Second Briefing at Scout Park, North London

Our second briefing took place on 24th - 26th April at Scout Park in North London. It was a great chance to catch up with all of the other teams as well as physically spend some time together and talk without a time limit on the conversation (unlike our phone conferences which seem to like to cut us off before we are finished).

Friday night was just a good chance to talk to everyone and get prepared for the weekend of trainings, but it wouldn't be a GOLD briefing without great hilarity in the evening entertainment. Playing charades with guiding names and places seemed a little too easy to start with, but by round 4 we had Ruth in a duvet cover trying to act out some of the words (I can't tell you what they were - I still don't know!)

When the alarm clocks went off on Saturday morning, we were probably one of the most reluctant teams to get out of bed, but once breakfast was over we were fired up and ready to start the day of trainings. The big event of the morning was our interactive sessions run by each country team. We had been told to prepare a 15 minute session based on either our country or our project aims. Team Malawi decided to run a 'Dragons Den' style session based on the Five Essentials of guiding, asking each team to pitch guiding to us based on one of these essentials. It involved a lot of time keeping and a few TV voice-over impressions, but we got good feedback from the other teams and along with the other teams sessions, it gave us some good ideas to use on project.

Our group time over the weekend was so busy - Ruth had a lot to fill us in on from MAGGA, we managed to come to a decision over what colour of hoodie to have (very important), as well as making lots of other important decisions about onward travel, kit and trainings.

Ruth is ready to go during group time!

For the Saturday afternoon's trainings, we had some very helpful visitors from CHQ firstly giving us a training and facilitating workshop and then doing separate trainings for our individual roles (Treasurer, First Aider, Written Documentor, Resources, Photo & Video). It was really useful to have their input as to how to make the best of our roles.

In true GOLD style, the Saturday evening entertainment involved fancy dress, competition and a lot of team effort. Each team came dressed as a TV show and ran an activity based on that show. We decided to go as Scooby Doo and run a treasure hunt. Andreah certainly had the best costume as the Mystery Machine!

The team trying to make a mouse out of melted marshmallows and rice krispies

Andreah balancing some chocolate digestives

Louise trying to get the After Eight into her mouth without using her hands

M eating doughnuts on a string

Emily about to do a fashion show in her outfit crafted by the team

Alice writing the promise in chocolate sauce

Our final effort of the promise written in chocolate sauce (and a few strawberry laces when the sauce ran out)

Team Malawi in our Scooby Doo costumes

Andreah's amazing Mystery Machine costume

We managed to fit in some more group time on the Sunday morning before being led in a WAGGGS workshop which taught us a lot about the resources available from WAGGGS and how we might be able to use them on project.

All too soon, it was time for us to all leave again. We can't believe how fast the time is going and that we only have third briefing as the next time we will meet before we head to Malawi!

Thank you to Anna, Carly, Rachel, our brilliant team leaders, wonderful cooks and all of the trainers who came in to support us over the weekend. We can't wait to see you again after project!

Don't forget you can keep up to date with Team Malawi and our GOLD journey by subscribing to this blog by email, liking our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/GOLDMalawi2015  and following us on Twitter @GOLDMalawi2015

GOLD love,

Alice and Team Malawi x

Introducing.... Ruth

Hello. My name is Ruth I am the GOLD Leader for Malawi 2015. I was lucky enough to go to Malawi on the GOLD project last summer in 2014 and I am now busy planning for this years project. I am looking forward to the challenge of returning to Malawi as the leader and being able to see first hand how MAGGA has developed over the last year.

I have been a member of Girlguiding since the age of 5 and have progressed through the guiding sections including gaining my Queen Guide Award. I am currently the assistant ranger leader with 1st Quorn Rangers in Leicestershire. We have a thriving unit of 30 rangers, which keeps me busy! I am also a Girlguiding Media Spokesperson and a Prospective Trainer.

As a member of guiding I have been lucky enough to travel to Australia, France, India, The Falkland Islands and Chile as well as to Malawi in 2014. I have a love for international travel and following on from project last year chose to visit a friend in Cape Town, South Africa before exploring Madagascar.

My favorite foods are pizza and chocolate! My favorite animal is a penguin and I have a vast collection of penguin items at home.

Introducing.... Louise

Hello, I’m Louise – after dithering about these past few years, I decided in 2014 to stop ‘just thinking about doing it’, so I attended INTOPS and applied for GOLD. It worked out well, as here I am, a member of the fabulous GOLD Team Malawi 2015 and buzzing with anticipation and excitement for our forthcoming project in the summer. I’ve been very lucky to have been away with Guiding before, however I have a sneaky suspicion that this is going to be completely different.  Apart from a brief stop on the continent of Africa, this part of the world is going to be a brand new experience for me, which adds to the excitement – I love a good adventure, eek, I can’t wait!

I’ve been in Guiding a while; I joined as a Brownie back in the early ‘90s (the era of culottes and sweatshirt) and haven’t left.  Now I’m a Brownie Leader and have been Brown Owl in Caddington (near Luton) since 2007. I’m trying to avoid creating expectations for my GOLD experience, so it’s all about being open-minded and prepared for anything.

Can someone tell me the difference between Turquoise Surf and Hawaiian Blue?

Last weekend Team Malawi had our second phone conference. It was really great to catch up with everyone - once again everyone has been working really hard with fundraising, preparing for second briefing and spreading the word about GOLD!

Our biggest accomplishment since our last phone conference was the completion of our challenge badge pack (now available from any team member or by emailing goldmalawi2015@outlook.com). The badges that go with the challenge are taking longer to be produced than we were anticipating, but we can take any pre-orders so just contact a member of the team or email the group directly to order yours. The challenge badge has been a real team effort and has four sections: Culture, World Guiding, Songs & Games and Animals and the Environment, plus a PR challenge for all sections at the end. We can't wait for people to start our challenge, so send us pictures and updates as you work through it on Facebook: www.facebook.com/GOLDMalawi2015 and Twitter: @GOLDMalawi2015

A lot of our time was also spent finalising details for second briefing, but more on that later!

Perhaps the biggest decision of the evening was what colour kit to go for. The choice of hoodie colour in particular was so vast and the difference between 'Turquoise Surf' and 'Hawaiian Blue' was a little too trivial for some of us. Despite our best efforts, we only managed to narrow the colours down to two choices, so will have to make the final decision at second briefing.

It wasn't long before our 2 hours was up and we had to leave the catching up until the next time. Luckily for us, that isn't far away as we are heading off on second briefing this weekend!

Keep an eye on our social media accounts over the weekend as we try to keep you updated with our briefing. Also please take a look at our challenge pack which at the moment is available from the team members directly or from our team email: goldmalawi2015@outlook.com

GOLD love,

Alice and Team Malawi x

Introducing.... Alice

Hello! My name is Alice, I am 20 and I live in Shropshire. I am in my second year at Durham University studying Biology. I hope to work in medical research when I graduate. I have been a member of Girlguiding since I joined Rainbows at 5; I am now a Brownie leader with 4^th Durham City St Johns Brownies and a peer educator with Shropshire and Durham South counties. I have recently been presented with my Queen’s Guide Award in September 2014 which was so much fun to do. As a young adult member of Girlguiding, I really love being involved in big events with other senior section members and it is often these times where I have amazing experiences as well as making some of my best friends. My only travel experience is through guiding – I was lucky enough to sail across the North Sea twice in the Tall Ships Races with members of the senior section from Shropshire and West Mercia.

I am looking forward to so many things about GOLD but in particular just embracing the culture, which I know will be very different to what I have experienced before. I am the Written Documenter, so will be keeping you all up to date with our activities via the blog and social media – make sure you follow them all!

Random fact about me: I made my promise in senior section half way down an abseiling tower!

If I were an animal I would be: A giraffe

One food I cannot live without: It has to be Cheese

GOLD love,

Alice

Introducing.... Emily

Hi, 

I am the other Emily in the group and am very excited to have been selected to take part in GOLD 2015 and travel to Malawi. I haven’t done any travelling with Girlguiding yet and am looking forward to making the most of such an amazing opportunity. 

I am originally from Suffolk, where I helped with the 1st Constable Rainbows and the 22nd St Margaret's Brownies. These are the same units that I originally came up through myself. I have moved to Bristol, where I am now helping with the 1st Hanham Rainbows which I absolutely love! 

I went to the University of Worcester where I studied Archaeology and Heritage Studies with American Studies; I am starting at Bath Spa in September to do a PGCE in Primary Education. 

Food I can’t live without: Avocados and Chips (my very guilty pleasure) 

Introducing.... M

Hi, I’m M. There are two Emily’s  in the team so to avoid confusion, we tossed a coin (in fact a cent) for choosing a nickname. I’m really pleased to be a part of GOLD Team Malawi 2015. I’m looking forward to getting to know the other 5 team members, who are all really nice, helping guides out in Malawi and having a good time.

I started as a Rainbow and went through all the sections. I am now leading a lively but fun bunch of Rainbows in West London/Middlesex, whilst trying to complete my Queen’s Guide Award before I turn 26.

I’ve travelled as a senior section member with SSAGO to Iceland and Switzerland but am looking forward to travelling to Africa and experiencing the culture there.  My role in the team is the treasurer - to barter for bus fares and ensure we have enough money to buy resources for training.

If I were an animal I would be an Elephant, as they seem wise.

I don’t have a favourite food, but I do love blackcurrant squash!