Brownies from Biggin Hill went on a sleepover at London Zoo. In total, three were 36 Brownies; 3 Young Leaders; 10 adult Leaders and 5 Guides who were Brownies when they booked.

“We were looked after by 5 members of ZSL staff, who treated us to quizzes around the BUG house; games; show and tell about a few of the insects; story time; a torch light tour around parts of the zoo to see which animals were still awake; and that was all before bedtime.  Lights out at 11.30 pm – silence, but by 5 am(ish) the Lions began to roar again.  We cleared our belongings out of the BUG house, leaving them at security, and continued to the restaurant for breakfast – what a choice we had for breakfast.  Finally we were taken around more of the zoo and through the ‘rainforest’ where we came face to face with little monkeys, birds, and a sloth high in the trees.

“We would highly recommend this adventure to all our guiding friends. Thanks to ZSL for a great Big Brownie Birthday Stay Away.”

BEDBUGS 29th March 2014 – Sleepover at London Zoo

This started as an idea for a unit’s adventurous sleepover.  Then as we learnt more about ZSL’s sleepovers we realised that if we could get enough interested members to attend we could book an evening purely for ourselves, so we decided this would be an excellent Brownie Birthday adventure for our district.

When we first booked the age range was stipulated as 8s and over, but ZSL changed this so we could include our 7 year olds.

A lot of emails when back and forth to finalise every detail.

We were all told to have a good lunch before we left home.  We met at 5.00pm to board the coach.  Everyone had to bring a sleeping bag and mat, usual toiletries, change of clothing, packed tea and lots to drink, torch and camera.

We travelled up through London and arrived a little late (rush hour traffic!) about 7.20pm.  Our hosts were waiting for us at the East Gate.

We all filed in and were lead through the zoo to the BUGS, (Biodiversity Underpinning Global Survival), which is home to over 140 different species ranging from spiders, fish, mole rats to anteaters, who live just outside. The whole of this exhibit was to be our home for the night.

The ZSL staff immediately took the lead.  We had a briefing about the facilities and arrangements, then it was onto the first activity.

The girls had a quiz to complete which meant they had to explore all around the BUGS exhibit to find letters and clues which finally spelt another animal.  When completed you returned to the leaders who rewarded you with a badge of a Big Gorilla!

Next a specialist of the BUGS creatures gave us a talk and showed us a giant snail, a millipede, played spot the camouflaged creatures – stick and leaf insects and finally a big hairy spider – Ahhh!

The girls were very good, although a little nervous but they still managed to ask lots of questions.

We then stopped for a quick snack and drink.  Tea and coffee was available for the adults in our party courtesy of ZSL.

When we finished, we had to cover all our torches with a red film so we would not disturb the animals we were to meet on our tour.

We were extremely luck that it was such fine weather, warmish and no rain.  We split into two groups and were lead around the Zoo.  We saw a sleeping Serval, flamingos, pelicans, bearded pigs, llamas, aardvarks, birds, dragons, wallabies, and many more.  The aardvarks were the most active as they are nocturnal.  They were as curious of us as we were of them, coming right up to the windows, stretching up high, getting their noses just over the top of the windows.  We found the wallabies with their feet in the air – did you know wallabies sleep on their backs!!!  As we came to the end of the tour we could hear the Lions roaring but we did not go over to see them but we caught a glimpse of two lionesses patrolling their area.

Back to BUGS and the girls were instructed to get ready for bed, teeth cleaning and laying out their beds.  Once on their beds the ZSL staff taught us some actions to go with the bedtime story.  Wiggle like larvae, buzz like a swarm, wave like a queen, fill your pockets with pollen, etc.  Then as they read the story we had to join in with the actions.  Each person received a ZSL magazine for taking part and then it was settle down and lights out.

Amazingly everyone seemed to go quiet, even the Lions.  Although it is an open planned area, there are several alcoves/sections, so we spread the age ranges into different areas to give a little privacy.

I believe the Brownies, Guides and Young Leaders were unaware of the little visitor who came to one of our guiders during the night.  Fortunately it was not one of the exhibit animals because instinct took over, resulting in a quick swatting with a trainer.  Squish!!!

At about 5 am the Lions began to roar again.  This particular weekend the clocks jumped forward so we lost a little sleep at this point.  At 6.45 am we started to get dress and pack up our bedding.  7.30 am we were led back to the East Gate to leave our luggage, then onto breakfast in the restaurant.  We had a wide choice for breakfast – cereals, fruit, pastries, porridge, yoghurts, hot drinks or juice – all included in the price.

About 8.30 am we were lead again around the zoo passing the sleeping otters, very active meerkats, and others to then go into the Rainforest exhibit.  Here we came face to face with lots of little monkeys, birds, and a sloth who was ‘sleeping’ high up in the treetops.   From here we moved onto the reptile house to see lizards, turtles, alligators and snakes. (the glass has been fixed since Harry Potter visited!).

The zoo was not open to the public until 10 am, so we had the place to ourselves with our personal tour guides.

The ZSL staff were kind enough to take our group photo on everyones cameras, then we had to say goodbye, as we were due to meet our coach at 10 am in the car park.

As Leaders we naturally took extra things to do ‘just incase’, but the whole evening was fully booked and well planned by the ZSL staff, so as Guiding Leaders we were able to enjoy the whole experience just as much as the Brownies, Guides and Young Leaders.

Thank you to all the ZSL staff and all the Biggin Hill Leaders who attended it was a FANTASTIC Stay Away.  Where shall we go next?

The post Biggin Hill go to London Zoo appeared first on Girlguiding Greater London Kent.

The girls arrived at 9.30 and were given flower garlands colour coded to the group they were going to be in for the day.

They took part in 5 sessions through out the day which were Dance, singing, circus skills, Drum Jam and a costume making session where the girls made grass skirts and masks.

By the end of the day the girls were all dressed up in carnival outfits and came together for the finale. A selection of the girls showed off their Drum Jam skills and played Samba music.

All the 170 Brownies then did the dance they had learnt together and then sang the pop song ‘Happy’ which they had learnt and finished with happy birthday to Brownies.

It was a great day for everyone involved and there were a lot of happy faces going home with a badge to celebrate the day.

The post Bexleyheath carnival appeared first on Girlguiding Greater London Kent.

On the Friday evening we took part in a variety of different activities, trying a diversity of things from different areas of the Senior Section programme.

We enjoyed creative comedy improvisation workshops, healthy cocktail making, learnt how to independently manage our finances, decorated biscuits, made international flag bead badges, played board games, and took part in a ‘free being me’ body image activity.

We followed this with pizzas and a Disney movie marathon.

After some of us had slept(!) we spent Saturday morning carrying out a site service project at Cudham.

Unfortunately our planned outdoor activities were hampered by the waterlogged site and the weather, but the girls assisted the site manager by producing an itinerary of the Cudham events equipment in Lordfield instead.

It was great to have so many Senior Section members from across the County in attendance and getting to know each other.  Many thanks to everyone who mucked in and helped make it such an enjoyable event.

We look forward to the next exciting Senior Section event for GLK!

The post Senior Section Sleepover appeared first on Girlguiding Greater London Kent.

We boarded the coach at 5.30pm at the Sainsbury’s Homebase car park in Orpington and headed for Folkestone. This is where we were going to catch the Eurostar from. The journey took about 2 hours; we were chatting, eating and reading all the way. When we reached Folkestone the coach had to be driven onto the train. We still had about another 2-3 hours drive to get to Davey Crockett Ranch after leaving the Eurostar, where we were to stay for 2 nights. It was about 1.30am when we arrived. We were greeted by a member of the staff and were given a talk about the Ranch. at the end of a long exhausting journey we finally got to bed around 3am.

We got woken up at about 7.30am by the leader of our group with breakfast. We were treated to croissants, rolls, hot chocolate and a variety of spreads. The weather was sunny and there were not too many clouds about. At 8.30am we boarded the coach and were driven to Disneyland. I was looking forward to the rides. The first ride I went on was ‘Space Mountain’. It was awesome as there were 5 loops; I had never experienced an upside down ride before. Afterwards I watched a 3D movie called ‘Honey, I Shrunk the Audience’. I went on some more rides after that, such as: ‘The Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast’ and ‘The Big Thunder Mountain’. Soon after that we had lunch. I went on even more rides including: ‘Indiana Jones’, ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ and ‘It’s A Small World’. The day went rally quick and we went shopping later on, spending our euros in the castle and the town shops. In the evening we had dinner at Planet hollywood. We drove back to the chalet and got into our pyjamas. Our group had hot chocolate and went to bed, looking forward to another day in Disneyland.

The next day, 1st february 2009, we went to the Walt Disney Studios after having the same breakfast as yesterday. The weather was the same as the day before, but colder. The first ride I went on was the Tower of Terror. Some people opted out. After the ride I went shopping and I bought a Mickey Mouse. I also went on Aladddin’s Carpet and The Rocking Rollercoaster which again took me upside down. We had lunch next and then at 3.15pm we got back on the coach for the journey home. The journey to Calais where we were to get the Eurostar from, took about 2 hours. We stopped to go shopping one last time in France before we got on the train. When we arrived in England, to our surprise, it had been snowing and it was very thick. The journey to the Sainsbury’s Homebase car park in Orpington took another 3-4 hours because of the snow. Our parents were already there waiting for us. The trip to Paris was amazing and I would like to thank Judith and all the other leaders that made the trip possible.

By Vanessa Nunn

The post 1st Barnehurst Guides Disneyland Adventure appeared first on Girlguiding Greater London Kent.

Picture by Derek Hope, Kent Photonews-Sidcup

The post Rainbows Come of Age appeared first on Girlguiding Greater London Kent.

Nominated by: Mrs Irene Beschizza

Janet has worked hard in her various roles with the Guide movement for over 40 years. Having retired as District Commissioner for Bexley Guiding when she was 65 years old, she is now the Chairperson for Sidcup Trefoil and runs the Guide shop at her own home selling badges, uniforms and books to the Guiders in Hurst Division, Bexley.

Nothing is too much trouble for Janet and she still continues to assist Guide units on a regular basis. Janet is also the Division’s Adult Leader Co-ordinator and assists with the training of new guiders.

Janet is a dedicated member of Guiding and the lives of many young people have been enriched by Janet voluntarily giving of her time. She is an officially accredited Mentor for new Guiders who always enjoy learning from her wealth of experience and knowledge of all Guiding matters.

For over 40 years voluntary service with Guiding and Sidcup Trefoil, Janet Maskell was awarded for the Civic Recognition of Voluntary Service by Adults Award.

The post Janet Maskell – Bexley Civic Award appeared first on Girlguiding Greater London Kent.

The last year and a half have been incredible: exciting, busy, emotional, stressful, happy and wonderful. Last May when I applied to “find out more” about Region International Opportunities, I never imagined that I’d actually be invited to lead a trip, let alone lead a Region trip to help pioneer the Region’s Centenary plans in South Africa! London and South East England Region (LaSER) has formed a partnership with God’s Golden Acre, an NGO working in KwaZulu Natal and 2008 trip was the first phase of the project.

The team
In October 2007, I was thrilled to meet and start to get to know the team of 14-18 year olds from across London and South East England who had been hand-picked to be part of the project. Suddenly the reality of the opportunity dawned. I was one of four Guiders from across the London and South East Region who led the trip.

Pre-trip
God’s Golden Acre (GGA) was founded in 1994 by Heather Reynolds. GGA works in rural areas within the communities of Kwa Zulu Natal. They provide food, education, clothing, medical care as well as providing opportunities to those most in need. Before we departed for South Africa I was part of a team of Guiders who developed a resource to take with us and to use throughout the South Africa project 2008-2010. The programme resource became known as the POP Kit – ‘Programme on a Plate’ as it contained many activities that could be picked up and used without a huge amount of preparation. The POP Kit contained activities and sessions on a variety of different topics including healthy lifestyles, self esteem, team work, morals and values, spirituality, gender equality, respect, photography, drama, poetry, sports, art and craft. To run the activities and sessions we had to source our own materials. We created a wish-list of equipment and distributed it to Units, Guiders, friends, businesses who were able to donate items to the project. South African Airways kindly gave us 20kg of free luggage allowance which allowed us to take out everything we needed. We also went armed with an extensive list of simple action songs and parachute games to share with the different children we would meet. As a team in the year leading up to our trip we had 3 training weekends together which we spent getting to know each other, planning our time in SA, organising ourselves and our kit. Some of the team attended one of Girlguiding UK’s peer education scheme trainings, where the girls learnt how to plan productive peer education sessions and to deliver them successfully. To participate in the trip everyone had to fundraise to cover costs. We were grateful for the support of so many different sponsors. Part of going on a big trip like this is enlisting the help of others at home around you, so that they can support you and experience the project as well.

God’s Golden Acre
When we finally arrived at God’s Golden Acre the excitement was almost unbearable. We were met by one of their long-serving volunteers who showed us to our accommodation and helped us to settle in. The following day we met with more staff that gave us an introduction to GGA and showed us around the site. There was so much information to absorb and take in and they were thrilled that we were going to volunteer. We were warmly welcomed by staff and other volunteers as well of course by all of the children (and animals!) that lived on-site. Volunteers come from all over the world to stay and work at GGA and I felt privileged to be invited to join part of their international family. Our time at God’s Golden Acre was to be spent doing a variety of things. We were given a rough outline from GGA as to how we’d spend our time and we were given the opportunity to run our POP Kit activities with 3 groups of children at different locations – Crafcor nursery and Pre-School, Mophela Primary School and on site at GGA Khayelihle.

Crafcor
The children at the Crafcor nursery are aged 3-6 years old. The pre-school opened a few years ago as part of GGA’s outreach programme. They now accommodate 70 children in 3 different classes organised by age. The main aim of the pre-school is to offer a safe place for the children to come and receive appropriate stimulation and education so that they can progress into Primary School when they are ready and able. The children are fed one meal at lunchtime, which for many of them is their main meal of the day. Most of the Crafcor children have lost one or both of their parents often to HIV/AIDS and are being raised by grandmothers or other extended family members. Many of the children are left to be cared for by older siblings, not much older then themselves, and are vulnerable to abuse.

Mophela
The young people we met at Mophela Primary School were aged 8-13 years old. The teachers divided the children and we were given groups of approximately 20 young girls to run 2 hour sessions with daily. Spending time at Mophela Primary really gave us the opportunity to work with the POP kit. The team planned and delivered sessions to the different groups. The groups of girls were all keen to learn, even though their English and our Zulu wasn’t very good!
The school building was a very bumpy, off-road 20 minute drive from the GGA base. The classrooms were literally shells, with the occasional desk or bench. Many of the glass windows were broken and just the frames remained. There were no resources, textbooks, paper or pens to use, so when we arrived with what seemed like an endless supply of stationery and craft materials the children were surprised.

Khayelihle
We spent late afternoons and evenings with the 70 children who lived on site at God’s Golden Acre. The backgrounds of the children that live here are extraordinary. They have been orphaned or abandoned as a result of the HIV pandemic and/or violence. Some of them have physical or emotional disabilities, some have been victims of abuse or trauma and so can’t be cared for in their communities. As a last resort, the children are taken to live on-site at GGA. We heard many individual stories of children who had been incredibly poorly and had been taken in by GGA and who are now cared for in a loving family home.
The children at GGA are often referred to as the ‘Khayelihle Kids’. They are put into foster families with several adults acting as parents or careers. Each cluster foster family has a Gogo (Grandmother), Aunties and a House Parent who is responsible for overseeing the general care, welfare and education of each of the children in the family. I was amazed at the amount of love and kindness within these families. The Gogos and Aunties are all from the local communities who have chosen to care and live at GGA with the children. At GGA, the children are encouraged to maintain connections with their Zulu roots. They eat traditional Zulu foods and communicate in their native language. They are disciplined in the same ways they would be if they lived with their families in the valleys of KwaZulu Natal. During some of the school holidays, where possible children are sent back to stay with their extended families, grandmothers or siblings so to maintain links with the children’s biological families. When this isn’t possible children go and stay with their Aunties or Gogos in their family homes for a break from GGA.

Child Sponsorship Programme – Food parcels
Towards the end of our time at GGA we were invited to help with the Houses of Hope project and the Food Parcel Programme. GGA runs a Sponsorship programme to provide food parcels for the poorest families in the valleys. On one of our last days in South Africa the team worked really hard and packed 300 of these parcels to be delivered. With rising food costs it was shocking how little GGA were able to provide to families who are so desperately in need. Many of the quantities of items had to be halved as costs have risen so much. The photo on the left shows an average monthly food parcel for a family of 8 or 9 people.

Houses of Hope Project
The aim of the Houses of Hope project is to build homes for orphaned families and upgrade homes that are simply not habitable. During our stay we visited 2 Houses of Hope. We were driven into one of the valleys nearby and shown one of the sites that the GGA Building Team was currently working on. The home belonged to a grandmother and her 8 grandchildren, whom she cared for on her own with only a minimal state pension. The Rondavel (round circular hut) they were living in was poorly made. The walls were made of clay type mud and wooden branches and the roof was simply corrugated iron that had been attached to poorly aligned beams. It was falling apart. Typically, Zulu families in this area would cook in the Rondavel and then live in the rectangular building outside (pictured right) but this house simply wasn’t suitable. During the rain the roof would leak and we were told there were strong possibilities of collapse as it just wasn’t structurally safe. When we visited the next House of Hope we were able to get more involved and actually help to finish it off, ready for a family to move into the following week. The house belonged to one of the first young girls that GGA had helped and had been burnt out by members of the local community. The mother of the family was dying of TB and so the children were being cared for by their elderly grandmother. We painted the house inside and out and the family moved in shortly after we left. As part of LaSER’s Centenary Project, the ‘KZN Passport’ will be launched to raise awareness of the issues faced by those living in KwaZulu Natal. This Challenge will be distributed to units across the Region in early 2009 with the aim of raising enough money to build a House of Hope.

Touring South Africa
We spent 3 weeks in South Africa, the first of which was spent touring and sightseeing. Highlights included hot air ballooning, Safari at Ntshondwe National Park, visiting Lesedi Cultural Village and the Apartheid Museum. We also visited a Lion Park just outside of Johannesburg where we had the opportunity to get up close to some lion cubs. As well as sightseeing we spent time visiting different Guiding units in Johannesburg, Pietermaritzburg, Katlehong and Durban. We ran activities with Teddies, Brownies, Guides and Rangers as well as playing games, using the parachute and singing songs. We visited 3 very different Guide units in South Africa. The first was run by teachers after school in the township of Katlehong. The second was run in a very rural area just outside of Piertermaritzburg and the third was run in a built up area of Durban. Despite the obvious differences between the 3 units, all of the girls and Guiders were very proud to be part of such a huge organisation.

Reflections
I look back on the last year and a half and I’m so happy that I was part of the beginning of such an exciting and worthwhile project. I’m proud to say I was part of the first stage of the LaSER and GGA Centenary project. HIV/AIDS has had a huge impact on the KwaZulu Natal area of South Africa and the Centenary project is there is raise awareness of this, to develop resources to educate, to fundraise and to send teams to develop programmes similar to the one we delivered this summer. Personally I’m incredibly proud of the girls that were part of the 2008 team. Seeing them grow as individuals and as a team over the last 18 months has been immensely rewarding and has made all of the hard work and time involved in such a big trip worth it. I hope that some of them will stay involved in the project.
When we were at GGA we met and spoke with Heather Reynolds, the founder of GGA, about the work that they do in South Africa, which ranges from caring for the children on-site to making food deliveries to school sponsorship and building Houses of Hope. The underlying message that she gave about the work that they do is that God’s Golden Acre are just “doing the right thing”. To be doing the right thing as an individual was great but to be doing the right thing as part of a dedicated and enthusiastic team on behalf of so many others in Guiding was an incredibly amazing feeling.

Thank You

Many thanks to those whose kindness helped me to participate in the LaSER South Africa 2008 Project.

Friends and familyLaSER – www.girlguidinglaser.org.uk
GLK County – www.glkguides.org.uk
Hurst Division
Lamorbey District
‘Hazel Harrison’s Memorial Fund’ Sussex East County – www.girlguidingsussexeast.org.uk
Rye DivisionBeckley
Trefoil Guild
1st Brede Brownies
1st Blackfen Guides and Brownies
The staff and children of Staplecross MCP SchoolEwhurst and Staplecross Bonfire SocietyRye and Winchelsea Rotary Club
Leslie Sell Charitable Trust
Tracesmart Limited – www.tracesmart.co.uk
Michael Foster DL MP
Seamstress Limited – www.playchutes.co.uk

The post LaSER South Africa 2008 appeared first on Girlguiding Greater London Kent.

There are many Rainbow units in the Borough of Bexley, and readers can find out more at their local library. Rainbows are aged between 5 and 7, Brownie Guides, the next section is for girls aged 7 to 10, followed by Guides 10 to 14, and then the Senior Section which includes Rangers (14-26). Many who join in the younger sections go on to be leaders in the movement.

Picture shows Pupils in Louise Hope’s Reception class at Brampton Primary School who are Rainbow Guides, wearing their uniforms to school on 7th of May. They found that their teacher is a Rainbow Guider and she too wore her uniform for the day. In the picture are Lilly Batt, Megan Cane, Kitty Barker, Molly Crawley and Leah Eagles
 

Picture by Derek Hope, Kent Photonews-Sidcup

The post Rainbows at School appeared first on Girlguiding Greater London Kent.

In our picture, 6 year old Jessica Moss a member of the Blackfen Rainbow Unit presents her surprise gift to Lollypop Man Roy Whitehead, outside Holy Trinity C of E School in Burnt Oak Lane, Sidcup.

Roy, aged 75 said :”It is a lovely gift, and Jessica was able to tell me all about Rainbows and how they grew their plants.  I will find a sunny spot in the garden and make sure it thrives”

Rainbow Guider Alison Hope said afterwards :”Girlguiding UK has so much to offer girls of all ages, from Rainbows (5-7 yrs), Brownies (7-10 yrs) Guides (10-14 yrs) and Senior Section (14+).  Many go on to be Young Leaders in the movement, and in turn help to bring Guiding to the next generation.”

Picture by Derek Hope, Kent Photonews-Sidcup

The post Rainbow Guides Celebrate 21 years With Gifts of Sunflowers appeared first on Girlguiding Greater London Kent.

KANDERJAM 2007

The Alpine Link to the World Scout Jamboree to celebrate 100 years of Scouting

27th July – 8th August 2007 At 6pm on Thursday 26th July 2007

15 Guides, 2 Young Leaders and 5 Guiders filled a coach with equipment and kit. We were making our way to Kandersteg the International Scout Camp in Switzerland to join in KanderJam. We travelled overnight via Euro Tunnel and arrived at Kandersteg at 11.00 am. It had taken 16 hours and we arrived in beautiful sunshine. There were Scouts everywhere and later discovered we were the only group of Guides there. We were each given a KanderJam scarf, which had to be worn at all times, We wore both our country scarf and the KanderJam. The opening ceremony was on the evening of Sat 28th July. We all wore our blue polo shirts and sweatshirts with our badge on and made our way to the sports field opposite our site where we joined 1800 scouts. We were in the middle of the proceedings and watched as the flags from 40 countries made their way to the stage and we were welcomed in the language of each country in turn. The Scout Flag and Kandersteg Flag were then raised and KanderJam declared open. Everyone stayed on the field where we danced and joined in songs from other countries. Leanna (one of the leaders) tried to teach them Alice the Camel but I think they were not too sure what she was on about. One of the favourite songs was the Banana song, which was requested many times afterwards for other scouts to learn.

On the following days we had a programme of activities.Sunday 29th July – Abseiling and Climbing day One group went off by Cable car and hiked to do the Beginners Climbing Course at Winteregg. Another group went Abseiling. One group went Indoor climbing. One group did Low Ropes and one group went Mountain Biking. The afternoon we did crate climbing, not as expected with two crates but with one crate, which you balanced on each corner to get higher with. We managed thirteen crates.

Monday 30th July – 100-Year Day. Different crafts. Friendship bracelets, leather crafts and Face painting to name a few. You could talk to the Jamboree in Chelmsford via Radio or make a flashing badge. The talent show at the campfire circle was in the eveningTuesday 31st July -Trip day. Two groups, one to Berne and one to Trummelbach Falls and Interlaken. The evening was set as quiet due to the early start the next day. Wednesday 1st August -Scouting SunriseUp at 4.45am we left the site at 5.30am for the hike up to Lake Oeschinensee arriving at 7.30 am. As the sun came up over the mountains a group of scouts made their way into the (very cold) lake whilst parachutists flew down over it. There were Scouts from all countries everywhere. Speeches were said and we all made our promise looking forward to the next one hundred years of Scouting (and Guiding!). We then made our way back down the path looking back at the Lake as we left, noticing the waterfalls and scenery as we descended to the main park opposite Hotel Bernerhof in Kandersteg village. We sat down exhausted for lunch. Suitably refreshed we joined in the games provided on the field. Inflatable table football, where the girls were the footballers and grass skiing. At the Ice Hall we tried indoor climbing. In the evening there was a BBQ at the Military field followed by a parade and concert. We finally got to bed at about midnight after a brilliant display of fireworks. Thursday 2nd August – Eco Day. Not an early rising day but did manage to make some bricks out of paper and hug a few trees blindfolded. After lunch we went for an Evolving Eco Hike (in the rain) We looked at how the Alps were made and where the glaciers had been. Friday 3rd August – Hike Day. One group did the Cheesery Hike and one group the Schwarenbach Hike. This evening we did some badge swapping with a group of scouts from California. Saturday 4th August – International Day. A large group went to Italy for the day. The rest of us stayed at camp and as the sun was out dried every bit of clothing in sight. The afternoon we walked to the Military Field and played Volley ball and parachute games. This was the evening for the International Scout Disco at the Ice Hall. They managed to get 1800 scouts in one hall. We arrived back at 1am after what seemed a very long walk. Sunday 5th August – Free Day. We walked to the village, rode up in the Chair Lift, walked to Lake Oeschinensee for lunch and had a go on the toboggan run. International Campfire this evening. Monday 6th August – Service Project and Pool Party. No Project for us this morning so it was camp tidy up morning and in the afternoon Pool Party. This evening was our International Display. Our idea was a plate of fish and chips fridge magnet made out of foam. Tuesday 7th August -Camp Pack Down. It poured with rain. Tents were taken down wet and trucks piled high with wet bags and bedding rolls. The coach arrived at 8pm and we loaded it with all our gear and equipment. The closing ceremony was outside the main Chalet. After speeches and flags there were fireworks to end with. We left at 10.30pm after many farewells and slept most of the way back. We arrived home (in the sunshine) at 11.30am. Tired but knowing we had been involved in something we will never forget.

Jenny Pearson

Assistant Leader

GLK KanderJam

The post Kanderjam 2007 appeared first on Girlguiding Greater London Kent.