As a "valuable member of society", I feel it is important I share my Guiding-joy with you all...
Having spent the morning on various bits and pieces, my afternoon ended up somehow being spent on Guiding. I have now idea how this happened as it was not really the plan... I have been spasmodically doing my laundry as well, to be fair. And indeed listening to various bits of classical music and occasionally dancing enchainements to bits that seemed to fit. Well, up until the point where my left knee decided it did not wish to play At All, but these things happen.
But the upshot of my Guidingy afternoon is that I am all full of Guiding joy. Because it is so very very splendid even if it does sometimes make me want to stab things with a spoon. I have 4 sessions to run; and there are now enough In4mers in LSE to make it sensible to have an In4mer group & we can thus do things together if we wish & have fun & there is potential for much splendour... Then I am a bit excited about BYC things. I am sad because I am going to have to miss the CBB Gather because I've to go to the BYC AGM in Crewe on the Friday & then back to London for a meeting on the Saturday, ending after breakfast on Sunday. There is an awful lot of restructurey changey stuff to be done as BYC-proper (as opposed to the G.UK delegation) has been changing things. It is all go.
Most of my Guiding excitement is about going to camp though. I love camp. It makes me quite ridiculously happy. There is something so very fine about tents and trangias and also doing Guidey things like hayboxes and specially being able to do them for yourself, not be either being bossed, or having to do the bossing. And camp means campfire which means singing, which is utterly frabjous. *does small dance of glee* And we are going to work on a BADGE while we are away, which is also very exciting, because badges are so splendid. *nods* Plus there is the Nights Away Scheme (thankfully LaSER and Anglia both have one now, so we can all play without causing too much woe). I discovered that I have already qualified for the 1, 5 & 10 night badges this year (you're allowed to backdate to January) & am busily wondering how long it will take me to reach 200 nights.
Then thinking about camp has set me to thinking about my vagueish plans for a December Brownie holiday. I think I've found a venue, for the weekend after my birthday, and even have a plan to do with Guiders & people doing QG/QM/gaining experience with a view to working on GACHTS. I have also thought of a splendid theme and am wondering how to persuade the Brownies that they want the theme to be Narnia. I have a very fine book full of crafts & games & so on somewhere that clearly wishes to come out and play.
I cannot believe I have been running Brownies for almost a whole (academic) year now... We've done so much, and it has been so very very fine. I love Fridays, even when I am feeling quite horribly ill and tired, because the Brownies are just so splendid. They have their manic mad-biscuit moments, but they are really incredibly fab nonetheless. We are doing instant theatre this week - each Six will get a selection of props & random words & needs to make up a 5 minute play, involving them all, to show at the end of the meeting. *bounces* They love doing plays and are very good about getting on and sorting themselves out to do so & thus not only are they doing something they enjoy, they are developing their skills in terms of decision making, organisation, working as part of a team etc etc. I am now much less worried about being a crap Guider/everything going wrong & my Owls are getting on with the LQ at a good rate, although I will admit having 5 people working on it at the same time is quite tricky in terms of making sure the programme stays balanced but everyone gets to do what they need to.
So yes, I am having one of those days where I wish to get everyone to get themselves in Guiding, in whatever capacity is most appropriate because it is so wonderful and so much fun. And it is more than just fun. I think it's important - the "serious" bits of the Promise and the Law, the friends you make, the challenges you take on, the opportunities you get. So yes, if you want to know more, go and explore the G.UK website which is not as wonderous as it might be, but which at least explains some bits like the point of it all rather more coherently than I am ever likely to manage...
But the upshot of my Guidingy afternoon is that I am all full of Guiding joy. Because it is so very very splendid even if it does sometimes make me want to stab things with a spoon. I have 4 sessions to run; and there are now enough In4mers in LSE to make it sensible to have an In4mer group & we can thus do things together if we wish & have fun & there is potential for much splendour... Then I am a bit excited about BYC things. I am sad because I am going to have to miss the CBB Gather because I've to go to the BYC AGM in Crewe on the Friday & then back to London for a meeting on the Saturday, ending after breakfast on Sunday. There is an awful lot of restructurey changey stuff to be done as BYC-proper (as opposed to the G.UK delegation) has been changing things. It is all go.
Most of my Guiding excitement is about going to camp though. I love camp. It makes me quite ridiculously happy. There is something so very fine about tents and trangias and also doing Guidey things like hayboxes and specially being able to do them for yourself, not be either being bossed, or having to do the bossing. And camp means campfire which means singing, which is utterly frabjous. *does small dance of glee* And we are going to work on a BADGE while we are away, which is also very exciting, because badges are so splendid. *nods* Plus there is the Nights Away Scheme (thankfully LaSER and Anglia both have one now, so we can all play without causing too much woe). I discovered that I have already qualified for the 1, 5 & 10 night badges this year (you're allowed to backdate to January) & am busily wondering how long it will take me to reach 200 nights.
Then thinking about camp has set me to thinking about my vagueish plans for a December Brownie holiday. I think I've found a venue, for the weekend after my birthday, and even have a plan to do with Guiders & people doing QG/QM/gaining experience with a view to working on GACHTS. I have also thought of a splendid theme and am wondering how to persuade the Brownies that they want the theme to be Narnia. I have a very fine book full of crafts & games & so on somewhere that clearly wishes to come out and play.
I cannot believe I have been running Brownies for almost a whole (academic) year now... We've done so much, and it has been so very very fine. I love Fridays, even when I am feeling quite horribly ill and tired, because the Brownies are just so splendid. They have their manic mad-biscuit moments, but they are really incredibly fab nonetheless. We are doing instant theatre this week - each Six will get a selection of props & random words & needs to make up a 5 minute play, involving them all, to show at the end of the meeting. *bounces* They love doing plays and are very good about getting on and sorting themselves out to do so & thus not only are they doing something they enjoy, they are developing their skills in terms of decision making, organisation, working as part of a team etc etc. I am now much less worried about being a crap Guider/everything going wrong & my Owls are getting on with the LQ at a good rate, although I will admit having 5 people working on it at the same time is quite tricky in terms of making sure the programme stays balanced but everyone gets to do what they need to.
So yes, I am having one of those days where I wish to get everyone to get themselves in Guiding, in whatever capacity is most appropriate because it is so wonderful and so much fun. And it is more than just fun. I think it's important - the "serious" bits of the Promise and the Law, the friends you make, the challenges you take on, the opportunities you get. So yes, if you want to know more, go and explore the G.UK website which is not as wonderous as it might be, but which at least explains some bits like the point of it all rather more coherently than I am ever likely to manage...