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New Year, and lots happening around the region. I know not everybody likes January but actually I always feel a sense of excitement about what the New Year will bring. Not being a lover of the celebration itself, it does take a day or two into the month for this feeling to come over me and it may well have been aided this year by the first meeting taking the form of a double discussion in York last Saturday. The Rainbow team were meeting to plan out the Rainbow adventure days at Beamish and Bradley Wood for this summer and they sound really great.  I know the rainbow's who went on the Santa specials had a fantastic time and we are really proving rainbow's are up for anything. The other part of the meeting we were starting the detailed planning for our camp in 2013. I am already convinced this will be a fantastic event although we are being quite radical in trying to make a camp for all sections at one go so it will be quite complex.

 

What next? Well I had a small selection of awards to present in Newcastle which was lovely – a fairly complex arrangement where it was quite a challenge to know who knew which bit of the story and what to expect. As one of the recipients was Brenda Parke, our region president who received a long overdue Laurel Award, I opted for the line of least resistance and avoided talking to her in the run up to the event. Judging by the look on her face there is no doubt that the secret had been maintained right up to the last minute.

 

This Saturday I’ve been doing something I really love which is training adults. In this case it was the Gaining Training to support the International Module. Although I am not a great fan of prescribed off the shelf training I do like this one but that is because I have had a vested interest in it since it was introduced. Anyway although there is an outline for this there is also plenty scope for personalisation and sharing travellers tales.

 

I went to tea with the in4mers on Saturday and it was just inspiring to see the enthusiasm of the girls there – always reassuring to know our future is safe in the hands of the next generation. Also it was personally very useful as I was able to organise a session for my own Ranger Unit and I think until they have been informed by an in4mer they just don’t quite get what it is all about! I hope all the newly trained in4mers will get plenty chances to practice what they have just learned.

 

So I have definitely had a busy couple of weeks and as one of the girls asked yesterday “Do you ever get a day off?”  Of course I do and I was all ready to be a domestic Goddess today but a friend rang and said would I fancy a walk. Well the sun was shining, it was brilliant sunshine and frosty. No prizes for what I chose to do. Domestic Goddess – maybe not!

Hilary