Round the Regions - Southwest

Round the Regions – Southwest
Dumfriesshire had a games evening to motivate themselves to get
moving – they did curling, throwing rolled up neckies into a bucket,
guess what is in the mystery parcels and other activities. They also
enjoyed a Thinking Day themed meeting looking at India. One member
told of all the activities she had go up to on a county event there, shared
her photos and had sari’s to try on. The County Commissioner is
leading a group of girls going to India this summer and she gave an
update about the plans for this. They also tried some Indian nibbles to
finish their afternoon.

Ayrshire South for Ayr & District’s first meeting, the speaker could
not attend so one of our members gave a talk about her trip to nearest
land mass to the North Pole. As a result of a craft evening that ended
early and the remainder of the time was spent chatting, Ayr & District
introduced a Saturday morning coffee get together. This has been slow
getting started but is very enjoyable. We celebrated Christmas in our
traditional way by enjoying a fabulous 3 course meal at a local
restaurant, dinner was delicious, and we were visited by one of Santa’s
elves who distributed Secret Santa gifts to us all. We were entertained
by a lovely person who started the Recycling Saturday program in
Prestwick. Such an important subject presented in such a joyful manner.
We all learned quite a bit about recycling too. Our most recent meeting
was with a co-founder of LINKS, who build bridges for vulnerable
children. His work was mainly in the Philippines building gorgeous
libraries for children in only 3 days!
Ayr also hosted a Trefoil Ramble to see the Alloway Tunnel and walk
along the beach. Of course, there was coffee and cake at the end.

Troon started the session with a visit from Ayrshire Mobile Escape
Rooms where they had to solve a game of puzzles with logic and
Girlguiding know how. This was followed by a talk by Uuganaa Ramsay,
who lives in Troon, but grew up in Mongolia. She gave a tremendously
insightful talk on like in Mongolia. She also wore national costume and

described the nomadic life of her childhood. Uuganaa will also be the
guest speaker at the Troon Annual Event and we are all looking forward
to hearing her speak again. Other meetings involved a talk from the
RNLI about the call outs they have and things they are doing to keep us
safe in the water. For Christmas, Troon caters their own dinner in the hall
which is always a happy and joyful occasion.
Ayr and Troon met at Nether Auchendrane for a movie night and
watched “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”. We always enjoy our joint meetings.

Ayrshire North The September meetings saw Kilwinning celebrate
60 years of Trefoil. They had an open meeting inviting previous
members along and enjoyed browsing copies of syllabus from over the
years. Kilwinning also enjoyed chair exercise, supporting the local
foodbanks with the tins used as weights donated to the foodbank.
Kilwinning prepared for Christmas by making felt baubles, robins and
some miniature Christmas trees. They also had a nice Christmas party
with a surprise visit from Santa Claus who presented everyone with a
small gift. UIV members tried some aspects of the Forth Valley’s
Chocolate Challenge. For Thinking Day, the focus was on India and
Sangam and the evening ended with some Indian food from the local
Indian restaurant.
Also in September, Upper Irvine Valley (UIV) were being “Motivated” by
the STARS Challenge to try their hands at activities including
semaphore, calligraphy, wiring a plug and tying a friendship knot. They
also enjoyed a walk of Kilmarnock Town Trail, learning of historical facts
of the older buildings with some events commemorated on the trial
plaques. One evening they were joined by a member of the Cumnock
History Group. UIV was all about healthy eating in the build up to
Christmas! RNLI Troon Operational Manager spoke to UIV and informed
them of the launch of their new boat. £260 was raised for this charity.
UIV enjoyed a fascinating talk from a specialist nurse in organ donation.
Kilmarnock enjoyed a Bat Walk around the grounds of Dean Castle by
one of their own members. They also tried some gentle yoga exercises
and had a talk and slide show of old Kilmarnock by a local historian.
Kilmarnock enjoyed a Christmas meal out.

Members of all Guilds attended a volunteers’ day at Blair Activity Centre,
joining with leaders from the County in a day of fun and friendship.

All guilds continue to support local charities, knitting for babies in Europe
and Africa continues alongside crocheting blankets for nursing homes.