The Crocus

2019

Welcome to the new-look Crocus magazine – a round-up of some of the highlights

we’ve had over the past year.

In Girlguiding Croydon our girls and adults have enjoyed some great activities and

adventures including visits to Europe, catching fish, walking over the O2, unit camps

and outings, plus our County campfire for all age groups.

It’s been great seeing all the photos on social media and hearing about the fun and

excitement. You can find us on twitter (@GuidingCroydon) and facebook

(@girlguidingcroydon), and we also have a website (girlguidingcroydon.org).

All this couldn’t happen without our amazing volunteers, so I would like to take this

opportunity to say a very big THANK YOU to everyone who gives time to Girlguiding

Croydon. There’s plenty of room for more volunteers so why not make that your new

year’s resolution and come and join in the fun?!

Jo Wheeler

A message from the

County Commissioner

In February, a small group of leaders from around Croydon got together to do a

different kind of volunteering by taking on some of the volunteering roles at our

local parkrun in Lloyd park. It was great fun to support another fabulous

organisation, and also to raise awareness of Girlguiding in a different way.

Volunteering

Takeover

Volunteering

.

Rainbow pageRainbows

After 20+ years of doing Rainbows, this year I was talked into doing my first

sleepover with my Rainbows. After a lot of planning, form filling, activities

planning, venue booking etc. we embarked on our first sleepover at the end of

July.

I must say everyone had a good time, kept very busy, and even though it rained it

didn’t seem to dampen the girls’ enthusiasm.

At the end, after a Promise ceremony for 2 of the girls, and presentation of the

badges they had earned, they went home tired and happy.

Would I do another one, even though it was a lot of work - probably!!!

Pat Brownbridge

2nd West Croydon Rainbows

Rainbow

sleepover

Fun with Fire

at Frylands Wood

Rainbows, Brownies and Guides got

together to share a variety of

activities and have a great campfire.

There was a lot of teamwork with the

Guides supporting the Rainbows to

carry out the tasks.

Rowena Bradnam

Title text

Rainbows and

BrowniesGrowing up

Wild!

The Radcliffe Guide centre held their annual Fun Day for Rainbows and Brownies

within Fairfield Division in July 2019.

As always, the girls enjoyed bouncing on the inflatables, dancing, a picnic,

making crafts, and were enthralled by a display of 3 birds of prey!

The girls took part in a wide variety of outdoor activities and everyone gained a

Go Wild badge.Christina Smith

Brownies

The 5th Croydon (St George’s) Brownies and the 8th South Croydon (St Augustine’s)

Brownies are both from South Croydon District. The two units joined together for

the last meeting of summer term (and Brown Owl’s birthday!), for a surprise BBQ

and S’mores in Brown Owl’s garden. Our two units had a great time doing new

programme activities.

Our Easter joint Pack Holiday at Radcliffe was just great!

Louise Watts

BBQ and S’mores

Surprise!

Brownies

In May half term 9th Selsdon Brownies

and 9th Sanderstead Brownies went off on

Brownie holiday to the newly rebuilt

Faurefold near Dorking.

The new Faurefold is beautiful and we

would thoroughly recommend a stay

there. The weather was lovely until the

day we went fishing!

Most of the girls had never been fishing

before and were excited to have a go.

The first fish was soon caught and

everyone was very excited for the next

catch! Although it proved that the girls

needed to be patient as it appeared to be

a case of beginner's luck.

Before long as the rain really set in most

of the Brownies had now caught a fish.

The last few girls took a while to be

successful but the ducks on the pond kept

everyone amused while they waited

patiently. Eventually every single girl

caught a fish!

We went inside, out of the rain, and the

girls watched while their fish were

gutted and prepared for them to take

home.

A minibus full of wet and cold Brownies

returned to Faurefold with a sense of

achievement and having learned a new

skill.

Ruby proved to be a marvel at getting the

fish off the line once caught and Charlotte

managed to catch "a whopper"!

All in all an excellent afternoon

excursion.

Meg Passey

Gone Fishing!

It has been a busy year at 15th Central Croydon Brownies, old faces leaving and

new faces joining. Most of all, the old Girl Guiding programme leaving and a new

one introduced.

Over the last term, we completed the level 2 camp badge with some of the older

girls experiencing Guides, while the older Rainbows came to visit us.

The two most popular sections of the badge were girls learning how to put the

tent up and how to build a fire.

Due to the reduced number of adults, Brown Owl decided to take the girls to

activity events Croydon Girlguiding had to offer. In May they visited the local

scout camp at Frylands where they took part in activities with other units and a

campfire.

In July we visited Radcliffe for their Brownie afternoon. The theme was woodland

where the girls took part in the “Disaster strikes” activity, saw live owls and

released their energy on the inflatables.

15th Central Croydon Brownies have another packed year ahead!

Laura Easton

Alyssa of the 8th Addiscombe Brownies

joined our Brownies from Rainbows

when she was 7 years old. She very

quickly started to work for badges.

During the past year Alyssa, who is

now 9 years, has worked extremely

hard to gain as many badges from the

old programme as she could, as well as

beginning the new ones. She only left

out four as these were not physically

possible for her to do.

Well done Alyssa!Val Rolfe

What a year!

A Good

Achievement!

Brownies

On Friday 20th September 5th Shirley Guides travelled to Blacklands for a weekend

of ‘Fear, Fun, Adventure and Friendship’.

On arrival we were directed to Wagtail where we stayed, sharing the building and

dormitories with a Brownie unit from Sutton. Bags on bunks and off to dinner –

burger, hot dog, chips, dessert and drinks all cooked by outside caterers. All food

and drinks were included, even tea, coffee, hot choc, squash and biscuits in our

accommodation.

There were over 460 Brownies and Guides on site, some indoors, some in the tent

village (tents provided or their own unit tents). Help was on hand if needed too!

Fearless Fun!

The next morning we were up early as our

Breakfast slot was 7.15am, then at 8am we

met photographers from Girlguiding HQ as

our Unit was one of three being

photographed over the weekend for futurepublications.

At 9am we went over to our designated yellow flag to await the instructors and

our first activity - swimming. During the weekend we were able to take part in

over 22 different activities, including abseiling, climbing, tunnels, low and high

ropes, Jacobs ladder, archery, tubing, pioneering, human hungry hippos and crafts,

to name just a few. What a brilliant weekend we all had and the weather held off

until lunch time on Sunday. After lunch it was time to go home, exhausted.

Our thanks to everyone who either helped organise, volunteered, instructed or led

activities, for giving us all the opportunity to try something different and make

new friends.Hazel Brown

Guides

Wellies &

Wristbands

On a beautiful sunny and hot August bank holiday weekend, two Shirley Guide

units enjoyed the annual Wellies and Wristbands camp at Foxlease.

16 Guides and 5 Leaders caught a coach from Shirley to the New Forest, Hampshire

at 9 am to try and avoid the traffic that usually happens on a bank holiday Friday!

We arrived at midday with the sun shining and found a place to set up our tents

along the edge of the field to make use of a bit of shade from the hedge!

As soon as the tents were up and packed lunch had been eaten, the Guides were

free to explore the site and find out what was happening and where. One of the

many good things about Wellies & Wristbands is that the site is safe and secure and

the girls have the freedom to walk around trying the many different activities in

the various zones.

Another highlight for the girls is the evening performances on the stage, and this

year the highlight for my Guides was seeing Road Trip! Meeting them afterwards at

the Meet and Greet session was even better.

The highlight for me as a Leader is that the catering over the weekend is provided

by outside caterers and we don’t have to think too much, just turn up on time at

the catering marquee!

Guides

There were too many activities over the weekend to go into detail, but we tried the

Escape Room as a unit and had fun working out the clues; some Guides did raft

building on the lake and enjoyed the zip wire. The inflatables were a favourite, as

was the pamper zone where even the Leaders got tattoos and glittery faces!

For down time we enjoyed watching Disney films in the cinema and hanging out in

the nighttimes café drinking hot chocolate and relaxing in the hot tubs!!!!

The whole weekend was wall to wall sky and sunshine so it was a hot and tiring task

taking down the tents and packing away on the Monday morning. Our coach was late

in arriving so we ate our lunches at Foxlease on the grass by the coach car park!

It was a fantastic weekend with so much to offer girls and leaders and such a

brilliant atmosphere, well worth attending if you get the chance!

Miranda Heester - 7th Shirley Guides

Rowena Bradnam - 1st Shirley Guides

1st & 7th Shirley GuidesGuidesWellies &

Wristbands

(part 2)

10th South Croydon Guides have

supported our local community

through various events including Carol

singing at James Terry Court to helping

set up the Homeless Shelter at St

Augustine’s Church during December

and contributing gift bags for shelter

users. We also completed the Mile for

Macmillan by walking around our local

park.

We celebrated as three Guides from

our Unit were awarded their Baden

Powell Award in December 2018, the

first from our Unit for 10 years!

Thanks to Jack Petchey Grants, our

unit has been Go-Karting, Bouldering

at Craggy Island and enjoyed a day of

fun and thrills at Chessington.

The Guides also participated in Fun

around the Fire in May where the

campfire took centre stage!

Gill Ellis

GuidesCommunity support

& a year of

adventure

Guides

Guides

Congratulations to the 1st Shirley (St

Johns) Guide Company who celebrated

their 100 years anniversary on Friday

27th September 2019 at Radcliffe

Centre!

2019 saw the 100th Anniversary of the

founding of the 1st Shirley Guides. We

celebrated with a 100 cakes, a trip

down memory lane with uniforms,

badges and handbooks through the ages

and special guests of four former

‘Captains’ and of course S’mores

around the fire to finish the evening

off.

Rowena Bradnam

Congratulations!

International

We enjoyed a traditional raclette with visitors from Zurich, joined in the National

Day village celebrations and our Young Leaders designed their own Escape Rooms!

For many of them, it was their first experience of World Guiding and they have

returned enthused and excited (and planning the next international trip!)

Ruth Clery

Adelboden,

Switzerland

In July 2019, 23 from the 4th Shirley set off for Adelboden. Despite two of our girls

having significant disabilities, everybody was able to join in all the activities

(except rolling down the hill in front of Our Chalet!) – zip-wiring, high ropes,

tobogganing, paddling in Lake Oeschinensee, a chocolate show in Interlaken and ofcourse visits to Our Chalet and the woodcarver.

New Addington

Guides visit

Austria

The scene at Addington Village on the morning of 31st July was one of

international scarves, passports, health forms, medication and fond goodbyes.

We journeyed to Dover and embarked on the ferry crossing to the delight of the

girls who hadn’t travelled across the English Channel before.

Arriving in Calais we started our journey down to Itter, in the Tyrol of Austria. Our

travelling time was 16 hours, stopping for the essential pitstops, through the night

and early morning to arrive in Worgel which is the main town near Itter.

Our first full day we had a great

morning, rafting down the River Inn and

enjoying a BBQ at the rafting centre.

Day 2 had us visiting the Swarovski

World of Crystals, where the girls were

mesmerised by the enormous number of

exhibits within the world of crystals.

Day 3 saw our girls flying high in the sky

paragliding. The weather was glorious,

and each girl descended and landed

with a huge smile.

Day 4 saw us tobogganing - what an

adventure that was and one never to be

forgotten! Day 5 saw us visit Salzburg for a full

day of sighting seeing - the highlight

of the day being the boat ride down

the River Inn.

Day 6 wow the Upside-Down House.

A must do, girls were so disoriented

with the house and found it very

challenging, as did the adults.

Our last full day was spent walking

the amazing Vorderkaiser gorge

where at the end we had a train

ride to the wood carvers. The

woodcarver’s house was like ‘the

house Jack built’.

Our last day we spent at the hotel’s swimming pool where the girls and adults

chilled before our long journey home.

Our trip was adventurous, exciting and most of all enjoyed by all!!

Eileen Beaney

International

Rangers

On 23rd June we were blessed with a lovely sunny day. The intrepid climbers met

and set off for the challenge ahead.

After stopping for a cheeky Costa (Dutch courage) we suddenly found ourselves

sitting in the video area watching the rules and regs. This was getting real.

Next, we went to be kitted out with our safety vest and harness and we were off.

It is very steep and surprisingly bouncy like a trampoline, but you are not allowed

to bounce. There are a series of locks all the way up (and down) that you have to

manoeuvre while climbing.

Getting to the top was amazing. The views stunning.

The descent was a bit scarier but fun all the same. We did it and had an amazing

time.

Thank you, Jack Petchey, for giving us the opportunity to do something a little

different.

Maggie Turner

1st Thornton Heath

‘Power’ Rangers

take on the O2

Midweek breaks

In 2018 and 2019 Croydon South Trefoil members had the opportunity to join our

midweek ‘cultural’ breaks which were masterminded by one of our members,

Sandra Hill. She did such a great job that the job of Holiday Rep is now hers. Lots

of research into all aspects of our trip was required so that we could just get on a

train and enjoy ourselves. Therefore huge thanks to Sandra and we are looking

forward to our 2020 trip!

In 2018 nine of us visited the

wonderful city of Liverpool.

We went for a tour around the

city on an open top bus, visited

the now very upmarket former

docks and had a boat trip on

the Mersey.

We also visited the brilliant

Terracotta Army exhibition, the

Slavery Museum, the Beatles

Story, the Liverpool Museum

and even fitted in a short rail

trip out to Crosby to see Antony

Gormley’s iron men statues.

Twelve members of our Guild

made the rail trip to York during

the exceptionally hot summer

last year.

We fitted a lot into our stay,

visiting the Jorvik Viking Centre,

Fairfax House, The Shambles

(lots of Harry potter influence

here), Treasurer’s House and

Gardens, Cold War Bunker,

Clifford Tower, Goddard’s House

and Gardens, York Minister, River

Cruise, Van Gogh Immersive

Experience, National Railway

Museum. Ghost Hunt Tour and

York open market.

Trefoil Guild

Title text

Thank You Carole!

End of a 5 year term of Office as Croydon

Trefoil Chair - presentation to Carole

Simpson by Anne Pilkington on behalf of all

Croydon Guilds.

Shirley Trefoil Guild visited the Mayfield Lavender Farm in July - enjoying the

colourful spectacle on a glorious sunny afternoon! After lunch in the nearby

Cafeteria, we walked to the Diamond Riding Centre, where we were given a tour

of the training arena and shown all the facilities. Riding for the Disabled was the

chosen Charity for Trefoil in the UK and it was good to see the results of our help

with funding.

Carole Simpson

Lavender Farm

Trefoil Guild

Title text

Duke of Edinburgh

and Queen’s

Guide Awards

Since the last edition of Crocus, the DofE Club has helped several Rangers and

Young Leaders to complete their DofE Awards.

Bronze Awards: Megan Bradnam, Elizabeth Bradnam, Ellie Allum, Amy Baverstock,

Eleanor Buxton and Kathryn Hyne.

Silver Awards: Megan and Elizabeth Bradnam.

Gold Awards: Lizzie Saunders, Beth Keyzer, Charlotte Smith and Rachel Nottage.

Queen’s Guide Award: Lizzie Saunders worked for her Queen’s Guide alongside

her Gold DofE and gained both Awards at the same time.

Congratulations to all of them!

Jennifer Long

WELL DONE!

To Jennifer Long who was presented with her

50 year Long Service Award on 25th

September by Jo Wheeler (County

Commissioner).

Jennifer is the leader with the Croydon Scout

& Guide D of E club and also the Queen’s

Guide Adviser and was for many years the

Leader of a Guide Unit in Shirley.

Long Service Awards

WELL DONE!

To Eileen Beaney who

was presented with her

40 year long Service

Award at a surprise party

at her Guide Unit in July.

Eileen does amazing

work supporting and

running units in New

Addington.

Congrats!

Follow our adventures and find out how you can get involved:

https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/get-involved/

https://www.girlguidingcroydon.org/

https://www.facebook.com/girlguidingcroydon/

https://twitter.com/GuidingCroydon