Guiders' staff room - tea, wine, chat and optional dancing around the toadstool

That's us finished for the year. A lot of the school do concerts on a Wednesday, so often they are missing weeks for it. So the parents enjoy an early finish.

Looking forward to having some chill out but next term is mainly planned. Science badge, Scottish Country dancing badge and Brownie Traditions.

Oh, so you're only doing a little bit then eh quell?

I'm doing Rainbows mostly but have been helping out at the odd Brownie and Guide outing to make up ratios, which I have secretly discovered I quite enjoy hate and cannot be persuaded to do on a more regular basis (just in case the DC reads this, that is not an offer to reopen the other guide unit, I have grown wise to your plots and it is not going to work)

My training is going slowly, I've done some training days but still waiting for a mentor, which has been over a year now.

Mad ask for some help from Division/County level otherwise you'll burn out too.

We had our last meeting of the year. One brownie isn't coming to the trip we are doing. Had booked in August and then mum let me know she wasn't coming, so sold the ticket to one of dd's friends. Then last night a brownie whined at me because she would rather go to her friends. If she pulls out I think I'm going to start charging for trips and if they miss the trip, the have to pay the full cost not just the cost we charged. I think the parents forget we don't get paid!

ah, Princess Pat. We aren't allowed to sing that here either (and we do have the possibility of First Nations members as we have a reserve just outside of town).
dragon.sleepdeprived.ca/songbook/songs4/S4_17.htm
Check out what the lovely Becky says about Princess Pat - this is a really good resource for anyone who hasn't come across dragonsleepdeprived before, btw!

I am exhausted. My fellow leader is mid- breakdown and won't be coming back, and yesterday I lost the contact guider from a different section (her visa expired and she had to leave the country). We have three other guiders in that unit (not mine, just me) and none of them will take on the main role. And I have another unit as well with only me. I cannot run three units, be the district trainer, the district treasurer (I run the books for 5 units) and do half of the DC job. I just can't.

Sorry to be a downer! Just venting...

Bramwell I'm brownies at the moment but my local senior section is without any input at the moment so will be taking that on at some point too. Hoping to open a guide unit where I do brownies eventually, we've had so many fall off the wagon so to speak. Only had my book a few weeks but going well so far! Hows it going for you?

quell, I'm doing my ALQ at the moment too having been a young leader then a helper 10 years ago. What section are you working with?

Marking place here! Just started my ALQ after a long break from guiding, so lovely to be involved again :-)

Have started organising next term. Doing the Scottish Country dancing badge and hoping to do the scientist badge and get a scientist in too.

Several years ago, when I was putting together our campfire songbook, I left out several verses of We Are The Red Men because they seemed unacceptable by modern standards but, if I were reprinting the book now, I wouldn't include it at all. We haven't sung it for years - the Brownies prefer Edelweiss and Princess Pat.

thanks tywy, only just seen this but its all sorted now anyway, turns out it was just a lack of communication.

I'd never thought of we are the red men as racist, its so obvious now its been pointed out. I loved that song as a Brownie but had forgotten it til just now.

I think the song makes it quite clear. The bows and arrows, the squaws the pow wows. I don't think there can be any excuse.

I doubt the girls make the association between "red men" and native Americans these days

"We like girl guides in a stew" and "we tie white men to a post eat their innards spread on toast". Etc etc.

I suggested we take that page out of the song book. Am I being terribly PO? Brown owl said it couldn't be offensive as we have no native Americans in the pack!

I am a helper at Brownies. We had a sausage sizzle and songs around the campfire last week. One of the songs was "We are the red men". I remember it from when I was a Brownie and the girls enjoyed singing it but I found it horrendously racist. There is a line "

PM me if you like. I'm a DC/Brownie Leader

You're welcome to PM me but might it be better to discuss on the thread, so we can put our heads together? Have you spoken to your DC?

Is there a leader about who could PM me please so i could pick their brain about something that's worrying me? I'm worried about one of my girls, it might be nothing.

I'm glad you don't feel drubbed.

I would have expected some diversity of opinion but what struck me was how many people seemed to (wilfully?) misinterpret an attempt to secure equality for girls and young women as being about relegating boys into second place. I think our girls would be very much behind Girls Matter too.

I don't feel drubbed particularly. Quite interested by the person who claims to be a Brownie leader but doesn't think that GG should be political..fortunately no one said that to the girls who originally marched into the Scouts jamboree and demanded 'something for the girls' over 100 years ago!
I'm not always on board with GGHQ myself but the wording on the Girls Matter campaign is particularly well thought out I think: pushing for protections for all children and then pushing for better representation for girls'/women's opinions where these are perceived to be lacking. I think it reflects the views of my girls well (and I didn't have to put words in their mouths).

I'm sorry, Momb, that you got such a drubbing on your AIBU thread about Girls Matter.

Maudant - I didn't get my 5 years til earlier this year. I've now done 7 years!

Am missing my girls. But I know I couldn't have managed with working f/t and two meetings per week at this stage of pregnancy. Might pop in to Brownies next week to see them though.

Awww momb, that's lovely, feel better soon. x

Maud, guiding would be a lot easier without some parents x

I have received the blurb for Growing Up Wild, too. On a quick skim, it looks good.

I am feeling disgruntled again. We have a trip this weekend, about which some of the parents (never the girls) are being a PITA and my 10 years' service has gone completely unmarked.

::gives self a stern talking-to::

I finished sewed all my badges onto my Camp Blanket :o

It's only taken 20 years...nothing like a deadline, we're doing a badge display/camp blanket night at Rainbows in 2 weeks!

Hope you feel better soon, momb - I shall be croaking my way through Rainbows tomorrow.

I had to cancel Brownies tonight citing illness because of a stomach upset. I've had a homemade Get Well card through the door tonight from one of the girls. So touched. Feeling crappy enough but had a happy little weep. I love being a Brownie Leader!