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

Half term for us now. We did the collectors badge this week. The girls had a ball. It was really good.

Rue, I'm from the same region. We aren't doing any this term as we'd already planned up to Christmas but the in the woods one would fit in perfectly with things the girls have asked to do next term

Looby, i've never seen that one but unless shes been told to do something specific with it I'd just sew on it on her top.

Hi, many thanks for the reply re the I heart rainbows badge. This evening she came home with another badge..I heart my friends with 4 joined hands in centre. Is this another fun badge? I didn't see it until we got home or I would have asked her leader.
Thanks

Sounds fab Rue.

Just had my daughter's surgery date through, a brownie night. The rest of the team will be fine x

My region has launched a bunch of new badges today - Growing Up Wild, they look quite good - not sure we'll be doing any this term but looking forward to getting messy next term.

Am trying to book tickets to Blacklands for their messy hands and mucky wellies (or whatever it's called) Rainbow & Brownie event at the mo, has anyone done this before? I've never been. We'll have an exciting year next year, two trips to Icando too. I'm feeling all enthusiastic, best go and get changed ready for Rainbows... :o

PositiveAttitude, that's great news!

Took my brownies on a local trip this week and afterwards they'd been collected when it came to our attention that one Brownie had done a bunk in the dark. Finally found her in the play park and gave her a right telling off. She's one of the oldest ones as well! It was one of my worst moments in my guiding life!

Just thought I would pop back in and let you all know that the meeting was rescheduled for last evening and it all went very well. Leader bought along DC - I think she thought the DC would back her if we got awkward. There was a lot of squirming from the brownie leader as we asked questions about certain points where she has been an idiot difficult and there was obviously some realisation from the DC about how the leader had been acting.
All positive from our end and some really clever questions asked by the vicar. All happy now and I think the leader will now behave. I got the impression that the DC was not too impressed with her and I feel sure she had a long chat with her afterwards about some of her attitudes. So we seem to have got what we wanted and the DC has "told her off" without us having to!

Have to smile as she bought the DC along to stand up for her - back fired quite spectacularly!!!

It will be fine in the washing machine, the one on my camp blanket has never run. Does she know why she was given it? Generally badges go on the t-shirt and that's what any badge I give my girls is for, the I heart Rainbows one is a fun badge rather than one they've earned and I think is technically meant to go on a camp blanket but if shes new it maybe the other girls had earned a badge before she started that they've just awarded so they gave her that to stop her feeling left out. You could try emailing or phoning the leader to check but tbh if she wants it sewn on then I'd sew it on, no leader would tell a Rainbow off for that or think anything about it.

hope it olay to post here...my dd has just started rainbows (& loving it). she was given a rectangular badge thst says I (heart) rainbows...should I be sewing this on her t shirt? she has asked me to but I think because she has seen some of the older girls with badges sewn on their t shirts. if I do sew it on will it be okay in the wash (not that I have a working washing machine at the moment but that is another thread!). will the red around the edge of the badge run. sorry for the questions but my dh does drop off/pick up so I haven't had a chance to ask her rainbow leader. Thanks

We used to be a sponsored unit: we received cheap rent and were expected to attend the church as a unit. As this isn't in line with GGUK policy we are supposed to review the arrangement every 3 years or so. We got a new Rector who doesn't really 'get' youth organisations, and didn't want church parade anyway, so we broke with the sponsorship, pay the 'local charity rate' for the hall, and no longer attend church.
We do go into the church once a year to give everything a good dust and polish before the Remembrance parade, but this is a community service rather than a church issue.
About a year later they increased the rent went up by about 80% as they not only increased the rate but started charging by the whole hour (we were paying for 1.5 hours previously). There was no way I could increase subs by so much, and as looking at other venues, but the PCC were really good about reconsidering in our case: we now pay the going rate but only for 1.5 hours rather than 2 whole hours. So it is possible to change the dynamic and maintain good terms, although it was little strained for a while!

I'd get the District Commissioner involved too. Negotiate at that level, and not with the leader concerned as any agreement (verbal or written) probably pre-dates the current leader of the unit.
Put in writing that you are revising the terms and conditions, fees etc for hall use as it's come to your notice that some groups are being treated unfairly, and include your new terms for storge space, fees etc.
Give an "effective from" date.

I'm a DC, and I'd be appalled if a leader in our District was behaving in the same manner as the one you are dealing with.

Just noticed the stray thong in my last post

If the leader is being like that, I'd approach the DC about her behaviour. She sounds like a petchulant child.

Thanks again. I am encouraged that you agree that she is taking the P*. We have arranged a meeting on Monday to discuss these issues. She is very likely to get defensive and have a strop, but I now feel more confident with what I can express and expect from her.

Positive - I think you would be well in your rights to charge rent - they use water and electric at the end of the day. We discussed it at district meeting recently, at our church the guides are charged £5, the Brownies £4.50. At the other church units in our district the rents were similar, but slightly more expensive.

When we do sleepovers etc I am asked for a donation for utilities, I normally aim to give between £10 and £20. I see them as benevolent landlords. I would look askance if they started coming to our meetings though. I don't see what we do week to week as any concern of theirs.

Ah I see where you are coming from Positive, they do seem to be taking the piss, allocate the brownies a set amount of space and tell them you are having a cupboard sort out and that if there is anything belonging to the brownies which isn't in that space by half term you'll assume its rubbish and chuck it.

Does sound like they're taking the pee a bit. We do also have cupboard space, but always make sure it's kept neat and tidy. We also used to go along to the day centre they used to run 2 or 3 times a year, and have supported other things that they do like fairs and coffee mornings.

Overall it's a friendly relationship, and one I think we are mutually grateful for. Like I said, my personal issue is with our leaders trying to coerce girls into church attendance. Knowing the vicar and the approach of the church, I'd imagine it would actually sit too comfortably with them either! I don't have an issue with an open invitation to the girls and some gentle encouragement for thong who'd like to attend

Thank you so much for all your responses. I have found them very helpful, although very varied!

So, I am coming from it from the other side, so to speak! Part of my job is to organise the hire of a local church hall (including kitchen and all facilities). We are having a review of our letting policies. The Brownies use the premises one evening a week and the guides and rangers on a separate evening. (Ideally we would like them all on the same evening) The Brownies do not pay anything for use of the premises, the others pay just a very small nominal amount every few months. The Brownies have said they will not pay because they are "affiliated" to the church. I was unsure what this meant, really. The church give them the use of the premises. Last year the church also put on a party for the groups using the premises, all paid for by the church and not 1 Brownie came because the leader had not told any of the girls about it.
We have a large cupboard for storage for many groups who use the premises and the Brownies equipment takes up over 80% of the space - and is always very untidy! When we suggested early in the summer holidays that we arrange a day where we would be prepared to come and help the leader to clean and tidy the cupboard she was...errrrr....... unhelpful to say the least and has left sarcastic notes all around the cupboard.
I was just wondering where I go with this......I do want the Brownies to use the place and to be supported in any way we can, but over the years it all seems one way of giving to the Brownies with nothing coming from them at all and I sort of thought that the affiliation was a 2-way relationship.

I d not want to get into a religion argument here, I just thought that if the church are supporting and the Brownies are affiliated, then maybe the girls could be invited along to a few fun things throughout the year. We have lots going on, but all minus Brownies at the moment and they are the ones who are affiliated.

Sorry, this is a bit of an epic!!

Virtual - did you fin pd the tunes? I remember them (I'm only 35, not ancient!). We used to skip out as a six into the circle, singing the song, and back onto our space, led by the sixer with her dep at the end.

If you haven't found someone that knows it, let me know and I'll attempt to transcribe. It's basically just a scale up and then down... IIRC!

Thanks Bramwell, that sounds positive - we've just got a unit parachute, so nobody wants to play Duck Duck Goose or Fruit Salad much at the mo :o so it should be easy enough to steer clear of things like that until I've got a better idea of any limitations. Half of my Rainbows are...not good at running, so hopefully she'll fit right in!

RueDeWakening, we had a Rainbow with low muscle tone when I was a young leader. I can't remember there being anything she actually couldn't do at all but she couldn't run as fast as the others and sometimes she struggled to get up off the floor quickly, so we avoided games like duck, duck, goose. Her speech wasn't quite as good as most 5 year olds and she wasn't as co-ordinated as a lot of the others so sometimes need a bit more help with things but as she got older she caught up, so it was just like having a really young rainbow tbh.

My mum's unit are church-sponsored, mines not, she gets free hall hire, even when they've used it for sleepovers, a notice board outside the church and a display board in the hall that is only for her units use, she's allowed to run a stall at the parish Christmas fair and summer fair with any money raised going to the unit and the Rainbows/Brownies/Beavers/Cubs/Scouts in the parish have some shared equipment and a garage and do some joint trips and events. They also have their own cupboard in the store room and own shelf in the kitchen. The priest is also happy to add anything they need into the parish announcements and has been known to collect jam jars/toilet roll tubes etc for crafts.

In return they attend 3 church parades a year but its a really busy parish so generally about half the girls attend church regularly anyway so they dont have to pressure people into going. They also have to provide a representative for the parish council and hall committee who meet every 3 months and are invited to sing at the carol service.

They do take the priest over something whenever they cook and make him a Christmas cake every year but that's not a condition, its just become a Rainbow tradition and he often pops over with packs of biscuits/sweets/cakes if there's been some left over from a coffee morning.

I would actually quite like my unit to be attached to a church as the benefits my mum's unit gets far outweigh the stuff she gives back and I really miss the community aspect of it, I've never even met the Beaver/Cub/Scout leaders that use the same hall as us.

And I completely forgot the reason I came on here... :o

Does anyone have any experience of a Rainbow (or Brownie etc) with low muscle tone? I have one starting this week, and although I had a chat with her mum about what it means, I'm still not completely clear! Will she need a health plan?

Any indication of the sorts of things she might not be able to do/what she might struggle with?

TIA.

We are an open, church-sponsored unit (Rainbows). At the church where we meet there are 2 x Rainbows, 2 x Brownies, 1 x Guides, 1 x Senior Section, plus a Beavers, Cubs and Scouts gang too (1 of each).

We attend 8 church parades a year, with flags, and have supported things like the church fete by running some stalls & the Guides/SS making & serving refreshements. In return we are given the use of the hall/kitchen/garden/lounge for free, plus each unit has a locked cupboard in the hall where we can store our stuff. Guides also has a shed in the garden where they keep their tents, barbecues etc too.

We are open sponsored in that we take girls from anywhere, but give priority to those who are "church family" (if we know about it!).

For me it's a tricky one. Our Guides and Brownies have met at the same church for almost 90 years. At that time the church was the centre of the community.

For us, our rent is practically free. We make a donation when we remember every year, barely a couple of pounds a week when split across rainbows, brownies and guides! This makes a huge difference to the money we have available.

In return we attend 3 church parades a year, one around Easter time, harvest festival and the toy service. The church's youth worker person also pops in to see us quite regularly, I think mainly just to keep in contact. She doesn't lead sessions.

The church also get to boast about us being there and having lots of girls! I think they're quite happy to be able to say they have lots of children around the place.

Where I and the other leaders differ, however, is the approach to church parade. They go in for a lot of guilt tripping, to the point of having a Christmas party only for those who have been to a church parade that year. I think this is completely inappropriate and exclusionary, and out of line with GG policy

I'm trying to change it, and haven't been to a church parade myself either! I just think it's completely unfair and dismissive of girls of other/no faiths, and of those with other commitments on a Sunday.