GirlGuiding Thinking Day Night Notes

 The notes I used for Thinking Day Guides night taken from various resources:

WAGGGS

OurMission is…

To enable girls and young women to develop their fullest potential as responsible citizens of the world

Our Vision is…

 All girls and young women are valued and take action to change the world

WAGGGS keeps the global Movement thriving, united and growing. We have Member Organisations in 152 countries worldwide. Between them, they have a combined membership of 10.2 million.

Thinking Day Pennies

There are a million of us. I am not good at arithmetic and I will not make any calculations which may not come true. But a penny, or two cents, or four annas or enough centimes or groschen or Heller or Filler or ore to make the same value, is not an immense amount, especially when it is perhaps saved or earned and given with a willing hand.

Lady Olave Baden-Powell, 1 November 1932

The Chief Guide

Guiding was set up by Robert and his sister Agnes. In 1915 Olave began by organising Guiding in Sussex and her success there led to her becoming Chief Guide in 1918. She led the Guides for the next 40 years.

Check out the current Chief Guide Team 

Meet the chief guide | Girlguiding

What The Guiding World Badge Represents

Every part of the World Badge has a meaning:

The golden Trefoil on a bright blue background represents the sun shining over all the children of the world.

The three leaves represent our three-fold Promise as originally laid down by the Founder.

The base of the stalk represents the flame of the love of humanity.

The vein pointing upwards through the centre of the Trefoil represents the compass needle pointing the way.

The two stars represent the Promise and Law.

Around the edge is the encircling ring of friendship symbolising the World Association - an open ring because the Association is still growing

Anyone who has made their Girl Guide or Girl Scout Promise can wear the World Trefoil Badge. It can be worn both in and out of uniform

The World Badge, a WAGGGS symbol, was first adopted at the 11th World Conference in Evian, France, in 1946. It's design changed in 1991. Whilst the badge looked different the symbolism stayed the same.

Activity

Clean pennies in brown sauce, form them into a large trefoil on the hall floor

Light 3 candles in the centre of the trefoil and say our promise.

I promise that I will do my best:

To be true to myself and develop my beliefs,

To serve the Queen and my community, To help other people

and To keep the Guide Law.

And then read out the guide laws:

1. A Guide is honest, reliable and can be trusted.
2. A Guide is helpful and uses her time and abilities wisely.
3. A Guide faces challenge and learns from her experiences.
4. A Guide is a good friend and a sister to all Guides.
5. A Guide is polite and considerate.
6. A Guide respects all living things and takes care of the world around her.

Read more...

Retired

The original 'AGuidingLife' website has been retired after more than 15 years online.

Due to concerns about the long term privacy of photographs and personal content, and the advancement of AI, the old site has been removed from public view. 

I will slowly migrate the more useful guiding only pages to here with their original published dates. 

Thank you for your patience. 

Read more...

Sometimes who we are on the outside matches who we are on the inside. But sometimes it doesn’t, and that’s okay.

“Sometimes who we are on the outside matches who we are on the inside. But sometimes it doesn’t, and that’s okay.”

Except it’s not ok, apparently. According to girlguiding who have had their hand forced by the law. But have they truly, could we have collectively made a stand?
In 2025, the UK Supreme Court ruled that under the Equality Act 2010, the legal definition of the word "sex" refers specifically to biological sex at birth. Because Girlguiding’s governing charity documents legally restrict its membership and benefits strictly to "girls and women," the Supreme Court's decision meant that "girls and women" must legally be interpreted as those recorded female at birth
But documents could be changed, the world changes and we have been growing together learning that anyone can be who they want to be.

I’m seeing friends leaving guiding because they are prepared to take a stand for what they know to be right.   I’m torn, I am aware this country is sleep walking back to a time of bigotry and hate. For many that never went away, it’s their way of life to hate those different to them, to assume trans are a risk because they don’t understand them, to feel threatened by them because it challenges how they see sexuality.  

Almongst all this I know there are many girls that still need girlguiding and everything we give them. The experiences, the development, the future. From the inside I can continue to express my belief of tolerance and understanding for all…or am I just trying to self justify still belonging to an organisation that can’t be open.  

We manage residentials now that include both sexes, we safeguard all, we don’t have one to one situations, exactly what is the problem with trans girls and women members? 

As I say, I sit on a very uncomfortable fence. 

Here’s a thing: it’s polite to call people in a manner they like to be referred as, it won’t hurt you to try to do that.  Who other people choose to love doesn’t affect you, leave them to be happy, look in a mirror if them being happy upsets you. What clothes people choose to wear is up to them, you don’t need to worry about it.  🌈

I’m so unhappy to see my guiding friends hurt over this, and I’m so proud of them for taking the choices they are.  I’m not sure I will ever stand so proud at Pride ever again knowing we let people down, we pushed them out. That’s not ok. 

 “Sometimes who we are on the outside matches who we are on the inside. But sometimes it doesn’t, and that’s okay.”

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