One more sleep until Coaches 3 and 4 depart!

The excitement for another 2 coaches of Brownies starts tomorrow and I wish them Bon Voyage!

We have members from the following units travelling this weekend and Anna and Maureen will be blogging at various times, hopefully with some pictures!

Groups travelling on Coach 3 are, 1st Gisburn, 7th Bromsgrove, 7th Hereford, 
1st Bartestree, Basingstoke Brownies and 1st Auchterarder.

The group travelling on Coach 4 is from Wakefield North Division, which is made up of Brownies from 11 different units.

Let the excitement begin for them all!!!!

Coach 1 - The long journey home

We woke up to rain this morning and packed all our belongings up and loaded the coach up. We headed to Chocolaterie de Beussent.
We were shown how chocolate is made, and in turn how they make moulded and coated chocolates.

Of course no visit would be complete without the opportunity to try some chocolate and visit the shop. I suspect that lots of chocolate has made it home as gifts for families - if so, enjoy!

We made it the Le Tunnel on time for our train. The girls go the chance to show their passports to the Border Force staff as we had to get off the coach and go through immigration before boarding the train. This was especially exciting for Molly from 1st Rawcliffe who had never been abroad before, so her passports was very new!
The coach was the first vehicle on the train and we were lucky enough to have an empty carriage in front of us. The Train staff allowed the girls to go into the empty carriage and play games - that was so exciting some of the leaders joined in too!



We got off the train quickly and headed down the M20, only to meet a traffic jam as there was a lorry on fire and they had shut the road. This meant we had to follow a diversion, which in turn meant a delay in getting home - most of us were 2-3 hours late! The girls coped really well with the delay and it was really sad to see groups leave the bus and return home to their families. I'm sure all were really pleased to see parents and share their adventures!
Thank you all on coach 1, especially the leaders (pictured below) for an exciting and wonderful trip!

Coach 1 - Sunday fun, Bruges and a storm

Today we visited Belgium and went to Bruges, our second country after leaving England (and third for the Inverness Brownies as they have done England too!!).

All of us went for a canal boat ride and several leaders got wet and stopped some Brownies getting wet when another boat went past - Kate J, Carol and Kate W get the wet Brownie points today!
The weather was lovely in the sun and the wide game kept Brownies looking for things and navigating around the city. We must have visited every chocolate and lace shop in Bruges and I think most groups managed to fit in an ice cream, waffles and some had frites too. Shopping proved popular too and souvenirs and gifts for families bought.



Charlie from Ashington Brownies, wins the listening award today. She listened to the commentary on the canal boat ride very well and used it to answer a wide game question later!
We headed back to the Chateau from Bruges and got diverted. We followed a 35km diversion only to be met at the roundabout near Le Chateau by some Police who had blocked 3 exits of a 4 exit roundabout. There were some discussions before we were allowed to pass through the road closed signs to head home. We were told to drive very slowly and we soon discovered why. There was an "inondation" which means a flood in French!

There was a very freak storm about 40 minutes before we got back and the drive to Le Chateau, the septic tanks and one end of one of the buildings (but not ours) were flooded!
The result of the flood meant we had to have a conversation with the girls that included the words, mellow and yellow - I'm sure your imagination can finish this and know exactly what we were talking about!!???
The 35km diversion tonight did mean that we actually got to see the end of the Frozen DVD - there was a round of applause at an appropriate moment!

We carried on after we got back and had our tea, which included the chance to try snails. There were some interesting facial expressions, and Brooke broke all records and ate 5!

After tea, there was the opportunity for them to make crepes, with orange and sugar - great fun and no burnt ones!

I have two personal thank you's to make - Noor gave me a wonderful doughnut this morning, which was amazing, so thank you.
Inverness Brownies gave me a Girlguiding Scotland Thank You badge - now being worn with pride!

The winners of the wide game on Coach 1 were Ashington Brownies (aka Mystery Busters), prizes to be given out at breakfast tomorrow.

We had a visit from the tooth fairy overnight as one of Fulmer Brownies lost a tooth - good news the fairy found it and one Euro was left behind.

Well its now 11.35pm and the leaders are sat socialising, however our beds are calling us after a very busy day. Thank you to every leader who has brought Brownies on this weekend. You have all been brilliant with your girls, helped each other out and been brilliant company which I thank you all for!
It will be quite sad to travel home, but the good news is, we have the chocolate factory to visit on the way home!!!

Coach 1 - Saturday's Fun and Happy Birthday Daisy!

The antics of Coach 1 continued today with a trip to the Boulangerie where we met Bruno the baker. He showed us the traditional way he made his bread, pain au chocolat and croissant.

No visit to the Boulangerie would be complete without trying something, so everyone had a pain au chocolat - they were wonderful!!

It is Daisy's 9th birthday today, so we started breakfast singing and giving her presents - how wonderful to be in France for your birthday!

We then headed to Boulogne Sur Mer for some sand yachting on the beach. We had wonderful sunshine, so sunscreen and lots of water were the order of the day. Girls were given gloves and helmets and off they headed across the beach to put their sails on their sand yachts.
The wind didn't play ball with us as much as we would have liked, so the girls had to push each other to get going, but there were wonderful demonstrations of teamwork. All the girls worked in pairs according to height, which meant they didn't know their partner. This didn't stop the chatter and laughter. 

The day finished with us eating out picnic tea on the beach and a paddle in the sea.
Todays awards go to, Ellie for being really friendly, especially for saying "hello Mister" to our coach driver every time she gets on the coach, all the Brownies for their Team work and Brooke for picking litter up that wasn't hers.

Getting off the coach tonight, it was lovely to hear leaders and girls saying they had had a wonderful day and thank you - time for bed now ...... Belgium tomorrow!





Coach 1 travels to France

Well today has been a very long day for the following units on coach 1; 5th Ashington, 8th Chester Le Street, 1st Rawcliffe, 1st Broadway, 1st Fulmer, 25th Inverness

Some of us set off at 1.30am from the North of England, closely followed by a 3.30, 6.30, 9.30 and then a pick up at Gatwick airport. Girls in various states of sleep got on the bus and either went straight back to sleep or were wide awake!

The general level of excitement has built as the day has gone on, the noise level risen and ended in singing along to DVD - won't name which one except to say it involves the cold!!!

The Euro Tunnel was something new for a lot of the Brownies and this was the view from the front of the coach as we headed onto the train.

 had a bit of time to kill before our train so all the Brownies visited the park and started a mini conga - does this count towards the Big Brownie Birthday Challenge??

Once we arrived at Le Chateau d'Ebblingham we unloaded the coach and headed to find our rooms, then it was tea time. Fish and chips were on the menu for tea followed by ice cream.

We then had some active games that helped everyone get to know each other. The girls really enjoyed the games even if it meant being very silly! We have learnt this evening that we have a Commonwealth Baton Relay Bearer in our midst and someone who has kissed Eric Clapton - I'm sure as the weekend goes on we will learn more about each other.

Maggie wins the smile award today, she wasn't very well on the coach (I'll spare the details) but the smile we got when we went to help her was absolutely amazing. Lucy wins the best hat award.

Well all is quiet and I'm sat with several leaders who are reflecting on the day - their summary is - how many hours have we been up, Guiding is fantastic, looking forward to tomorrow, good to see girls from different arrives mixing together, Scottish hot chocolate and looking forward to my bed!

Radio 2

Wow what a surprise - Caroline emailed Jo Whiley on Radio 2 and all the Brownies and Euro Hop got a wonderful mention!!!

If you would like to find it on iplayer, it was just before the 9pm news.

Is it one more sleep or half of one more sleep?

That is the question some of us "Up North" are asking!! The reason for this is that some of us set off in the very early hours of Friday morning, whereas some groups don't set off until breakfast time or later!!!

I've never really thought about it before, but the number of sleeps to go to an event seems to be very important to Brownies and certainly adds to their level of excitement especially when you get to single figures then 3 then just 1.5!

Well we have members from the following units travelling this weekend and Mary and I are looking forward to blogging at various times with quotes from the Brownies and some pictures!

Groups travelling this weekend are, 5th Ashington, 8th Chester Le Street, 1st Rawcliffe,
1st Broadway, 25th Inverness, 1st Fulmer, 1st Brimington, 1st Burnage, 4th March,
1st Wootton, 6th Braintree and 1st Bocking.

Let the excitement begin in just over 12 hours!!!!

Rebecca's Right Hand Woman!!

After talking about the staff support I have had throughout the last 2 years planning for these events, I thought it only right to introduce you to my "right hand woman" and say a huge thank you!!!

Please say hello to Claire!!!

Claire says "I have been working on the Big Brownie Birthday events at Girlguiding, and have worked closely with Rebecca as Lead Volunteer. Rebecca and I did a recce of Euro Hop back in December 2012, so I know the event will be brilliant!!
I have been active within Girlguiding as a young member throughout all sections, as a Leader with a Brownie Unit, and now I work as a staff member. As a member I travelled to Denmark for an international camp and have many other fantastic memories"

Meet your Wise Owls!

The Big Brownie Birthday Euro Hop events are the first international trips for Brownies that Girlguiding has planned and run at a national level. One of our main objectives, apart from providing Brownies with an amazing opportunity, was to encourage and support Brownie leaders to take their first steps travelling abroad with their unit.

In order to do this, we have given leaders a support network of experienced leaders from around the United Kingdom, who are sharing their knowledge and supporting them on their trips. We have called these leaders our "Wise Owls" after the Wise Owl in the Brownie Story!

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to your Wise Owls and to thank them for giving up their time to help the 21 leaders who are completing their Travelling Abroad Module of the residential qualification and all the other leaders taking part in these trips.

The Girlguiding International Team would also like to thank every leader taking girls on these events - without your time and effort girls would not have these amazing opportunities.
To quote a parent from my own unit in an email I received today "I'm sure I speak for all the parents when I say we are so grateful for such an amazing opportunity for the girls which will provide memories for a lifetime". I'm sure there are hundreds of other parents who would echo that sentiment.

Rebecca Cook
I am the Lead Volunteer for Euro Hop, and have been planning this event with the Events Team at CHQ and Venture Abroad for the last 2 years. I am also the Deputy International Commissioner for Girlguiding.
I'm a Brownie leader in York and have been for over 20 years (although I have been a member since I was 7!) and I am very much looking forward to taking some of my Brownies on this exciting trip with me.
I've travelled to a variety of places with Girlguiding and these include India, Bermuda, Mexico, Antigua and Barbuda, Belgium, Germany and Montserrat and outside of Guiding to many more, including a spell living abroad in Germany and working in Poland.

Mary Allsopp

I have been a leader for 28 years with Brownies and 14 years with Guides. I have taken my guide unit to Switzerland, Denmark and Belgium. I've camped and pack holidayed over most of the UK and also visited 3 of the 4 World Centres. On returning from this Euro Hop adventure I'm taking my own guides to our county's international camp, welcoming guides from around the world!

Cat Basey
I'm Catriona or Cat for short.  In my working life I am a Solicitor at a firm in Liverpool, though I live and Guide in Wrexham, Wales.
In my Guiding life I am currently an Assistant Guide Leader and have been there since September.  I was previously a Rainbow Leader for 16 years. I am also International Adviser for my County. 
My travel experience within guiding is quite broad.  In 2006, I was an Assistant Leader with a Wales contingent that went to Canada, then in 2009 I spent a month in Egypt on a GOLD project with 5 other leaders.
In 2011, I was part of a leadership team, that took a group of 15 Welsh guides on the ICE project to Bournemouth and in 2012 I was the leader of a group from Wales travelling to Germany.
Outside of Guiding I have travelled to Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, France, Greece, America and Australia. 

Maureen Goodyear

Guiding is a bit part of my life and I’ve been a Rainbow and Brownie leader in Peterborough for over 20 years.  At the moment I look after a Division and am also part of Cambridgeshire West County Finance Team.

I’m married to Terry and have a daughter, Rebecca, who lives in London and has a PR Company and blog.

A few years ago I was part of a Management Buy Out team, with two colleagues, and now have the scary job of being Finance Director in a Company I part-own!  We are project managers and consultants in the waste industry.

I like travelling and the countries I have visited include Mexico (Our Cabana), China, Galapagos Islands, Peru and Zambia.  I try to go swimming at least twice a week and also find time for geo-caching and listening to music - not at the same time though!

Anna Bourne

I'm a Guide and Senior Section leader in West Glamorgan and Surrey West.

I'm also currently the GOLD coordinator for Girlguiding, overseeing our international development projects (http://www.girlguiding.org.uk/about_us/international_guiding/gold.)

I've been abroad with Girlguiding to France, Italy, Switzerland, Madagascar, Argentina, Brazil, Cambodia, Guyana and Peru.

I'm really looking forward to supporting the Euro Hop leaders in giving their Brownies an international guiding experience full of fun!

In my real work, I'm a research scientist studying volcanic ash and past climate change.

Caroline Davis

I'm the International Commissioner for Girlguiding and I'm really looking forward to joining Euro Hop groups on their travels over 15-18 August. The World Conference (see the blog at  http://guidinggoestohk.blogspot.co.uk) just last week was a reminder of the impact that our worldwide organisation makes on the lives of girls and young women across 145 countries. I'm sure Euro Hop will be a fantastic opportunity to open the eyes of girls to the adventures they can have overseas with guiding.

 

I know many volunteers have worked tremendously hard to give Brownies Euro Hop experiences and I can't wait to see them rewarded through the excitement to come!

Judi Edwards

I have been in guiding since a guide but was never a brownie (I see this as my chance!).

I'm a retired teacher and I love the out of doors, camping and especially walking in the Yorkshire dales and Lake District.

I enjoys travelling to new places and meeting new people - Euro Hop is another opportunity to do this!

I have a grown up family which I am very proud of and we have always had animals (currently an elderly ginger cat and two rescue rabbits).

Things arriving in the post

The level of excitement has started to increase this week as things started to arrive with leaders in the post!
Venture Abroad has sent the final information to group leaders and we have started to send the journey packs out. These are the booklets packed with things to help entertain the Brownies on their coach journeys to France.
A vote of thanks is needed to the team who helped put the journey pack together during one weekend in Milton Keynes back in November 2012. The activities they created and worked on have been tested with Brownies and made to look brilliant in Big Brownie Birthday livery by the design team!
I'm sure there are many Brownies counting down the number of "sleeps" until they travel, along with many leaders with "to-do" lists that are probably getting longer rather than shorter, but I'm sure that lots of fun will be had by everyone once the adventure begins!

Surprise and excitement!

Venture Abroad has added to the general excitement by sending us all a surprise “birthday present”
These will be very useful on our trips!

Euro Hop Excitement

As we near the end of The Big Brownie Birthday, we start the Euro Hop adventures to France and Belgium!
The first event is just 17 sleeps away and I know there are many Brownies and leaders getting excited about their trips.
These trips have been 2 years in the planning, so we are getting excited along with the Venture Abroad team who are our partners in these events.

We will be staying at the beautiful centre at Chateau d'Ebblinghem. The Château itself is a 19th Century country house in four hectares of private grounds. The Château was used as a hospital during the war and the surrounding area is steeped in history.