British Guides in Foreign Countries
Well, didn’t that go well! The Friends AGM weekend in Lille in April was blessed with beautiful weather and 35 of us were able to enjoy wandering around the town in glorious warmth! Between us, we enjoyed outdoor cafes, French cuisine, the Citadel, the Musee de Beaux Arts, a delicious Centenary Celebratory Dinner, the morning service in the English church, the huge Sunday market, the lovely architecture of the town and shopping! Best of all was the opportunity to spend the best part of 3 days meeting up with old friends and colleagues and making new ones.
The AGM itself, thanks to the organisation of Pauline Cecchin, was held in the English church of Christ Church and was also attended by the County Commissioner of Benelux and France with all her District Commissioners, not to mention one Guide and one Brownie from S.H.A.P.E. The business side of the AGM went smoothly and we were able to thank Don very warmly for the years he has given us as our treasurer. In his place, Francine Coles was unanimously elected as the new treasurer and Maureen Jackson was equally enthusiastically elected as the new secretary in Francine’s place. No other members of the committee were due for re-election this year.
A short discussion followed about how the Friends present saw the future for us and obviously the idea of holding another AGM in Another Country was popular. This could be a possibility for 2012.
We also discussed the fact that BGIFC itself celebrates a centenary next year as our very first unit opened in Portugal in 1911. It was agreed that we should set up a competition within BGIFC for the design of a badge to mark our own centenary.
The completion of the AGM was very special this year as Ruth Sara was able to take this opportunity to present Pauline Cecchin, very well known to many of us, with the Laurel Award. We know that this is very well deserved and we felt honoured to be present for the occasion. Congratulations again, Pauline!
Anne Saywell
