News Archive (Added 29/08/00!)
It nearly drowned "Jinja" Spice

"It was amazing - I'd go again!" That was how a member of the Avon Venture Scouts described white water rafting down the Nile.

Taking a break from the hard work of preparing the camp site at Jinja, members of the Avon Venture Scouts spent the day white water rafting down the river Nile from Jinja. It was said to make the most scary rides at Alton Towers seem like a kiddies roundabout. A year ago Good-Will Ambassador. Ginger Spice capsized and nearly drowned in the falls when she did the same journey down the river.

Avon's Scouts described it as "sheer enjoyment, exhilaration and complete fear!"

No electricity stops the news

A lack of electricity on the camp site at Kaazi has stopped the news getting through. Spike (Chris Foote) PRO for the expedition has been sending the news from his computer and GSM telephone to the UK where it is processed into pages for the Web Site. It seems that electricity from a generator specifically donated for the period of the Jamboree was not available to get this news back to the UK.

Chris, who is presently suffering from an upset stomach said "I am staying on camp today and am determined to acquire some electricity to get the photographs and stories back to the UK".

Hope you are soon feeling better Chris!

News Archive (Added 23/08/00!)
The Mbarara Goat

After the washout of Jinja, the weather was much more clement for the trip way down south. We were lucky to be one of only two teams (the other being Rakai) going south of the equator, so we stopped there for the mandatory photos and a little light lunch.

By the time we reached Mbarara, day-light was fading fast but instead of putting-up camp we were taken straight to the RDC (the President's representative in the area) and then onto a formal reception with all the local dignitaries. We found them all in very smart uniform while we were all covered in Jinja's mud! (red). Did we feel under-dressed? Oh, yes!

Our welcome meal was goat, nice for Bob and Laura (veggies!) and not much better for the rest of us, but the welcome was superb! By this time we had met Pascal, a wind up Ugandan Scout Leader, they wind him up in the morning and he just keeps going and going.

We later found out from a local that everyone, but everyone, knows Pascal, full of energy and a beaming smile. Such a lot of energy for such a small man. Smaller than some of the young Ugandan Scouts.

After a good nights sleep we had to cook on the rather strange (but only to us) charcoal stoves. They are really great once you get the hang of them.

(Ed Each Unit was given a supply of equipment including cooking pots and two charcoal stoves. I doubt that anything like them can be purchased in the UK but they are quite a normal item used for cooking in Uganda and very efficient.)

We spent the first part of the week touring Schools and local offices promoting Scouting and meeting local Scouts. Everywhere we went we had a terrific reception - kids with beaming smiles and singing like you've never heard before - they live with so little but are always happy and welcoming!

Later in the week we were treated to a day of rest, a trip round the local National Park, Lake Mburu. Already we've seen zebras, monkeys, chimps, warthogs, gazelles, eagles AND the back of a leopard - and this wasn't even our official safari!!

Relaxing over and it was back to formality, some more schools, and a formal invitation to join the headmaster of Mbarara High School for dinner (more groundnut sauce Bob?)

I'll leave the rest of the week (Mbarara District Scout Camp) to someone else!

That's all for now

Martin Crew

Photographs just in from Masindi.