Introduction

Hi, my name is Jan Bain and I am a Guide Guider (aka Girl Scout Leader) with
1st Banff Guide Company in Banff, North Scotland. I have been a Guider for
only 2 years but was a Cub Scout Leader for many years in my "younger days".
My husband and I celebrated our Silver Wedding this year and have one son
aged 24.
Learning to deal with and more importantly befriend 10 to 15 year old girls
has been quite an experience.
We have 25 girls in our company at the moment, 5 of whom are working towards
their Baden Powell awards. Our biggest problem is to get the girls to stay
in Guiding and move up to Rangers once they are 15, one or two have joined
the Young Leader scheme but the rest are lost for a few years at least.
I was a Brownie and Girl Guide but then left the movement until I became
involved in Cubs when I was 19, so maybe there is hope for our girls.
I gained my Camper's licence last year so we are hoping to have a full week's
camp next summer - something our Company has not done for years.
This year we celebrated our 75th birthday, 1st Banff Guides were founded on
23 March 1921 and have operated continously since then, even managing to keep
going through the war years. We are lucky to have a lady living in the town
who was one of that original Guide Company. She has a given us a superb
photograph album from a 1925 summer camp she attended. We held an exhibition
to celebrate our birthday on 23rd march and then had a special birthday camp
in the summer. We are now collating all the information and verbal history
we gathered for the exhibition with the aim of writing a history of 1st Banff
Guides. We were twinned with a Guide Company in Banff, Canada in the 50's or
60's but have little information about which Guide Company or why the
twinning ended. Is there anyone out there in Banff, Canada who would be
interested in reviving the twinning?
I am also our Divisional PR representative and am involved in organising a
Banff & Buchan (our Guide county) photographic competition next year with the
aim of creating a travelling exhibition to promote Guide (and maybe even get
some more leaders) throughout the County. And of course, give everyone a
chance from Rainbows upwards to have some fun.
In my "spare" time, I am a partner in a photographic business with my husband
and son, am a member of the Inner Wheel Club, and am on our local hospital
"Friends of" committee.
My husband and I visit Effingham in New Hampshire two or three times and
year and I visit the local Brownie/Junior girl Scout troop there. I have
also visited a Girl Scout troup in Wolfeboro, NH. One of the things I
believe very strongly in is the worldwide aspect of both Guiding and Scouting
(I was a cub leader in Singapore for a while years ago). One of our Guiders
is working with "Gold" in Sri Lanka for 6 months which helps the girls to
learn about guiding in a, very different, country from their own.
My motto is - if we all give a little it will mount up to a lot.
Be interested to hear from any other Guiders or Girl Scout Leaders.
Regards

Jan Bain

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