Guiding

Rainbows, Brownies & Guides - Contact Madeline Rietchel - 01737 843782

Buckland has groups for all ages of Guiding:

 GUIDING IN BUCKLAND 2010

Guiding in Buckland has had a very busy year as it has been our Centenary.

The girls have had many events to celebrate including The Best Party Ever in Dorking for the Rainbows, a visit to Port Lympne Zoo in Kent for the Brownies and a camp at Foxlease in Hampshire for the Guides and Senior Section.  The conclusion to our celebrations took place at Denbies under the heading of VISION for the Future at 20:10/20/10/2010 which was when the whole Country renewed the Guiding Promise.  This was for all the units in Leith Hill Division of which Buckland Guides, Brownies and Rainbows are members.

The three units in Buckland attended Services in St Mary’s Buckland and St Michael’s Betchworth.  To mark the occasion for World Thinking, this is on 22 February, a Special Service took place at St Michael’s Church, on 21 February 2010.  Other services we attended were
Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Harvest Festival, Remembrance Sunday and a Christingle Service.

The units have also been involved in many other events including St George’s Day Parade in Dorking, Teas on Buckland Green, Buckland May Fayre (one of the Brownies was May Queen), Brockham Victorian Fayre and selling Christmas trees on Buckland Green, with mince pies and mulled wine on a cold day with 6 inches of snow which remained until Christmas Day.

Madeline Rietchel
Commissioner of Dorking Downs District
in Leith Hill Division

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THINKING DAY SERVICE SUNDAY 21 FEBRUARY AT ST MICHAEL’S CHURCH, BETCHWORTH FOR DORKING DOWNS DISTRICT

 As part of the 100 years of Guiding celebrations a Thinking Day Service was held at Betchworth Parish Church on Sunday 21 February.  This was for Guides, Brownies and Rainbows from Brockham, Buckland, Leigh and North Holmwood.  World Thinking Day is celebrated every year by the girls to remember Lord and Lady Baden Powell’s Birthdays who founded the Scout and Guide Movement and to think about all the units around the World.

The service made us think about other people who are less fortunate than ourselves and included a Guide Presentation depicting its history over the last 100 years.  The Rainbows sang their song which portrays love for the world and the Brownies read special thinking day prayers.  The Church was full and included parents and parishioners some of whom remembered the old archives uniforms worn by Guides and Brownies.  

Over the past 100 years the uniforms may have changed but the Guiding motto remains the same with the Trefoil logo.  The meaning of the Trefoil is as follows:  The three leaves represent the threefold Promise.  The flame represents the flame of the love of humanity.  The vein pointing upwards represents the compass needle pointing the way.  The two stars represent the Promise and the Law.  The outer circle represents our Worldwide Association.  The golden yellow Trefoil represents the sun shining over the children of the world. 

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2008 saw the enlargement of the guiding activities in Buckland with the opening of a Rainbow Unit and the re-opening of the Guide Unit. These are in addition to the Brownies who have been here for many years. The Units meet in Buckland but the leaders and children also come from Betchworth and Brockham.

The Units attend a Sunday service each term including Harvest and Remembrance services. This year a Guide lowered the flag at the War Memorial. All three Units use the Reading Room for their meetings and they are involved in general village activities. The Brownies and Guides come carol singing and helped to raise funds for chosen charities.

Amongst the many activities during the year, they have been involved since September 2008 in a challenge called "Changing the World" where Girlguiding UK have teamed up with 19 charities who have offered appropriate ideas and activities for the Rainbows, Brownies and Guides. This gives them a chance to make a real difference to people less fortunate than themselves. This is a national initiative leading up to their 2010 Centenary which is launched in September 2009.

Links
Girlguiding.org.uk