Emotional swings

Monday - my dearly loved Scenic, mine since its birth 14 years ago, died. I know it is/was just a car but it was MY car.

Tuesday - (1) bought a new car. Looked for one which made you go "Woo-hoo" (as described by fellow car-hunter Sarah, my daughter) and found a bright red Aygo. Delivery 23rd December
(2) contacted by Elmbridge Museum to say they were sorting out their collections and some of the finds from the Oatlands Palace excavations at Weybridge Guide Hall may be surplus to requirements. They were looking at the paperwork but they were partly owned by the Guides .... and did we want them reburied? I suggested we might like them back....possibly to sell to raise funds to rebuild the Hall.

Time for a pause?

I thought I was busy earlier this month but it has been even busier since then.....and it was the same last year until I lost my work laptop and a pause was forced on me. Nothing so drastic this time but I need a pause now....to get away from the work pressures and, dare I say it, Guiding. Yes, perhaps it is time for a break - or a very clear break over Christmas and the New Year for everyone. So here is my resolution - I will stop all but essential/urgent Guiding on December 18th after the Carol Service at Charterhouse. I will start again on January 6th. Why don't you do the same?
In the meantime - Happy Christmas until we speak again

Raffle

How is the raffle going? I have a few spare tickets but I am now receiving some back with money. I have about £800 so far but would like to raise a lot more. From scanning the counterfoils it looks like quite often it is the Leaders who are buying them. The unit who has sold most so far emailed their girls' parents and has sold lots to parents. I have sold them to work colleagues as well as some of my trainees. It all adds up and I know the other two Counties are selling tickets - but they are collecting the money themselves so I don't know how much they have raised yet. So - please get selling!

A very busy week

This time of year is very busy at work with pay review season in full flow but this time of year is very busy for Guiding too. So here is a quick digest of what has happened and what is next in my diary:

1. NatWest Community Force - we won £6000 so thank you for all who voted. To get the money I need to appear at NatWest in Guildford during bank opening hours with a passport, driving licence and Project Account bank statement. Note; during the week - and the week is busy enough as it is!


2. Quiz Night at Guides last night to raise funds for the three girls going to Iceland. We hope to raise £100 each for them which together with the 5p bazaar profits should make a bit of a dent in their fundraising targets.


3. Today - helped feed over 6000 people at the Lord Mayor's Show. The team did a brilliant job and I would like to thank Kathy Purdon and Alison Kirby for their hard work. It all went very smoothly.


4. Tomorrow - Remembrance Sunday with parade and service at the Parish Church with my Guides.


5. Next week - fundraising meeting for Herons Wey. We are going to finalise details of the Rainbow Chinese New Year event although, as we have had very few bookings, I guess the first step is to decide whether to go ahead at all.


6. Throughout - raffle. Lots of spare tickets now so don't be afraid to ask!


7. Also - Our Guide Hall is subsiding and the Leaders who use it have sprung into action to assess the options. If you think this is hard enough under usual conditions now consider the complications of having a building on an archeological site. As you can guess, this adds an extra layer of complexity.

So wish me luck!

Thank you

Thank you for all those who have voted for us on the NatWest Community Force. Votes are being counted and checked and wionners will be notified after November 3rd so....fingers crossed

SWITCH

I must have been so tired after SWITCH because I am sure I posted something about how wonderful it had been but it is not on the blog anywhere.....so, rather belatedly, thank you everyone for helping to pull together a wonderful day. We had very few complaints and very few hitches - or not that you need know about!

SWITCH

This time last week we were still trying to recover from the IT problems that bedevilled the booking system for SWITCH. We were still trying to find out who was coming and what they wanted to do. We were still trying to find trainers for sessions we were suddenly going to put on. Yet today SWITCH ran smoothly with high attendance, few complaints and a degree of smoothness we would not have predicted. So I would like to thank everyone including the organising committee, trainers, stall holders, those helping with set up and clearing, etc and everyone who came and had a good time.

Just a last reminder - Don't forget to vote for Heronswey....
communityforce.natwest.com/project/348
Voting closes on October 23rd.

Fungi

Last week I had an interesting conversation with my optician who, it turns out, is a keen forager. On Tuesday I went to River Cottage and did a day of mushroom foraging....although most of what we spotted were poisonous or inedible. Anyway, that cost £165 and it took 3 hours to drive there. The optician, on the other hand, works in Hersham and has offered to do a fungi foray free of charge on October 22nd at Heyswood. Because it is the first time he has done anything like this he is only going to take 12 of us. So if you want to come you need to sign up on the list I will put up at SWITCH.
PS in case you are wondering about why we are going to Heyswood it is because that is the woodland he picks in and it is close to where he works so he can come along after his clinic finishes.

Votes please!

Please circulate this as far and as wide as you can.....

We are applying for funding from NatWest Community Force to pay for PV panels for the new building at Herons Wey. For details please look at www.heronswey.org.uk/fundraising

The projects with the most votes will get the funding so we need your help. To vote please follow this link http://communityforce.natwest.com/project/348 and then press the button "Vote For Us" - that is all there is to do!

Please forward to your Leaders, parents of the girls, your friends, families, work colleagues.........You have until October 23rd to vote. Thanks (when I last looked we had 1091 vots already and it only opened at lunchtime today....Brilliant but we need more.

This made me laugh

Sometimes the questions parents ask make you wonder about their parallel universe. I was recently told the following which took place at a parents evening before a Browie residential. On coming to the end of the usual briefing, the Leader asked for questions. One parent responded with the following "If what happened in Norway happens at your Pack Holiday what will you do?" The leader's response was "Until the Guide Association issues me with a gun, I guess I would just have to call the Police!"
Well, it might happen........but we will have done a risk assessment to minimise the risk, after all.

Welcome back

Welcome back after a Guide-free August. I expect this is your first week back as it is for me.

I got quite a bit done over August including:

• Applying for a grant from NatWest - the next stage is to get as many as people as possible to VOTE for us. More details later


• Organising a Christmas Raffle for Surrey West, Surrey East and Greater London West to support campsites and properties in Surrey. You will hear more about this later this month.


• Getting quotes for PV Panels for Herons Wey


• Reseeding part of my lawn


• Creating a new flower bed


• Doing lots of cooking


• Increasing my cycling distances - now 15 miles.


• etc etc

So quite productive.

Goodbyes

Today I heard that a colleague who has worked for my employer for longer than me, is leaving at the end of August. It wasn't a surprise as I know she had been having a difficult year but the sad thing is that she leaves before I return to work so I am not going to be able to say goodbye face to face.
I am now the oldest person in my team......should I be worried?

What if your best isn't good enough?

In 1975 I gained my bronze medal in lifesaving. I know this because my Mother found it recently and gave it back to me. Of course I remember doing the test and getting a cloth badge for it but the medal was a surprise. What I most remember, though, was the tester saying that she had passed me but if I saw someone in trouble then I should hope someone else would save them. Looking back on it I imagine if I was so bad that she must have been tempted to fail me - but, having passed me, should she have said what she did? Surely it would be better for someone to do something even if ultimately they were unsuccessful than do nothing?

Summer Holidays

Tomorrow is my last day at work before my Summer holidays. I go back on September 5th, so the extended break gives me plenty of time to catch up with all the things I have on my to-do list. This includes lots of work on the garden as well as increasing my cycling distances (currently 10 miles done in two halves with a cup of tea in between) and picking lots of fruit and vegetables for the freezer. There will be Guide work as well including budgets, getting further building quotes at Herons Wey for solar panels, a new dry shelter for Ramsdown and Richards Hill so they will be genuinely deluxe sites and thinking about Weyside's toilet refurbishment. The second and fourth week of my five weeks I will be away so I will have proper holidays.
If you are now on your holidays, I hope you get the month off and do no more than necessary so your batteries are recharged for September.

Herons Wey

At last the building work is coming to an end with the toilet block more or less finished apart from some tidying up and the finishing off that will happen in January. So we are looking at what we can do to raise some more funds to install PV panels for generating energy, putting up a dry shelter behind the new block and refurbishing Weyside's toilet/showers. So we have had some meetings and are hoping to run a series of events in 2012 which could include an event for Rainbows in January - and another in December, concerts (one booked on September 1st already), plays and suppers. If Herons Wey is to earn its keep including major refurbishments it needs to be used outside the camping season and this is our aim. In addition, we hope to establish a programme for schools so they can come and do activities during the week. Then there was a suggestion that it could be used for cross-country athletics events. So there are lots of ideas but it will need bodies to run them. Watch this space......

Pampering

A couple of weeks ago I sat down and tries to work out how much holiday I had left and when I would use it; our holiday year ends on Sept 30th. As I have worked so many extra days this year, nearly all of my holiday to date has been taken out of extra days worked and not holiday entitlement. The trouble is I haven't got enough empty days left to use them up so I am going to ask my boss if I can carry them forward (I bought extra a year ago so took a small salary cut). Having said that, a training course was cancelled on Thursday and Friday this week. The Thursday very quickly filled up but I got in quickly and filled Friday with fun things like a manicure, pedicure and facial. I am really looking forward to that and it will set me up nicely for my nephew's wedding on Saturday.

Scoutabout

This weekend I visited Scoutabout - I have never actually camped there but have visited the 2005, 2008 and now the 2011 events. What a fantastic event with so much to do and on such a scale. Of course it isn't like a real camp as it has a theme park feel but a bit of variety never hurt anyone. I hope everyone who went had a fabulous time - only one broken bone for Surrey West as far as I am aware which is quite amazing given the adventurous things the young people could have a go at. It was also extremely moving to see all the flags and standards at the end and realise what a strong and vibrant movement Guiding and Scouting is across Surrey.

Letters

Just before I went on holiday, I received a letter from our neighbour at Herons Wey. It was very friendly and courteous and just shows that the effort of communicating with them was worth it. Just two weeks later I received another one! Quite different - annoyed and angry and with reason. It seems there are some users of Herons Wey who think it acceptable to disturb them early on a Sunday morning; in this case by parking across our entrance road and talking loudly - before 8am. Ask yourself whether you would be happy if someone did it outside your house. Why do our neighbours deserve less consideration and courtesy than you would? Anyway I now have to deal with it. Whoever you are - a letter will be on its way to you asking you to make amends to our neighbour - yes, I know you are a volunteer and I have no right to ask you. However, you are a member of a movement that believes in being courteous and considerate and a good neighbour. No matter how temporarily you were a neighbour to this family - you were still a neighbour. Time to do the right thing!

Cycling and walking

Last week I bought a bike - with a certain amount of trepidation having not cycled for so long. However, it is an absolute joy and seems to take very little effort to ride. Yesterday we cycled from Oatlands in Weybridge to New Haw and back - probably 10 miles in total and I wasn't even that tired. My hands ached from the handlebars jumping up and down as the bike hit bumps on the towpath but I thought my legs would ache - which they don't.
Next week we have very little opportunity to cycle as my husband and I are walking from the source of the Thames up to Oxford (about 60 miles) although we are fair weather walkers so may not do it if it rains. Anything that is a break from work and the long hours I have been doing is to be welcomed. It is only the thought of 500 emails to be responded to when I return that is a bit of a downer. Perhaps I will just delete them all on the basis that any that are really important will be followed up by the sender later. Or am I that brave?

PS - next Friday's Guide meeting/District event is ...... a walk along the Thames from the Excel Centre between Walton on Thames and Molesey back to the Guide Hall in Weybridge. The irony!

Busy again

It seems to be recurring theme that I am busy again. Having had a 1930 finish on Tuesday, 1800 yesterday and 1830 today all in London it has been a busy week so far - and my day off tomorrow is also very full with a client visit plus several projects to work on.

Sadly not all of my colleagues are in the same position and I have started to hand work and opportunities to a lady who has been at Hay Group longer than me but who has a niche specialism which no-one seems to want this year. Sometimes our skills are not in demand but we should remember that doesn't make them without value and one day their time will come. In the meantime I will do what I can to help because I know she would do the same for me. That's what friends are for.

Spot the Surrey West person

Sometimes I play a game when I get a Guiding publication - see if I can spot the Surrey West person. Sometimes it is me (sunglassess sitting in a field looking pensive), sometimes it is Val (waving hands in the air), sometimes it is Nicky (smiling beautifully with daughters). If not photos then stories from Surrey West. We can be found very very frequently which is not a surprise for a County our size.

Cycling

I used to cycle everywhere; to school, to Guides, to go riding - it was how I got about. However, I haven't really done any cycling for years. This was because when I lived in Guildford there were hills and also the roads are awful with potholes and drivers passing very close. However, there is a challenge to be met - to cycle from Guildford to Shoreham along a former railway line - so no hills. I am wondering whether I should start training now - and then go and buy a bike (because the training will be in the Gym). What do you think?

Lots of new ideas

After a slightly trying week which necessitated me turning my mobile phone off to avoid someone calling me every two hours, I have started going through a slightly creative streak as have several other people in Surrey West. Ideas generated from the Pax Lodge weekend include a Guide Incident Hike and "Little Gig". There are also plans afoot for a challenge related to the Olympics Cycling events through Surrey in 2012. Then there are thoughts going through my mind to rerun Winter Wonderland for Rainbows, hold an open air play at HW for Rainbows and Brownies, organise a theatre trip for Adult volunteers (Les Mis or 39 Steps possibly). I have also booked a Summer holiday in Yorkshire for a week.....so suddenly I am feeling quite positive and optimistic.
BTW - this is a mere fragment of the creativity going on in Surrey West at the moment. Perhaps we are over the Centenary fatigue now?

A restful Easter

I have just spent the long weekend with selected members of my family at my sister's house in France. What a restful weekend (apart from the driving) and such beautiful weather. We walked, ate good food, played games, talked a lot went shopping, read, got burnt and generally relaxed.
Back to work today though and off to Birmingham for the rest of the week with more thoughts on the borehole, cubicles in the shower block and such like to take my time.

Beauty tips

Thanks to Martha who sent me this poem written by Audrey Hepburn and read at her funeral:

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.
Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands; one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.

If you share this with another woman, something good will happen . . You will boost another woman's self esteem, and she will know that you care about her.

Free Easter Egg!

Try this: http://www.freestuff.co.uk/go-thorntonsegg Enjoy!

Pax Lodge weekend

With the aim of making Surrey West the best Guiding county in the UK (if we aren't already), Commissioners and Advisers spent the weekend at Pax Lodge thinking through what we need to focus on in the next couple of years. We were very ably supported by three region trainers; Pat Tiley, Debbie Baxter and Sally Christmas. As a result we have a tremendous range of ideas about what we could be doing better. We also have some grand ideas for events for all sections in the next few years one of which really excited everyone! Now we need to make sure we all deliver what we have been asking for. This will be different for every Division whether it is about opening more Rainbow units, building better teams, finding greater support, building/reviewing websites or more. County also has a huge part to play whether in providing resources, training materials or opportunities. As the Centenary becomes a more distant memory we are all taking up new challenges. I feel a new energy - let's hope everyone does.

Wedding invitation

Today I received a wedding invitation from my Nephew's fiancee's family. What an invitation! A card with a fancy paper wrapper that looked a bit like a dinner jacket. This was fastened with a red ribbon and a small diamante buckle. There was also a swan's feather but, unfortunately, the whole thing fell apart when we got it out of the envelope so it might have been inside or outside or separate, who knows. Anyway I won't be walking the London Bridges on July 9th as I will be in my finery at a wedding. I must go shopping......

Crippling rent rises for units meeting in Surrey Schools?

The Scout Association reports that scout units meeting in schools are being asked to raise their rents significantly. One of the units quoted is in Surrey where they are being asked for thousands of pounds a year.
Is this hitting us? - I don't know but why would we be treated differently?
Can we do anything about it? - find other meeting places, perhaps? What about sharing a Scout Hall or looking for a Church/Village Hall - or the hall of a private school who might be able to be generous under their requirement to have a community focus?
It will be hard in some areas where provision is very limited. We have had the benefit of letting subsidies but these have become increasingly constrained and the amounts very limited. It looks like these will disappear altogether from 2012.
How about having a big vision? What about buying one of the Council Youth Centres that they are trying to offload?

A trying three weeks

It is amazing to me but when trouble comes it tends to come in shedloads. My tale of woe started on February 14th when my Stepmother, who has anger issues, took exception to my organising a birthday lunch for my Father and accused me of being mentally unstable and threatened me with legal action (No, I am not joking). Since then I have crashed my car, broken down, missed client meetings, had clients fall ill in meetings, had a very abusive letter from a respected member of the Surrey community, upset some friends with my handling of a complaint, and much more....all very stressfull.
There have been some bright points, of course; we got £2000 towards the building work at Herons Wey, got a lot of support from my family and some Guiding friends and, the highlight, was told by one of my new Guides that Guides was such fun it brought joy to her heart.

Census progress

I have just received the latest update in units paid and I had to read it twice - I think it says 65% of units have paid. If that is so then can I say WELL DONE

Coincidence?

Today my husband went into hospital to have a hernia operation. I went in this afternoon to keep him company to find Margaret in the next room. She had her knee replaced yesterday. Both of them seem to be well and Mr C will be coming out tomorrow probably. Margaret will have to wait a little longer.

Who do you work for?

Having made very good progress over the last few years in raising our profile with mayors, Councillors and other VIPS, we would like to turn out attention to local employers. Why, you may ask? Well, many of them may have Corporate Social Responsibility policies that could benefit us either by asking them to recognise the work you do for us, or by providing us with help such as resources or funding. Unfortunately, we are finding it a bit tricky to actually get lists of which companies are here in Surrey so I thought I would ask you directly.

If you work for a company anywhere in Surrey and, either:

1. it has a CSR policy we should know about, or
2. it gives to local groups, or
3. you would like your time recognised, or
4. it is a decent sized organisation.

then we would like to know about it. If we have a name of one or more of their employees involved with Guiding then that would be a definite bonus. Unfortunately time is now of the essence as the first thing we would like to do is invite the MD/CEO to visit us at Scoutabout - so get your skates on and email Margaret in the office.

office@girlguidingsurreywest.org.uk

Inclusion - notes from GSUSA

As you think about where, when, and how often to meet with your group, you will find yourself considering the needs, resources, safety, and beliefs of all members and potential members. As you do this, include the special needs of any members who have disabilities, or whose parents or guardians have disabilities. But please don’t rely on visual cues to inform you of a disability: Approximately 20 percent of the U.S. population has a disability—that’s one in five people, of every socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, and religion. As a volunteer, your interactions with girls present an opportunity to improve the way society views girls (and their parents/guardians) with disabilities. Historically, disabilities have been looked at from a deficit viewpoint with a focus on how people with disabilities could be fixed. Today, the focus is on a person’s abilities—on what she can do rather than on what she cannot. Girl Scouts embraces girls of all abilities, backgrounds, and heritage, with a specific and positive philosophy of inclusion that benefits everyone. Each girl—without regard to socioeconomic status, race, physical or cognitive ability, ethnicity, primary language, or religion—is an equal and valued member of the group, and groups reflect the diversity of the community. “Inclusion” is an approach and an attitude, rather than a set of guidelines. Inclusion is about belonging, about all girls being offered the same opportunities, about respect and dignity, and about honoring the uniqueness of and differences among us all. You’re being accepting and inclusive when you: ·

• Welcome every girl and focus on building community. ·
• Emphasize cooperation instead of competition. ·
• Provide a safe and socially comfortable environment for girls. ·
• Teach respect for, understanding of, and dignity toward all girls and their families.
• Actively reach out to girls and families who are traditionally excluded or marginalized.
• Foster a sense of belonging to community as a respected and valued peer. ·H
• Honor the intrinsic value of each person’s life.

What a wonderful opportunity such an approach will offer to the girls you mentor! If you want to find out what a girl with a disability needs to make her Girl Scout experience successful, simply ask her or her parents or guardians. If you are frank and accessible, it’s likely they will respond in kind, creating an atmosphere that enriches everyone. It’s important for all girls to be rewarded based on their best efforts—not completion of a task. Give any girl the opportunity to do her best and she will. Sometimes that means changing a few rules or approaching an activity in a more creative way. Here are some examples of ways to modify activities: ·

• Invite a girl to complete an activity after she has observed others doing it.
• If you are visiting a museum to view sculpture, find out if a girl who is blind might be given permission to touch the pieces.
• If an activity requires running, a girl who is unable to run could be asked to walk or do another physical movement. When interacting with a girl (or parent/guardian) with a disability, consider these final tips:
• When talking to a girl with a disability, speak directly to her, not through a parent or friend.
• It is okay to offer assistance to a girl with a disability, but wait until your offer is accepted before you begin to help. Listen closely to any instructions the person may have.
• Leaning on a girl’s wheelchair is invading her space and is considered annoying and rude.
• When speaking to a girl who is deaf and using an interpreter, speak to the girl, not to her interpreter.
• When speaking for more than a few minutes to a girl who uses a wheelchair, place yourself at eye level.
• When greeting a girl with a visual disability, always identify yourself and others. You might say, “Hi, it’s Sheryl. Tara is on my right, and Chris is on my left.”

February looks quiet

As we continue with our lull after the Centenary and work hits its annual quiet time after everyone has completed their pay reviews, I have lots of space in my diary for once. I still have some things to do, of course, such as find some participants for a Commissioner training at CHQ. I am looking for DCs in the north of the County to go with me and a Div Comm from Pitch Hill and a DC from Camberley. I have left messages with others but it looks like everyone else's diaries are much fuller than mine is. I am not complaining.

Pants!

It is a mystery to me but I very rarely wash my son's pants. The reason is that they never get into the dirty washing basket. I can only imagine he rotates the dirty ones and when one pair gets exceptionally awful he does put a pair in the wash. I can only imagine that he finds the smell comforting so he hides them under his bed to enjoy it longer.
Last week, though, I went into his room - a brave move. He has been tidying as we have just bought him a new cupboard for his room. What that really means is that he has moved furniture so he can see the mess that was, previously, under it. So I took a deep breath, rushed in and grabbed as many dirty clothes as I could before I passed out. There are now eight pairs of clean pants on the line.
Boys are definitely a breed apart. The Scout CC tells me the main change since girls could become Scouts is that the boys are cleaner.

Re-using old buildings

In this throw-away society we have decided to not throw away two buildings. When the new toilet/shower blocks go up we will need to remove/dismantle the two old wooden blocks on Ramsdown/Richards Hill at Herons Wey. The blocks have been well cared for and, although,20 years old, have still got life in them. So we are going to re-erect them behind the new blocks moving them apart to create a space in between which will be roofed and walled. This will all be on a concrete base. The idea is that it will provide storage including a place to put fridges for camper use. The trouble is that we don't have the money. Although we have been money raising for years the toilet block and borehole will use all of that. So we need some urgently. If you are reading this and would be willing to write to your local councillor to see if they have any funds left or if your employer makes donations or if you know any other funds we can apply to then we need to know. Please feel free to ask on our behalf or let us know and we will write.
Thank you.

WANTED - County equipment

My mission this month (or longer) is to track down County equipment. I know that there is equipment in people's garages, lofts and spare bedrooms but we don't know what it is or where. So if you have any equipment or know someone who has then we have some questions for you/them:

1. what is it.
2. Does it still work?
3. Do you want to keep it or do you want us to find it a new home?

If you have anything then can you contact Anne in the office office@girlguidingsurreywest.org.uk

Thanks

PS - It was good to see such a strong Guide representation at Lady Baden-Powell's funeral on Monday. Patience was very full of energy, impossible to refuse, extremely well-connected and gave a great deal of time to both Guiding and Scouting. She will be missed.

New Year's Day walk

It started as an offer to Guiding volunteers but then my (non-Guiding) sister mentioned walking on New Year's Day - and then thought her brother in law and his family might be interested and then my daughter and her boyfriend came along so the Guiding friends (Madeleine and Jane) were rather outnumbered.
15 of us enjoyed a walk from Waverley Abbey along the Greensand Way north-west past Moor Park then North East along the North Downs Way through the nature reserve to Sands where we stopped at the Barley Mow for an all day breakfast. We ended with a walk up Crooksbury Hill to benefit from a fabulous view. It wasn't a long walk (4 miles probably) but very interesting. I hadn't realised that the gun emplacements etc were there because Moor Park was important in the war. All in all a good walk and it didn't rain.
Next we are thinking of walking round Frensham between the two lakes. Same pattern probably - stop at a dog-friendly pub some of the way round. Why not join us?