I've been a member of Girlguiding UK in North West England for a number of years. I originally joined when I was just 6, almost 7 years as a Brownie in Thelwall, near Warrington - it was in Lancashire then but is now known as Cheshire. I loved it in Brownies. My Brown Owl was the vicar's daughter at the time Judith Biggin. I have never met her since she moved out of the area. I was a Fairy Sixer towards the end.
Remember learning to balance on upended flower pots and moving them across the floor ... great achievement when one wore NHS glasses that had "jam jar lid lenses"!! Remember learning some songs ... Animal Fair ... Red Men (this is considered racist now) and the canoe song which was lovely but with my barth voice I now sing it under my breath ... don't want to hurt my neighbour's ears with my tone deaf voice!!
I then progressed to Guides but didnt stay long - about 6 months! We met in Baden Lodge in Thelwall near the old Post Office. I believe its still in use today some fifty years later with the scouts but the guides meet in the Parish Hall which is near-by.
And then went onto Rangers which met in Lymm then but again that didnt last long but for my service I helped out at the local brownie pack which I did enjoy ............. so roll on when I married and had children of my own and put their names down for Beavers, Cubs and Scouts and then the Rainbows were started in 1987 and my daughter started as soon as she was 5 years old ... a bossy little madam she was as well .. and hasn't changed 25 years later on ... but I digess. She went into Brownies, then Guides, then left around 13 and then joined the Venture Scouts when 15 and left after a year ...
However I was roped into her Brownie pack as a parent helper when Lisa was 7 years old and after a year I was asked to go into uniform. I probably would have left if I hadnt been asked as I was getting bored in turning up but being used as a general dog's body. After a year I was warranted and then decided I wanted to know about Guides and moved onto the next unit for experience. I was there about a couple of years and was offered the Brown Owl leadership out of the blue and accepted there and then. The Guide Captain was sorry to see me go but understood as my daughter was joining Guides it was better if I went as we didnt get on well!!
So ... from there I went to Brownies and then back to Guides after a few years and then back to Brownies. Roll on 17 years ... and I am still a Guide Leader with the original Guide unit in Golborne with a new leader team. Spookily the assistant leader with me now was the Brown Owl in the original Brownie unit ... we have come full circle and rekindled our friendship once again. Its almost as if we have kept in touch without any breaks as we seem to read each other's minds at times and quite often say snap!
All my children have grown up, left the nest and moved on too. But am delighted to say that I will shortly - well next May 2013 and to be exact the 13th - be a nannie for the first time ... I wonder will Lisa's baby be female or male and whether she will insist that they join one of the uniformed organisations eventually .....!
So today ... my assistant and my boating friend Jane and another leader met to look at a holiday house that we will be taking some of our guides to for their first indoor holiday weekend ... our theme is "Tinsel & Turkey" which translates as Christmas with party food and games, decorating the tree, hanging our stockings up, opening presents around the tree, making gingerbread men and houses, eating chrissy dinner, having a sing song and then packing up on the Sunday and cleaning the house out before making one sugarpaste polar bear and then waving good byes. Along the way we hope to have lots of fun and laughter - and co-operation of course from them when we ask them to do the washing-up!!
As well as guiding, I also narrowboat. I got the bug in 2004 when as a guide leader a guide offered us her father's narrowboat to take the guides out. I and my co assistant wanted to know more about narrowboating before we took the guides out and it took me about a year to find someone who would accept us on her training weekend.
In the event, it took me 18 months to get my licence and then another 18 months to act as crew before I and friends felt we were brave enough to go it alone. From 2007 when we held our first guide weekend afloat we have gone from strength to strength becoming known as Bridgewater Boaters and training others with our enthusiasm.
Next Easter will be the first time I havent been away with Brownies in about 5 years and as my husband works in retail and only has easter sunday off, I'm slightly at a loss as to what to plan to do. My friend Jane and I have decided that we want to go away on a different canal on a smaller boat for the weekend. Our problem at the moment is finding a suitable boat at a suitable price and a suitable canal because the Trent & Mersey has a BIG and I do mean BIG hole in the canal .... suitable boat as we are use to hiring a charity boat which is alot cheaper than the usual hire boat and suitable price it WILL be more expensive but can we afford it between just 4 or 6 of us!
Apparently there are no boats that we can hire at Scarisbrick or Rufford Marina but to try Burscough we have been told ................. so Jane has promised me that she will ring them - next week!
To be continued ............
