The 3rd Briefing

Officially last weekend was the 3rd briefing weekend for Team Estonia, and it was a great weekend! Although we are the first team to leave for project, we were among the last to have our own briefing weekend. With only 2 weeks until project, we were under pressure to finalise all of our planning, but we achieved all our goals, with lots of fun and laughter along the way.

Great Food

For our weekend, we invaded Emily's house in Biggleswade. Haven't heard of it?... Neither had we before meeting Emily. Biggleswade is in Bedfordshire, about an hour north of London and central for our team. 

Emily was a fantastic host, and we were met on Friday night with a delicious pasta bolognase. After a fantastic desert of chocolate cake and fruit salad, we relaxed and enjoyed each other's company. It would be an early start on Saturday, and we got some well needed sleep in preparation! 

Our breakfast spreads included croissants, toast, fruit, and all the trimmings. Lunch were ham and salad wraps. But the most important part was the cheese board! In our planning for the weekend, we had each agreed to bring a cheese from our local area to share, and it was AMAZING. Definitely a highlight of the weekend. Charlotte also brought up scones to show us all how to do afternoon tea Devonshire style! 

Great Planning

The most important task for the weekend was of course our planning. During our first week in Estonia we will be delivering sessions to leaders and rovers, and this weekend we planned them out! Our sessions will have two main areas of focus: 1) To empower and motivate the participants, and 2) to gain their insights and opinions on their current training programme. We absolutely stormed through our planning - with a collection of fantastic sessions planned. We have also developed resources about our team, energisers and 5 minute fillers, favourite songs, and evaluation techniques. Now we just need to collect everything on our list of resources and materials required (HINT: There are lots of sticky dots and post-it notes to get!) 

Great Looking

We were very excited to get our team uniform!

It was also a great opportunity to compare notes on different kit, and the best deals around! 

Great Fun

Although it was a productive weekend to be proud of, we also had a lot of fun! Emily's dogs made lots of new friends, and were the source of much amusement (distraction?) throughout the days. On Saturday evening, we took a break from the serious business of planning, and headed out for a night on the town... Biggleswade style. Now, there is not much to do in Biggleswade, so after a meal at the converted theatre we headed to Bingo! For Tamara & Margaret, it was their first time at Bingo, but they soon got the hang of it. Unfortunately none of us won even a single line, but we had lots of fun trying. We were slightly late, but we had a great time in the park en route that was worth the delay! 

So, that is the story of our GREAT planning weekend. Now it is less than 2 weeks until our project begins, and as always, the best way to keep informed of our progress is to follow the blog, Facebook and Twitter. Not long to go now!

Loving Guiding: Volunteers Speak

As well as being members of GOLD Estonia 2016, each member of our team is also a volunteer with Girlguiding. Over the last few weeks, we have been highlighting on Facebook why our team loves Girlguiding. Because we love Guiding, and believe in the opportunity it offers to all girls, we volunteer our time. In honour of Volunteers' Week, here's all of our reasons for loving Guiding:


Charlotte: I love being part of Girl Guiding as it has enabled me to undertake opportunities I would never have dreamed of doing, and to be part of experiences that have pushed me and made me grow as a person. I have visited many amazing countries, and along the way have met incredible people from all over the world, who I share a unique bond and friendship with which begins at our common interest in Guiding. I love being an advocate

for Girl Guiding, and I wouldn’t be the person I am today without it.


Alyson: I love being apart of guiding as it gives you the opportunity to grow in confidence and the chance for international opportunities. Guiding has given me this chance to grow in confidence and also travel, which has led to gaining some new friends. Friends that will be friends for life! 😀


Tamara: I enjoy the experiences in the moment in Guiding, but I love the impact Guiding has on every minute of my life:

It has given me a moral compass to navigate an ever changing world.
It has given me an opportunity to explore our natural world and the wonders within it.
It has given me a sense of history to learn from a wealth of previous experiences, and to be proud of where I have come from.
I have learned to work with others, not just my friends, which is invaluable in the world of work
I have confidence to step up in any situation with dignity and without needlessly trampling on others
I have learned the benefits of giving to others, both for the recipient and myself. I have learned that I must always consider others, and from that good things will flow.
But most of all, I have moved 10,000 miles for work, confident that I would have friends and a community with common interests and goals because of Guiding!


Margaret: Difficult question, it's hard to pin down, there are lots of reasons. I enjoy the community, the fact you can move across the country or across the world and find like minded people. I have also had the chance to try buckets of new activities and challenge myself, gaining leadership and team work skills. It is also rewarding working with a group of young people and watching them grow and develop in their own space. One of the best moments I have had in Guiding was after we had made bicarbonate of soda volcanoes as a unit. The next week a Guide came in and showed my a picture of one she had made at home to show her younger siblings. A really small thing but it showed how we are making a difference to girls lives!

Trying things out of doors

Katie: The reasons i love being in guiding is endless. I love being a brownie leader seeing the girls come in at 7 and them leaving at 10 with more self confidence and turning into young women. I go away with guides and see them learning new skills and trying new things. Senior section is my favourite to see them from 14 as grumpy stroppy teenagers converting into young ladies. Their journey is the biggest dealing with GCSEs, A-levels, University, 1st jobs and of course 1st relationships. Helping them through these times and giving advice and support is the biggest reward for me. The friends I have made on my Guiding journey are friends for life and we stick together in the good times and the bad regardless of background or age. The memories I have made and are making with my Guiding friends will be forever in my mind and thats why I love it so much.


As you can see, we all believe in the magic of guiding for all girls, and we always welcome more volunteers from all walks of life - including men!

If you are not already a member, and want to be part of it, head to Girlguiding to register your interest to join!

GOLD in our Communities

Although our GOLD project will be delivered in Estonia, it also gives each of us the opportunity to spread the word of GOLD and Guiding in our local communities. Check out what each of our members have been up to!

Alyson: Being selected for GOLD has given me the opportunity to enlighten and expand existing knowledge people have of GOLD within Guiding. It has also given me the chance to inform work colleagues more about Guiding is and how it is not just in this country, but it is a world wide organisation with the aid of WAGGGS. Letting them know that UK Guiding you are 1 in 10,000,000 whereas in Estonia it's more like 1 in 200. 

Some of Emily's Guiding Family

Emily: I have been telling all my Guiding family and young leaders about what GOLD's aims are. I have run rent-a-guider evenings and told them what GOLD does overseas for Guiding. I have forwarded application forms to those I know in addition to sharing the information on Facebook. 

Margaret: Talking to people at university most don't seem to realise that Guiding extends to more than just the odd group that meet at the church hall. GOLD has opened conversations about Guiding worldwide and the importance of the work WAGGGS does in representing women in 146 countries. I have also found people are surprised that there are opportunities available for women of all ages and that I am still involved because I am still learning and having fun. I feel that with increasing pressure on young people giving girls a space to grow up as well rounded individuals is increasingly vital and talking about Guiding and the reasons why I volunteer allow others to see how important it is to over 10 million girls worldwide!

Tamara at Westminster Abbey

Tamara: This year, I have struggled with health problems, but every opportunity I get out is another opportunity to spread the word about Guiding and GOLD. Work, district meetings, camp, large-scale activities at a local-ish campsite, even the ANZAC Day ceremony at Westminster Abbey (by the start of the ceremony, everyone around me knew about GOLD!). It has also given me an opportunity to re-connect with my previous Guiding experience in Australia - where there are now Brownies and Guides completing our Estonia Badge. Wherever I go, GOLD has become a talking point, and I just hope the people I meet leave with a greater understanding of Guiding and GOLD. 

Katie: Being selected for GOLD has made my local area more aware of what amazing international opportunities can provide senior section members and younger leaders who thought these opportunities ended at 16. I organised a fundraising curry and quiz night which over 70 of my family and Guiding and Scouting friends attended. During the evening I explained the reasons why were going to Estonia and what our aims were and everyone was surprised what the GOLD scheme meant. When discussing this with the guides at camp they could not believe how small the Estonian guide association was which is smaller than the amount of guides on camp that weekend.


Just by reading our blog, and following us on Facebook and Twitter, you are helping to spread the word about GOLD as well! We challenge everyone to tell someone else about our project this week, and see how many new followers we can amass!

In the interim

Today marks 1 month until we fly to Estonia!

So what have we done in the last month?

• Our clothing order arrived today (very exciting)
• Some of our members have been finishing their university year with studying for final assignments and exams
• Some of our members have taken their Guiding members to camp 
• We have started planning our sessions
• We have run fundraising events across the country

And overall we are getting on with our lives, while trying to put all the pieces together.

As we begin the final countdown to project, make sure to follow our blog, facebook and twitter for all the latest!