Girl Guides

Southland Times, Issue 22728, 2 November 1935, Page 19

Girl Guides

By

"BIG GUIDE"

Thought For The Week. God be in my head And in my understanding; God be in my eyes And in my looking; God be in my mouth, And in my speaking; God be in my heart And in my thinking; God be at mine end, And in my departing. This quaint little prayer is taken from a Sarund (Salisbury) primer published in 1558. It was intended as a child’s prayer, and is now often used as a vesper. GENERAL NOTES. Used Stamps. I have a letter from a Guide this week asking me if stamps that have been cut at the edges can be counted. The stamps must not be mutilated in any way. Please be very careful about this and discard even doubtful ones. If your Guiders can’t be sure that you will collect only good stamps, they will have a terrible job in going through them all. The letter states that two Lones have 800 stamps between them, and all cleaned ready to be collected.. Week-end Camp. St. John’s Guides camped at Wharemoana for the week-end. Eighteen Guides and two Guiders set off happily after dinner on Saturday. On arrival they spring-cleaned the building, and then pitched the tent. Tea was most thoroughly enjoyed and then a very tired party went to bed, some in the bunkhouse and some in the tent. Next morning they were all awake early and after breakfast Captain and Lieutenant took a Guides Own out on the sandhills. In the afternoon the whole party trekked along the beach, the advance party writing a story in the sand with footprints, etc., and the rearguard reading it. After tea they joined the Rangers and had a great sing-song and by 9 p.m. were all ready for bed. There was much activity early 'on Monday, because the Brownie Pack was coming out for the day. Soon after 10 a.m. Brown Owl arrived with 15 elves and gnomes and fairies. Each of the four patrols took some of them and entertained them during the day. The mess patrol gaily decorated the dinnei - table and set the whole in a Guide emblem made from shells. Stew, and custard and fruit tasted pi.rticularly well. After dinner there were all manner of games including a shipwreck, and after an early tea the Brownies departed home, having thoroughly enjoyed their day in camp. The Guides then cleared up everything, collected all their baggage and proceeded to the beach for a bus at G p.m. which finally arrived at 9 p.m. Thus it was a very tired band of Guide who were finally deposited at their homes. However, they all voted it a good week-end and hope to go again soon. A few Central Rangers also were in camp, but all their activities, were separate from those of the Guides. Most of Monday was spent in a long hike towards Sandy Point, the Rangers cooking their meals on the way. Invercargill Association. The annual meeting of the Invercargill Association held last week was well attended. The association is sorry to lose Mrs D. Wilson from the committee owing to ill-health. Mrs Wilson has been connected with guiding from the very early days, being secretary for St. Andrews committee and a member of the local executive. We hope she will soon be well again and able once more to take an active intercst. We" are glad to welcome Mrs C. E. Watts as Invercargill president. This is Mrs Watts’s first connection with guiding and we hope that she is going to enjoy herself with us. Two new members on the committee are also welcomed, Mrs W. Hinchey and Mrs A. J. Deaker. Both these ladies have had' experience before, Mrs Hinchey i epresented Bluff on the Provincial Executive in the early years, while Mrs Deaker before she was married was a Guider in the High School Company. We also hope that they will enjoy being with us again. The formal part of the meeting does not take very long and for some years now it has been the custom to have interesting speakers. On this occasion there were two, Miss I. Ferry Captain of St. John’s Guide Company and Miss Bellamy. Miss Perry was fortunate enough to attend the training camp for Guiders at Otimai during September. Miss Perry was the only Southland Guider to be present and indeed of the forty there only three were hot Auckland Guiders, the other two coming from Taranaki. Otimai is a wonderful Guide home and simply oozes the thrill of Guiding from every pore. Miss Perry was a P.L., which gave her added opportunities of learning. She has the greatest admiration for Miss Burgin, Commissoner for Training and Red Cord Diploma, ■whose knowledge and enthusiasm imbued everyone with a desire to carry on and give her Guides a still w i“ er vision of the game of Guiding. Mrs Coates (Provincial Commissioner for Auckland) paid a visit to the camp. She is much loved by all her Guiders, and Miss Perry enjoyed meeting her. Then, too, Miss Herrick was a visitor, and everyone was delighted to have her. Miss Perry learned many new games, songs and ceremony and heard all manner of problems discussed. She has returned feeling much refreshed from exchanging views with Guiders of other provinces. , ... I have rather used up the space this week, and will therefore give you a precis of what Miss Bellamy had to say on “Social Service” next week. Provincial Meeting.

The annual provincial meeting will be held on Friday at 2.30 p.m. in the Guide Rooms. Health Camp.

I have to acknowledge one more jersey from a Ranger and a whole quilt from a committee lady. As the Health Camp Committee has now sufficient clothing and blankets, this qUilt has been given to Aunt Hallie.

X Company. The following account was sent to me with no name or anything else by which I can identify the writer or the company. You know, Guides, I do like to hear from you, and all about what you do, but I do also like to know who is writing to me. Will you, therefore, please tell me of what company you are speaking? What a novel idea, but couldn’t you cook ydur tea outside? That would be still more exciting, and if it weren’t a very good evening, there would be more fun in trying to see how easily you could light your fire and cook your meal. The report is as follows:— “We have decided that from now until the end of the year each patrol will take it in turn to have tea in the Guide room. Each patrol plans its own menu and prepares, cooks and serves it. On Friday, October 25, it was the Iris patrol’s night, and as it was a cold, wet night we had chosen a suitable .menu of fried sausages and eggs, boiled

potatoes and fruit jelly. Each Guide had a different duty to perform and we had Commissioner and captain as guests, and also to teach us the correct way to do things. Some of the things we learned were the correct way to lay the table, how to mash potatoes, and the quickest and cleanest way to wash up. We all had a very happy and enjoyable time, and we very much envied the Poppies, whose turn it war next.” BROWNIES. Did you read the “Thought for the week,” because if not, please read it carefully because it is there especially for you. I think it would be very nice if you were to learn and use it yourselves as a prayer or perhaps at pack meeting. It was written, as you see, nearly 400 years ago and it is as valuable now as it was then. First Church Pack (sent in by Brownie Irene of the Fairy Six). “Dear Big Guide,—The last few Saturdays the Brownies of First Church Pack have been practising a play which they made up themselves. First they had to find some trees, then a house. The trees were the Brownies and the house was the back room. They had two Brownies for the two children who did not like working and a Brownie for the mother. She told them that the Brownies used to get up in the morning and light the fire, dust 1 the rooms, make breakfast, and make their beds. Then there was the big Brown Owl which sat in the tree. “One fine morning the mother of the two children told them the story of the Brownies. The Brownies said to the mother, ‘How can we get a Brownie to do all our work ’ Then their mother said, ‘Go down to the bush this morning and ask the Brown Owl.’ That morning the Brownies went down into the bush where the old owl sat, and said, ‘Mrs Owl, do you know about any Brownie that would do our work for us.’ Then the old owl said, ‘Go down into the bush and stand by the pond and say, ‘Twist me and turn me and show me an elf. I looked in the water and there saw , and you will find a word to go with elf.’ So the children left the old owl and went down into the bush by the pond and said, ‘Twist me and turn me and show me an elf. I looked in the water and there saw.’ But they did not find a word to go with elf. Then they went back to the old owl and told her that they did not find a word to go with elf. The old owl said, ‘Twist me and turn me and show me an elf. I looked in the water and there saw myself. Doesn’t that go with elf?’ she said. When the children heard this how delighted they were. They ran and ran until they reached home, and they told their mother the story of the Brown Owl. And that is how Brownies first began.” Thank you very much, Brownie. Did you enjoy acting the story? You have told it very well and written it very neatly.—Big Guide. A Visit to Ohai.

We tramped over the hills to see our first coal mine, and on account of a holiday the mine was not working, but we viewed the engine room where the boiler fires were banked. We stood at the mouth of a mine looking in and as far as we could see it was all shiny black coal. On the sheds near by were regulations as to miners’ rights, etc., also we read the notice of the All Blacks’ last game there. Through a window in the lamp cabin we could see several kinds of lamps used by the miners. The safety lamp used in gassy places, the electric battery lamp, also the acetylene kind used in mines where there is no foul air. Each miner is provided with a token (like a big medal) which he receives every morning with his lamp before he. enters the mine and they are handed in when each day’s work is finished, checking the number of men that entered the mine. Some of us had rides in the coal boxes, but we found it was hard work lifting one onto the rails when it had slipped off at the points. Grazing on the hills we saw the ponies which are used down the mine to haul the coal boxes about. In England the ponies live down the mines; once they are taken down they stay, but the New Zealand mines are different and it is not difficult to lead a pony in and out each day. In the distance on a hill we saw a smouldering mine, which had been burning for years. We really walked over a worked-out mine, and we had to walk very carefully, as the ground had subsided for many hundreds of yards, and we noticed deep cracks too. Where we walked most of the time was directly over mines. The tram lines running for miles- through the hills, from the pit to the staging, where the coal is loaded into the trucks for transport are actually built up of dross from the mines. It seemed wasteful to city folk to see such a lot of good nuts and dross tipped into huge heaps, which eventually catch fire through spontaneous combustion. In the evening we went for a long walk round the Gorge road where we saw the remains of the gold prospectors’ workings which was carried out years ago.—Written for and sent in Brownie Catharine. Please thank mother for me Brownie. This is a very interesting description. You must have had a lovely week-end. —Big Guide. St. John’s Brownie Pack.

Last Friday all was excitement and a big pack of Brownies with uniforms, and shoes and stockings looking very clean and tidy were waiting in their room. Each Brownie also carried her biggest smile and everyone eagerly watched the door. At last two excited Brownies saw Commissioner who stood at the door and asked if she might come to Brownieland. The smiles told her she was very welcome and so did many voices. Two Brownies escorted her into the ring and she was welcomed with the Grand Howl. Then four small Brownies were enrolled and after that there were games and best of all just before vespers Commissioner told a story which the Brownies loved. They are now looking forward to the time when their Commissioner will visit them again. Goodnight Song. This was composed by Mataura Brown Owl and is sung to “Hoeora.” I meant to tell you c.bout it before:—■ Oh, Lord our God, Thy Brownies sing, Praises to Thee, their heavenly King. Grant us to help Thee in our homes, Unselfish imps and laughing gnomes.