Give it a go!

I am always surprised at the range of activities which Guilds around the Region organise and participate in. Suffolk is no exception and in April many members linked with Girlguiding Suffolk at a ‘Give it a Go’ event at Hallowtree Scout campsite outside Ipswich. A similar event is held annually for girls and the cry had gone up that adults would like to do these things too and us Trefoil members would like to join in!

The weather was perfect, and the activities were plentiful. Backwoods cooking enabled us to relive our camp days - after all who doesn’t like to build and light a fire to make a somewhat smoky feast? A pizza oven dug into the ground enabled many to make their lunch. For the adventurous there was the opportunity to use the tyre ravine or the large assault course. Rifle shooting and archery honed our target skills and although many didn’t hit that ‘bullseye’ there was a great deal of excitement as we swapped scores.

For those who wanted to take part in more relaxing sessions there was the chance for a massage, yoga or a ‘sound bath’……very new to some but a lovely feeling to relax in a warm, dark room with a blanket and pillow and drift off to the sound of gentle bells (there were probably a few snores intermingled with them too!)

There was opportunity to try wet felting and make a picture to take home as well as planting seeds to attract the bees to our gardens. Handbell ringing taught us to work together to produce a lovely sound.

Dance and drumming proved particularly popular and who could fail to be uplifted when the beat of the drums started.

In the afternoon a speaker talking about recycling clothes was inspirational. This was followed by the annual awards presentation. 3 of our members, Margaret Mellor, Wendy Rockett & Tricia Hale were presented with 60 and 50 year Long Service Awards – all from Ipswich Guilds but also still active with units in the area.

A BBQ and campfire ended the day and as we sang ‘Go well and safely’ many memories of past camps were recalled with the hope that there will be many more to come.

There was plenty of space to catch up with friends old and new and it was a fantastic opportunity for Girlguiding members to realise that Trefoil Guild is not a group of older ladies making tea and knitting.

Tricia Hale

Suffolk Trefoil Guild PR adviser