Words by Rohan Tootell
During the 26th Australian Jamboree in Maryborough, the whole town seemed to come alive with excitement, especially as 10,000 extra visitors—Scouts from all over Australia and the world—arrived. Many local businesses, like ‘Not Another Coffee Shop’, quickly jumped in to support and welcome the Scouts.
Andrew, the owner of Not Another Coffee Shop, never expected the Scouts to be walking around the town. "I thought they’d just stay at the showgrounds and do their thing," he said. But when Andrew and his partner Bec saw the first group of Scouts walking down the street, they realised things were different. One of the Scouts looked a bit lost and thirsty, so Andrew’s "dad mode" kicked in. He and Bec immediately made sure that every Scout passing by had their hats on and their water bottles filled with colder water than what they could get elsewhere.
As they chatted with the Scouts, they heard one name pop up over and over: "Who’s Dudley?" Andrew and Bec were curious now too. The Scouts were talking about a clue to find out who Dudley was, so Andrew decided to join the search. He started asking Scouts for more clues, hoping to crack the mystery of Dudley along with them.
Before long, Andrew and Bec started to feel like part of the action. One day, they were given a badge for being so friendly to one of the Units. Andrew decided to put the Unit’s number on the shop’s board, so more Scouts could see it as they passed by and talk about their group’s adventures. The board become a little tradition as more and more Scouts started to walk by, chatting, and signing the board.
The duo were overwhelmed with the badge swapping phenomenon, with kids giving them badges for helping them out. They even started to sew some onto their hats, and said they were looking at putting in a permanent reminder above the door after Jamboree was finished.
Andrew and Bec, although new to the world of Scouting, learnt more each day. They even extended the café’s hours to make sure the Scouts had plenty of water to keep hydrated. Andrew started handing out Zooper Doopers and though he had to charge 50 cents to cover costs, the kids loved it.
Andrew then had a funny surprise. A Unit of Scouts came saying they are going to buy tutus while they were in town. They looked at Andrew and said, "You need one too?" Without missing a beat, Andrew replied, “Let’s go!” The Scouts were shocked, as Andrew accepted their invitation to join them tutu shopping, where he picked up a tutu for Bec and himself, which they wore for the remainder of Jamboree, joining in on the fun.
During the first week of Jamboree, a group of Scouts told Andrew they had no visitors coming on visitors’ day, so they invited him to come see their Unit. Without hesitation, Andrew and Bec jumped online that evening to register for the day. They came to the Visitors Day on Saturday where they caught up with some regulars and the Units that invited them, who were thrilled to see them. Andrew and Bec were amazed by the size of Jamboree and all the things at the showground, and picked up some supplies to help them fit in the next week.
So if you are in the Maryborough area again make sure you head on past Not Another Coffee Shop and say hi to Andrew and Bec.
