Sunday 7 July 2013

Story Telling Sunday - Evoking Memories.

Welcome to my blog on Story Telling Sunday devised & run by Sian at High in the Sky & today I'm going to share another of my most precious things with you.
When I wrote my post last month about my Mum's guide badges it sparked off a trail of thoughts & reminiscing that have lead to this post today.

My Camp Blanket.
Despite a little charring on the reverse this blanket charts my life through the Girl Guide Movement , my travels & scouting since then.
The Brownie badges (brown, on the left) & the Guide badges (on the right) plus my Queens Guide Badge (top central) remind me of the most wonderful times.

In particular they evoke memories of camping to me... cooking damper over a fire on peeled branches then smothering it in jam, singing songs from around the globe as our Guide leader was a music teacher, doing handicrafts whilst lying under the shade of a tree, building "gadgets" from found wood & string to hold up a washing up bowl & our rucksacks, a hanging larder dangling from a tree, sausages black on the outside & barely cooked in the centre, living in wellies, porridge for breakfast then trying to wash up the huge billy cans in luke warm water, telling spooky stories by torch light... 
All this from one precious blanket:)
I loved my time as a child in this Movement.
This the only photo I have from a camp( I'm on the right), well we just didn't take many back then!
and here I am in my Guide Uniform being presented with my Queens Guide by the District Commissioner. 
Many thanks for sticking with it & please hop on over to Sian's to read more delightful stories. Till next time xxx


20 comments:

  1. Wow! That's a lot of badges. I love the old photographs that complete your story.
    Rinda

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  2. Its great that you have this as a way of memory keeping - I only managed Brownies.

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  3. Of course I love this! That's one seriously amazing badge collection..the comment about the charring makes me think you came close to losing it in the fire? Wow..that would have been terrible. You have brought back so many happy memories for me of our own camping. My Guide Leader was a singer, so we used to do a lot of singing and not quite so many knots! and what a brilliant photo. Love it.

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  4. Wow! That's an amazing collection of badges. I recognise a few of them, that I earned myself. I was only a Brownie. My Mum thought the girls that went to Guides, where we lived, would be a bad influence and she didn't let me move up! Like Rinda, I love the photos, especially the first. All the more precious, because we have so few.

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  5. What a wonderful collection of badges - we lost our Guider when she became ill and no one would take over so our Guides folded when I was about 14 I think - I love the photos you have added - it makes your story very special. Thanks for sharing. J x

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  6. What a fabulous way to preserve those badges! I love the photos you posted as well.

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  7. All of my badges were lost in one of our moves - but the collection wasn't as impressive as this. What a lovely set of memories and skills you have gathered.

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  8. This really is a precious thing. The blanket, the photos that go with it, the stitches, the memories Oh keep it safe...

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  9. That is an awesome collection of badges & a great way to save them all in one place. I don't think I have any photos of me in scouting & I was in it for 8 years, you'd think there would be one at least.

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  10. Great story! Your experience in this movement must an absolute treasure to cherish. It was my secret dream when I was a little girl to enter such a group. I always thought that the children who did just knew way more of life! xoxo from France

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  11. What a lovely story.. and fab pictures too! Thank you for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment :)

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  12. Wow, what a great way to keep your badges! Congrats on getting the Queen's Guide badge.

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  13. I loved collecting all the badges too!

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  14. What a great collection...sounds like you really enjoyed the Guiding experience!...thanks for stopping by and commenting on my blog
    Alison xx

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  15. A wonderful collection of badges and I love the photo of you being presented with your award :)

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  16. That is an amazing amount of badges, you must have worked very hard for them all. I am glad that you still have it to always be a reminder of great times.

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  17. That is an incredible amount of badges! I think it's a really great memory holder and I love your photos x

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  18. The badge collections are interesting as are the stories that go with them. Makes me wish I had the opportunity to participate in scouting when I was a kid!

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  19. What an amazing badge blanket. I took my guiding promise when I was in my 40's and training to be a Guider. At seven I was given the choice of brownies or ballet and chose ballet.

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  20. Good grief what a lot of badges?! It has evoked a lot of memories for me too.

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