Guiders Staff Room Part 3

[Groovee]

Reconvening over here ladies.

Fair enough - hope it comes through soon!

Wish me luck ladies, I'm just hearing back to our hall to run Guides, first time with the big ones their leader is away with work and the DC due to step in is down with a nasty bug. Gulp...think we'll give horseshoe a miss this week

Good luck Rue.

We're going to Glasgow Science Centre for a sleepover

We managed a fairly decent horseshoe! I had to get one of the Guides to shout the instructions though

And nobody burned the kitchen down when they were cooking, which is always a bonus...

Now that is wicked. Hope they sleep!

Planning our Christmas challenge badge. Trying to do it on a budget, because I'm terrified of what census will do to my accounts.

I feel so ill. Have delegated to the team.

Oh no, hope you feel better soon

Enrolled two new girls last night, it was actually rather lovely, the one who has mild ASD decided to make up her promise but I started her again and said it phrase by phrase for her.

Then I came home to an email saying the oldest girl has decided to leave Guides, very afraid her bestie will be leaving too, we were already in single figures!

They also were very silly over plans for next term (usually I can rely on them to write some sensible text on a graffiti wall type thing, even if the ideas are not all practical - this was all just rubbish). But the rest of the meeting went well (we had a visitor so that was a relief).

I'm vacillating at the moment between "why am I doing this, I'm not enjoying it any more" and "wow, it's really worth it".

I also got my first EVER present from a parent (apart from one bottle of wine after a residential once - same parent actually - the Brownie leader who knows her well says she always buys lots of presents - this is the kind of parent we like!)

Arse, have had to cancel a Rainbows trip next week to the garden centre to meet the reindeer. I'm in the middle of a relapse of MS, and walking is more of a challenge than it needs to be. Gutted, I've never had to cancel anything before. The meeting last week in the hall was tricky, and it's got worse since then.

Just hoping I'm back on my feet properly before Brownie holiday in March.

Drspouse hope you get some new girls soon.

Rue hugs x

Ah here you all are!
We went to London for the Science night sleepover this week. T'was fab but I must remember that the tube is scary for rural girls (including me!) and we should take the circle line not the direct Piccadilly line route which was far too busy.
This week we have carol service rehearsal, making christmas crafts. Next week the service, more crafts, more carols. Last week before the holidays we're singing at al old-folks home. The carol service is a division thing that we don't usually join in with. I think we'll back out again from next year: hardly any of my girls have signed up and it's just a lot of work for only a few to participate.

Rue take care of yourself.

Has anyone had to deal with girls only coming if there's nothing better on? Mine are Rainbows so it's more down to the parents, but so far this term I've had to cancel a meeting as almost all of them were attending a school event (our schedule was announced first!) and I've learned tonight that at least a third won't be coming to tomorrow's meeting either because of another school thing. I'm frantically putting together next week's craft so we can swap the programme and finish badge work the week after instead, but it's so demoralising to spend hours planning only to hear you've been dumped for a better offer :(

School events always win over guides. And they send the info out so late you can't try and de conflict.
I did have one year where every single guide came to our Christmas party instead of the school concert though. we held it in a local flatbread pizza place where they toured the kitchens and learned about sourcing local ingredients and food miles, then made their own pizzas and cooked them in the pizza oven.
Two years ago we lost half of district camp to a dance school end of year show. Including my own kids. If you pay that much for dance lessons, there is no choice about missing the show. The kids were gutted. I had planned the whole thing too. Ah well. I'm fairly pragmatic about it. They can't do everything and life is about making choices.

Hi all I'm wondering if you might be able to provide some advice.

I opened our Guide Unit in Jan 2014 and it's always been small, around 10-12 girls which is fine as it's a small village and we have a small room. It's actually been quite beneficial as we've been able to take SEN Girls in the area that were too intimidated by the bigger units.

However, this year we've lost a fair amount of girls, mostly due to school commitments and we've gone down to 7. This has put us in to real financial difficulty, I took my eye off the ball accounts wise due to be pregnant & we haven't paid hall rent yet this term & our account is at zero. We're currently fundraising & I think with a great deal of effort on my part and the other leader (also pregnant!) we can dig ourselves out of this debt but I can't see a way out of it long term.

If we continue in Jan, we're going to have to ask for annual subscription fee from parents in addition to subs & even then that will only just maybe cover the hall rent, not costs of activities.

We do have some Brownies coming up but not v many, I think it will be a real slog to keep our numbers around 10. We've tried bring a friend evenings, etc, but can't seem to get the numbers any higher.

I can't think of a way out other than fundraising to get our account settled then closing the unit at Xmas? I really don't want to, it makes me incredibly upset to think about, especially as we have SEN girls who really thrive there but with both of us leaders expecting babies in the spring having a very financially strapped unit is a big stress we realistically won't be able to manage?

Sorry for the long post, I'm just looking for some advice for the experts!

I don't know how it works exactly but I think sometimes girlguiding can give/help you access grants. It might be worth asking your DC about. Alternatively, can you move to a different venue with lower rent? Sometimes churches rent their halls for a pittance in exchange for your unit attending the major services and parades.

Speak to your DC now regarding this. District or Division may be able to loan you census and you pay back.

Also work out your outgoings and if needs be increase subs.

One meeting to go..... and there will end our first year. Steep learning curve! Loving it though.

We're finished for the year. Have 5 weeks off. Needing the rest just now x

Last meeting this Friday. Debating whether to start back on 6th Jan or the following week...

We're not going back until the 18th as the school's go back really late X

Our schools go back early but I'm going skiing the first full week of school so we won't start till the 2nd full week.

We're off now as well. Having four weeks off. I have a huge contingent of Baden Powell Guides this year. About 7, so half the unit. I only had one last year and she was mostly done and the year before I didn't have any.
Does anyone have any tips on making it run smoothly? The other units in the District also have several, so we could definitely work together for some things.
Next half term we will be doing craft badge and a Go for it and we need to get outside as well. We'll also have a sleepover.
I got some good news as well, my Queen's Guide has been completely signed off.

Well done Rivier.

Have let the world know we have capped our numbers and are operating a waiting list. So scary but exciting to be full x

Merry Christmas 🎄🎄

Loving my gift x

Merry Christmas to all

Have been given an embroidery frame and a mountain of invisible thread. I think it's a hint to sort out the pile of badges

Merry Christmas!

I was given The Guides of the Chalet School - a fill-in school story apparently written by a Brown Owl, writing about BGIFC in the 1930s. I'll be interested to see how it's all described!