Brownies incident stopped me singing, starting to see how messed up it was.

No, I think you need to take it to a much higher level if you want to truly be a winner in variety entertainment.

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You were let down, not by the judges but by being allowed to get up there while not being good enough yet. You should not have for that badge on the day; you should have been helped to prepare for the badge

Have you considered joining a choir as most don't expect members to audition and singing in a group is a lot of fun.

But maybe if adults had been honest with x factor growlers when they were children, they wouldn't hear jow bad they ate it in front of millions on national tv.
I can't sing and recited a comic monologue for my entertainer badge. Tnis is why young people jave no resilience now.

I haven't sung in public other than pee taking since primary either as back in the seventies they were selecting for the choir, and bopped us on the head if we didn't pass. I was bopped and the clear message was to never to sing again.

@Goditsmemargaret I have a very similar story! I joined the choir in Y5 and was told very bluntly by a bigger girl that my singing was flat (I didn’t know what flat meant). That knocked my confidence, so I told the music teacher I wanted to leave the choir, and she said, “maybe that would be for the best, dear.”

I didn’t sing in public for YEARS after that; I would even mime to ‘happy birthday’. But when I had my son four years ago, it felt very natural to sing to him. I also didn’t want him to grow up wondering why I never joined in with all the other mummies and daddies at groups etc.

Now I’m much more confident, and my voice is actually a lot better through increased use! I’m not a good singer by any means, but I can more or less hold a tune and I also give much less of a shit what other people think when they hear me.

When we did this badge at Brownies, we divided into two groups and each spent a couple of weeks learning a simple dance to perform for the other. Made sense... had to do a bit of work and learning so it wasn't just handed out, but nobody was going to fail to do a very basic choreo as part of a group.

Actually I think I can still remember it...

I have a friend who is the most exemplary human but she cannot sing, by her own admission. She could learn to be in tune, anyone can, but she hasn't and she's all-round terrible at it.

She once sang a lullaby to her son when he was a baby and he took the dummy out of his mouth and put it in hers 🤣

Playing the spoons is certainly much easier than singing but not sure if it can ever be described as entertaining

So sorry for this op, it's amazing how we still remember these things.

I'm the same age as you op 😉 and was selected to participate in an inter school public speaking competition. I had never done anything like it before, it wasn't a regular thing at our school.

I was on stage in front of all these parents and this kid had to ask me questions, to which I then responded. I seem to remember the topic was current affairs/Tony Blair. She asked me a question and I literally froze. I couldn't speak, I was completely immobile. The worst stage fright ever! We had to wait like two minutes whilst I stood there like a complete idiot until the timer beeped. I didn't say one word. The other kid was looking at me, like wtf.

To this day, I cannot give presentations. I struggle speaking in front of a group, even informally , between friends.

It's stayed with me.

My brownie pack failed our agility badge en masse. We completed one of the tasks but leapfrogging ended up as a pile of brownies splattered across the playing field. I wonder whether they had already bought the badges and were able to send them back...

That is so sad. Experiences like that can have such an impact. Perhaps try a James B Partridge show where you can singalong to school songs, including from that blue book. Make some happier memories of singing.

I was told to fucking MIME by my teacher when I was 9. Everyone can sing, ok some of us do it badly but that is ok too. Fuck that bitch!

I suppose it depends what the criteria were for passing the badge test. If the performance had to be objectively successful and you were out of tune, I can see why you wouldn't pass. If it was more broadly about entertaining and effort and teamwork, then you should have got it.

However, if it was essential to perform to a standard of competence, your Brown Owl should have steered you towards something you could achieve with practice.

I know some people say you can practise to be able to sing in tune, but I'm pretty sure I never could, I just can't make my voice match what's in my head - if it is possible it would take more time and specialist tuition than would be available to an 8 year old at Brownies.

Cunts! I hope they died miserable and alone. Just being brave enough to stand up and do it and learning the words should have been enough. Similar age as you, tough as old boots though aren’t we? Because of how we were treated, we’ve got something that some people can only dream of which cannot be taught - resilience and grit.

Yes, that part stood out to me as well. The Brownie leaders may well have been mean, but that was deliberately nasty - there wasn't even a need for an adjective to describe them at all: just 'the blue hymn book with the kids on it' would have been fine.

I am a couple of years older than you, there was a lot of mean spirited adults who had free rein to be cruel to children. I know my self esteem was crushed on a few occasions as a young child in the 80’s. Even kids were nasty, there has been a lot of positive changes since then, the adults still exist but as more PC now.

Can you imagine the kind of person who would do that to a child? It's hard for most people to imagine how twisted and cruel you would have to be. And cowardly if there was a ring-leader among the 3. Just be glad that you don't have it in you to do similar.

They’ll have been from the local Trefoil Guild (the retirees essentially). What a nasty thing to do, though I find some of the old guard within Girl Guiding are sadly still like this today.

Brownies was cruel in the 80s - I’m still sore about failing my Collectors badge. I lugged in my soap collection from home, I had some really pretty ones, all different smells and sizes, one was shaped like Snoopy! Another was like a watermelon and really smelled of it. All boxed up and pristine. Over 30 of them and I was told it wasn’t good enough and I wouldn’t get the badge. Wonder if it was the same judges 😁. I hope you get to enjoy singing nowadays.

That's my quote. I don't run Brownies to teach them to sing, crochet, draw, run or put up a tent perfectly (the last one I am more fussy about!) I'm not a teacher, or a qualified coach in any of those areas. I run Brownies to help girls try new things, build confidence, make friends and have experiences they wouldn't otherwise get - and I'm good at it, my pack is consistently oversubscribed. It's (mostly) not a skills-based activity.

There are challenge badges (Bronze, Silver, Gold) that are harder and will only be achieved by girls going the extra mile. But what's wrong with some participation awards along the way?!

Dang, they're not in Scotland. Yet.

Must have been hard, not paying attention to the thing at the end of every programme. It specifically said that they could not be returned - the reason why I never did it, as although I'd have loved to see one of my (crap) pictures on TV, I didn't want to lose them.

I recall a girl in my brownies being told to mime when we were rehearsing as a choir for a show. She silently cried. It really stuck with me and I was probably about the same age. Horrible behaviour.
I’m sorry this happened to you x

I agree. It wasn't a singing badge