How it all began
Hello, my name is Megan and although I have only lived in the village for a short time, I have been a member of 1st Great Bentley Scout Group for almost 4 years.
Recently, Scouts and Explorers from all over the country where given the opportunity to apply for the World Scout Jamboree 2015 in Japan. Last year I attended the Essex International Jamboree in Chelmsford for a week which I loved. The opportunity to meet hundreds of new friends from all over the country was amazing, so I decided to go along to the roadshow hosted by previous participants of the World Jamboree and see what it was all about. They painted a picture of 3 weeks of fun, excitement and new friendships, so I decided to apply and see how I got on.
The trickiest part of the application was choosing a suitable picture, I attend a stage school and take part in numerous shows and performances in Colchester, including the Colchester Gangshow at the Mercury Theatre, so I found It easy to write about these experiences as I love doing them. I sent of my application and a week later I was thrilled to receive confirmation that I had been given the opportunity to go to the Colchester Estuary District selection day.
So, early one very cold, wet Sunday morning I arrived in Mersea along with 29 other Scouts and Explorers from across the District. We had a fun day of activities showing our team working skills, one of which was working in silence to make a model of the Eiffel Tower in cardboard, particularly tricky for someone who likes to talk!!!!! We were also interviewed by 4 Scouting officials, a pretty daunting task for someone who has just turned 12!! They asked me all about my Scout experiences and I tried my best to answer all their questions. At the end of the day we were told we would hear if we’d been successfully put through to the next selection round by the end of the next week, so my mum and I were very shocked to hear from the District Commissioner the very next day as we made our way home from school. He told us that all the officials where joined in thinking that I shone through and would be offered a place in the next selection round. I was so happy and excited as soon as I could I phoned everyone to tell them!!
The next round was a whole weekend at Skreens Park, Chelmsford. So I packed my rucksack, and along with 89 other Scouts and Explorers from the whole of Essex headed to Chelmsford. I was nervous but excited. It was so cold during the weekend I ended up wearing ALL the clothes I took with me at once! I had a brilliant weekend and when I was picked up I was so muddy I had to have my boots and Scout trousers pulled off me before getting in the car, luckily I was still wearing the 3 pairs of trousers I had with me!! The weekend was excellent but very tiring, so I headed home to recover and start the hair pulling 2 week wait for the ‘magic’ letter that would tell me whether I had been picked to go to Japan or not.
Finally, on Thursday, the letter arrived and my mum rushed up to the school to let me see. I was so happy and excited to learn that I had been selected as one of only 54 to go to Japan!!! I’m so proud of myself, managing to shine through all the selections and competing against all ages right up to 16!!! Amazing when you think, if I was 21 days younger I wouldn’t have been able to apply as I’d of been too young!!
Now the hard part, the fundraising. My target is £3250, I’m very lucky that my Scout Group and Scout District have been very generous in their donations already, but I still have a long way to go. I have already started planning many fundraising efforts which I will be writing about in a blog at www.great-bentley.co.uk/wsj which you can follow. So, please follow me and give what you can and help me have an absolutely amazing experience.
Thank you, Megan.
