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Hi Everyone
Welcome to this month’s edition of Signpost.
There are signs of Spring all around us with blossom and early spring flowers bursting into life. Spring gives us a feeling of hope and a new start and one year on from the first lockdown we are full of hope and optimism that with the easing of restrictions life will begin to feel a little more normal.
Lots of you will be making plans to meet face to face, I know I am and especially meeting the girls who have joined and made their Promise via zoom and have never experienced face to face guiding.
Keep a look out for the launch of further themes from The Buzz About Anglia challenge and don’t forget to share with us what you are doing, we would love to see photos of some of the amazing things you are getting up to. This month we have a selection of new activities from the next 4 themes for you, this can all be found here or down below in the newsletter.
Well done to everyone who has been working their way through the themes of the Buzz About Anglia challenge which have already been released. Thank you to Avril Brampton from Essex West who sent in these images of her learning to create Rangoli!
Remember to always tag Girlguiding Anglia on social media so your images can be shared with everyone!
This month we saw the launch of the new Girlguiding Anglia Facebook page which came with loads of interesting content for our members. Thank you to everyone who has taken a moment to share or re-like the page, you support means a lot to us. If you would like to visit the new Facebook you can find it here, be sure to like/follow the page to stay up to date on all the latest news, resources, and giveaways!
Have fun!
Andrea Oughton
Deputy Region Chief
It’s been an interesting year, hasn’t it? We are now coming up to a year since the first lockdown was announced and 2020 was certainly not been what we expected. Despite everything going on around them, our girls, leaders and volunteers rose to the challenge and adapted to a new way of guiding.
We are continually amazed at the creativity and dedication of our volunteers as they adapt activities and offer girls and young women as many opportunities and activities as they can. We have heard from so many parents how important guiding and a little slice of normality has been for girls and young women.
Claire Course, County Commissioner, and Netta Record, Assistant County Commissioner
Some of our highlights from 2020!
Cambs East inaugural STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) event in February 2020, when over 1000 girls, leaders and volunteers enjoyed a day of hands-on activities, exciting experiments, exhilarating engineering, cool construction and marvellous maths!
With the Lord-Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, and in partnership with Girlguiding Cambridgeshire West, we launched the Lord-Lieutenant’s Challenge in February 2020. This give girls and young women opportunities to stretch themselves as they learn about and serve their local community, before taking positive action to improve their lives and the lives of others.
In April 2020, the Jarman Centre, the Girlguiding Cambs East residential centre in Newmarket, offered an egg-citing Easter challenge in for girls and their families to complete at home instead of their usual family fun day. Over 400 people took part!
Girls were out there serving their community too! Rainbow, Nevaeh-Joy, raised £450 for the Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust doing a sponsored walk, and Maisie, a Brownie, raised over £800 from her own hospital bed for Starlight Children’s Foundation.
What’s to come in 2021?
Members celebrated a virtual World Thinking Day together on our YouTube channel on Sunday, 21 February. Activities included international crafts from all the WAGGGS regions and a special time to renew our Promise led by members, including a Rainbow. It’s not too late to get involved or order the badge! (Last order date: 31 March)
The Jarman Centre team are really looking forward to welcoming everyone back as soon as they can but, in the meantime, all members and their families are invited to take part in a fun-filled virtual sleepover, packed with Jarman Centre themed activities. The main event will be on Saturday 27 March to Sunday 28 March, but the challenge can be completed in unit meetings or as a family over the Easter break.
The change to doing everything online has been tough for some children and volunteers. We know that many of our volunteers just haven’t had the time or the headspace for online guiding between work online or work as a keyworker or unexpectedly home-schooling or caring for family members in a really challenging time. To try to offer guiding to those girls where online meetings haven’t been an opportunity, we are excited to be starting monthly Zoom meetings for each section across the county.
There’s been some small benefits to online meetings too that we wouldn’t have expected at the start of this!
During UK Parliament Week, Cambridge MP, Daniel Zeichner joined several Rainbow units to share the story of Guy Fawkes and Bonfire Night from his office in the Houses of Parliament.
Last month, 5th Cambridge Brownies celebrated Chinese New Year with a virtual sleepover and joined Canadian Sparks and Brownie units for an international campfire.
Cambs East Website
YouTube
What an amazing World Thinking Day… Or should I say weekend!
There was so much going on at the weekend, I was spoilt for choice on what to take part in. I hope you were able to celebrate with your unit or with friends and leaders from far and wide. The virtual world certainly came into its own and I was able to join several County events across the Region and joined in with renewing my promise. I started my day on Sunday with Girlguiding Jersey, something I could not have done without the power of zoom.
Andrea and I were really pleased to be able to send each unit a postcard this year and share World Thinking Day wishes with you all. Thinking day also gave us the opportunity to launch our 50th Birthday ship badge which our counties all helped us share with you on social media, we hope you like it! The badge celebrates the whole region turning 50 and includes all the counties as well. Have you started the Buzz About Anglia challenge yet? We have just launched the Bee New and Creative theme with more ideas for you to take part in. Please make sure you send in your photographs, as I would love to see what you have been up to so far.
We had the news this week from the Prime Minister, explaining the timeline for the relaxation of restrictions. Please be patient, we will get the guidance we need to enable us to meet safely as soon as it’s available. Don’t forget your risk assessments will need completing and these will need to include the new guidance, when we have this, (so please don’t complete now) and sent to your local commissioner to approve. We are several weeks away from this taking place so once again I say, please be patient and check the website for updates. I know that we all are looking forward to seeing our girls however we just need to be mindful that this could take a few more weeks yet, and I’m sure it will be limited numbers and in an outdoor space to start with.
March will soon be here and with-it International Women’s Day. Who is your inspirational woman? This could be a member of your family, someone from the TV world, an author, a scientist, or perhaps someone from within Girlguiding? I always think of that group of girls who went to the Scouting rally wanting something for the girls! And look where we are today all those years later, offering great opportunities, challenges, and adventure, and of course fun and friendship.
Take care, Stay safe and Keep Smiling.
Tracy
We hope this brief insight into the wonderful County of Buckinghamshire will give you some information about what is special to us and how diverse our county is. You will hear from both of us; Life of a County Commissioner: our hopes and dreams past and present. You will also be able to read about some of our widespread divisions; from the top to the bottom and read what the coming months have in store for our teams of advisers.
Up until the pandemic, we had a very full calendar and two special events were the County Banner Service and the Competition Hike. We can’t allow a pandemic to stop us so they’ll be virtual this year. Read about them and how much fun they are.
We are lucky to have our County holiday home: Ellesborough. See some beautiful photos of Ellesborough in all its glory and hear from the Chairperson of Ellesborough’s Management Committee.
It’s an exciting time in Buckinghamshire, you can read about it here:
Follow these links to hear more from Sheila Beales and Karen Johnson our Joint County Commissioners
GROWTH RETENTION AND MARKETING
My hopes for the future are that we will recover and grow our memberships once again. Our Marketing plans are more important than ever to support the recruitment of new members, along with promoting future events and activities to engage and reach as many of our members as possible to make them a success.
PROGAMME – ADVENTURE
“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for a newer and richer experience.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt, former First Lady of the United States.
My hopes and aspirations for the future can be summed up as bringing adventure and experiences back to Bucks starting with our virtual Be Brilliant in B.U.C.K.S event in May and our virtual Competition Hike in July. We are also hoping to dust off our passports in August 2022 with a County visit to Our Chalet.
I cannot wait until I can get my camp blanket out and start packing for my next residential adventure!”
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY TREFOIL
We are delighted that we are able to take part in so many activities with our Girlguiding County, they include us whenever possible, and it is not just for making tea and cakes. We are a happy Girlguiding family. Many of us are looking forward to taking part in the Anglia Region 50th Birthday Challenge as we still like collecting badges and sewing them on our blankets.
GIRLGUIDING BUCKINGHAMSHIRE AWARDS
The County holds a variety of events where some awards are presented if the occasion is best suited. Seen here is Deputy Chief Commissioner Andrea Oughton presenting the Laurel Award to retired County Commissioner Pauline Hall in 2019. This was done at the annual County Dinner which is an invitation- only event for our members based on their role and contribution over the previous year. This is a great opportunity to present the more ‘prestigious’ awards like the Laurel.
In addition, the County has hosted an Afternoon Tea when all those who have been given an award, either long service or in recognition of their support to guiding, are invited to attend. It is hoped that more of these types of events can be held in the future.
We have a list of all those who have received thanks and recognition since 1973. Read more.
THE BANNERS OF GIRLGUIDING BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
We are particularly proud of our Banners as they represent a belonging and members are encouraged to take ownership of this sense of family. We believe they should be on display for all to see at as many events as possible around the County and it would be nice to continue to have an annual event when they can come together and we can celebrate their existence and take pride in who we are and what we do.
Many of the Banners have been reproduced as blanket badges, some of which are given as a thank you to someone who has done something special for that area. Others have been sold to members and collectors to raise funds. Read more.
ELLESBOROUGH GUIDE CENTRE
Girlguiding Buckinghamshire own just one property, Ellesborough Guide Centre situated at the heart of the County at the foot of Coombe Hill part of the Chiltern Ridgeway. It has become a much-loved site and many girls have experienced their first stay away from home, first camp, and new leaders their first training, parts of the building still retain some of the feel of a Victorian School. Read more…
COMPETITION HIKE
Every year we hold Competition Hike 5,10 & 20KM with 150 walkers. This year for our 25th anniversary the Hike will be virtual read how we plan to do this. Read more.
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE’S DIVISIONS
