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

oh, well, all cleared out now . Another unit is getting loads of "useful bits", and the pennies are going to the district. Just need to close the bank account, and find someone to take responsibility for closing us down on Go.

How many weeks do you reckon till the parents start complaining that the unit isn't running any more and what a shame it had to close down?

Yes, very sad. Around here, when units have folded, their money has gone to district ànd they have given their "stock" away. I have just received some very useful things that way. The things that weren't given away were going to be taken by county, so they could look more widely for a new home for them.

thanks, that's pretty much what we thought. It's all very sad though.

I've just tried searching on the member handbook pages online, which are usually pretty helpful, but I can't find anything. I would go to County level if District aren't being very helpful.
My guess would be that the money should go into Guiding, but whether that's locally, regionally or nationally, I have no idea.
Badges and books, and any other stock of craft materials etc that you have - I would just give them to another unit.

What a shame that the unit has to close though. I hope you can find places at other units for the girls you do have.

quick help please - how do we go about closing a unit? There are hardly any girls, no more are coming forward, no volunteers to train as leaders, current leader is retirement age . I've come back to sort out paperwork, although i'm not a member any more.

District has been pretty unhelpful up till now as far as I'm aware, lots of shoulder shrugging (there have been some historical "issues" between this particular unit and the rest of the district, and the unit's been pretty much getting on with things by themselves for some time). Do we go upwards to county level and try and get hold of someone there?

Also, the small stock of books and badges, can we just give them to another unit, or do we need to sell them on? And the pence in the bank account - cheque to district, or national?

Obviously we need to do this properly and officially, but not getting any actual advice locally is making it pretty hard. Any thoughts?

Rainbow guiders do you have a centre piece for circle time, enrolments leaving ceremonies etc, if you do is it a rainbow and did you make it or buy it ? If y made it what did you do? I think we need a focus, previously the rainbow used for enrolments and leaving was a strong paper rainbow massive it was made out of hand a foot prints but it looks tatty now and I would like something to use each week. X

Aha. I had got the Welsh but had no clue about the other half!

"Tywysoges" means "Princess"
"Gymraeg" means "Welsh"

:)

I think I am going to adopt a less helpful persona this next term. I am now only logging into the unit email 3 times a week and I will restrict myself to one form and 2 reminders and then it's tough. (I always send home forms in paper and email form as well) I know it is children losing out, but I am also a full time working parent with children and I spend far too much of my time on this. Interestingly, I had NO late forms for our pack holiday - which I think typifies the problem, parents are very good at doing it if they see the point/"reward".

Yes, I intend to say something similar to the girls (or, more to the point, the parents). It is ridiculous that the parents of the girls who said yes to the event and had promised to deliver the forms to me had done nothing to let me know where the forms were, a week after the deadline, and I had to spend yet more time texting them and faffing around. It's as if everyone's time is precious except mine.

My view is that Leaders have lives and plans to take into account as much as parents and girls, insisting that parents and girls show some consideration minimises our frustration.

I am also submitting a form for a county event. Only 7 out of a possible 16 eligible have come back. 5 to say yes, 2 to let me know that they will be away. Guess what? I'm submitting on the data I have to hand.

Last time I had chuntering about something like this, I asked the child if she thought it was fair that a leader had to keep her weekend diary free on the off chance that she may need to cover ratios. Then we had a chat about the Laws.

That what I was going to do, Groovee, but Tywysoges (what does that mean, by the way?) talked me out of it.

I would send out an email or text saying due to lack of interest due to no returned forms that it was now cancelled for your unit.

I've given up sending forms home, the fill consent forms at drop off in the hall. Works perfectly for us.

Yes, I understand the difficulty of holding down a job and doing the parent thing, but one of the most disorganised of our parent group holds down a very high powered job so I don't really buy her " oh, what am I like? I'm such a ditz" routine.

Bless you! Perhaps I'm just not do stressed! We have a pretty good bunch of parents on the whole. I know the ones who are disorganised (always late with forms etc) and do what I can to chivvy them along. I know what its like to be holding down a sometimes more than full time job and do the Mum thing. Its not easy to remember everything. I had a good friend who used to remind me what was due and when for my DDs (kids in same classes!)

Well, you're a kinder, more patient person than me so I have done as you suggest.

The event is free (or, at least, not paid for by parents) which may be why they've been so lackadaisical. Having to pay normally focusses the mind! We have to submit a spreadsheet with contact details, dietary requirements etc; it doesn't seem unreasonable for the organisers to have that.

Yes I would. Group texts take seconds - its only one text. Its like getting blood out of a stone sometimes - getting forms from parents.

Have any of them paid deposit? We usually ask for that before we ask for firms. When is the event? Im not sure the event organisers should be allowed the girls' firms anyway. I think the info is confidential.

Really? After several email exchanges saying in bold that I need to have the form today? To be frank, I'm sufficiently peed off that, if anything, I'd be tempted to text to say that if they can't spare 10 minutes to email/drop off a form, I can't spare a day to take their child out.

I would phone or text the parents to double check. They don't always realise the importance of forms.

Can I pose a Brownie AIBU? We have an exciting county event coming up, for which info/consent forms were supposed to be returned a week ago. A few girls indicated they wanted to come, but none have returned the form and I have to send the information (spreadsheet with home contact details etc) back to the organisers tonight. AIBU to take the line that if they haven't (despite several reminders) returned the forms, they're probably not seriously intending to come and so I should send back a nil return?

Doing a sleepover doesn't necessarily mean "going away". At least once a year we sleepover in the hall where we meet on a Friday night, get the bus to the cheap children's cinema on Saturday morning, have a Pizza Hut lunch and bus home by about 2pm. Total cost about 15 (we usuallly make a surplus on that).

I aim to do one residential (weekend traditional style pack holiday) a year. I do find it a lot of work although the girls love it!! I'd be happy to do a second residential if there was something appropriate organised at division/county level but hasn't been anything for a little while.

I am toying with the idea of a sleepover (so just one night) in the winter, but it feels like if we're doing that we might as well do the weekend!

Momb, I took over my unit about 18 months ago. In that time we have been on a division sleepover and that's it. I did want to take them away last autumn, but my other leaders and I are all so busy, shift work, our own children, working full time, doesn't leave lots of spare weekends for brownie sleepovers.

It's a shame as the girls love it, but i need an eighth day in the week to fit in residential trips. I'm hopeful to fit something in during the summer term, we will have to see how it goes though.

Groovee - I understand. My health issues make overnights difficult so I can understand how much more difficult it must be for you.

Becles - Thank you for the ! I suppose I could run a holiday with another unit, but years ago when we did that I found that relatively few of our girls wanted to come because they didn't know the other leader and felt it wasn't their holiday: we used to get about a 70/30 split. What I really want is ALs who understand that if you give a commitment to be somewhere, it is a commitment, and just deciding you no longer fancy it isn't really a reason for cancelling. (I can't be more specific without outing myself and the unit). Sorry to sound grumpy. I'll put my smiley face back on now.

I say only as in the 4 years I've been running the pack, we have done pack holiday once and 1 sleepover for BBB. Not 1 a year. As I said before my disability and overnights is difficult.