GGEW Summer 2013 | Page 2

PAGE 2 Dedication of the New War Memorial in Brentwood GGEW NEWS SUMMER 2013 n Sunday 19th May 2013, following two years’ organisation and fundraising by the Royal British Legion, a ceremony to commemorate those service personnel who have made the supreme sacrifice in war and conflicts since 1946 was O held in Brentwood, Essex. A new war memorial was unveiled by Lord Petre and in attendance were nearly 300 trumpeting and drumming members of the Royal British Legion Band, Combined Cadet Forces, Air Training Corps, Sea Cadets, Royal Engineers, Royal Navy members and four of Brentwood’s Senior Section members together with a Guide from 1st Brentwood Guides. The memorial, a cube with the top angled to represent “A Life Cut Short” was inscribed with the words “Remember with pride and gratitude all those fallen in service to crown and country since 1946”. The Brentwood Division were approached by the Royal British Legion and asked to distribute service sheets and provide a guard of honour for the ceremony’s honorary guests, Brentwood and Ongar MP Eric Pickles, the Brentwood Mayor Madeline Henwood, Reverend Hewitt and Lord Petre. The Senior Section members (L to R) Katy Herrington, Lauren Coleman-Bennett, Clhoe Gray and Hetty Faulkner with Guide Stephanie Jackson and their Unit Leader, Fiona Bennett, felt the day was a poignant reminder of the continuing problems that our service personnel encounter on a day to day basis both in this country and overseas.When asked, the Senior Section felt that it was an honour to have been asked and to have had the opportunity to take part in such an important day. Fiona Bennett, Leader GGEW NEWS SUMMER 2013 1st Purfleet Brownies went to Marchants Hill PGL centre 24-26/04/13. We took all four Purfleet Leaders and 10 girls ranging from 7 to 10 years. During a fabulous weekend all girls themselves when they were taken out of their personal comfort zones by Brownies at challenged taking part in all the activities they were given with various levels of success. On we attempted to safely land an egg using only cardboard and toilet roll. Our Marchants Hill arrival first day included the very scary powerfan followed by riffle shooting. A short break for lunch and steady our nerves before attempting abseiling and aeroball. Awell earned dinner and then campfire to finish off the full day we had had. Our last day took shape with zipwire followed by a very muddy assault course. Shower and lunch followed by climbing wall and the giant swing. The journey home was far more enjoyable only taking 1.15hrs compared with the 3.30hrs to get there. All the way home singing the new songs we had learned at campfire. I am not sure who had more fun, the brownies or their leaders. We even made Little Owl do her Guiding promise on the giant swing. It is deffinately a trip I would recommend and I am sure we will do it again at some point in the future. he rain may have T tried to stop play but it didn’t dampen the fun that was shared by the three Essex Three Counties Fun Day T Indian Adventure as Kirsty Dingwall and Sarah Collins celebrate their 30th Birthdays n 2nd May, Water a O Carry-On! the 4th Hornchurch Guides did a sponsored water carry in aid of PLAN as part County Trefoils. Essex West hosted the event at Chigwell Row with of their Girls Have Choices badge - over £50 raised so far, we also previously activities for all to enjoy. he trip all booked independently (by Kirsty’s tours) lasted just over 3 weeks. We had an amazing and eventful trip to Indi a which started with spending three nights at Sangam World Guiding Centre in Pune and getting the hang of Rickshaws or Tut-Tuts. We then flew to Delhi and joined 12 million people in the Country’s capital and craft Mecca. We visited all the landmarks including the red fort and enjoyed a fantastic two hour light and sound show for 60p. We then travelled by Indian railway (where trains are more likely to be running late due to monkeys on the tracks and cows freely roam the station) to celebrate Kirsty’s 30th Birthday in Agra. The Taj Mahal was a most incredible experience and we spent the afternoon shopping for traditional Indian Punjabs. We then braved another train and travelled to Sawai Modophur to visit the famous Ranthambore National Park for some tiger spotting. The tigers evaded us but we enjoyed getting out of the city and seeing lots of monkeys, crocodiles, deer, and king fishers. The next stop was Jaipur, India’s pink city where we enjoyed climbing the steps of the Amber Fort by elephant and enjoyed the colourful Hindu festival called Holi. We then flew to Kerala, just below Goa where we enjoyed the beaches, hired a houseboat, trekked the misty hills of the local tea plantations and enjoyed a wonderful family home stay on the coast. Our last stop was returning to the chaos of Mumbai and visiting slums to learn about responsible tourism and what life is really like. I would highly recommend India as a destination for any international Guiding trip and I cannot thank Kirsty enough for all her research and organisation. Sarah Collins PAGE 7 As well as crafts had a speaker from PLAN and did various activities such as glass including making a mock commercial on girls v boys. engraving and bottle decoupage, members also had the opportunity to abseil, climb and fly on the zip wire. Lunch was delicious and the Bring and Buy , Plant sale and Raffle were also well supported.