40th birthday for lesmurdie
a special day for Lesmurdie Guides On Saturday 19 September, Lesmurdie Crystal Girl Guides celebrated their 40th birthday at Pax Hill Hall in Lesmurdie. The event was well attended, with around 30 Girl Guides, past and present, and their families, gathered to celebrate together. Lesmurdie Crystal Girl Guides started off as 1st Crystal Brook Brownies in 1980. It was the third pack of Brownies in the area. The name might have changed, but Lesmurdie Crystal Girl Guides still provide girls age 5 to 11 with a wide range of fun and exciting activities like camping, crafting, community service projects, and learning new skills. Patricia Hayes, the first Brown Owl, was there to cut the cake, along with Lyn Grocott (Bumblebee), Marion Hutchison (Platypus), Louise Fletcher (Arinya), and Erica Usher (Echidna) past and present Guide leaders, and some of the newest Guides. For many, the highlight of the afternoon was the colours ceremony in memory of Wendy Hutchison for a lifetime of service to Girl Guides of the Hills area. Wendy was actively involved in guiding for over 30 years before her passing in 2012. Wendy’s husband Arthur and daughter Sandra Cull were among the guests of honour for the day.
a bit of a tangle for the colour party
By Mia Fletcher, 11 and Sophie Horne, 12
Colleen announced that the raising of the flag on the new flagpole that was given to the hall as a birthday gift, was to happen in twenty minutes. In that time Mia, Sophie and myself helped the majority of guests with drinks. When the 20 minutes were up, the three of us who helped with drinks headed outside, leading the guests to stand in a horseshoe formation around the pole. When everyone had gathered, I instructed the colour party to march forward and to halt, then I stepped forward to release the flag of the ropes bounding it - but the rope wouldn’t come off. I was struggling with the rope for around a minute or two before it was untangled. I stepped down, called the colour party to salute the flag, turned, marched to the previous spot where we were standing, turned once more to listen to those who had come make a speech for the leader who had passed. Wendy Hutchison’s daughter talked about how her mother was dedicated to Guides and how she was a Leader herself. When her speech had come to an end, Marion Hutchison pulled out a frame and said that if anyone read what was on the flagpole and wondered “Who is Wendy Hutchison?” they would find the answers on the bottom of the frame inside the hall. By Morgan Spreckley, 13
10 - Wagtale October, 2020
