Hi everyone,
I write this after another sunny weekend, which I have been fortunate enough to spend in North Norfolk. It’s been good to take a break for a couple of days and recharge. Jubilant June saw much activity, beginning with the fabulous event that took place to celebrate our Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Across the region, many units celebrated in their unit meetings, with their district or division and county events. So many activities took place and it’s been great to see them all across social media. The Girlguiding Beacon lighting events took place across the region. They varied from small to larger gatherings, all ending with the Beacon lighting. Our region event took place at Hautbois estate and was supported by over 450 people from the local community and beyond. It was a very special afternoon/evening. A huge thanks to all who volunteered, but also to our wonderful staff team from all across Girlguiding Anglia working so hard, making the event run so smoothly and enjoyably. Assisting to light our Beacon was Isabel from Norfolk, who was presented with her Queens Guide Award earlier that day.
Nineteen members of our region, who were nominated by their counties all attended the Jubilee pageant, what a day this was! Our region necker once again giving us our identity, as we joined representatives of Girlguiding from across the country to celebrate together. Andrea and I were also very privileged to attend to Order of the Garter at Windsor Castle. So many fantastic memories made and will be treasured. Guiding certainly does take you to some amazing places!
This month’s mileage budget is almost as high as before the pandemic, which means I have been busy travelling meeting leaders or attending events. It been lovely to see lots of you from across the region, whether its been a small event, county activity day, thank you afternoon or evenings. One special occasion was to present Debbie Docherty from Bedfordshire with a well-deserved Laurel Award. A surprise we managed to keep a secret, until the presentation.
As we move forward in to the second half of the year, we are still on our recovery plan, and I thank you all for everything you are doing in your area, to continue to promote and recruit. We want even more girls, young women and adult volunteers to come and join us, and be part of our amazing region!
Take care, keep smiling!
Tracy
Well haven’t we been going all out on celebrations recently, what with the enormous success of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and the way it touched so many people not only in this region but nationally and worldwide. Are there still flag bunting remnants lying around your house or local unit meeting place? Will you take away good memories from the long weekend at the beginning of June? Let’s hope so.
And for some of you the plans for other Festivals this month are high on your to do list. With the summer weather all sorts of music, performance and art festivals are being held. How do we record those celebratory times we’ve had and how might we record those we will have in future? We could write about them, a seemingly old-fashioned skill but a valuable one; how many texts do you save for posterity? Have you ever kept a diary? Do you use writing to get your thoughts out of your head, sort of like a download?
Check out the First Story site with all it has to offer; I didn’t know we have a National Writing Day on 23 June:
https://firststory.org.uk/writeday/#:~:text=National%20Writing%20Day%2C%2023%20June%202022
This time of year is also one of stresses and exams for young people who can find the fever pitch pressure of proving themselves with their future in mind a bit mind boggling. Once the exams are over how are we going to help them celebrate their perseverance and application; how about learning how Girlguiding has got behind Pride, see the website here:
https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/what-we-do/events-and-opportunities/regular-girlguiding-events/pride/
or here:
Alternatively joining one of the local going away camps, sleepovers or visits to an activity centre, with plenty of time for forming friendships and doing things together, learning about our physical boundaries and how we might extend those by trying out new sports and activities; you never know you might discover a new one, even as an adult.
Here are a few suggestions from Action for Happiness:
- Bring to mind a favourite memory you feel grateful for
- Get outside and find the joy in being active
- Rediscover and enjoy a fun childhood activity
https://actionforhappiness.org/
And there’s always commemorative days to help with the treats:
https://www.thereisadayforthat.com/holidays/united-kingdom/world-chocolate-day
https://www.thereisadayforthat.com/holidays/united-kingdom/national-ice-cream-day
So, until next month, here’s to the appreciation of events big and small and recognising what we all have in common with each other.
As the news from Ukraine develops, the continuing events and reports may lead girls in your units to raise questions and concerns, causing you to potentially feel pressure to support the girls and answer their questions. We want to be able to support you, to support your girls on this sensitive topic.
It is likely girls will hear about what is going on through school, online information, the news and overheard conversations. Therefore, if the girls approach you wanting to discuss the crisis, it is important to make time and listen. You can firstly start by asking what they have already heard and open it up to the unit to raise any worries or thoughts they might be having.
Don’t worry about the perfect thing to say. Just opening up this conversation for the girls can help them process what is happening and learn how it fits into their world. There are resources available from credible sources – such as Newsround, Young Minds, UNICEF, Save The Children – to further support you in having these conversations. Girlguiding UK have also created activities to support you in talking about difficult situations, which can be found here.
As a unit you can explore how hearing about the situation is making the girls feel, and respond by validating their feelings, giving comfort and reassurance. One way to do this is to focus on the helpers. Reassure them that adults all over the world are working hard to resolve this – let them know about the organisations, movements and people who are helping to stop the war.
It’s at this point that you could ask your unit what would help them at this time to make them feel safe or less worried. Perhaps look into giving them a practical way to help. During March, Girlguiding released an article on supporting the people in Ukraine during this crisis, how you can support girls at home and in your units, and on welcoming girls, young women and volunteers who have recently fled Ukraine for safety into our units. A Brownie leader and their unit did their good turns by creating care bags for refugees after the girls talked about being upset by footage of the crisis on the television. On a smaller – but still helpful – scale, you could look to support other countries and regions in Girlguiding in their endeavours to aid in the crisis. Girlguiding LaSER have released their Stand Together For Peace badge, information on which can be found here, and Girlguiding Cymru have also released a fundraising badge which you can preorder here.
Having open and mindful conversations with children and young people about how they’re feeling, and sharing how you feel too, is one of the best ways you can support them as these events continue to unfold.
Finally, it is important during this time that you also take care of your own mental wellbeing alongside that of the girls in your care. Don’t hesitate to reach out for advice and support of your own in the coming months. If you’re feeling anxious, take some time for yourself to relax, perhaps look at our latest wellbeing blog for ways to help you rest and recharge.