Day 18

Day 18 - Monday, 28 August - “Tie a yellow ribbon ………….”

Early start – breakfast at 6.00 am UK time, then off to the airport. Smooth enough transition through to the steps of the plane, apart from frantic swopping of items from case to case in order for some to try to avoid excess baggage charges! (We warned Catrin about squashing that Italian bloke into her rucksack – apart from the cost she could have badly damaged the zips ………).







Flight only 15 minutes late leaving, and just after the appointed hour, landing gear touched down on Luton tarmac. From there into Jones of Rhosllanerchrugog coach (thanks here to drivers for safe journey), stopped for lunch at Corley motorway services – next stop, Penycae Scout Headquarters.

But how strange is this? Those parents hadn’t moved since we waved them goodbye over two weeks ago! Had they no jobs to go to? No lives to live? Did they want their little darlings back that much? ……………… Yeah, babies!


So, there we have it. Another year, another camp. Successful? We think so. A chance to see young people pulling together, getting on, learning, enjoying themselves? We know so! Of course, we had our worrying moments – we’re certain that one day Dafydd Williams will make his name as a famous explorer; Richard Jones may take up brain surgery and Conrad Billington will probably design ‘footwear-for-the-pebbly-beach’, but for 29 people to be away together for nearly three weeks, we were well blessed with ‘ups’ rather than ‘downs’.

With mille grazie, then, to those who sent the little darlings and (more importantly) returned to collect them; with thanks to those who helped in whatever way; ditto for that cup of tea on home-coming!; with thanks to all of you who support the Leaders week in, week out and same to those who clicked onto the blog page –

Arrivederci!

Day 17 - Sunday, 27 August - “The train now standing ………….”


Last full day! What to do? How best to make the most? Decision made to hit Milan via public transport which was amazingly good value - £4.50ish per person return for a distance twice that of Wrexham to Manchester. Took the vans to Bergamo station – oo, uh! - where to park 3 mini buses in a very small parking area? Think – when in trouble, find a policeman. Exactly what Gerry did. Slicking back his hair (?) and adjusting his woggle, our Group Scout Leader entered into negotiations with an officer of the Polizei (you will, by now, appreciate that Gerry is completely fluent in Italian – raising of the voice and hand gestures? Pshaw!). That discerning gent, who – as so many Italians had over the period – gestured to the necker and said ‘scouts’, came up trumps and arranged secure parking, free of charge for the three buses for the day. Train whistle blowing, off we go to Milan!

Changed from train to Metro and legged it to the main Piazza where we had lunch; squashed noses up to shop windows carrying such names as Prada, Louis Vuitton, Gucci (yes, and McDonalds – again!); saw the famous opera house, La Scala and spent time roaming around the roof of the Duomo – 3rd largest church in the world. Move over, Quasimodo!













Early evening - metro, trains, mini buses in reverse order to the morning and back to the hostel. Orders taken for take-away pizzas, Miss Cossington had her hair coloured at Salon Kellett and Heyward (what? You didn’t know it wasn’t natural?) and we all hit Italian sheets for the last time. Tonight – the velvety warmth of Mediterranean air, tomorrow – who knows?

o O o

Day 16

Day 16 - Saturday, 26 August - “ Pack up your troubles ………….”




Busy morning. Last eggy bread and roast tomato breakfast, many pairs of elbows greased and all hands to the pump as we packed, brushed, emptied, sloshed, wiped and, finally at about 3.00 pm, closed the door on dear old Casa di Caccia.




















Loaded the vans once again, and headed for Bergamo to spend our last two Italian nights at the youth hostel where we stayed way back at the beginning of our adventure.

Sorted rooms, settled in, returned the van to the hire shop and were ferried in two shifts into Bergamo to look for our evening meal. Bergamo – lovely place made up of new and old towns, though sadly we didn’t get chance to explore. Next time, perhaps!

Our dander around the night market turned into a sodden experience as the rain came on big time, so back quick smart to the hostel and, by that time, bed.

o O o

Day 15

Day 15 - Thursday, 25 August - “Oh, we do like to be beside the seaside ……….”

Bit of a lie-in enjoyed after late night, then picnic lunch packed, we targeted nearby Garda.



Lovely town with shops, beach, pedaloes – bit of an Italian Llandudno. Left 6.00 ish, shopped for evening meal (rather delicious fish, chips, peas/sweetcorn which the Explorers missed as they went out with the younger Leaders for a GCSE celebratory meal/night off) and items for last breakfast to be self-prepared. Some packing done in readiness for quitting the Casa the next day.

o O o

Day 15

Day 15 - Thursday, 25 August - “Oh, we do like to be beside the seaside ……….”

Bit of a lie-in enjoyed after late night, then picnic lunch packed, we targeted nearby Garda. Lovely town with shops, beach, pedaloes – bit of an Italian Llandudno. Left 6.00 ish, shopped for evening meal (rather delicious fish, chips, peas/sweetcorn which the Explorers missed as they went out with the younger Leaders for a GCSE celebratory meal/night off) and items for last breakfast to be self-prepared.

Some packing done in readiness for quitting the Casa the next day.

o O o

Day 14

Day 14 - Thursday, 24 August - “It’s not over till the fat lady sings ………….”

Very humid day. As weather-aware Brits, it’s hard to imagine why we didn’t react to the clues around us re: our attire for our planned evening excursion to Verona, but we live and learn! Anyway, let’s cover the morning first.

A popular tourist attraction quite close to the village of Peri is the sanctuary of the Madonna di Corruna, built into the mountainside and VERY high in the Monte Baldo range of the pre-Alps. Can’t even begin to tell what the views were like, but if you get the chance to visit this area, do it. Very hot, lots of steps (which, of course, go up as well as down) and, as it turned out, the location for receipt of the last of the GCSE results. Good ones! Congratulations to Laura Heyward, Rebeccah Kellett, Richard Rogers, Daniel Simcock and Jamie Richards for doing so well – feathers in your personal caps and for 1st Penycae Scouts. There were questions, however, that even our high achieving year 11s may not have been able to answer, such as – did everyone get the answers to Gerry’s riddles? Should Lewis try to have published the rather clever riddle he made up himself? And how did Master Sam Isaacs manage to get that perfectly circular graze on his knee?

As the climb back up from the sanctuary began, it was clear that pushing Sciatic Catrin in the wheelchair was going to be no picnic. Agreed, it was easier than climbing up and down ropes as the sanctuary had been accessed in the twelfth century, but still difficult. What we needed was a ‘park and ride’ style bus. And, lo and behold! along came that very thing! (So that was how the elderly lady in the church who had just had the hip job done, made it – we had wondered, but the Italian wouldn’t stretch to asking the question).

Back to the Casa for lunch and a bit of a rest before the cultural peak of the camp – a performance of Aida at the Arena di Verona. And what a peak! There we were, sitting on stone seats put in place at Nero’s direction almost 2,000 years ago, watching an opera set in Egypt some 3,000 years ago, eating - please forgive this – Big Macs! In an attempt to redeem ourselves, we did eat them before the performance began, just, in fact, as the storm had finished.

Storm, you ask? Oh, yeah! From about 8.00 pm to just after 9.00, the thunder rolled, sheet lightening switched-on the sky and such rain! Quite an experience, though one which ultimately had a marked effect on the performance. Three times rain stopped play, after which poor Aida was abandoned to a watery fate, rather different, it is believed, from the finale we sadly did not see. HOWEV ER …………. you know that “every cloud/silver lining” saying? Listen to this!

At the merest drop of watery stuff the orchestra would up and go because of the damage which could so quickly be caused to their delicate instruments, and during one such hiatus (the rain was not sufficient to drive us from our seats) a number of the little darlings decided to start a Mexican Wave. It was fabulous!

We were at one end of the horseshoe curve of the Arena in the 25 Euro seats and the wave travelled right around to the other end, to be cheered and clapped by that lot on the floor of the Arena in the 179 Euro seats! And the LDs did it again! Even the spotlight operators joined in! For a good 10 minutes, the entertainment at the internationally famed Arena di Verona was ‘brought to you at great expense’ by 1st Penycae Scouts! Let that be recorded in the history books!

o O o

Day 13

Day 13 – 23 August - “Boogie on down ………..”

And just how many scouts do you think turned down the chance to go to Aqualand? Answers on the proverbial to Scouts in Swimgear, Splish Splosh Avenue, Little Dunking. However, don’t think this was merely a bit of fun for the day, or an opportunity to cool down - major leaps in personal development were achieved. Young Sam Isaacs has, over the time away and through the tuition and guidance of Messrs Steffan and Dewi, learnt to dive. Well done Sam for working on a new skill and thanks to Steffan and Dewi for their interest and help. The brotherhood of scouting in operation!

What I’m sure we all would have paid a number of Euros to have seen and which wasn’t scheduled Aqualand entertainment, was the apparently gobsmacking sight of Mr Carwyn Griffiths doin’ his thang/strutting his stuff/shaking his booty at a poolside dancing competition. No trophy has appeared on the sideboard in the hostel, so I can only assume the first prize went elsewhere, but when you’ve got a spare minute, Carwyn, we’d love to check out that routine! (Carwyn has since been interviewed by the Blog Page and asked us to advertise the fact that he will be opening a school of dance as part of his Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award, and looks forward to his friends and colleagues putting their names down for lessons which, of course, will be discounted for scouts and their family members. He will also, in his spare time, be designing a range of dance outfits which will carry the signature note of green and mushroom with matching neckers.) We wish you well, Carwyn!

Yet another good day finished off with a marvellous roast chicken dinner (complete with roast potatoes), campfire and spooky bedtime story to settle everyone down for a good night’s sleep. Night, night, little darlings!

o O o

Day 12

Day 12 – 23 August - “Breakfast at Tiffany’s? ………”

Rose and shone a bit later this morning and had a delicious breakfast a la Group Scout Leader of plum tomatoes roasted in olive oil and eggy bread. Took absolutely ages to do for 29 people, but not to be missed (Gerry plans to open up a telephone breakfast service on return to the UK – see http://www.startthedaygerry for contact details). Packed a picnic lunch into the vans and took off to the town of Garda on lake of same name. Smashing place, but so many British accents! Someone spoke to us of Penycae being close to Rhos, though that wasn’t as strange as the American TV present we spoke to in Venice who told us he regularly finished off his correspondence by signing ‘Llangollen’ and had spent time in college with a friend who came from Wrexham!

Back to Garda – bit of walking to do, of course, along the lakeshore and shops which proved impossible for poor Catrin and her raging sciatica – but we’re Scouts! We will not be overcome by the exigencies of a rogue sciatic nerve! Catrin must be mobile – and so she was! From a few bits and bobs scavenged from the beach and a bit of sgtring, a wheelchair was produced to replace her useless limbs (well, it was rented from a farmacia, actually) and once again, Catrin was part of the whole.

We must here make mention of another casualty – Jamie (Chub) Richards – who did not escape scott-free from leaping 15m into a pool the size of a plug-hole during the previously mentioned canyoning event. His back has taken great comfort from the same bag of frozen and re-frozen peas used by Gerry (chronic back-pain sufferer) and Catrin (aforementioned sciatica patient). Bit by bit, the fighting-fit group which left Penycae is turning into a bunch of crocks, but we soldier on! At least no-one was bitten by the scorpion which Mr Heyward caught. This was an easy job for Mr H as, for the past couple of days he’s been a bit of a tasty item, walking around plastered in live yoghurt to ease the sunburn! (Beauty/health tip: this works very well).

Got home from Garda via a lovely supermarket (and we know all about supermarkets, remember!) for the Explorers to make the evening meal while some Leaders went out to eat for their ‘night off’. This night off started at 10 past 10, just managed to catch the restaurant before it closed so had a choice of lasagne or lasagne and left at just after 11.30 pm. Very enjoyable, all the same.

By the way, you remember that scorpion? It was about half an inch long. Tiny compared with the 18 million legged beastie which, sadly, was accidentally boiled to death by potato water in one of the sinks.

o O o

Day 11

Day 11 – 21 August - “ To canyon or not to canyon, that is the question ………”

Rebeccah Kellett’s 16th birthday! Celebrated on scout camp pretty much as the previous 15.

A day of varied experiences.

Scouts elected to visit the Movieland Theme Park while Explorers and 3 Leaders diced with death and chose – yes, chose! – to ‘canyon’, as follows:

Recipe:
One rather deep canyon; a good helping of waterfalls and pools; lengths of rope (optional).

Method:
Carefully wrap humans in wetsuits and helmets. Start at top of canyon and work down to bottom by sliding down waterfalls, leaping into pools and abseiling rockfaces. When done, serve with lots of cream (the antiseptic variety).

Sadly, Amazon Catrin missed putting herself in extreme danger because of a very painful bout of sciatica (if you have

to suffer pain, I suppose it’s favourable to choose the agony oneself, but poor Caterina didn’t have that luxury). On your behalf, dear Reader, I shall pass on your best wishes to her in the hope that she very soon has another opportunity to throw herself off cliffs into icy bodies of water.

Also, I’m sure you’d want to give your regards to Mr Andrew Heyward who also missed making mincemeat of himself, due to overcooking his bod at the outdoor pool the day before. (For ‘scout leaders’ read, ‘people who enjoy varied forms of suffering’).

The day ended with (believe it or not!) a successful visit to a supermarket which, of course, meant drudgery and slavish attention to the preparation of a home cooked evening meal.

The weather, by the way, is absolutely stonking and we are all having rather a good time!

o O o

Day 10

Day 10 – 20 August - “Food, glorious food ……………”

Breakfast served up by Explorers, then off for the afternoon to make the most of the sunshine at an outdoor pool about half an hour away.

Wish this was as relaxed and decadent as it sounds – reality, of course, is that for every daily element of camp, Patrols have to be mustered, young people motivated and guided, meals shopped for and prepared and many, many dishes to be cleared, washed and put away! Is the magic wearing off already? Not at all! Tiredness is evident, though no sign yet of mental breakdown.

Mention has been made of the Italian toll system and quite incredible manner of driving/road safety, though with surprisingly little horn tooting. In fact, the most noise in that respect has probably been made by Amazon Karen during her first sortie driving a mini-bus – elbow kept catching the horn as she changed position to manoeuvre the van!

The luxury continues as once again, we eat out en masse (got caught AGAIN by closed supermarkets!).

o O o

Day 9

Good to see comments coming in.

Ruth and I in Verona on our own sorting out a few arrangements while others are all in Acqualand keeping cool.

Not allowing me to upload pictures at the moment will do so later this evening when we are back in again to sort out more things.





Day 9 – 19 August - “Once upon a time ………..”

AM – lie-in for everyone after going to bed so late. Brunch of croissants, jam, cheese, cereal, chores carried out, then off to Verona. Very hot day. Went particularly to see the well known shopping area of Via Mezzini and first stop was to have something to eat. The bright yellow logo of a well known fast food outlet stood out like a sore M in the lovely town square and a number of scouts dived-in to feed their faces but, very refreshingly, the Hawk Patrol, namely Messrs Richard (Ricardo) Jones; Jack (the Lad) Knight; Steffan (Middle Son) Williams; Dewi (Picolo) Griffiths; Leslie (don’t call me Declan) Morris and Daniel (no peanuts, please) Davies, took a vote and decided to eat at a Veronese snack bar, working on the basis of when in Rome do as the Romans (also because it was cheaper than McDonalds). Brownie points (well, why not?) on two counts!

The Arena - venue for Thursday's visit to the opera to see Aida.

Walking back to the vans, once again the Hawk Patrol made its mark via Master Steffi who spied a sweet shop – not very big, but well filled with tall jars of all kinds of teeth rotting ‘caramella’. Pick and mix heaven! Poor lady serving must have wondered what had hit her as all vente nove of us piled in. The wonderful thing was, as all vente nove of us returned, sweetie sacks in hand, to the street, she waived away any charge on 3 Leaders’ stash bags! (and Gerry’s was pretty weighty!). How generous of her!

Another attraction of Verona was, of course, Juliet’s balcony and statue of same (Juliet of ‘Romeo and …….’ fame, that is). Folklore has it that to touch Juliet’s right breast increases a woman’s fertility. Gerry not at all pleased about this and gave strict instructions that all female Leaders were to keep hands firmly in pockets.

So, back to the vehicles for a straight run home and an earlier night – ha! Not so! A crackled message via Amazon Wendy’s walkie talkie gave out the message that, without any warning, her bus was under attack! The crack of a bullet leaving a high velocity rifle echoed through the van; heads ducked; passengers cried out in alarm, but without a wobble or check in speed, Amazon Wendy kept her trusty bus firmly in its lane, despite the discomfort of the warm, sticky substance which ran down her arms. Where was the sniper? Would there be another shot? Why pick on the Falcon Patrol? (Obviously, they’re not as good looking as the Hawks, but – come on – are they really ugly enough to take pot shots at?).

To Amazon Wendy’s right, Gareth (The Hair) Rogers, strong, silent side-kick to this female Leader, couldn’t help but ask these questions of himself while his sharp eyes darted right and left, seeking out the vantage point of their hidden enemy. It just didn’t make sense. He’d been in many such situations in his scouting life, but something wasn’t right; didn’t fit. As quickly as these thoughts gelled in his mind, something else triggered his sense of smell. Could it be – blackcurrant? Yes! Blackcurrant! Swiftly, he ran his finger along his colleague’s arm and put it to his lips. With relief and a short laugh, he turned and looking into the back of the vehicle, saw on the floor, a ripped and shattered juice bottle. Clearly, this had suffered too much heat and had exploded under the pressure. Not the work of the Mafioso after all, just the natural result of heat and fermented fruit. Ugly as they might be, Falcon Patrol lived to scout another day!

o O o

Days 7 and 8

Day 8 – 18 August - “Hold on to your woggles ……………”



GARDALAND!


Late night – leave it to you to imagine what exiting was like! Not home until 3.00 am.





o O o

(Photos below are Day 7)



















Explorers' picnic lunch for everyone






















































Flagbreak

Day 7 – 17 August - “Riding along on the crest of a you-know-what ”

Weather seems to have settled into a good pattern. Belter today. Water babies all craving immersion in the wet stuff, so loaded up the buses (have to say that travelling gives sweet relief from the heat because of air con) and headed for Lake Garda.

First stop was for a picnic lunch served by the Explorers overlooking part of the Lake, then on into the town to take up places on the lakeshore. Parking a bit of a tinker, but theAmazons came up trumps again. Gerry scoured the town for an Internet point (blog site smashing idea, but has taken up a lot of time and effort locating and sitting in cramped, gloomy internet cafes – no wonder Group Scout Leader is still looking pasty!) and Tourist Information Centre to source info on places to visit and book theme parks.

Back at the Lake (and what a lake! Garda is absolutely huge) pedaloes have been hired and great fun had by all. Shame we couldn’t have brought the canoes. Return this way tomorrow for theme park visit.





o O o

Days 5 and 6

Is anyone reading this site - very few comments made!!

Don't forget each new day sits above the previous day.


(Photos below for Day 6)

Work is such fun!

































View north from Casa di Caccia


Day 6 – 16 August - “and they swam and they swam right over the dam”.

And the answer to last night’s question was RAIN, RAIN and more RAIN! Superbly atmospheric, however. Low lying cloud draping itself around the montain like artificial snow on a Christmas tree. A sprinkling of thunder and a pinch of lightening thrown in and a lot of time spent in the buses trying to find out-of-the-wet facilities to amuse. Can you guess what that facility was? You’ve got it! A swimming pool! We just can’t get away from the watery theme. But rest assured that each child looked amazingly attractive in their compulsory swim hats. Very streetwise. I wonder how you say “slaphead” in Italian?

Meanwhile, Gerry had driven to the next town, half an hour away, to find an Internet Café in order to feed the blog site. Internet café was located, van was parked and – oops! – discovery made that bum bag* is missing. (*dictionary definition of bum bag: receptacle for safe carriage of valuables, eg, passport/money/credit cards/phone etc).
Just how bad should the panic attack be? Is CPR required? Thankfully, Gerry doesn’t particularly do panic. Backward thinking threw up a mental picture of the faithful bum bag sitting on a chair at the swimming pool. Choices: phone the pool (no phone book at Internet café); drive back half an hour and hope it would still be there; Carabinieri (Police to us). Carabinieri it is! Back into van, round the one way system to find police station, problem explained in usual way (hands, odd Italian words, etc which is working surprisingly well); marvellous response from Italian police officer, phone call to pool, bum bag found sitting where left! If they were still worn, the scout beret would have been ‘off’ to that particular public servant.

BACK to find a parking space by the Internet place, went in only to find no machines available. Waited. Got one. Duff. Wouldn’t download from memory stick so no photographs sent to blog page and day two and day three information all had to be retyped there and then. Done. Paid for. Out into the drizzle and off to the pool to pick up BB. WENT HOME! Lovely tea of spaghetti bolognese or chilli con carne or both. Both!

o O o

(Below are photos from Day 5)

View from Casa Di Caccia

Can't get away from it!!

Day 5 – 15 August - “Fiesta!”

Bit of a lie-in and a lazier day today. Hot. Some took a walk around Peri, played football, wondered why nothing was open ……… Particularly long siesta period? No. A Saint’s Day, so everywhere closed. No-one warned us about that one. Once again – can’t do food shopping. How do we feed hungry kids? What a drag! We‘ll all have to eat out again in lovely Mediterranean al fresco style, at tables with crisp cloths and gleaming glassware. This we did after walking a short distance to the next village where Gerry-the-Blarney-Kellett negotiated another good deal on a load of huge pizzas. Going there again!

Meal over, we strolled leisurely back to base, keeping a keen eye on the sky which was taking on a different appearance.

Wonder what the weather has in store for tomorrow?



o O o

(Photos below from Day 4)


Casa Di Caccia, Peri
















Travelling to Peri, Verona

















Just before leaving Alba D'Ora

Took a while to get back in!

Day 4 – Monday, 15 August - “♪Arrivaderci Roma ……♫ or in this case, Venice”

Storm? What storm? Another one of those extreme weather changes (bit like Anglesey, this place) to a beautiful morning. Busy, busy as we packed everything once again into the vehicles in order to journey 3 hours to our main place of residence, Casa Di Caccia, Peri, 30k north of Verona. Learning from previous experiences with unusual-to-us supermarket opening times, we stopped to pick up some shopping on the way at a Supermercato which, of course, was closed for siesta when we arrived (much as I applaud the idea of siesta, it sure can get in the way when you’ve got things to do and places to go). The shop was due to open at 3.00 pm, giving us a wait of about three quarters of an hour though actually opened almost immediately (so much for the times on the door!), and in we trooped, lists at the ready. This was also our lunch venue, so serving truck-stop style we fed and watered everyone, packed away the shopping and hit the road.

On arrival at Peri, directions were followed in order to gain access to Casa Di Caccia – a former primary school now owned by the Italian Scout Association and used for the likes of us. This was an involved session between non-Italian speakers and a non-English speaker but once again, with those hand signals and the inevitable raising of the voice which we Brits know is the best way to be understood when you don’t speak someone else’s lingo, we took receipt of the essential bunch of keys and found our temporary home. Herewith followed an amazing flurry of activity in order to unpack the vans (parked a little distance away from the building); choose dormitories; sort toilet/shower accommodation; prepare the dining room; make comfortable the activity room and, for the Leaders, get a meal underway. And what a meal! Chicken by the ton, potatoes, carrots, peas and gravy. Belissimo! Very late, however, so off to bed very soon after.

o O o

That's all for now for Venice.






























































Actually three days later.

At last - some photos!

The chasing I have done for an Internet Point!!
That's the lot for now - program will not allow me to upload anymore for some reason. I will go out of it and try again.
JohnGerald

Ps No doubt you have realised that the postings go from bottom to top.

Sinking!

Where's Gerry?




















A little canal





















Feeding the leaders





















The Grand Canal

Football Match August 12

Day 3 - Sunday, 13 August - "The Martians have landed"

"......... out came the sunshine and dried up all the rain." Must first backtrack to last night - did it rain, or did it rain! Itsy Bitsy Spider knew a thing or two about precipitation and going by last night's downpour so do the Italians. Picture the scene .................... dark, extremely wet, we'd found no supermarket, ergo,no food! We had, though, found our accommodation for that night and the next, so at least we knew we had a bed. (Rather good accommodation, actually, in a collection of chalets, though you may hear moans from some young men that there were no en-suite showers and they had to walk - ooh, at least 50 yards - to have a wash. Despair does not, however, descent on hardened Scouts. 'Be prepared' doesn't just mean having some dry matches in your pocket, it also covers the art of "blague". Our Leader got stuck in with the owner of the on-site restaurant and half an hour later, 29 very hungry Scouts and Leaders were putting away pasta and bread like natives! Every cloud, as they say ..................................

So, on to the next morning, which despite a weather forecast to the contrary, opened with blue skies and sunshine. Today was the day for Venice - what, ho! you might say - more water! True, but this was contained in a series of narrow channels and waterways which criss-cross the city, made passable by the loveliest dome-shaped bridges. The contrast between the Austrian-type scenery we are in and Venice's low-lying structure is quite remarkable and I'm sure even the youngest Scout was impressed by its beauty and age and distinctiveness. What Venice thought about the influx of many green-clad bods I don't know, but it certainly made it easy for us to see each other because the greater majority of the known world was in the city the same day as us! Some of you lucky parents will be receiving wonderful Venetian trinkets from the little darlings and some even luckier parents may not! Tourist gifts, very touristy.

But, you know, as stunning and moving as the architecture and beauty were, I saw a sight which would have brought a tear to the eye of the hardest hearted rogue - the sight of Richard Rogers (yes, dark and brooding Richard) giving comfort and advice to Mr Simcock who has a bordering-on-the-medical compulsion of buying absolute dross. Be vigilant in your caretakership, Mr Rogers. Daniel is a sad case and the Group first aid kit just won't cope!

Back across the Lagoon of Venezia to our evening meal - from the smorgasbord of Venetian culture and finery to the Penycae Scouts smorgasbord of ham, cheese, crusty rolls and all things salady. While Leaders prepared the food, our what we can truly call "water babies" legged it for the pool to dip the toe before supper.

With darkness well descended and tired, but satisfied people bedded down (not to mention well smeared with mozzie repellant), the crickets serenaded us all into a happy state of unconsciousness. Buona notte, sogni d'oro, bambini .................................

................................ o ..............................

Until the storm!

Thunder, lightening and pounding rain in the early hours of the morning. Bring it on! Decimated mosquitoes!







Note from Gerry:

Not possible to download diary (pre-composed on laptop) and photos via Internet point.
So, all of the above re-typed (before we've had our tea!) time now 20:14 and 25k from home.

Will try to find another way to download the many photos we have taken.

Regards.

Day 2 - Saturday, 12 August, 2006 - "The Adventure Begins"

So, Italy in the rain! Just a shower, but weather at the moment certainly not what we've been used to. Arrived at the Youth Hostel rather late, or early, depending how you look at it, but managed to get some shut-eye. Leaders were actually beaten to breakfast by scouts. Wonder how long that will last?

In light of the happenings which threatened our departure yesterday, I am sure you will be wondering how we got on at the airport. Surprisingly fine, is the answer. On arrival we were told our flight was on time, though turned out to be delayed by an hour and forty minutes - mainly because of checking-in queues. Flight was a little bumpy for part of the time and some people weren't too keen on the lightening (don't know why!) - poor Laura Hey's first flight, too, but she coped valiantly. The pilot offered to turn around but, no, she wasn't having any of that and we pressed on to the land of ice cream and pizza.

Great thanks and deep appreciation must, at this point, be given to Dave and Lyn Williams by giving up time from their family holiday to sort out the hire vehicles for us / ferry people and luggage back and forth / explain things to the youth hostel and smoothly guide us to our beds, rather than our having to search in the dark for the place. A badge each for you two!

Back, then, to today. While the hoo haa was going on re: picking up vehicles this morning, some Leaders and Scouts walked the short way into Bergamo and happened upon two young lads playing football. Clearly a universal language without words, our lot peered through the ball-catching netting with hungry looks on their faces - could have been a bit scary for the two unwitting bambinos were it not for Mr Leslie Declan Morris who got stuck in with the pidgin Italian and molto hand signals to ask for a game of footie. Sadly, our Italian youngsters seemed disinclined to share until young Dafydd Williams unpacked the phrase book, the magic words were found and even pronounced, the crowd cheered and the game commenced! Parents be proud. Our lads (as a Leader I feel priviledged to share your parenthood) and one girl - Miss Knight - played a sporting game, drawing-in the two host players to the full. It was a delight to see the sharing of 'high fives' between youngsters who, ten minutes before, had never seen each other.

This event would, of course, have been wonderful copy for - for instance - a two man team of local TV reporters who might have been around, filming for Bergamo television. Did I say 'might'? What, ho, chaps! Your children were filmed live by Bergamo television, going out on air at 7.30 this very night! Local programme on tourism / tourists which could only be brightened by the sight of all those green polo shirts. We'll be in Venice and, sadly, won't be able to tune in, but not a bad start to the 2006 Summer Camp!

We're coming up to the toll on the A4 crossing the North of Italy, not far from Venice, so blogging-off in order to pay.

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Dear Reader, you may remember at my first closing, I said we were about to go through the toll. Didn't I make that sound simple! Have you visited Italy? When you heard "toll" did you give a brief, hollow laugh at my naive statement? Let me fill you in - we have Gerry driving the luggage van and three absolute Amazons chauffeuring the precious cargo in large, unfamiliar vehicles which have the steering wheel/gear lever, etc in quite the wrong places and which we need to keep in convoy whilst coping with driving on the opposite side of the road, signs in an unintelligible language and, of course, other road users. Highway pleasantries? Orderly queues? Smiles through the windows / children playing I-Spy and the like? Not on your nelly! Amazon Fi summed it up. Stock car racing. Not in the mud and foggy dampness of a British Autumn, but stock car racing nonetheless. However, have no fears that your inheritance will have to pass to another offspring - those superwomen coped via driving skills, feminine wiles and natural charm as though no other vehicle had left home that morning! Now we know!

and yet more...

I'm not sure what these knees are doing!