To suspect that Enid Blyton is not really dead but is alive and well and organising DD's Brownie Camp?

[GingGangGoolie]

I have namechanged in case La Blyton has got the internet and takes umbrage.

DD is away at Brownie Camp for two nights. DS1's list for a two night Cub camp was in large type on an A5 sheet. DD's is in microscopic type on a sheet of A4.

There are 58 items on the list. 58!

They include:

Sturdy walking shoes
potato peeler
tea towel
woolly hat (in July?)
Dessert spoon and tea spoon
Apron

Apron? I don't own an apron. My 77 year old Mum probably doesn't own an apron. What sort of eight year old has her own apron?

I think people have climbed Everest with less equipment.

And it says that "Homemade cakes are welcome"

AIBU to send shop bought cakes? Will DD be an outcast, seen as lower class and be forced to address the other girls as Miss Georgina and Miss Anne?

Hmm - when my dd went on brownie camp the packing list (from memory) seemed to be a towel, bedding, uniform, swimming costume, pjs, change of underwear, sense of humour.

She was in the same clothes when we picked her up as when we dropped her off but she'd had a great time and all the leaders were still smiling (although that may have been relief to see the parents).

I just checked the list for an overnight sleepover we did with Rainbows (the one and only), inside, potato peeling there!

40 items.

I think many Brown Owls assume that children haven't been packed off before and itemise EVERYTHING.

Rather than saying 2 changes of clothes and nightwear it'll be:

2 pairs of knickers
2 pairs of socks
2 pairs of trousers
2 t-shirts (or possibly 3!)
2 vests (optional)
1 nightie/pair of PJs
1 dressing gown
1 pair of slippers
etc.
etc.

An apron beats a whole change of clothes!

ahem...no potato peeling

anyone want to come brownie camp style camping with me?

I am a brownie leader and have all your things on my kit lists for camp (depending on where we are going and what we are going).

Judging by the spoons (teaspoon is to eat yogurt or stir hot chocolate maybe?) your DD is going somewhere pretty unequipped. hence more stuff. Also cub/scouts seem to have centralised stores of camp stuff so don't need to ask parents to bring it every time.

Is there a parents' evening? I always explain at mine what we actually need the kit for and what might be a suitable alternative. (and tell people to borrow or come and ask us if they don't have something. For example we'll have a few extra aprons. Both my DCs have their own aprons (necessary as both smear food everywhere when cooking). Didn't think that was so odd ...

The potato peeler is probably because they are doing something like Cooks' badge so everyone needs to be seen peeling and they reckon it is easier for everyone to do it at once.

The tea towels are because - have you ever seen an 8 year old wash up? Water everywhere, tea towel soaked and not much chance it will dry before next meal. We ask people to bring 3 tea towels for a w/e camp - never realised before that parents were quietly sniggering ...

Oh and the "sturdy walking shoes" will be because every year someone sends flip flops as suitable for their DD to wear at the afternoon treasure hunt round the woods.

ViveLaFrak that's a little what my kitlist is like when I take my Brownies away. But if you do more general lists, lots of parents choose not to include 2 of everything, and then the kid gets a complete head to toe drenching whilst rafting and has no dry jumper.

Also it's important to ask for slippers, dressing gown and PJs as lots of holiday centres have a no outdoor shoes inside policy, and we like to get all the Brownies in PJs and dressing gowns before doing bedtime hot chocolate etc. There's always one or two who didn't think they needed a dressing gown who end up shivering and having to put their (one, filthy) jumper over their nightie.

For most of my Brownies who come away (esp the 7yr olds) it is the first time they have been away completely independently (i.e. not with Grandparents or friends houses where spares of things can often be found).

Sorry, I realise I am a completely stereotypical Brown Owl after posting all that!

D

PS Does your list include a 'fake' letter from you to DD to be delivered as if by magic with no postmark halfway through the holiday? These are always good for a few blubs (from the leaders and parents not the Brownies, who love them!).

I'd suggest replacing the wooly hat with a sowester.
At my first Brownie camp, we had some guides come along to help look after us. In the tent, the guides were meant to sleep at either end with the little ones sandwiched inbetween. However, our guides fancied a gossip and switched round - leaving me on one end of the row.

In the middle of the night, my corner of the tent came loose. I spent the rest of the night with my head stuck out of the tent, in the rain.

I have no idea why I didn't ask for help - but it does rank as one of my worst nights ever.

bigfish "I was thrown out of Brownies for swearing."

Last night on BBC 4 they showed "100 years of Girl Guiding" - which I found quite entertaining.

One quite posh woman being interviewed said that her first guide camp was where she learnt to swear and smoke. Don't suppose they got a badge for it though.

DD was at a guide camp recently - a Big Gig with several local bands playing. They were told the only drink they could take was water in a sealed bottle. It had to be sealed apparently to make sure noone was sneaking in vodka!!

I'm taking my Brownies on Pack Holiday in October. I will be asking them to bring their own cutlery, an apron (if they have one) and proper shoes too.

I will explain to parents at our parents meeting why they need these things, hope I don't get too many looks.

@Llamasarequadrapeds you will get plenty of s because you are, after all, just a nanny in a uniform ... Be prepared (as they say in certain cicles). e.g Recommend they bring a cheap, inflatable camping pillow to save space on the minibus. No-one takes any notice and we end up having to cram in 20+ full-size pillows. The minubus looks like an explosion in a marshmallow factory. Mind you, my favourite was the super intelligent Dad who sent his 8 y.o. DS to camp with a cigarette lighter. We found his DS flicking it on and off inside his nylon tent. "Thought he'd find it useful when making camp fires" was the pathetic explanation.

Popped back in to add that I rang our lovely Brown Owl to ask whether we really need to bring our own groundsheet (as do not have one and will never use it again if we buy one). Quite unprompted by me she said she was by the size of the list for a 2 night stay.

She was annoyed as she was not given the details of the parents' evening to pass on until it had taken place.

(Oh and the tents have groundsheets already.)

I don't consider the Brownie Leaders "nannies in uniform" and take exception to the suggestion I do. I have absolutely no desire to have my DD camping in a field 20 miles away from home and would truly prefer it if she didn't go. But the Brownies are running it, gave her the details and she wants to go, so obviously I wouldn't stand in her way. The Brownie Organisation may well be doing this "for her" but it is NOT doing it "for me" and I will not truly relax until she is home again.

This was actually intended to be a lighthearted thread.

GingGang it's far harder on you than it is on her. She will have a wonderful time and learn some independance and life skills. You will miss her every minute she is away but it is your job as a parent to let her go and have the experience.

Oh I know. DS loves his cub camps; DD will love camp too.

I am only explaining that I resent the suggestion that I see the Brownie Leaders as "nannies in uniform," as personally I would rather look after DD myself.

She is only going because the camp has been "sold" to her by the Brownies. I would certainly never have arranged her to go away for someone else to look after off my own bat.

ahh.. outdoor camping for the centenary... using a standard list makes more sense now..

you need soo much more for outdoor or so I believe as | am a wimp and take my girls to equipped indoor venues and the there will be more than one unit so there will be one kit for everyone

The shoebox is either for putting the souveneirs they make into ... or for making it into something itself or both!! eg we did a peter pan weekend.. made a treasure chest and put other crafts in it

I needed this thread

Just to say to one poster who asked, yes Guides and Brownies do still sing Ging gang goolie round the campfire, amongst other things. Guide/brownie camp is great I hope your Dd has the time of her life. The cakes will go down a treat but it doesn't have to be cake, choc biscuits or a few packets of sweets will go down just as well.
Oh and while I think about it remember to pack her something for a midnight feast too, its the highlight of the camp, not just for the girls but for the leaders having a laff cos the kids think we don't know what they are up to.

We've just had our list for my dd brownie holiday and it brought back such good memories from when I went as a child. I can remember my mum saying 'What on earth do they need that for'.

We have to sew loops onto all the towels to hang them up!!!!! I've told dd that brown owl said she has to do it!!!!

The sensible answer is:

Apron: to keep clothes clean while washing the dishes (at camp you don't/shouldn't have vast quantities of spare clothes, so this is reasonably important).

Potato peeler: much better this is on the list than that they get asked to peel potatoes with a standard knife, which I don't think many of us do at home these days/is an acquired skill girls of 7-10 won't have. Potato peeling is done much faster when everyone peels a potato or two (we always did it just after breakfast, while still sitting down).

Woolly hat: for wearing in bed at night, as sometimes nights get quite cold/some people feel the cold more than others. [also your Guiders are probably working with the assumption that the girls have very old and thus not very warm sleeping bags. I imagine most Brownies are small enough to curl up inside their sleeping bag if they get cold]

Dessert spoon/tea spoon: normally hot drinks happen at camp after meals but before washing the dishes (though I can't imagine many Brownie aged girls who are big tea/coffee drinkers).

Sturdy walking shoes: otherwise the girls come in flipflops/ballet style shoes that just aren't made for walking around a field all day/going on a walk in the countryside. Getting wet feet isn't a great idea.

Homemade cakes: a traditional Guider-style thriftyness ie. it's ok to ask people to make cakes with ingredients they've already got, but not ok to ask them to buy cakes when they've already paid for camp. Yes, I know re lack of value given to people's time! The best cakes (home made or shop bought) are fruit based cakes that will keep for a couple of days and can be used towards the end of the camp.

If you can't fine brown/yellow clothes, go for blue clothes, as this is what Guides + older will wear at camp. I used to have drawers full of blue clothes specifically for Guide camp purposes.

"This was actually intended to be a lighthearted thread."

Not really was it? It's only 'lighthearted when you're taking the piss out of a Brownie leader's well-meanting attempt to get children to a camp well-equipped and comparing them to 'Enid Blyton'... wondering why an 8 year old could possibly need an apron or a teaspoon on a campsite in this day and age etc. I was being equally 'lighthearted' back pointing out that some parents (I didn't say you, did I?) treat us as unpaid childcare, think they know best and haven't got a clue. Bless them.

Frankly, if you volunteer to help with cubs or brownies you often have to withstand so-called 'lighthearted' comments from childish people that think it's OK to poke fun at us for no good reason. It gets a little tiresom.

"She is only going because the camp has been "sold" to her by the Brownies. I would certainly never have arranged her to go away for someone else to look after off my own bat."

So why did you agree to her joining the Brownies in the first place?

Sorry, I got stuck here:

brownies are usually indoors and therefore dont need cutlery

Have I been eating wrong all these years?