Today I've mostly bin...

[Bunnylump]

Oh, trust me, you can have him. I'm pretty sure he'd be up for a change just at the moment.

[LAT]

RESULT!

One out of three at least.

[MBH]

No, no, no! No more cats. We've had almost 20 years with the 4 that have 'gone' over the past 3 years, and lovely as they were they were a tie

The big worry is Jen getting on in years. The plan to get a second when she was aged 8 or 9 fell through as life was not right to be able to spend the time training a new one. Now is not much better, but she's 12 and she's slowing down drastically except when she's running around to hide from Tom


Great cake by the way Giraffe You should be proud of yourself.

And on a different subject - how the heck can the guys NOT cook? My food may be plain and simple, but nobody would ever starve on my watch...... OK - apart from me being on the Internet and forgetting to make anyone anything

[Bunnylump]

There you are, LAT. Another perfect man for you.

[LAT]

I just want one perfect man. Not sure I'd know what to do with more.

In fact I'm not sure I'd know what to do with one, it's a bit outside my experience.

[Bunnylump]

Well, that's your story, and you're sticking to it!

P.S. If you do want my husband, I should perhaps warn you that he could snore for Britain. I must say I wouldn't miss that bit.

[Looby]

LAT you didn't want my son when I offered - for some unknown reason you seemed to prefer to swap with Supersleuth

[LAT]

I'm not sure who would be getting the best deal Looby. I have a feeling we might not notice much difference.

Oh and Bunny - I'm well used to snoring too so that wouldn't necessarily bother me.

[kathlyn]

..........got back from Somerset after spending last 4 days with grandchildren and family. Peace perfect peace.

[giraffe]

.......recovering from an invasion of 14 year old girls. (Sleepover) Peace perfect peace.

[Laura]

.... recovering from spending yesterday with 1700 4-16yr old girls!!!!!!!!!!! HA!!!! I win!!!!

It was the launch of the centenary of GirlGuiding. I ditched my own Brownies here and left them with our other leaders to go help my little sis in Cambridge with hers. We had to do a monopoly style challenge around Cambridge, getting money for challenges, and spotting the logos in different shops. Then a BBQ tea (for 1700 people! the organisation was amazing!!!). There was also a red arrows fly-past. Then crafts and activites, a sing-a-long, and the best fireworks display I've ever seen.

Absolutely exhausting but an amazing day. Guides and Scouts are one of the things that makes me most proud to be British. They're all over the world now, do no harm to anyone and an amazing amount of good to so many, and WE started it all!

[kathlyn]

I used to be a tawny owl and when I gave up brownies I stayed on as treasurer for the district. That was many years ago. Glad to see that brownies and guides are still popular in this techno age.

[giraffe]

I tried to become a rainbow leader because our local pack closed down and I couldn't find a pack for Lally despite having had her on the waiting lists for years, but the other guide leaders in the district were so snooty and unwelcoming at the meetings we went to, and the local school didn't return my calls about using their hall, and the methodist church hall were very peculiar about letting us use their hall, and after a year of getting nowhere I gave up. Lally was almost old enough for brownies and the brown owl knew I had been trying to set up a pack, and made sure she was top of the list. It's a shame because I had been given a waiting list of 12 girls from the pack that closed, but the lady that was going to help me and I both felt that the other guide leaders had been as unhelpful as they could. It was as if they saw us as competition, despite the shortage of places locally.

[Laura]

That's rubbish! I'd have you if you offered to come to my Brownies. We have one leader who is also a guide leader and is on tons of committees, and is getting married this year. Another works some evenings and never knows from one week to the next whether she'll be there. The other adult leader is very hit and miss. I have two lovely young leaders who are very helpful, but as they are under 18, they don't count! Its very frustrating sometimes.

[giraffe]

I think they'd have had me if I'd offered to help at their brownie pack or their guide pack, but because we were setting up our own pack they were most peculiar. The school I tried to use the hall of eventually said after months of saying they would call back and me phoning them again that thye didn't let outside groups use their hall. When Lally went up to Brownies the pack had moved into the same school hall! The brownies were run by one of their teachers, but they were really weird. Lally was told off one time for going to the loo. She used the girls loo and was told that she should have been accompanied and used the disabled because she wasn't one of their pupils. She was one of only two children who didn't attend that school, but brown owl was lovely and made sure that she was included. There is no wonder people don't volunteer for things.

[kathlyn]

My sons partner is a district commisioner, runs the guides and seems to spend all Thursday evenings at rainbows. brownies, guides and rangers as they all meet on the same evening at the same venue on after the other. She takes the guides to camp twice a year at least and does all sorts of activities with them. She also runs the local youth club. Saint or what. I think so

[clvrlad]

a MIL who likes the person there child married..........

[Bunnylump]

My mum thinks the sun shines out of my OH's rear. He can do no wrong. So much so that she has now convinced herself that she honestly thought to herself(when he was sitting at the back of her biology class with his long hair, drumming on the lab bench) "He'd make someone a lovely son in law!" I think those 84 years are starting to tell....

Re scouts / guides / brownies etc. I take my hat off to anyone who volunteers. It's a thankless task. I spent 9 years as the Secretary for the primary school PTA and a school governor. It was ridiculously hard work, and almost impossible to get those parents who "whinged" about everything we organised to join in themselves. Your day sounds amazing, Laura.

[LAT]

That does sound great Laura. But exhausting

[MBH]

HA!!!! I win!!!!

Thanks Laura - that had me laughing

This was on the local radio, so I had to look it up:

LONDON, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- British Scouts will no longer be permitted to carry knives, even on camping trips, due to an increase in fatal stabbings, Scout officials said Sunday.

So much for 'Be Prepared'

(Yes - I was a Sea Scout MANY years ago)

[No - that does not mean that our tent sank]