Airport life

You know that scene in the film 'Love Actually' when the screen is filled with shots of families reuniting at an airport arrivals gate? The start of the World Conference looked a bit like that as friends from around the world greeted each other. But what happened over the days that followed must surely have been unusual for airport life.

In airports adventures start and adventures end. Travellers say joyful hellos or fond farewells. Focused on the journey ahead or behind, rarely does anyone pause and consider the amazing blend of cultures, languages and perspectives that can be found in an airport at any moment. We did so at the World Conference.

To explain the focus on airports, there was no fresh air between Hong Kong Terminal 1, where our plane landed, and the Conference venue. Whereas most people in an airport are rushing through, we didn't leave it for many days.

If we were hit by cabin fever, it was like no other form I've encountered. With people from 110 countries gathered, the atmosphere was electric. We learnt, we shared, we were inspired. We encouraged each other to imagine more for girls across the world, to build connections inside and outside Guiding and to channel our energies into growing our organisation.

An airport is usually a place of transience but last week Hong Kong Terminal 1 became a home for World Guiding as delegates made decisions that will have a lasting impact. All have now dispersed, many having boarded planes to destinations across the world. They carry with them fantastic memories of airport life, messages to share with those back home about the priorities for the next era of our organisation and renewed excitement about the Guiding journey.

Thank you to all those in Girlguiding who have supported me and the rest of the delegation in our preparations for the World Conference. We'd love to share our Hong Kong stories widely so just let us know if there's anything further we can do to bring our experiences to life for girls in units across the UK.

And finally my sincere thanks to Angela, Helen, Catherine, Laura and Jo for their constant enthusiasm, stamina and for being such excellent ambassadors of Girlguiding UK. We had a lot of fun.

Here are a few final pics from me of some others who shared airport life with us in Hong Kong.