WHEN IT comes to the scouts heavy rain will never stop play, and some watery scenes at Punchestown racecourse yesterday could rival any witnessed in Glastonbury.
The after-effects of rain were an excuse for a bigger party at Jamboree 2008 in Co Kildare, following torrential showers in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Care-free youngsters revelled in the occasional mudslides and mud baths created by the bad weather, committing themselves wholeheartedly to the slippery wet fields dressed only in T-shirts and shorts.
All around the gigantic, colourful carnival campsite, pockets of teenagers were chucking buckets of brown mucky water over each other's heads, as the sun later shone well into the evening.
A few hours earlier, the 12,500 scouts aged between eight and 26 had been greeted with heavy rain that poured down on their tents and in some cases came inside and underneath their cotton and nylon shelters.
"I do like the experience of camping, but it's not nice to wake up to wet weather. The water came right through my sleeping bag and it was really wet," said David Poff (11) from Stillorgan, Co Dublin, who is attending the nine-day jamboree.
Up to 11,000 parents were due to visit their children at the site yesterday, but organisers had asked them not to turn up because of fears that thousands of extra feet would have turned the paths around the campsite into a sticky mess, thereby jeopardising the programme of events for the remainder of the jamboree.
Many parents turned up nonetheless, as they did not hear the morning news bulletins advising guardians not to travel to the venue in Co Kildare.
It is estimated that there were 30mm of rain early yesterday and demand for wellingtons and ponchos was high at the supplies stores on site.
Barbara and Larry Gilligan were on their way back to Swords from a brief holiday in Kilkenny when they called in on their children Eimear (11) and Niall (15). Dry clothes and wellies were the two key provisions ordered by Eimear and Niall.
"They needed a change of clothes and two pairs of wellies as they only had hiking boots," explained Mr Gilligan.
Elsewhere, seasoned scout camp leaders dug trenches by their tents to divert rainwater away and sandbags were used to try and prevent water from entering tents and food halls.
Local scout leaders also closed off pathways around their camps for health and safety reasons.
Alison McKenna (16) from Foxrock in Co Dublin said she was enjoying herself too much to be bothered by the mucky conditions, while Cian Power (12) from Boyle in Co Roscommon was having "gas craic," at the jamboree. But he said he had packed for summer weather and it had "lashed" as he got up yesterday morning.
He also expressed satisfaction with the meals on offer which consisted of "burgers and chips, rolls, spaghetti bolognese, fajitas . . . and for breakfast I had porridge and juice".
Each of the scouts taking part pays €350 to attend the jamboree, but this is subsidised locally if necessary, and the overall cost of the event is €3 million.
Scouting Ireland was keen to have the jamboree in a public venue, compared to previous years when major events were "hidden away" in large greenfield sites, a spokeswoman said.
Jocelyn Goggins (8), a beaver scout from Celbridge, Co Kildare, was at the jamboree for the day and told how she had fun putting her hands into "horrible cold custard" during one of the activities. One beaver scout leader, who declined to be named, complained, though, that she had to queue for a long time to get food for her beaver troop.
Gerry Hickey, a provincial support officer with Scouting Ireland, said scouts just "got on with things", following the morning downpours. Last night those in attendance were treated to a concert by Aslan and The Flaws.