Subscription progress

Well done everyone who has paid their subscriptions - 76% so far although I know others have paid following Margaret's reminder but the cheques are still to be processed. However, we need to have 80% paid before we get money back......so let's have another push.

Full house in the County Team

For the first time in my time as CC we have a complete set of County Advisers and Division Commissioners. How about that? Not only that but we have some roles most Counties don't have like a Climbing Adviser (shared with Surrey East) and Social Media Editors (Very very recent appointment). What is great is that many of the recent applicants have been young Guiders (sorry - if I say young Leaders it could confuse) and Senior Section. That is a massive breath of fresh air for the middle-aged group they are joining and exactly where we should be going to find the next generation of County appointments.

Photos and films

Today we held an all day session to get some photos and videos suitable for our campaign showing how Guiding can help your life. We had Leaders who told their stories about Guiding - whether it was Guiding helping them swim the Channel/find a husband (yes really)/ start a business/ learn new skills/ have fun ..... and we had some great girls who played, did crafts, got very wet in the rain and, I hope, had a good time. We should have a lot of footage to form the basis of the DVD we are making. We should also have some great shots we can use in annual reports etc. Not only that but all the seed pots I need for my allotment were made by Rainbows, Brownies and Guides so I am ready to plant this month in plenty of time.

Press Release - Guiding is Growing

As you may read in the paper or hear on the radio today, Guiding is growing by 1 new member a minute and remains the largest youth organisation in the UK. Hurrah! And it is the same for Surrey West where are numbers are now higher than ever with a total membership of well over 9700 of whom about 8000 are Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Senior Section and the rest are leaders and other volunteers. The great thing is that, since Go became fully operational, we have been able to map this and will be able to in future.
Of course, someone will bring up the Scouts - aren't they bigger/don't girls prefer them etc and the answer to the first is "No" and the answer to the second is that we welcome any girl joining the youth organisation that suits them. For some girls it will be Scouts but for others it will be Guides - others will prefer Girls Brigade, Red Cross, Sea Rangers etc etc and every single one of those organisations are giving them great life chances just as we are. I am happy if a child, girl or boy, is being helped to make the best of themselves - this isn't a numbers competition it is about our children's future.
PS - all of my children joined scouts or guides but only one is still involved and she is now a Guide Leader with Cindy in New Haw. My 2nd daughter was a keen actress at Yvonne Arnaud Youth Theatre and my son is an Army Cadet. They have all learned a lot from whichever they chose.

Allotment 3 and a cold

We now have compost bins, manure, raised beds ready to be built and a half painted shed. Now we are on the hunt for top soil. We couldn't do much last weekend because of the cold.

Drove to Pax Lodge to join Camberley Division for dinner. Because it was already snowing I left early and drove home using motorways because I thought they would be gritted. Ha ha. You couldn't actually see the road surface and the "lane" I was driving in could have been anything although it felt about the right distance from the edge.

Now I have a really bad cold....the first for ages. Hot and cold flushes, very bad chesty cough, and a clamp around my head. I caught it from my son.

This week is a quiet work week, fortunately, but I am seeing a creative agency on wednesday who are offering 8 hours free consulting for charities. It is based in Guildford and I aim to get some sort of steer on the best way to promote ourselves. I'll let you know how it goes

Allotment 2

We have cleared half the ground,dug out an oak tree, replanted the rasperries....there is a shed in my garden waiting to be transported to the plot. What we need is a compost heap so there is a nee to seek out pallets or similar. We have the wood for raised beds and stakes for the corner of the compost bins so we are getting on.

My Allotment

A week ago I took ownership of an allotment - or a half as those who know anything about these things would call it. I did have quite a long think about whether this would be a good idea given the state of my diary but I decided that, with help, it would be OK. So I called daughter 1's boyfriend to ask if he would help - and he said he would. We went and visited the site to plan what we needed to do - daughter 1 tagging along in a very cold and reluctant way. Then I asked daughter 2's boyfriend if he could provide us with raised beds - he works in a timber yard so there was method in my madness. Then I talked to my husband - who is not a keen gardener but will rake leaves or mow if forced. However, he seemed a little bit interested and even volunteered to come and get manure for the compost heap. We now have a small heap of this on site but compost bins need building when I get some pallets.
I have also ordered a shed but am waiting for permission from Walton Charities to put it up.
Actually I am quite excited about it - and even gave daughter 1's boyfriend permission to grow potatoes - but only earlies.