Being both a keen Guide and a keener traveller, you’d think I’d be an INTOPS regular- that is, Girlguiding’s shorthand for International Opportunities, or trips abroad. But no, I’ve only in the last two years really come across INTOPS and I’d never thought about going for it myself. But now I have and this intersection … More What happens at INTOPS (International Opportunities) adult selection?
The second part of the Switzerland 2014 post to get rewritten, because the photos had broken, is our day trip to Our Chalet. Quick recap: this is a Girlguiding trip; it’s a county adults trip with no selection process other than being the first twelve or so to send a deposit and we went to … More Switzerland 2014: Our Chalet
For reasons that might become clearer later in the month, I was looking at my old Switzerland posts the other day and discovered that all the photos had broken in the first two posts from our county trip in 2014. So rather than just repair the photos, I thought I’d rewrite them altogether because it’s … More Switzerland 2014: Anita’s B&B
When I was at school, I did the Bronze level of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. It was introduced at my school in my last year so we were the guinea pigs for it. I didn’t know I could continue it at uni or through Girlguiding or through local groups, otherwise I would at least … More I did the Bronze level of four award schemes. How do they compare?
The last Travel Library of the year is a suitably seasonal cold & frosty one – it’s called Frigid Women by Sue & Victoria Riches (affiliate link to bookshop.org, not to Am*zon) and it’s the story of the first all-woman expedition to reach the North Pole. Sue Riches was the speaker at the Trefoil Guild … More Travel Library: Frigid Women by Sue & Victoria Riches
Over the last ten or fifteen years, Girlguiding has cultivated four flagship events, held simultaneously at anywhere between two and four of its Training & Activity Centres. The really big one is Wellies & Wristbands, a festival camp for Guides & Rangers, the 10 to 18-year-olds. Then came Magic & Mayhem, a circus-themed fun day … More Sparkle & Ice 2024: the one in a shepherds hut
I like churches. Like some of the people who appear in this book, part of the heart & soul of their particular churches, I’m not a believer and I don’t even find any sense of peace or inner tranquillity in a church. It’s merely my chosen favourite art form, one which contains, usually, a few … More Travel Library: Steeple Chasing by Peter Ross
Now, this is a book of two halves, because for the first few chapters, I was shaking my head and going “Yet again, I’m going to have to write on my blog that I read a travel-themed book that I didn’t particularly like”. But it got better. This month’s book is also the Rebel Readers’ … More Travel Library: The Salt Path by Raynor Winn
This has been on my to-read pile for a while and finally I decided it was going to come off that list and get read. The subtitle for it is “sea kayaking the Shipping Forecast” and now I’m helping at the boathouse, I’m taking more interest in sea kayaking, which is why this caught my … More Travel Library: Moderate Becoming Good Later by Toby and Katie Carr
A Chip Shop in Poznan by Ben Aitken has been sitting on my bookshelf for probably more years than I care to think about it. It’s always my “I’ll read that one next” before I find myself picking up something else. Turns out that was fate staying my hand because when I realised my Eras … More Travel Library: A Chip Shop in Poznan by Ben Aitken
I Am A Polar Bear 