Meeting on 20th July 2000

Uniform

The boys will not be required to wear full uniform for the journey. We will however ask that group T-shirts will be worn. Kandersteg request that the boys arrive in uniform. We will stop about 45mins before we get to Kandersteg so the boys will have time to change into there uniform, we will have to make shore that they have there uniform with them in there day sack on the coach not in there main baggage.

Communications

We do have the leaders mobile phones with us that will work in Switzerland.

We do also have a troop ‘pay as you go’ phone that will work in Switzerland.

You will be issued with the numbers in case you need to get hold of us in an emergency however we do ask that these numbers are used only for emergency as it will cost us to receive calls when abroad. (The other alternative is to use text messaging from your mobile phone, as it will not cost us to receive text messages)

Our home contact for the week will be Chris Charge. Our method of communicating any changes will be via a communication tree which the first person will be called and that person will relay the message to 2 other people and then those 2 will relay the message to 2 other people each and so on. This will be given to you shortly.

We also have 5 radios that we will be taking over with us so that if the boys do go out and about on the site they can take a radio with them so that we can keep in contact.

Pick up and Drop off

We will be picked up from the Scout Hut at approximately 3:30pm on 11^th August. We then make our way down to Euston, London to meet the rest of the scouts that will be travelling over with us on the coach.

We will be dropped off at the Scout Hut at around 10:00am on Sunday 20^th August.

Journey

We will have regular refreshment stops during the journey. You will also have the option to pre-book a meal both on the outward and return journey.

Food

Boys can take sweets to eat on the coach but Venture abroad have asked that picnic meals should not be eaten on the coach.

Boys will have the opportunity to purchase food on the ferry as well as stops on the way.

We are leaving at 3:30 so boys will have already had dinner and they will have the opportunity to purchase food on the ferry at 7:00pm. We have booked breakfast when we arrive in Switzerland, which will cost around £4.

On the journey back we will be leaving Kandersteg in the morning and travelling to Thun where we will spend the afternoon. We will then be stopping in Colmar in France in the evening where we will have an evening meal, which will cost £7.00.

Tentage

We will have tents already erected on the campsite for us. Venture Abroad cannot confirm what tents we will be having until near the date but it is likely to be 1 two bed roomed frame tent for the leaders, 1 bell tent sleeping 6 boys and a selection of 2 man tents. This can be change when we get there to suit our requirements, as there is other tentage available.

Equipment

We will be provided will all cooking equipment and utensils. The boys will require their own cutlery and plates.

Attached is a copy of a kit list we have put together with recommendations of what we think they should take.

Bedding

A sleeping bag and carry mat is required.

Clothing

Switzerland has on average more sunshine than we do in the British Isles. The average early afternoon temperature during the summer is about 75 F. However, as in any mountainous region the weather can change from one day (or even hour) to the next.

Furthermore, there can be great differences in temperature according to altitude.

Consequently, we recommend that you are equipped for all eventualities. We suggest that in addition to summer clothing each person brings 

-                     A raincoat, cape, anorak or other garment providing good overall protection.

-                     A warm pullover or sweater.

-                     At least one pair of thick socks.

-                     A good strong pair of comfortable shoes suitable for hill walking.

Baggage labels

You will be supplied with baggage labels and you will need to fill in the details before you leave.

Money

I made a visit into Natwest to see how they would recommend taking the boys money over to Switzerland. They described it as a ‘Logistical Nightmare’.

We will have a camp bank and we will hold the money for the boys and they will be able to take money out on a daily basis.

The leaders have worked out several ways of how we would like the money to be taken.

We have set a limit of £100 pocket money. The boys will require around 75 French Francs with them for the meal on the journey home. The boys will also need around £4 in Swiss Francs for there breakfast on the way their.

What we would recommend that you do with any pocket money, is to hand it over to the leaders in the next 2 weeks and we can then get the money exchanged into ways that we feel most comfortable in carrying it. We can then insure that the boys have money in the correct currency and we can take the bulk of it in swiss travellers cheques. We can get the money-exchanged commission free.

You can however get the money exchanged yourself. We will however ask that the money is given to us in cash as the boys will not get a chance to get travellers cheques exchanged as the service crew will be doing this while the boys are out on activities.

Please note that you will be issued with a statement at the end of the week, which will show the exchange rates when it was transferred, and the Deposits and withdrawals throughout the week and any bank charges endured on getting the travellers cheques exchanged.

The Site

The site is fully booked for the week that we are there, so their will be an estimated 1200 people on site from all over the world. The boys will be encouraged to meet with other groups from around the world and will be able to go around the camp in their free time.

There are certain rules on the site, which we will go through with the boys beforehand.

One rule that may give you peace of mind when your son is around the site with other groups is that alcohol is banned on site and anybody found with any will be banned from the site.

Activities

We have booked many activities over the week and I’m sure that when you look at the programme you will agree that the boys will not be bored. I think that the first couple of days are going to be tiring for the boys as they will literally be non stop with activities.

Trained staff at the site run all of the activities.

We have booked a coach trip out to visit a glacial waterfall, which is described to be breathtaking.

We will be stopping in the town of Thun on our journey back for around 5 hours so we are unsure what we will do there but we are planning to find out when we get to Kandersteg what activities we can do in Thun.

Insurance

All paid for and we have got a copy of the policy document. If you have any questions regarding the insurance then please ask.

Awards

There are awards that we can go for when we are at Kandersteg and we have planned the programme to do all of the activities needed to qualify for the awards.