27.07.13 Seals and a soaking!

We started our day with a bus journey to pick up the girls from the stops outside their Homestay houses, then drove to an Open Air Museum near to the Baikal Lake. The Museum has been made up of original Irkutsk region building - made completely out of wood. Many of the buildings were taken down carefully from where they were built up to 100 years ago and transferred to the Museum to be rebuilt. We all had great fun running in and out of the houses and also tried our hand at some Russia games including stilt walking and Tug-of-War (just for the record, in UK vs Russia the UK came out on top!) We ate our lunch next to a very picturesque scene on the River that flows out of Lake Baikal - we even dipped out feet in, just! After the Museum we moved towards the lake and went to the Lake Baikal Centre which was incredibly interesting - did you know that the main resident species of Fish inthe Lake are made up of 40% fat to enable them to withstand the cold and high pressures of the depths of the Lake? However the highlight of the centre has to be the 2 very chubby Baikal seals who live at the centre!has The final part of our day was spent at the markets on the edge of the Lake, some selling souvenirs, lots selling pistachios and pulses and also the food market. Having been challenged by the Russians we went to a fish stall and bought 3 smoked fish, caught fresh from the Lake. Much ti the Russians disappointment, everyone in the group very much enjoyed the fish and some of us went one step further and tried the raw version that was produced by Maxim (from Homestay )! Unfortunately during our fish eating session, we were rudely interrupted by a huge wave from the lake, caused by the wake of a speed boat which resulted in some very soggy shoes! After a long day with a lot of walking we settled back on the bus and drove home, pretty tired and looking forward to another good nights sleep!

26.07.13 Vanessa and Sophie's day out

We were picked up from the airport by our family and were driven to the flat where we would be staying. It felt very good to no longer be on a plane! Once we had unpacked, had a wash and eaten we were taken for a walk around the city. We were shown a lot of the historical monuments that they have such as a war memorial and statues that were made for an anniversary of the city. We definitely sympathised with a statue of a man who had been travelling for a very long time and was now staring in shock at the beauty of the city! Our host took us to a youth club where we met some of her friends, relaxed and played  games.

We also went down to the river bank and found a lot of engraved padlocks which had been placed their by many couples. We also saw  a lot of brides (apparently Friday is a very popular day because they can spend weekends together).  We went to some museums.  We visited one that showed how physics works through hands-on activities and one where we learnt about some of the history the region. Both were very interesting and fun!

After a rest we had dinner with our hosts which included chicken, pineapple, cheese and potatoes followed by strawberries and ice cream. 

To end the day we planned to go and see the cities fountains which light up at night but it was wet so we are hoping to go again when it's drier.

26.07.13 Irkutsk (maybe)

Well, we've made it to Irkutsk and met our hosts who we were very pleased to see.

After two uneventful flights we whizzed through immigration which was a stark contrast to our visa application. We were very impressed with the Russian efficiency!

It was then on to our third and what we assumed would be our final flight of the day. However, due to fog at Irkutsk we were diverted to a different airport, Ulan Ude Buraytia. Not being totally fluent  in Russian yet we didn't actually realise we weren't at Irkutsk! We managed to find a lovely lady sporting an Oxford University tshirt who explained everything to us. Not long after we were herded back on to the plane and twenty minutes later we'd arrived.

25.07.13 Donuts at 4am

The leaders have hijacked the blog! The girls have asked us not to share their diet with their parents but we couldn't pass up the opportunity to grass them up for eating donuts at 4am!!!

25.07.13 An impromptu visit to Germany

24.07.2013 Time to fly...

We all met up at Manchester airport with our families, leaving plenty of time for distributing group kit and saying our final farewells. Once our baggage had been checked in and families had been hugged goodbye we set off to security and beyond! Fortunately we easily found a space to set up camp in and were free to explore the sights and sounds of duty free (which mainly involved finding something to eat!)

Everything went well on the flight and we even got free food! We finally arrived at Dusseldorf to discover it was night time!!!  After making friends with Ronald McDonald we went in search of his fine establishment and treated ourselves to a Happy Meal - Alison and Naomi are clearly much more 'mature' than the rest of us as they didn't get the child friendly boxes!

Donation - The Kays Medical Group

We'd like to say a massive thank you to The Kays Medical Group for agreeing to support our trip by providing an international first aid kit and emergency dental kit.  We are very much hoping that we will not need to use either of these items but knowing we have them with us in case we need them will definitely put Naomi's mind at rest as First Aider.

The company have a massive range of first aid products suitable for camps or just general meeting places http://www.kaysmedical.com/

FabFest 2013

In June we had the opportunity to get together one last time before we travel (this time with Vanessa too!)

One third of the sweets and drinks bought for the weekend!

We had the opportunity of running a tuck shop catering for over 1000 Guides, Senior Section and Guiders at FabFest which took place in Cheshire.

Alison and Naomi had great fun shopping for the event spending LOTS of money on sugar and then trying very hard not to eat and drink it all in the days leading up to the event - they did manage to succeed though!


Our amazing challenge badge...we still have some
to sell so get in touch if you're interested :)


We had very mixed weather during the weekend with blazing sunshine at the start and a torrential downpour at the end - wet tents(!)  This was our last big push for fundraising and we were really pleased to be able to sell some of our Challenge badges and friendship knots as well as all of the sugary goodness.


This was our last meeting before the airport so it was really good that the whole team could be together.  We spent some of the weekend asking the girls attending what Guiding meant to them and getting them to share some of their favourite camp songs for a video we're hoping to take to Russia with us.  We also perfected our group version of the Cup Song so that we have something we can share with the Russian Girl Scouts :)

Pax Lodge April 2013

Sophie, Olivia (and Monkey), Emily, Hannah, Naomi and Alison

It's taken us a little while to update the blog because we have all been busy with exams and new jobs :)  However, in April, six of us went to Pax Lodge in London for our final planning weekend.  Unfortunately Vanessa couldn't be with us as she was off gallivanting on her DofE expedition - we definitely had it easier!

Visiting CHQ!

During the weekend we got to see the Changing of the Guard and visit GGUK CHQ where we all bought our international neckerchiefs and badges.  We also managed to complete the Pax Lodge Challenge Badge and even got a bit crafty making Cath Kidston style lavender bags to use for fundraising.


We managed to fit in some general sightseeing too as some of the group had not been to London before.  Our visit to M&M world was the only downside as the machine to tell us which M&M we are was broken.  We also managed to find Platform 9 3/4 which Naomi got very excited about!  Our sightseeing ended with a trip to Angel tube station because Alison really wanted to go on the very steep escalator - she regretted this quite quickly!



Disappointment at M&M world :(

Alison wasn't very impressed by her big idea
once she got on the escalator!

For some of us Pax Lodge gave us our first real taste of International Guiding when we took part in the morning flag ceremony with Guiders from several different countries.  We're quite excited about what the international experiences in Russia will bring.

Taking part in the morning energizer at flag break with Guiders from
around the world.