Guides celebrate 100th birthday

Guides seek spiritual development whatever faith they belong to

Girlguides in the county are celebrating 100 years of guiding throughout September 2009.

Founded by Robert Baden-Powell in 1909, religion and spirituality are still a key part of the guide movement.

Guides from Cambridgeshire say that guiding in the 21st century is still about fun and friendship, but has moved on from tying knots round the campfire.

Girlguiding UK has over 7000 girl members in Cambridgeshire, supported by around 1300 adult volunteers.

Having fun and being me

In September 1909 a group of girls turned up unannounced at the Crystal Park Boy Scout Rally and asked for 'something for the girls'.

Following this request, Lord Baden-Powell published his scheme for 'Girl Guides' with 6000 girls registering in 1910.

The 1st Cambridge Guides, the oldest unit in Cambridge, was formed in January 1910, and during the 1st World War members were heavily involved in the work of the Red Cross Convalescent Hospital acting as orderlies.

Guiding is about learning new skills, making friends and helping others

To celebrate 100 years of fun and friendship for girls and young women, we asked the 1st Brinkley and 2nd Burwell Guides, aged 10-14, to tell us what guiding and the centenary means to them in 2010.

Guiding 2010 means:

• More amazing activities, more friends to make and more people to meet.
• Having a great time doing things you wouldn't normally get the chance to do with people you wouldn't normally see - making new friends and keeping them 'til the next year.
• Trying new things you might not have the confidence to do otherwise. It isn't sitting around a camp fire tying knots - it's playing games, meeting amazing, life-changing people and having a whole lot of crazy fun!
• A lack of silence! It means that all the awesome, amusing, interesting and crazy people in our amazing organisation can have a celebration of how brilliant we all are.
• Time to meet old friends and make new ones. It means having fun and finding out your strengths and weaknesses through fun activities.
• More fun adventures, more camp fires to make smors and more activities to enjoy.
• I have an excuse to see my friends whilst eating biscuits, singing, drawing, chatting, generally having fun and being me once a week. It's sharing new experiences with wonderful people.
• So much more than tying knots and camp fires. We do rock climbing, abseiling, kayaking, raft building and all kinds of activities. We don't wear pinafores any more, we wear jeans and hoodies. Guides is a place to meet friends, play games and sing! We are the 21st century!