An early start found me heading back on the subway to the airport and from there on to Japan. Korea is a great place. The people are so polite. What other country would have a visitor’s last memory be the ground crew at the airport all bowing and then waving as the plane taxis away?…
The show was not high quality drama, but it was enormous fun. There was a full house, made up mainly of Koreans but with a smattering of foreigners, including a party of Russian teenagers. The lights went down and we were treated to two hours of music making using kitchen implements, a large amount of…
Monday is the day off for the tour companies in Seoul, so I decided to see the city by foot. I now have sore feet. I started the day by deciding that I couldn’t possibly leave the city without having a run. The park where the Seoul Tower is situated is close to the hotel,…
I visited the Non Militarised Zone on the border with North Korea this morning, on an organised tour. (Note to self: Don’t strike up a conversation with any American lady on a tour bus, in case she wants to spend the rest of the morning telling you her life story). The Zone was fascinating. We…
I left Jeju with a bit of a heavy heart. It’s a beautiful island and everyone has been so kind. Simon and his team really did organise a superb conference. Even at the airport we were carefully looked after and shepherded through formalities… In fact, it was all considerably easier than any early morning flight…
The last day of any Scout World Conference is always spent dealing with the very many resolutions that are created over the course of the week and today was no exception. I sat at the back of the conference hall and listened to our various delegations from around the world set the priorities for World…
That’s what it was called – an evening celebration, put on by the organisers of the World Scout Conference, to help us all enjoy the culture of the island and South Korea generally. What a wonderful evening. I sat at a table with many of the Australian delegation, some of whom are very old friends….
The beginning of the day was fairly nerve racking, but the result of the vote, announced just before lunch, was tremendous. I am to serve on the World Scout Committee for a period of six years. Thanks to everyone who has written over the past few months in support of my candidature – and to…
Aidan and I spent the day campaigning for my election to the World Scout Committee, ably supported by the rest of the UK delegation. This evening I made my 3 minute election speech to the conference. 1,000 delegates heard me say the following: “I can still remember my first hike as a Scout. I was…
I have spent most of the day talking to people about what I would hope to do if elected to the World Scout Committee. This included a hustings session held in an area of the conference centre where the air conditioning was less than efficient. My shirt ended up sticking to me in a rather…
