We have a mascot!

The lovely Region International Advisers, Alexis & Amy have presented us with a bear to be our mascot; she even has an international necker!

We have now challenged the girls to come up with a great name for our Mascot.. watch this space to find out the winner (which will be picked at random!).

Our kit has arrived!

30 May 2017

Exciting delivery at 'ICE HQ' today - our kit has arrived! It looks so good and our ICE girls definitely made a great decision with the colours! Our badge logo really stands out!

Becky wearing the zip hoodie in grey!

The two tshirts in purple and blue, chosen by the ICE team!

Rivington Pike Sponsored Walk

Rivington Pike Sponsored Walk Saturday 20^th May 2017

The walk at Rivington Pike was so fun!

It didn’t look as if the weather was going to be nice to us when we arrived, the sky was overcast with big dark grey clouds, and, sure enough when all of the group was together it started to rain. At first it was just drizzle when we first started the walk, up a well-worn gravel path, (I think the topic of conversation at the time was dogs, as a couple of Golden Retrievers had just gone past with another group). Then we turned into another path, except this time it was really steep.

We got to about half way up the hill when the weather cleared up and Caitlin and I seemed to be leading. (Personally, I had no idea where we were going, but the path was quite straight forward!) We went up a bit more to where there was a lovely view but it was very overgrown, on a small narrow path, when we made the decision to just go up and then down, not around and then up. It started to rain quite a bit then and as we got further up we came on to a moor-like bit. 

We went past some D of E teenagers packing up their stuff in the hammering rain and Caz (I think it was Caz..) asked if they were enjoying themselves. Most shook their heads and one girl said ‘No!’ very firmly and decidedly, although, I don’t think that I would enjoy it much if I had to pack up in the pouring rain either, so I don’t really blame them!

After this there was just one stretch of huge steep steps left until the top. Well, if when we saw the D of E people it was raining cats and dogs, it was now raining horses and cows and giraffes and elephants! To add to that there was a howling wind as well! So, we got up the last bit and we were at the top, yay! We decided to scrap the picnic lunch as we were all so cold and very, very wet. So, as Ellie handed out chocolate biscuits (I think they were bourbons, but whatever they were, they were very yummy!) we tried to admire as much of the hazy view as possible.

We went back down the hill thoroughly soaked through, with it still hammering it down. We decided to do some geocaching and I found one! I was very pleased with myself as we’d been hunting around for ages for it! After we’d done two (Ellie found the second one) we walked back soaked to the skin and very hungry, but still cheerful all the same.

When we got back Becky produced a huge birthday cake from her rucksack for Caz and we all sung Happy Birthday and departed with a fat slice of yummy cake, making a very welcome addition to our wet picnic in the car!

Charlotte M

Badge, badge, badge!

Look what has arrived! This is our trip badge for Finland and it's so pretty!
Lanah designed the badge and we think it's pretty awesome. The swan is the national animal of Finland, and the 2 necks make a heart <3

Unicorn Suprise

8th/9th April

Hey guys,

Every year I try to think of something new and exciting to do for my birthday but it always ends up with the usual pizza,cinema etc. This year I went to a guides briefing weekend to prepare for the biggest week of my life so far, to travel to Finland! I was really happy. This is an amazing opportunity for me.

The sun was shining as we arrived at Shirdley Hill and the two groups went head to head geocaching in the surrounding grounds of the house. We also planned our trip to Finland and researched what to see in Helsinki. We will be staying in a hostel on an island, how cool is that? 

 Sneaky little geocache!

Under the bridge rubber duck geocache!

When I woke up on my birthday morning, there was a pretty card poking through mine and Abi's bedroom door from my new friends- Elle and Emma. They wished me a happy birthday.

Once I had got ready, I went down for breakfast. Bunting, which had my name on, hung from the roof,confetti covered the table where I was sat and a mini cupcake was in front of me!

Later on that day, we made journals for Finland and played games. After lunch, everyone surprised me with an enormous Unicorn cake and sang happy birthday. I felt really embarrassed.

We also did a scavenger hunt in teams to make things from bits we could find around the garden

Thank you to all the guides for a fabulous weekend and I can't wait for our adventure in Finland. Autumn xxx

 Here's our leaders Caz, Becky & Ellie with Jen (centre) who was our amazing cook for the weekend

 And here is team Finland 2017!

Elle & Emma talk to the Region about ICE

After coming home from the first ICE weekend 18 Guides signed up for the next adventure taking ICE over the Finland.

Elle & Emma were asked to talk about their ICE journey so far at the Region Conference. How super amazing is this.... well done girls, we are really proud of you both!

ICE visits Waddow!

During a wet and cold October half term 36 excited Guides and 4 equally excited leaders all arrived at Waddow near Clitheroe in the North West of England for our first weekend of ICE.

On the Friday evening we arrived in the dark and pitched our tents by torch light with the help of some parents. We enjoyed some getting to know you activities and we also made name badges so we could learn each others names during the weekend.

The next morning we were up bright and early ready for an action packed day of community action!
But first we required a big hearty breakfast prepared by Caz... check out how big our dining table was at camp

In the morning the group split into smaller groups for activities, some took down the tented village and others cleaned and packed away camp equipment from the campsite huts.

 Lots of team work took place to take down the HUGE tents ready for winter

Girls cleaning camp equipment from one of the campsite huts ready for the winter

In the afternoon it was time to have some fun and enjoy an adventurous activity

 Some girls enjoyed a game of archery

 Whilst others used their team work skills to climb up Jacob's ladder

In the evening after an international themed tea of chilli and nachos the girls participated in a Ceilidh dance in the rain!

The next morning the girls completed their community service element of ICE by digging up a patch of waste land on the site, they then planted some wild flower seeds so that in the summer the area will be blooming with beautiful flowers!

At the end of the weekend the leaders had the super exciting news that the second half of ICE would involve a trip to.....

FINLAND!!!!

So what is ICE?

ICE stands for International Community Experience, it's an event run by Girlguiding to get girls who are currently Guides aged 10-14 to give something back.

The idea of ICE is for girls to attend a weekend away in the UK where they will undertake some sort of community action activity as well as have fun, make new friends and enjoy a weekend away from home. From this initial weekend girls can then opt to take their ICE experience further by taking ICE internationally.

 This blog will be run by the teams who take on ICE from Girlguiding North West England, you will be able to follow what we get up to and where we go and hear from the girls who are involved in these amazing opportunities...

If you are interested in registering a young person to join Girlguiding follow the link below:
https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/information-for-parents/register-your-daughter/

Or if you feel inspired to get involved as a volunteer like all of our ICE leaders you can find out more here:
https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/get-involved/become-a-volunteer/