Half a sleep to go!

4am tomorrow my Finnish adventure really begins; I have a lovely early start and a drive up the M6 to Manchester airport before getting my flight.

I've packed and repacked now the bags are finally in my car. I think my parents are glad to be getting rid of me for a bit as mum even did my ironing!

I'll try and blog every day while away so keep reading!
Sleep time now and a photo of my lucky bracelets.

Making A House A Home

It's been the topic of much discussion recently, and rightly so. How are we going to decorate and personalise our tents?

It's not just a way to spot your tent amongst the hundreds on site, but also chance to show which contingent you belong to and display the best (and cheesiest) your country has to offer. Plus it's pretty.

With the vast array of GB merchandise this year, it's been easy to find things to display (and I advise anyone planning on future internationals stock up now!).

Personally, I have opted for a garden. This is not the dubious version that Lizzie McDonald from Foxlease Foxes seemed to imagine!

I have a picket fence to edge my area, a union flag, some bunting, fairy lights and a gnome, amongst other things. I also have a paddling pool, but doubt it will fit on my small lawn! I'm planning to have a washing line strung up between nearby trees (if possible).

But my current pride and joy is my set of GGUK scarecrows. Originally, they were to be made of fabric, but I ended up at work full time. So, taking inspiration from GSA's centenary Flat Juliette project, I drew some scarecrows in GGUK section wear. They will be laminated and mounted on sticks.

Only problem now is how to fit all this in my luggage!!

Nearly there..!

So I'm going a bit Roverway mad! My Year 7s are doing "je vais" (near future) in French and had to create a storyboard / comic to show their summer. I just had to join in.... Can anyone tell where I'm going this summer?!

A Little Girl's Dream

I'm scared.

No, I'm absolutely terrified.

Hang on, let's try this again....

I'm Tracy, one of the Girlguiding IST members for Roverway 2012. I'm slightly addicted to blogging and, when Colette told me there was going to be a Roverway blog, I bounced up and down like an overexcited puppy.

I've always wanted to go on an international event, ever since I was a little girl. As a Brownie, I looked at pictures of the world centres and dreamed of going to Our Chalet or a Guiding trip to Paris. But I never thought it would happen. I watched with envy as Sarah (a girl in my year at school) got selected time and again to go abroad with Scouts. But there were no opportunities offered to Guides. I began to think they just didn't exist.

My Roverway journey began at the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham last year. My Guides were doing a sponsored walk to raise money for Oxfam and we didn't have enough adults. Being a stickler for the rules (it's been said in the past that the manual is my holy book and I pray to the BP family), I roped in some friends to make up numbers.

They were preparing for Jamboree in Sweden and I was sighing wistfully. After the walk, we sat to eat our picnics and Colette said, "You're coming to Roverway, aren't you?' I said yes but never thought it could happen. I didn't think I'd get selected, didn't think I could get time off work, didn't think I could cope with a country where I didn't speak the language or the woodland camping. I didn't think I could afford it, didn't think I'd have my unit's support.

But now I'm here, with four sleeps to go, finally going on the international trip that I've always dreamed of. And I'm terrified!

I'm terrified, but I'm excited too. It's something I've wanted for years and it will test my limits. I will meet new people and learn new skills (avoid my catering area for a few days, until I have got the hang of it and I'm not going to poison you!!) and I'm going to swap lots of pretty badges.

I might be the oldest IST member(at the absolutely prehistoric age of 27!) but I'm just as scared, excited and absolutely reeling as the rest of you!

For the moment, though, I need to finish my washing. Sadly I'm too old to get my mother to pack my bag (though I could do with a kit list!).

The essentials...

Following on from Nets blog I thought I would write about the 'essential' items I am packing.


Ipod - with multiple playlists; Best of British (Classical), Best of Britpop, Cheese, Impromprtu rave, Sleepy time and Chill out. Plus speakers so this can be shared! 


Red & Blue nail varnish, for patriotic nails.


Pink and Blue UV rave paint - for the 80s theme disco!


Face paints


Glitter eyeliner, brilliant on top of facepaint!


240 Yorkshire Tea Bags


Tea Pot


Two tea cosys & a tea pot stand


Two large boxes of chocolate


A laptop (For blogging!)


My mascot teddy Elizabeth




Now will it all fit in my bag?!


Colette x

Our first guest blogger...

Over to Net, one of the 15 IST members from the Girlguiding UK Contingent.

Well. You might have gathered from Colette's post that it's Roverway in less than a week. This has only just dawned on me. Two weeks ago, I wasn't very excited about Finland, because I hadn't realised JUST HOW CLOSE IT WAS. Now I am very excited! Apparently I'm the last of the Girlguiding UK contingent to arrive in Finland, which is probably a good job, because here's a list of things I have to do for Roverway before I leave:

Things to buy:

- a new water bottle

- a sleeping bag liner

- a rucksack cover

- something that I have definitely forgotten

- British flags etc.

Things to pack:

- Everything

Things to find:

- my passport!

- My EHIC card

Other Stuff to do:

- Work out which bags to take

- Work out how to fit everything into my bag

- Change Pounds to Euros

- Book a coach to the airport

And here's a list of things I am doing before Roverway which don't involve Finland at all:

- Going Ape with my friends that I met at Sangam, including Claire who is Australian and I won't see very much at all!

- Work (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday)

- Sorting out my new Ranger unit which I'm starting in September

- Talking to the bank about Rangers

- Sorting out the camp for next August that I'm Activities Manager for!

There are probably plenty of other things for me to cram into my week, but I'm really quite excited about Finland, and I'm not sure whether I'm going to be able to concentrate on much else after this weekend! Can't wait to see everyone there, and to get to wear the IST hats! You are all going to be SO jealous when you see the photos of them!

More updates soooon!

Net x

Introducing Alexa - Contingent Rover Representative

Rover Reps Meeting - August 2011

In August 2011 Alexa Hamblett, our Rover Representative, travelled to Finland to help plan the programme for Roverway in 2012. Here is her report:

"Between 26th-28th August myself and representatives from 8 other countries spent the weekend in Finland in order to discuss different elements of Roverway and also allow us to sample Finnish culture. We were given the opportunity to look around the campsite on the Friday which sits in the middle of one of the largest continuous forested areas in southern Finland, and is the recreational forest of the local town of Hämeenlinna. I think that it shall provide a brilliant new experience as we shall be camping in-between trees rather than on open fields like most people will be used to.

On the Saturday we spent several hours discussing different elements of Roverway, as the planning committee wanted our opinion on their recent decisions and future plans.  After spending time looking at how social media will be used to help participants and their Patrols bond with other international groups in their Tribe, we also discussed the Roverway Momentum
project which patrols shall carry out after the camp finishes. More information about which can be found atRoverway.fi/momentum.

During the camping stage all participants will have the opportunity to take part in activities themed around water, nature, creativity, self, and others. What will be great about Roverway is the amount of input we were able to contribute towards to planning of these participant activities, as all of our discussions about our own/organisations favourite activities were
recorded both on paper and on video. Hopefully the participation of both myself and other youth representatives shall ensure that everyone will find something to involve themselves in that they will enjoy.

One of the most prominent experiences of the weekend was the generosity and friendly attitude of our Finnish hosts. On the Sunday we had the chance to talk to Finnish Rovers who were all very excited to take part in Roverway and to meet all the international participants, which assured me that we shall all receive a warm welcome in July!"