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Sarah Mackie of 1st Jesmond Rangers recently collected her Queen’s Guide Award. Here she tells us about her experiences.
“I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a Queen’s Guide until I suddenly realised that time was running out and I would soon be too old to ever try. So I sent off my application and in the 18 months that followed, I had some amazing experiences. I was almost disappointed to finish it as I was having so much fun!
There are five sections to the award, each with a number of
different challenges. The award covers service in Guiding,
service in the community, development of a personal skill,
an outdoor challenge and a residential experience. Among
my highlights were organising the county centenary Thinking
Day service and international fair, a Guide sleepover where
we painted two rooms at Jesmond Parish Church and a week
away as a Scripture Union leader on a camp for teenagers
in the Lake District. My expedition took place on the Isle of
Arran where we did battle with the elements and investigated
the Goat Fell murder of 1889 (fascinating because the
National Archives of Scotland allowed me access to the original
trial documents).
Obtaining my Queen’s Guide Award was a great fun but it
also helped to develop my leadership and organisation skills,
helped me to grow in confidence, to discover new skills and
to explore new ways of getting involved both with Guiding
and the wider community. The presentation at Dalmeny House, the home of Lord and Lady Rosebery overlooking the Firth of Forth, was a great chance to celebrate with other Queen’s Guides from across the country. I would encourage any keen and enthusiastic Senior Section girl to give the Queen’s Guide Award a try. As Mark Twain said “twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do … so throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour, catch the trade wind in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.””
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