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The Brownies and Guides had fun designing and making peg dolls for Rolleston Gala and as there was no competition they won all the prizes and a Highly Commended award. Judging must have been very hard as they designed such lovely outfits for the dolls. They enjoyed their summer camps and Vanessa completed her Going Away qualifications. Several of the girls took part and scored goals in a Guiding Football Tournament held at the Pirelli Stadium in October. Plans are already in hand for camps next year and for the 2018 Staffordshire International Camp. We will have to do some serious fundraising.
It’s only Half Term as I’m writing this, but the Brownies have already had a welcome back games evening, held a Promise Evening, decorated some biscuits with very pretty designs and invited a friend to a meeting. After running out of time in the summer term the Seasons’ badge was finally completed with a honey tasting session (wildflower honey was the favourite) and visiting the Jinny Trail where a few of the Cosmos that they sowed and the Guides had to plant were still flowering. Clive and Rosemary Baker told them all about the on-going work that was being carried out.
Several Brownies moved up to Guides in September and we now have Guides of all ages and are the largest Guide unit in Burton Division. Six girls are working towards the Baden Powell Award, the highest award in the Guide section. Meetings have been varied. They have made friendship bracelets, listened to and watched Vanessa’s Queen’s Guide presentation about her Explorer section, completed the unfinished Go For Its from the summer term and had great fun completing five sections of the Communicator badge which will also be used for part of the Baden Powell Challenge.
After half term all the girls will have made tree decorations for the Advent Festival. The Brownies will have made owl badges and Sticky Fingers will be helping with craft work. A member of the YMCA will be coming to tell the Guides about their work and the Food Bank collections. Then we will have had a weekly food bank collection at both Brownies and Guides until the last meeting of term. The B P Guides will be giving short talks and organising games for the other girls, there are Christmas cards and decorations to make and the traditional Guide Mince Pie delivery to elderly people who live alone in the village. As usual we’ll end the term with parties and as we’ve discovered that Brownies and Guides were in the village in 1926 it will be another 90th celebration.
There are still vacancies in both Guide and Brownie Units although with a few more Brownies approaching Guide age, the Guides could be full soon.
Both units have had a busy term which started by planning for the Scout Group Pageant and spent an evening decorating Field Maple branches to make trees. Most of the Brownies dressed up as forest animals ‘hiding’ behind their tree. Brownies found out about different Spring customs and their origins, then looked for signs of Spring for the Seasons Badge. Only the older Brownies completed the summer section as we ran out of meetings.
The Guides planned their term’s Go For It activities but also ran out of evenings so they will have to complete next term.
The Brownies held an indoor Street Party to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday and over seventy parents, children, Burton Guiding leaders as well as the Mayor, her consort and chauffeur enjoyed themselves.
The Guides held a ‘Royal’ fancy dress meeting with some very recognisable costumes. In April the girls sowed Cosmos seeds and in June we planned to plant them at the Jinny Trail but the weather beat us and the Guides planted them all and clearing lots of weeds.
We’ll try an early September meeting there for the Brownies. If you haven’t been up there recently do go for a stroll along the Jinny trail during the holiday.
Fortunately, ‘Gardens’ Sunday’ didn’t involve gardening and we produced a Brownie Barrow full of tissue paper Brownie Barmy Blooms and a large tub of plastic Guide Barmy Badges. Looking forward to late August and Rolleston Gala the girls designed and dressed peg dolls and we hope that some of them will make entries for other classes during the holidays. Brownies’ indoor activities included learning different dances and two evenings practicing Circus skills and watching the Magic Man.
The Guides cut out material for bunting for the Mayor’s Charity tea party (it still has to be measured!) and enjoyed a games evening using the cricket equipment ‘bought’ with the 2015 Sainsbury’s vouchers. Hopefully, if the weather is fine, on last evening the Guides will try some Geocaching.
Brownies and Guides have completed interest badges individually and as a group. The Guide unit is growing and taking part in local and county activities. The Rolleston team competed in the Staffordshire Wipe Out or Win Challenge completing eighteen challenges including watery ones, rolling out fire hoses and identifying finger prints helped by Staffordshire University Criminology department. The leaders had their own tasks earning their team more points. Although Rolleston didn't win, the Guides had a great day and are looking forward to the rematch next year! During the first week of the summer holiday they will be taking part in the Burton Division camp, with a Zoo Theme and visiting Twycross Zoo.
Vanessa completed her Queen’s Guide Exploration. With friends she explored the town and area around Aberystwyth, went surfing, and investigated the Cambrian coast line by train. Life is very busy as she has now been appointed Assistant Division Commissioner for Burton, as the Guide and Senior Section Advisor.
Finally, many thanks to families and friends who collected Sainsbury’s for us this year. We have ordered a parachute for the Guides and some more indoor games equipment for both units.
Delia Wyers
In February all the girls took part in activities connected with Thinking Day, the joint birthday of Lord and Lady Baden-Powell who founded the Scout and Guide movements. We thought about ourselves, our Guiding Units, our Community and our World, and the Guides decorated a Thinking Day tea light holder. Burton Guide Association held a very busy Thinking Day fund-raising Breakfast at Brook House. Thank you to everyone who turned up and apologies to those who waited very patiently for what was almost lunch.
The Brownies spent three weeks designing, sewing and framing a button pattern on felt and made Mother’s Day cards, playing lots of their favourite games for the remainder of the evenings. Everyone completed the winter section of the seasons’ badge and we will be continuing with spring and summer this term. I am told that the bird puddings didn’t hang around for long.
The Guide patrols enjoyed activities from Go For Its, Experiment, Five Senses and Healthy Eating. Two of the girls organised a Chinese New Year evening with games and food as part of their Baden-Powell Challenge Award and our Young leader led another evening of games and activities. Congratulations to one Guide who produced enough different crafts in one term to gain three Craft Interest Badges whilst at the same time completing the Animal Lover’s badge. On the last meeting of term the Guides met up with Stapenhill Guides for a camp fire at the Orchard camp site at Tatenhill. It was too wet to have it outside but the Guides enjoyed an Easter Egg hunt in the dark during a lull in the rain.
The whole unit took part in the Chocolate Interest Badge. They had a Fair Trade Chocolate tasting evening, comparing the % of Fair Trade chocolate in different brands and cost against taste. The most expensive didn’t always win. They designed a game involving chocolate and invented a chocolate based product, a wrapper and an advert for it and finally had a drinking chocolate and chocolate products tasting evening. Their different taste preferences were very interesting.
In the Easter holiday Rolleston Brownies and Guides went to Cadbury’s World, partly funded by a donation from Stretton Co-op who nominated the Brownies as their Charity last year. They all enjoyed the day learning about the history of chocolate and Cadbury’s, a 4D experience and a train ride through ‘Beanville’ village where chocolate bean people were enjoying themselves playing, gardening and even skiing!
Finally, our congratulations to Vanessa who has completed her Guide Leadership and her Brownie Pack Holiday Licence. There are more awards to come in the very near future.
Guides and Brownies have lots to look forward to and will be very busy this term. The Guiding May Fair, Rolleston Carnival, a party for the Queen, Gardens’ Sunday and a Guide camp are just a few things to keep us all busy. We just need fine weather to do everything planned outside!
Both Units completed their decorations for the Advent Trees. Although there were several trees depicting the Snowman and the Snowdog (Brownies) and the Polar Express (Guides) they were all very different and creative. All the Brownies’ Snowmen were off to the North Pole to enjoy the Fair and have fun with Snowmen from all over the world whilst the children on the Polar Express enjoyed hot chocolate from the decorative teacups as the train climbed steadily up the track to the top of the Christmas tree. At the last meetings of term the Brownies enjoyed their usual party but were disappointed that Santa could not visit this year and the Guides delivered mince pies to elderly people in the village before inviting parents to join them for mulled wine and mince pies. Both groups spent an evening making Christmas cards.
We have only had two meetings since Christmas and have done very little but have lots of plans for fun during the rest of the year! Several new girls joined Brownies last term but there are vacancies now as five Brownies as well as three new girls have joined Guides.
There will be a County Brownie Strictly Sparkly Sleepover for 700 including leaders, based at the Blackpool Tower Ballroom in September visiting four attractions and having a dancing lesson and competition!!
The Brownies will be continuing with the Seasons’ Badge making bird pudding mixture to put on fir cones and fluorescent strips and tags for their clothes and bags for the dark evenings. The girls have suggested things they could do with the Stretton Charity collection money and we shall start organising the most popular ideas later this term.
The Guides now have aqua neckers with a raspberry edge, purchased with some of the proceeds from the coffee morning organised for us by the WI last year. Two Guides have now started their Baden Powell Challenge and we are looking forward to their first activity when they will both take over a meeting to celebrate all things Chinese for the Chinese New Year. The patrols are busy organising their Go For Its for the term. GFI Experiment and Five Senses seem very popular again and the Chocolate Interest Badge has again been selected for the unit. At the end of the term we hope to have a campfire at the Orchard campsite and plans are being made for a weekend Guide camp to enable Vanessa to get her Guide camp licence.
Delia Wyers.
Last updated: 30 November 2016