The
Brownies and Guides in this area are the 1st Landford Units;
Rainbows are 1st Nomansland; but they serve jointly the villages
of Whiteparish, Landford and Nomansland.
We are very active units—and did you know that the Brownies
celebrated their 90th birthday in 2004? That’s 90 years of
fun and activities that many young girls and women have had
while growing up as a Brownie. In the autumn of 2004 the Brownies
in our area joined over 2,000 other Brownies from all over the South
West of England in a day full of activities at Foxlease, our Guiding
home in the New Forest. Brownies from all over Wiltshire have attended
Pack Holidays and camps, teaching Brownies how to survive
without Mum and Dad. Examples of past or planned Brownie activities have
included: an evening tour of Marwell Zoo as part of our birthday celebrations;
Pack Holidays including sailing at Calshot Activity Centre,
and climbing, archery, and lots of other activities outdoors and in
at Ferny Crofts, the Scout Training and Activity Centre.
Recent or planned Guide activities have included an exciting and energetic
day Dragon Boating with Guides from all over Wiltshire; ice-skating,
ten-pin bowling and swimming at Basingstoke with other Guides from
Downton District; a course in First Aid; a week in the Czech Republic;
and joining Guides in the rest of the district for a day at Calshot,
climbing, ski-ing and sailing. In addition Guides always enjoy craft
activities and always have an annual Camp.
BROWNIE NEWS (January 2012)
Little Owl here with an update on the activities of the first Landford Brownies
Way back at the end of July we said goodbye to Bethan, Emma, Neve and Charlotte. We hope they have a good time with the guides.
In fact Bethan and Emma, came with us when Brown Owl, Little Owl, Florence, Esme and Kirsten went to Foxlease to join many Brownie and Guides from Wiltshire South for two days of Wild West Fun. There were lots of activities to take part in: trails to follow, swimming, line dancing, learning songs from the wild west. We had campfire songs, stories in the Tee Pee, made Dream Catchers and much more.
We shared our house with another pack and the girls made new friends. Our meals were cooked for us by one of the guiders. Very good they were too! We also had another guider to see that we got to where we were supposed to be. She helped us make Indian Headdresses and papooses in which to put our Teddy bears. We had an Indian dress made for us and we were all set for the big party at the end.
We have welcomed several new Brownies and had promise ceremonies for them. One of them took place in Penny Fry’s woodland garden with a real wood, lake and camp fire. We toasted marshmallows on the fire and sang campfire songs by the light of the fire.
Other activities have been working for a special Royal Wedding Badge, which included making a card for William and Kate for which we received a thank you letter from the Palace! Inside were photos of the brownies wearing the wedding hats that they designed
A very successful activity was a watersports session at the Spinnaker Sailing Club at Blashford Lakes near Ringwood which ended with all the Brownies in the water! All the girls were very keen to give everything a go and I think a few fears were overcome.
Remembrance Sunday We learnt about the significance of poppies and made our own from felt and pipe cleaners. We were very pleased that we could present our posy of poppies at the service held at Whiteparish All Saints Church, which made it even more meaningful for the girls to be part of the wider community.
We have started our Autumn Seasons badge and once again we have been lucky to have Mike Bryant to lead us on a Star gazing evening at Pipers Wait. We learnt how find the North Star and other constellations. At home the Brownies have worked on posters and leaflets about animals that hibernate, as part of the badge. We will finish the badge when we make pressed autumn leaf pictures.
Christmas saw us making Chocolate Truffles and we were very lucky to have Roger Harris to come and help us make pottery angels which were painted and fired in his kiln. Each one had its own character and this was a popular activity much appreciated by Mums who were the recipients of the angels.
We ended term with a Christmas Tree Fancy dress party with lots of super goodies to eat donated by kind Mums (many thanks) accompanied by lots of boisterous games. We are looking forward to a new year.
Little Owl
BROWNIE NEWS (January 2011)
Here I am again to bring you up to date with the happenings of our Centenary Year.
Following One World One Beat at the college in Salisbury the girls did part of the One Hundred Challenge by collecting 100 signatures and collecting 20-pence pieces to make into the shape of 100. The money was given to the funds for Haiti and the Sudan.
The next Centenary event was at Berwick St James the Guide Headquarters for Wiltshire South. There were lots of fun games, such as water games, bead bracelet making and other challenges. The main activity was for the Brownies to all take part in making tesserae with the artist Joanna Dewfall, which when put together formed Gruff the Golden Dragon, which, after being finished and varnished, is now displayed on the front wall of the building, to hopefully be there for another hundred years of guiding.
On the most beautiful day in summer, I went with six of the Brownies to a Garden Party in the grounds of the home of Lord and Lady Benson, who has long been involved in the guiding movement. Brown Owl supervised the swimming pool which was the best place on that very hot day. We took part in pole fighting, parachute games, bouncy castle, crystal maze games and best of all water games.
In August was the Big Brownie Take Over of the PGL centre at Osmington Bay. We joined with Nomansland Brownies and all went by coach to Osmington where there were other Brownie packs from other parts of the country. The camp used to be Pontins and we were housed in the chalets. There was great excitement choosing who to be with and unpacking cases. Each pack had a helper and ours was Becky from Nottingham. The girls loved her and they were to be seen following Becky to meals and activities, singing and chanting in the American style. There was great friendly rivalry between the groups. The food was plentiful and good and gave the girls lots of energy to do the activities which included abseiling, trampolining, go-karting, zip wire and other team games. Some of these really tested the confidence of some brownies, but with the encouragement of the instructors and their friends, there was a great feeling of achievement when a task was completed.
On the Saturday night there was a grand firework display and the set piece was the Guide Trefoil. The sky over the sea was lit up by the display and it was a wonderful experience.
In September some of us went to Longleat to see the Safari Park and other attractions. In one of our sessions we had made drums out of waste materials and we joined in a special drumming session led by a professional group. It sounded wonderful but very loud! Lord Bath was presented with a waist coat designed and made by guides. Lots of fun was also had getting lost in the maze, and climbing on the fort and some brownies were really challenged when they held a tarantula spider in Pets Corner. I was challenged going through a dark mine which had fruit bats flying and hanging from the ceiling!!!
Our last event was the Renewing of the promise (in my case belatedly making the promise!) at Hamptworth Lodge, with other guides and Brownies from the Downton district. On arriving the girls lit a candle
in a jar. They were placed in a circle at the front of the house and looked magical. The senior section guides laid a trail through the woods with 100 numbers and animal pictures. Beads were to be found at some points and the brownies collected them to make a bracelet. On finishing the trail sweets were to be had on bursting a balloon. This led on to the camp fire and a goodie bag, camp fire songs and the renewal of the promise. We were grateful to Hamptworth for allowing us to have such a wonderful setting in which to end a fantastic year. There is no doubt that mixing and meeting with Brownie and Guide packs from all over the county and country, makes you realise what a wonderful organization the Guide Movement is and that the girls are very lucky to be able to belong to it. I’m sure they will remember the centenary year for the rest of their lives. I will.
Following this very busy year the guiders of the Downton District felt they needed to recharge their batteries, so a weekend away at a Guide Centre in mid Wales, Broneirion, was the answer. It is a beautiful Victorian house in beautiful countryside and we all enjoyed walking and taking in the scenery. We also had training sessions with Ruth, with ideas to take back and use in our brownie packs. Mostly they resulted in much laughter as we tried out the activities for ourselves. We did get to know each other much better.
Throughout the summer most of our sessions were outdoors, doing things such as tracking in the forest and playing games in the recreation ground at Landford.
To celebrate St George’s Day we joined with the Scouts and a service in Salisbury was followed by a Fair in Victoria Park, One World One Family, with activities from many countries in the world
We were invited to join in Landford’s Autumn Fair by making a Scarecrow. In fact we made two Brownies, one standing on her head, both in front of a large 100 year sign, to signify the Centenary.
For the first time the Brownies took part in the Remembrance Day Service at All Saints Church learning about why poppies are used as a way of remembering those who have lost their lives in the World Wars. We also took part in the Christmas Tree Festival at Landford Church and decorated our tree with angels made by the brownies, to depict the carol Angels from the Realms of Glory.
The term ended with a Christmas themed fancy dress party chosen by the girls. They took home the little wooden chest of drawers which they had decorated, the drawers full of sweeties, and the many memories of the great things they had done and the friends they had made in the guide Centenary Year.
Little Owl.
BROWNIE NEWS (January 2010)
Last summer the Brownies and their leaders went on Pack Holiday in Coombe Bissett. The theme chosen was HARRY POTTER and the girls enjoyed fun activities based around this. The highlight was a day out, which began with a morning of outdoor activities at the Avon Tyrrell centre, followed by fun on the beach at Bournemouth, finishing off with fish and chips at Harry Ramsdens!
In the Autumn term there was a trip to the Rapids in Romsey where we all had lots of fun being swept around the rapids and playing swimming games. The Brownies are all ‘Water Babies’
For Christmas the Brownies chose to have a Pyjama Party and enjoyed playing games and dancing to the disco. A big thanks to the mums who provided delicious things to eat and drink.
Girl Guiding UK Centenary: 1910—2010
This is a very important year for the Guiding movement as it is their Centenary Year and there are many wonderful activities planned for the Guides, Brownies and Rainbows to take part in.
It began with the Launch Party which the Downton District held at Trafalgar school. There were lots of exciting activities including dancing, water games and crafts, which were followed by a party tea the centre piece of which was two cakes decorated with the Guide Trefoil and the Centenary Logo and a hundred gold candles. The tea was enjoyed by all and the party ended with songs around the camp fire lead by Snowy Owl and the ‘piece de resistance’ a grand Firework Display courtesy of Pains Fireworks, where we were joined by friends and family.
Another party was organised by the Division ( Salisbury Area ). It was at the City Hall and several Brownies, Snowy Owl and Brown Owl, enjoyed the Disco with a live band and entertainment from Jonathan the Jester.
Just before Christmas the pack went to the Library in Salisbury to see an exhibition of Crib Scenes from around the world organised by Wiltshire South Division. The scenes had been lent by Libby Purvis, the author and broadcaster and were truly wonderful. After tea at Pizza Hut the girls enjoyed exploring the exhibition looking for the different features from different countries. Also displayed were the winners of a competition for Guides and Brownies to make their own cribs. Some Downton Guides were among the winners.
The latest activity we have been busy with is painting a piece entitled ‘ My Wow Guiding Adventure’ to be entered into a country wide competition organised by the artist John Dyer and Girl Guiding South West England. The Brownies have painted some very vibrant scenes of their Wow Activities in the style of John Dyer himself. We hope some of them may catch his eye!
COMING UP
On 14th February we will have Church Parade at the Methodist Chapel in Landford, where we have our Brownie meetings. Everyone is welcome to come along.
This year we will celebrate Thinking Day as One World One Beat, meeting at the college in Salisbury with other Brownies and Guides from around the region.
That is not the end! There are many more things coming up during the year, which we will let you know about. We hope this gives you an idea of how exciting being a Rainbow, Brownie and Guide is. It offers girls many great opportunities but above all ------- it is FUN!
Little Owl
BROWNIE NEWS (January 2008)
Trip to London.
A group of excited Brownies met at Southampton Airport station for the train journey to Waterloo. Oh,, we did reserve seats! Sorry madam, but we can put you in first class. So despite the awful weather we travelled to London in style. Our first stop was the Houses of Parliament where we had a guided tour of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The girls were extremely interested in all the history and interesting facts our guide, who herself had been a Brownie, had to tell us. We learnt how the two houses work and saw, the throne where the Queen sits to open Parliament, the woolsack, and portraits of all our past Kings and Queens. We ended the tour in Westminster Hall and left to see the hands of one face of Big Ben whirring round and round! Eventually all faces showed the same time. This was followed by lunch on the Victoria Embankment (the rain had stopped) and a trip down the river to visit The Tower of London. We were lucky enough to see the bridge open to let an old Thames Sailing Barge go through. This was followed by a brief train ride and a visit to Pizza Express. A good time was had by all and the girls were a pleasure to be with.
Radio Day
As part of our Communicator Badge some of the Brownies went to Chandlers Ford where, with the help of a Guider and Itchen Valley Radio Club, we joined in a Jamboree of the Air and were able to talk to people near Birmingham, who were in an old windmill, and even to someone in New York State, although this was very faint. The girls learnt how to spell their name in the Phonetic Alphabet and made a bead bracelet to represent the name in Morse code. We have also been texting our Brownie friends in Nomansland.
Other Activities
We took part in the Village Service in Landford Church on 14th October and showed how we begin our meetings with a Brownie Ring around the toadstool, singing the Brownie song.
Autumn leaves inspired the girls to make leaf pictures of an animal or person which would have graced any gallery.
Star Gazer Badge . Unfortunately the weather prevented our visit to the Southampton Observatory but Mike Bryant came to explain the workings of the solar system with help of lamps, a polystyrene ball and the Brownies!
Halloween Activities included making a stained glass pumpkin and bobbing for apples.
Christmas s aw us making presents, sparkly Christmas tree shaped boxes with chocolates inside and Christmas tree cards using felt and more sparkle!
Our party took the form of a Teddy Bear’s Night, which I was sorry to miss.
THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Our newest Brownies will make their promise.
- Valentine’s Day cards. SHhhh!
- There will be a Thinking Day Service
- We’ll be making Mother’s Day items. SHhhh!
- Easter activities
Little Owl
BROWNIE NEWS, Autumn 2006:
The 2006 autumn term started with the Brownies of the First Landford Pack completing work to achieve their Brownie Pack Holiday Badges. This year, twenty four Brownies had a fun-packed weekend at the Wiltshire Guide Headquarters, in the old school at Berwick St James. Eight of the older Brownies braved the inclement weather (thunder, lightning, rain!!) in a tent in the grounds accompanied by two guiders. Activities centred on the theme 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' and included a physical activity course, a scavenger hunt in the local countryside, cooking, and clay work to produce a name plaque. All great fun, but totally exhausting!!! Brownies have lots of energy.
Also this term, six new Brownies will take their Promise and we will be doing some star gazing as part of the Seasons Badge. The Brownies have already made beautiful Autumn leaf collages.
We were very pleased to be invited to take part in the Christmas Tree Festival at Landford Church from December 8th to 10th, and our tree will be decorated on the theme of 'Away in a manger' Do come along to see ours, and all the other trees.
Happy Christmas to everyone from the First Landford Brownie Pack!
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