On Monday/today, Girlguiding launched its new interest badges. Let me backtrack a little so you understand the significance. It’s been the messiest roll-out that was supposed to be a massive PR show – the BBC put out their news article somewhere around 2am, CBBC, Wales Online and the Telegraph somewhere around 6am, which is about … More Brownie leader reacts to the new Girlguiding interest badges
This is an accountability post. I’m writing a book, theoretically. I’m also logging the time I’m spending on it, which means I can see things like “just over an hour and a half of writing in all of 2025 so far”. The trouble is that it’s for fun, which means when I’m busy, it just … More I’m writing a book about baths
It’s been a while since I added a new instalment in the Journey to Paddlesport Instructor series and that’s partly because there’s been no major step forward for a while and partly because I have an entire separate paddling blog now (I’ll admit it at last: I’m plotting to become one of Paddle UK’s #ShePaddles … More My Paddlesport Leader training course
It’s that time of year! My beloved outdoor pool is open again for the summer season and I’m going to swim – my primary semi-formal exercise of the year! I’m not a gym girlie and never will be. I’m not a “girlie” of any kind, come to that. But no, I don’t go to the … More My swimming routine
OK, when I say “camp”, I mean what my previous Guides called “indoor camp” and current Brownies calls “a sleepover”: a Brownie residential of one night at a Scout-owned campsite in indoor accommodation with bunk beds. “Brownie camp” is more succinct though. It’s 9.30pm on Sunday night, we sent our little angels home eight and … More 11 things I learned on Brownie camp
On Saturday morning, we’re taking twelve of our Brownies away for a sleepover – a mini-camp, indoors and just one night. On Monday, if I’m not too exhausted, I’ll tell you all about how it went but today let’s talk about how it was planned. First up was Tawny Owl, our licence holder, deciding it … More How to plan a Brownie sleepover
There are some camps that go down in legend, to be talked over ten or twenty years later. The one with the storm that knocked the Ranger tent over so that they were scared to go and alert the leaders and everyone ended up getting sent home for two days so we could clean up … More Back to Basics Guide camp was definitely type 2 fun
Because I tend to over-fill my evenings and weekends, I found myself craving a weekend away where, for once, I wasn’t actually doing anything. Just reading, sewing and spending as much time as possible in the hot tub. Glamping is inherently less stressful than pitching your own tent and it’s more relaxing than a hotel. … More Welcome to the Pheasant’s Retreat
I like to go camping. That is, I think I like to go camping. The reality is that for one reason or another – or several reasons – I never really actually sleep in a tent. But I like to get away from my life for the weekend without feeling like I need to explore, … More My latest camping disaster
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?
I Am A Polar Bear 