The Official Website for the Blair Atholl International Jamborette

Special Features

Here we will take a look daily at the various aspects of the Site - The Sub Camps, Site Services Team, The Activities Team etc.

The Camp Chief

John Kennedy first became involved with the Blair Atholl Jamborette in 1976 and has attended all 15 camps since

This is John's 4 Jamborette as Camp Chief, a role he thoroughly enjoys.

This year there are 756 Scouts from 16 countries and a support staff of 399.

John said "I have a great support staff which makes this camp run smoothly from start to finish."

So what does the Camp Chief do?

John's response was "I co-ordinate all the teams through the planning stages and throughout the camp itself. We start some 12 months before the event and of course have a wind up meeting afterwards to review everything and identify any improvements.
I have a great team supporting the camp including all the International Leaders who bring their Scouts from all parts of the World. They come together and work together every two years as if they did this on a daily basis."

And what does John do with his time when not planning the next Blair Atholl Jamborette? He is District Commissioner for the Keith District of the City of Edinburgh Area where he has 12 Scout Groups and an Explorer Scout Unit to manage.

Reception

Reception is located at the main entrance to the camp site beside the gateway.

Manned every day of the Jamborette, it is the focal point for visitors to the site and also for any members of the camp leaving site on activities, or for any other reason during the camp. Visitors and Scouts alike require to sign in and out for security reasons. Reception also handle all the incoming telephone calls to the site.

On display in the reception marquee are various leaflets on Scotland and details of Scouting, as well as details about the camp and the location of the subcamps.

They are also in radio contact with the main team Leaders should they need to contact them. They also handle the lost and found office and help our overseas with any questions they may have.

Site Services

This is a team of folk that work away behind the scenes, but without whom the camp would not operate. Well before Scouts arrive on site, the water supply is plumbed in, Electricity supplies layed in where necessary. During the camp, ever thought of who built the shower blocks and toilets? Who cleans them during the camp? Who cleans the blocked drains? Who collects the rubbish every day? That is just a sample of the work they do.

They built the main Camp Gateway, and were involved with the pitching of the marques around the site.

Hard people to find, they work hard and long hours during the whole camp. Often on the go before 8 a.m. and still slogging away at 10 p.m., they hard people to catch as a group for a team photo - but I eventually did.

One request from the team - try and keep the toilets reasonably clean and help us a bit.

Well done Site Services - we all appreciate the work you do behind the scenes.

The Quartermasters Store

Have you every thought what goes into provisioning for over 1000 people? Not only that, but in a grass field.

Every morning the milk man appears around 6 a.m. and unloads 420 litres of milk. Over the camp some 1900 yogurts are consumed. 140 dozen rolls daily and on occasions 100 dozen sticky buns are delivered from the bakery. And then there are the consumables, toilet rolls, cleaning materials, flour, cooking oils, butter, jam, tea, coffee, sugar and of course the soft drinks and sweets for the Kross shop.

A support team in the Quartermasters store manage all the goods inward and the issue of provisions to the sub camps and the staff catering team. The pictures below show part of the store and the Troop catering packs reading for collection.

Staff Catering

Where would the staff be without this essential ingredient?

The team cook and serve meals three times a day for the duration of the camp, with the exception of 2 meals which the staff have with the sub-camps - a well earned rest for this team.

Using a portable kitchen unit they prepare around 1000 meals per day. The dining area has a chill unit from which the staff can help themselves for cold starters and sweets. There are units within the dining hall to keep the food piping hot.

And no, it is not a case of here it is, there is a full breakfast available every morning and a selection for lunch and dinner in the evening.

And what about washing up after each meal - the kitchen wash up is carried out by the non-catering team staff on a rota over the duration of the camp

Administration

A small team of leaders working away here continually. At the start of the camp they have to check in all the participants, ensure that the identification cards and home details are correct and generally handle the office administration. Having completed that exercise, thy then turn their attention to home hospitality, to ensure that each international scout has the opportunity of spending a few days with a Scottish family, if their travel arrangements permit. In many cases they will go home with the Scottish Scout, but in some cases travel arrangements need to be made for them. And then there is the task of ensuring that the individuals all come together again with their own group for the return trip home - remembering that the contingent could be split across Scotland. It takes some effort to ensure that this can be achieved and that the details are relayed to the home family offering the hospitality.

Camp Hospital

As with every camp, it is essential that there is a sound support in the way of First Aid for the Scouts. Blair Atholl is no exception and in fact has two resident doctors on site and available 24 hours a day. They are supported by a number of nurses and Paramedics and a host of qualified First Aiders.

The hospital comprises of a marquee, with a wooden floor and comproses of a reception area, treatment room and a resst room, should it be needed.

The doctors hold a surgery twice a day during the camp to attended to any ailments or injuries that may have occurred. But they are always available at the end of a radio.

The usual cuts and bruises, sore throats, headaches strains and sprains are the main causes of visits to the doctors.

The doctors do urge that everyone, but everyone should wash their hands immediately before handling food or eating.

Staff Club

At the front gate of the camp, the Staff Club can be found - refuge for the Leaders to drop in at most times of day for a coffee and a chat or a read at the morning paper. It also hosts a number of events for the staff during the evenings such as a quiz, and a special International evening where the Scouts entertain the staff with song and dance.

The Activity Office

Hey without them to plan and arrange the schedule there would be chaos.

It is no simple task to arrange activities for 756 Scouts over 6 days. Stuart, Pat and the rest of the team put in many late nights at camp making sure this can run as smoothly as possible over the duration of the camp. And of course there is also all the pre-camp planning that has to take place to make sure that there are staff with the necessary expertise to actually run the activity.

Copyright © 2004