Sunny Hunny

On Saturday 10 June Guides from 1^st & 2^nd Downham Market met under a rather overcast sky in Hunstanton.

Our first stop was the Washmonster. The Washmonster is an amphibious vehicle which was used in the Vietnam War and originally cost £1 million! It was a little choppy, but we all got to see just how wonderful the Hunstanton cliffs look as well as watching the Kite Surfers.

Once back on dry land we walked onto the green above the cliffs for our much needed lunch. By now the weather was glorious and out came the sun cream. While on the green the girls were reminded about how to put someone in the recovery position, how to help someone if they were in shock. This was all part of their WaterSafety badge.

Back on our feet, we walked to the Lifeboat station in Old Hunstanton. We were a little early for our session so all the girls had some time playing on the sand. By now it was really hot! And we were glad to get into the shade of the Lifeboat Station.

The Lifeboat crew were all fantastic and showed the girls the hovercraft (one of only four in the country) and the Lifeboat. The Guides then went to watch a video of a real life rescue. The rescue took place at Brancaster beach involving young people getting caught out as the tide came in.

The Guides took part in numerous activities, including how to look out for danger when they are in the water or on a beach, what the flags on the beach mean, how to attract attention should they become cut off, how to assist someone who is in the water, how to throw a line to someone.  The session ended with a race between two of the crew and Bo, to see who could get dressed in all the kit ready for a rescue the quickest. Bo almost won, but she did have an extra pair of hands and had less kit to get into!! The Guides then presented a cheque to the RNLI which is entirely funded through donations.

A huge thank you to all the lifeboat crew for a really excellent session, and also to the girls who never moaned once, even walking all that way in the heat.

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Charity Shop Chic

As part of the Ranger's Independent Living Octant, the Rangers from Clack Close all took part in the £5 challenge.  

Each Ranger was given £5 and they had to try and buy a complete outfit from a charity shop. They all did an amazing job, with some real bargains, as you can see from the photo.

A visit from West Norfolk Deaf Association

Tonight 2nd Downham Market (St Edmund's) Guides had a visit from Sarah from the West Norfolk Deaf Association.  She came to tell us more about the work of the charity and the services they provide.  Those who are local to Downham will know that the WNDA have recently opened a book shop in Downham Market and are planning to open another of their charity shops very soon.  But what you might not know is that these shops also provide a service to the deaf community, particularly by servicing hearing aids.  The charity is a very local charity and survives on donations and funding bids - you can find out more here

Sarah gave us some tips for communicating with deaf people, including reminding us to speak normally and not exaggerate.  Exaggeration changes the way our lips and facial expressions look and can cause confusion.  She also said we should stand still when talking to a deaf person and make sure they have a clear view of our faces, we should be aware of the light and make sure we are not in silhouette.  Towards the end of the evening we learnt some British Sign Language, including how to finger spell our names and some commonly used signs - many of which can be found on YouTube.

Thank you to Sarah for coming along and we hope to see some of our readers supporting the WNDA shop x