bradfield

Homeward Bound 

The campsite is clear. Bags are packed and we are on the 1st train. See you all soon parents! Think of us lugging 30 bags around various trains and airports. More to follow from Adam shortly who is bogging about our final moments.

Leaders Blog 

We have survived! And so the journey home begins, homeward bound at last. Dreaming of soft fluffy beds, clean sheets, a bottomless cup of tea and a warm bath. We are not looking forward to the washing though! 

We have had an amazing trip with 14 well behaved and adventurous Scouts. It has been a fun packed week with lots of highs and they have been a delight to travel with. We hope they share all their stories and memories with you as we have done so much in 9 short days. 

See you all soon and happy washing! 

Mel, Shelagh, Emily, Tim, Paul and Annabel.  

Firework frenzy 

Last night the sky was brightly lit. Let me tell you why. It was international day because it was the anniversary of the first scout camp. To celebrate that there was a parade down to the village and afterwards fireworks. 

People from the village walked down to watch. We sang happy birthday to Scouting in our different languages. As well as fireworks there was a fire in the middle. 

By Issie 

Happy Birthday Scouts 

As we all got to the town square and finished our parade we quietened down and listened to people saying happy Swiss Day in their Mother tongue. They said it to all the people from the village who had come to see our parade. 

Finally the fireworks started, they lit up the night sky and we stared in awe at the colourful explosions that the fireworks created. We were all so captivated by it that when it had ended it felt like it had only been going on for 5 minutes. Everyone cheered as they ended and I am sure we will remember that day and everytime the 1st of August comes around again we will all have celebrations of our own no matter where we are in the World.

Ps. Good news, I am not scared by the loud bangs of fireworks anymore..wohoo! 

Jess Snape 

3rd time lucky 

I woke up early in the morning and had breakfast. We all rushed for the bus because we were running late but it started raining so we couldn’t go tobogganing. We had an hour of free time in the village and I bought some sweets and a drink. Then we had lunch and we went up in a cable car to go tobogganing and it was warm and sunny. We all got 5 goes each and on every go everyone went speeding round the corners like sonic but on the 5th go I crashed and fell off but I was fine. It was a good day today apart from my privates hurting from my crash.

By Harri Bolt 

Kandersteg Pinkies 

These are the Pinkies and we have been on a quest to find out more about them. 
Jess and Jess met Cielo and it means sky in Spanish. She is from Argentina and her interesting fact is that she can’t sleep in an unmade bed. Today Cielo worked in the shop and cleaned the toilets! 

Meg and Issie met Anna and she is from Spain. Today she had been working in the shop. 

Liam, Ben and James met a pinkie called Bjork and she was from Denmark. She helps in the shop. Her role is the shop coordinator. Today she had been restocking the shop. 

Tom and Alex met Vanessa who wouldn’t declare her age! She was born in Napels and was raised and lives in Rome. This morning she did the recycling and this afternoon she has been clearing up. Her interesting fact is that she is the youngest of 3 sisters and she doesn’t link pizza even though she is from Italy and born at the home of pizza!! 

Rainy day 

After we went tobogganing we spilt into 3 groups which were coming back, going swimming again and going to the lake and having an ice cream. Our group went to the lake and in our group there was Tim, Paul, Annabel, Issie, Meg, Jess, Jess, Ben, Liam and Adam. However, when we all arrived there, there was a thunder and lightning storm. It was raining very heavily so we quickly ran to find a shelter. Then we sat down in a restaurant and despite the weather we all still wanted an ice cream as it was delicious. We all got 2 scopes each which was Strawberry and vanilla. Once we had all finished we began to leave but it was still pouring with rain. We took a cable car down to the village. Then we met the others and got the bus back to camp. Although it was wet our second visit to the lake was still fun.

By Issie and Meg 

Sunshine and showers 

Today we woke up and had a lie in until about 7.40. Then we headed off to breakfast and immediately got the bus to the village. Unfortunately the toboggan was closed so we had an hour and a half of free time around the village. Next after we got back from the village we had another hour of free time in which a tree house was built. Then we had our packed lunches and once the weather cleared up we headed to the bus stop. We caught the bus and walked to the cable car station. After a short satisfyingly sunny cable car ride we were in Oschiensee. Because the weather had only just got better there was barely any queue. The toboggan ride were speedy and mildly scarey on the corners. We had 5 runs and then a storm came. Me, Joel, Sam, Harri and James went with Emily back to camp while Tom and Alex went swimming with Shelagh and the rest went to the lake. My group went and brought some almond magnums and went back to the campsite soaked. A dry pair of clothes later we met the others at the bus stop and went for dinner. We had a delicious pork and pineapple stew with peaches and cream. We got back to the campsite and chilled. Some people did a quest to find a pinkie  (camp staff) and find out something about them. Then we went to bed! 

Euan 

Recycling 

Today I did recycling. The pinkies are very strict about recycling and where we put the rubbish.

Plastic bag and soft plastic together. Plastic bottles together etc

The pinkies try to be as eco friendly as possible. They also support fair trade by buying as much fair trade food products as they need.

By Jess Scott