Bognor Butlins brave Brownie Invasion (From Richmond and Twickenham Times)

Bognor Butlins brave Brownie Invasion

10:25pm Monday 18th January 2010 in YOUR Richmond News

From Community Correspondent Christine Wicks: Last weekend Brownies from Mitcham, Wallington, Worcester Park, Teddington, Raynes Park, Sutton, Cheam, Carshalton, Wimbledon and Twickenham joined 4,800 other Brownies from across London and the South East of England when they held their Centenary celebration – ‘Funtenary’ – by taking over Bognor Regis Butlins.

The Brownies, all aged between 7-10 years, descended on the West Sussex town and spent the weekend packing in as many activities as possible including carousel rides, dodgems, hockey, karaoke, bowling, circus skills, swimming, face painting and tracking down the Centenary mascot Cindy Centipede. They also visited the beach where many got their feet wet dodging the waves.

‘Funtenary’ was organised by Girlguiding London and South East England to bring Brownies from across the whole region together to celebrate the Centenary, make new friends and have fun.

Hannah aged 10 said: “My favourite bits were all the rides and watching the performances. The hotel was amazing too. It was really fun to go away and have a party just for Brownies.”

Anne Hudson, London and South East England Chief Commissioner said: “The Centenary year is a chance for all members to celebrate guiding and take the opportunity to have a special moment that they can remember for years to come. Funtenary was a great way for us to give the Brownies their very own Centenary experience, it was a special event for girls from across the entire region to make new friends and celebrate together - the girls had great fun and so did all of the adults who were there too!”

The Chief Guide Liz Burnley also attended Funtenary to wish the Brownies a happy Centenary and to try her hand at some of the activities on offer.

During her visit the Chief Guide said: “It is just fantastic to see so many girls getting together and having so much fun, the whole place is buzzing with excitement and activity! An event such as this also shows the Brownies that there are Brownies pretty much everywhere, not just in their local area. It is also great to see that all the volunteer leaders are enjoying themselves and have the opportunity to do activities and make new friends of their own. We are always looking for more adults to get involved so I’d encourage anyone out there who is inspired to volunteer to get in touch and see just how much they can get out of it too!”

The guiding movement began in 1909 when a small group of young women gate crashed the Boy Scout rally at Crystal Palace Park in London and lobbied Robert Baden-Powell for ‘something for the girls’. The Centenary is an opportunity to celebrate the impact that the organisation has made on the lives of girls and young women and how modern guiding continues to support over half a million members around the UK. Locally, girls take part in activities such as camps and adventure holidays, international travel, community action.

Girlguiding UK is the UK’s largest voluntary organisation for girls and young women, with over 550,000 members and recognised volunteers. One in four eight-year-old girls is a Brownie and almost half of all the women in the UK have been involved in guiding at some stage in their lives. We run Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Senior Section, enabling girls and young women to develop their potential whatever their ability or background. We are striving to offer new opportunities to a broad diversity of communities through our expanding network of 60,000 trained volunteer Leaders.

At Girlguiding UK we seek to give girls a voice and provide a unique, girl-only space where members feel comfortable just being themselves. Our members, challenged by a girl-led programme that extends beyond badges, enjoy a spectrum of activities from outdoor adventure to pop-concerts to community action.

Girlguiding UK, part of a worldwide Movement of approximately 10 million girls and young women in 145 countries, launched its Centenary celebrations in September 2009. Registered Charity No: 306016, www.girlguiding.org.uk