GIRL GUIDES

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 11 August 1928, Page 18

GIRL GUIDES

NOTES BY “GUIDER.” “My own .belief is that wo are. seeing only .the .beginning of the Empire coming into its full strength and power as a beneficent- organisation for ensuring peace in the .world. Sir Bober Badem-Powell. “Our National Anthem, from long association, has become a sacred part of our national life.”—Dr. Win. Cum-

mings. ~ , “Our motto is ‘Be Prepared and tlve preparation must be practical and individual . Wc can no more traam character by talking about it than we caii learn .to ride a bicycle that way. —Mrs A. M. Maynard, Commandant! London Training School for Graders.

OTIMAI. “ Oui'i,clear ’ ’ 'has a- vivid, pic.tu.ro in her mind' of (.Minima ms she saw it in November of last year. It was a hot summery .afternoon and, as the car climbed higher and higher anibrog the foothills of” the Waitakerei Ranges, we became hemmed- in on both sides of the. road by manuka scrub in fulll bloom, ft was ms though a snowstorm had fallen. Up wc climbed through long vistas of white .trees which seemed to go on. and on without am end anywhere. Bait at last the car stopped and we had orrived. Wc walked up a* little; drive with noble .trees, and there on a rise was the little house with its "bridge and flight of outside steps and quaint attic, dust outside the kitchen 1 door wals the well with its _ buckets, which were let down 'by a handle working a windilusK in the good old fashioned way. Everything in the house, was of the old-‘.fashioned kind, table covers, cottage chairs, cottage ornaments—-a proper old-fashioned cottage it was. It wais built years ago by a. retired sea captain, and it was not very hard to conjure up visions of the old gentleman pacing the “bridge." Tit is nice to remember the old place as i t was, but better still to. know that, through the generosity of our Chief, ; Mrs Wilson, .she has presented the house to the Guides of the Dominion for a training and rest home. Alas that the '.sit.rueitum.l alterations should have necessitated the demolition of flic | ‘bridge, ’ ’ but we feel sure- that if the ghost, of the former owner over returns he twill rejoice that his old home is given over to the ideals of the Girl Guides of New Zealand. I The new “Ot.imiai" was formally opened by the Chief Commissioner, Mrs Wilson, on the 28th April of this year in the presence of over forty Guiders. A large mind roomy verandah has been added, and a large room known ms the “Pine” room. To foster the spirit of “ Foxlease, the lovely Hampshire home of Guiding, permanent patrol names have been adopted. These mre_Kauri, Eirnui, Kailnkatem, Tauekmiha. anal. Houhere. Anyone returning -oil' a second viist goes into her original patrol, mul so you bccoiri'e a member of that patrol for ever and ever. It is the pride and pleasure of Guide* and Guiders'.who visit Foxl ease'to leave some token .of their happy stay,, and probably this will become a tradition' I of ou r New Zealand Guide Home.

“BOLL OF HONOUR." In .some companies of Eclmireuses (French Guides) they keep a book in which all Guides write their names, as soon as they are enrolled, at the foot of the Promise. This is an idea worthy of being copied. In days to come the book would .prove m- valuable record, besides impressing upon the newly enrolled Guide the importance of her Promise. Quito a little ceremony could be made out of the signing of the name.

LOOK WIDE ! “Hmv dull it must have been for the man who thought that hid job was just ' “sawirT stones” —-what a. dreary, monotonous job to ‘do day after day, month after month! But how thrilling foT the man who had the imagination to see that every stone he cut wate going it-o be am important pant of a worldfamicus cathedral! If the stones had been cut just- amyho.w, aiid piled one upon another in a hi'ggledy-tpi'gglcdy mam n or, the cathedral would have ibeen neither safe nor beautiful in the end. The safety and beauty of the cathedral depended upon every single workman doing his jab thoroughly. I wonder if we always remember this in Guiding? Have wo got the imagination to see that, although wo arc very bumble memilbers of somewhat obscure patrols vet wo are very important ‘parts of a great movement? Sometimes even knot tying and fire lighting seem droll specially after we have- done them several times —lnit if this 1 should happen to us, let us use our imagination and remember that upon euoh one of us being really efficient in all the different parts of guiding the success of out organisation depends. Nobody wall have a good opinion of the Guide movement as a whole if they see' individual members of it slack and inefficient. Bo let us remember what the Chief Beout is always saying to us: “Look Wide.” —The Guide.

the tenderfoot badge. The English magazine “The G-uidcr” dralws attention in its June number to the fact .that the' trefoil is the registered' property of the Girl Guides’ -Association as .a- whole, .and that, individual Guides and Guidons may not make use of the badge by embroidering it on bathing dresses, .blazons, linen hats, etc. Amy firm reproducing the trefoil is liable to prosecution.

THE WORLTs CONFERENCE IN HUNGARY.

Here are some further glimpses into-. Guiding in other lands Which were presented by the delegates at. the conference- held im Hungary >n June last.. in Polomd pioneer camps- are being held in which girls of ramger age go to catnip for several weeks -in ‘backward dist ricts in ordej that they may introduce to .the .peasants knowledge of hygiene and the care of children. Others go on long hikes with their tents, pitching them where -they wish to st.atv for the .purpose of study inig '.subject's such as folklore, botany or topography. Ad-ventures with wolves and bears do not seem to- deter .these stout-hearted Polish girls, and one is rattier surprised to learn thait their parents arc quite kindly disposed to. this paint of Guiding, and even, some limes, join the camping expeditions .Themselves.

In Germany Guiding is. called Pfadfinderiinn'en. Most- of the modern schools in elude camping in their curriculum, but the school version of camping is apparently a different sort of thing from Guide camping. Apparentla' the school camping is a, sort of glorifiokr business with luxuries of housing and oommi.ssuiria.t such as any selfrespecting Guide- would scorn. The Dutch Guides -celebrate the League of Nations Day, which helps 1 to teach the girls something of the League, and its work for international ifriemdphip.