I completed my Silver and Gold award in the 1980's and was lucky enough to be selected to attend the International Gold Award Training (IGAT) in the Caribbean in 1987. I met fellow leaders/volunteers from around the world. We attended a week of training sessions in Barbados, which just happened to coincide with the annual Crop Over festival. ...think Notting Hill Carnival! Then a memorable 100km expedition around St. Vincent, which involved cutting our way through undergrowth, coming across some very questionable "crops" with armed guards, sleeping in old plantation houses, showering under outside taps, and swimming for several miles along the coast after the coastal path had recently collapsed into the sea. We spent a day climbing into the then dormant crater of La Soufriere volcano, which erupted yesterday, 10th April 2021. Whilst in St. Vincent we attended a reception at the High Commission, and also met Prince Edward.

The third week was spent sailing through the Grenadines, island hopping and exploring, and our final week was in Grenada.

It was an amazing opportunity. I learnt things about myself in terms of endurance, survival and leadership. I met like minded young people from around the world, and I'm still in touch with some to this day. I was lucky enough to be in Australia over Christmas 2019, and spent Christmas Day with the family of an Australian attendee. I gave him back his participant T shirt he had swapped with me before we left, 33 years before.

My 3 children have gone onto gain Bronze, Silver and Gold awards themselves. It is always the training and the actual expeditions that they tell stories about the most.