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.