h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

ah.

this is the life, relaxing around the campfire, having a singsong and a chat.

come grab a stick and a marshmellow and share your experiences with us all.

If you want some songs, there's that Songs with Lots of Verses entry I started and still haven't finished yet ...

Now I REALLY AM going to do that job application form (even though this is much more fun)

Mol

I'm here, wrapped in my camp blanket, with my bag of marshmallows and a nice long stick!

welcome. my camp blanket is still packed in my rucksack as i havent got around to unpacking from the weekend!

so are you a leader or a guide?
why dont you tell us a it about your guiding experiences.

Me? Right, this might take a while...

I've been involved in guiding pretty much since before I was born thanks to my mum, so I've been a rainbow, a brownie, a guide, and now...

Currently, I am an assistant guider with 1st Christchurch Lille Brownies, in Lille, France, as I'm here as part of my degree. Only two more brownie meetings to go (plus a pic-nic at the British ambassador's residence in Paris :D) before I go back to the UK though.

When in the UK and at home, I am an assistant guider with 1st Newport Brownies, but usually only for a few weeks a year as I'm only in Newport when on holiday from uni.

When at uni, I don't do much guiding as I've not managed to find a handy unit yet.

During all this, I am a ranger in Pheonix Senior Section unit, a senior section unit on the internet for those who can't get to local meetings. I'm working on my octants and hopefully going to start my Queens' Guide once I'm back in the UK.

There you go!

I'm doing an entry on the Queen's guide award


I was a brownie leader

At one time I was the county Ranger Adviser

And Now I'm a guide guider

and a Ranger guider

Nicky there was one of my rangers and also with me as a youngleader at guides, she started her leadership scheme just before she went to uni. I'm not impressed that she thinks uni is more inportant than my guides </>

I'm trying to do my leadership qualification, but it's an up-hill struggle when you're BGIFC! A lot of the clauses involve guiders from other units, and the nearest other unit is in Paris... I think a lot of it will have to wait until I get back to the UK, provided the brownies in Newport have enough meetings between me getting back and them finishing for the summer...

how come your at uni in france?

sorry just read as part of your degree

where are you normally based

Am normally in Hull, doing mathematics with french, so I get a year in france doing maths. But that's all finished, just waiting for the results then I can go home!

Pity, I'm in Doncaster, thought I might be able to swipe you if you were near enough

tee hee hee! Although I'm willing to be swiped, so long as it's pretty near to hull uni, as I don't drive so getting places can be tough Consider that an advert for my services - as of September I'll be looking for a nice unit near to Hull uni (preferably brownies as that's the section i've done most of the leadership qualification with).

ooohhhh now you've torn it


They'll be pulling you apart at the seems to get your help

are you that eager to replace me mizzp?!

have you tried looking on the guide website? there is some info on units.

also if you email them they will give you details of commisioners around hull who will then be able to try to fit you into a unit as thats what i did.

im now helping with a really good unit (though not as good as mizzps) in cambridge.

i started brownies when i was 9 and a half went to guides at 10 and stayed till 14 then found out about senior section. i went on to be a young leader with brownies for 2 years whilst in rangers. then mizzp pinched me and i left brownies and went to help with her guides.

now im with a unit here but im not making a very good start on my leadership!

Don't worry, HN, you can whack together a portfolio in a weekend if necessary. Just make sure you do some accounts, and turn up at a district meeting. Everything else will probably just happen - letters home, photos, samples of stuff all count, and one thing can provide evidence for loads of whadjamacallits ... clauses ... y'know what I mean.

Have to say, my DC advised me strongly *not* to get involved in anything to do with guiding while I was at uni: "Go and get different experiences," she said, "and then come back to us with them."

In the event, I ended up in a completely different region after graduating, but I am glad I followed her advice, because when I did come back to guides, I realised how much I'd missed it.

Mmmmm I love burnt marshmallows.

Mol

mmmm thats the way to cook marshmellows!

*wraps camp blanket around shoulders*
its unpacked!

i dont want to leave guides, i want to teach after my degree and the experience is valueable.

i moan about certain things, so a friend asked me the other day why i didnt just leave if i didnt enjoy it. i tried to explain that i do enjoy it but there is problems with it, especially with how its run. i cant see myself leaving in the near future, i do enjoy it and i still get alot out of it.

Too many Cheifs and not enought indians

Thats whats wrong with guiding

it wouldn't be so bad if the indians were appreacated, which they are no half the time


*is secretely hoping a DC is going to stop by and read this*

its just as bad in cambridge as in doncaster and im just starting to realise it.
i found out quite a bit on camp!

But who'd be a DC?!

Our DC did her 3 years and normally you'd expect that to be renewed for another two, especially as the rest of us weren't hopping up and down hoping to be picked. County said no, because her paperwork wasn't up to standard, and left it to the Div C to tell her.

Div C told me in passing that County were right, all the census forms had to be re-done. But the message passed back to our DC was that the Census was fine! Not exactly consistent - how's she supposed to know what she was doing wrong? And maybe she'd have liked the chance to fix it.

We've ended up keeping our DC (who in all other respects is the best one I've known in the district - she visits units, offers support, organises district events, and attends all the right meetings, which is a lot of things to be getting right), with a district assistant to do the paperwork. Good solution, but it was an obvious one and should have been done in the first place, rather than annoying all the guiders and upsetting our DC.

Rant over. Another marshmallow methinks. I lurve camp.

ive just lit my first campfire!
i kept it going, and put it out at the end

ok its not that big a deal but one other leaders have been trying to teach me over the last couple of week so i had my first go tonight and succeeded!