Goodrich as Queen Guinevere

[smallhobbit]

Last Thursday was the last Brownies of the half term, and we did some activities to reflect on the queen's platinum jubilee.  The Brownies enjoyed themselves, but the real excitement was Brownie pack holiday, which began on the Saturday.

I only went for one day - the Sunday - having no wish to sleep over.  This was the day they were visiting Goodrich Castle, so having an extra leader was helpful.  There were 14 Brownies and 6 leaders, which meant we could split into three small groups with two leaders each.  This might seem like overkill, but going up a tower, with a spiral staircase and only a rope rail to hold onto isn't always easy.  Especially when two of the four in the group decide they don't want to go up after all, and I ended up taking the other two.  Who then decided they were not happy about going back down again.  However, they rejected my suggestion that the only other way was if I threw them over the top, and we made our way slowly down, me distracting them as they went.

All the Brownies enjoyed looking round the castle, and I intend to go back another day when I can actually look properly, read the signs and don't have to keep track of four girls going in different directions.  We had packed lunch on some picnic tables and then walked back down the hill to the village hall, which was where they were staying.

The girls then had a rest, some of them falling asleep, others reading, while the leaders had a very welcome cup of tea and prepared for the craft activity - covering a balloon with paper maché.  I wasn't involved, instead helping with preparing the evening meal.  This was a medieval banquet (the theme of the pack holiday was King Arthur), and they had finger food like sausages, chicken drumsticks, chopped up salad, plus loaves of bread which they could tear chunks off.  This was followed by very unmedieval ice cream sundaes, but one needs to be realistic!

They then did another craft activity and I helped clear up from the banquet.  Normally the Brownies do that, but as it had been a feast (and there wasn't too much to do) we did it.  After which I drove home.

I've agreed to remain on the guiding list so that I can still help out at major activities, which suits me as I didn't want to lose all contact, but didn't want the regular commitment anymore.

Ironically, on the Saturday morning, the following badge arrived in the post.  Sunday definitely didn't feel like a day off!

Comments

[annofowlshire]

Oh. You were in our neighborhood again (shades of Wapping…). We are just on the other side of the Kerne Bridge - Goodrich is our “local” castle XD

[smallhobbit]

That really is close. It's a lovely part of the country. If you do spot any stray Brownies, send them back!

[annofowlshire]

I’ll look out for stray Brownies! Goodrich Primary was our second choice school - we really, really liked it and it’s fairly close, but decided that it would be better to put our village’s school first (and that’s what we were offered).

[corvidology]

Sounds like a very wise decision on your participation level and it's nice for them that you aren't going to sever ties completely.

[smallhobbit]

It leaves me free to say yes or no at the time, depending on what else is going on. They're pleased I'm still going to be around a bit, and I'm glad I won't be losing touch, just won't have the responsibility.

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

I did smile at you offering to pitch the girls over! So are you done with Brownies except for special occasions?

[smallhobbit]

They didn't seem greatly bothered! I have another half term (6 weeks) of regular meetings and then I'm finished.

[therealsnape]

The new level of involvement seems like a very sensible plan. It'll be nice not to loose touch completely, but to be able to say no is a great thing.

I loved your problem-solving skills when it came to the Brownies in the Tower. They might have thrown a Rapunzel, too, stay in the tower and wait till one's hair grows long enough that friends and prospective life partners may climb up using it as a rope.

[smallhobbit]

Yes, I'm very happy with the decision. I'd been hoping something could be worked out but hadn't wanted to push for it, so I was delighted when it was suggested.

I hadn't thought of Rapunzel, but to be fair did want a quicker solution. Pointing out originally people would have had to carry things up and there would have been no rope distracted them sufficiently they thought it wasn't quite as bad.

[rusty_armour]

Oh, wow! I never went on outings like that when I was a Brownie. I certainly didn't visit a castle -- not even Casa Loma. In any case, the Brownie pack holiday sounds like a great success, though I can understand why Sunday didn't feel like a day off. I hope you get a chance to return to Goodrich Castle on your own.

It's good that you've decided to remain on the guiding list and can be available to help out with any major activities. That seems like a level of commitment that you can work with.

[smallhobbit]

I think it's one of the fun things about being a Brownie - getting to do new things and have experiences outside the family/school. The whole pack holiday was a great success - some of the Brownies fell asleep on the way home when their parents collected them.

Yes, it suits me - I didn't want to lose all connection but really wasn't enjoying the weekly commitment.