Rangers Back in the Wild

So Girlguiding finally decided that 'face to face' meetings could be allowed.  But there were so many rules about how many, where, how and a bookcase worth of paperwork and risk assessments to do that, they insisted, needed to be submitted two weeks prior to the event date.

So to be frank, they were playing lip service to 'we care about girl's mental health' and had shoved common sense into a dark corner.

But I managed to get my commissioner to agree to a no-brainer night and with a risk assessment as long as my arm and carrying more PPE than a surgeon on call, we set off over the socially distancing fields.

And what a night for it

The girls kept their distance naturally, but these large sweeping fields just lend themselves to that.

   

You can't kick up the sweet smelling hay with people too close, they just get in the way.

A gentle warm breeze carried the beautiful smell of a summer evening.

The sun started to set

We were headed towards home.

Chattering brightly.

We are so lucky to live here

As the sun went down the damp chill immediately set over the hay fields.

As we got to the meeting point and the more distant girls were picked up by parents, the closer to home girls started to text parents to say "don't pick up us, it's too lovely to get in a car, we want to walk the rest of the way home."

I rang all the parents to check they were happy and off the girls set again. I watched them disappear down the road, no longer my responsibility but still they socially distanced, chattering and ambling along just the same.

And I stood and watched the sun go down fully before heading the final mile home in the twilight.

And I thought 'we got this' but as it turns out we 'didn't got this' because I'm now struggling to come up with another 'face to face' night at a place we are allowed to meet with a covid safe activity etc

I can't walk them around fields forever but we all need to be together.  Virtual is great but what people really need is people. And some of my Rangers need to be with their safe space peer group so badly.

I'm not feeling the love for Girlguiding and its seemingly endless ways to say 'computer ses no' 

But I am feeling the love for the Rangers and their needs and we will get through this.