Yes. I was a Rainbow, a Brownie, a Girl Guide…below is a picture of me and two of my fellow Guides at the 64th Company getting presented with our Baden-Powell Awards (at the time, the highest award you could receive in Guiding).
Then I was a Young Leader, a Trainee Assistant Guider and a Ranger Guide…but when I was 18 and moved into a flat I couldn’t get to the Brownie Pack anymore because I didn’t drive and lived too far away. Our Rangers folded when our leader (taking her daughters – 2 members of our unit) left for Germany. No more Venture Scout camps for us.

I left Guiding.

I got involved with other youth work through the Church and Community Education.

But tonight, I returned to Guiding.

It’s changed a lot since I was last part of it. No more Guide Handbooks, no flags (phew! I can’t remember how to do all those knots and things), new uniforms and new colourful activities and ways of doing things. It’ll take a bit of getting used to.

I learned so much through Girl Guides. I learned First Aid, camping and outdoor skills, how to cook, how to do laundry, where the tourist information office was, how to finger spell in British Sign Language, I got to perform on stage both indoors and outdoors (and to this day my body tenses up when I hear Highland Cathedral – never ever want to be singing that in those tartan sacks again), I learned how to organise, to work as a team, how to speak in public and how to project my voice loudly across noisy halls or camping fields to great effect.

I hope I can still remember how to do some of that stuff.

It is GREAT to be back.