[What is Girlguiding] [Guiding in Action] [County Information] [Divisions] [ Centenary] [Go!] [Activity Ideas] [Guestbook] [Gloucestershire Login Page]

[Home] [Picture Gallery] [Trefoil Guild]

GLOUCESTERSHIRE TREFOIL GUILD  

TREFOIL TITBITS  

Who says Trefoil Guild members only make tea!!!!!

No County Titbits this month, but to let you know we are still around, these are Coopers Hill TG activities!

In May we had our meeting at the Cheltenham Hat Company in Churchdown. It was a beautiful evening and we went to visit Sarah Speakman at her workshop and hat emporium. What a super time we had – we were able to try on as many hats as we liked from big expensive ones to little fascinators. We had such a laugh, some very rude comments and some compliments. Sarah told us there was a hat for everyone, but not every hate was for everybody. We learned how hats were made and fitted, and all about her involvement with millinery from a very young age. Everyone had their photo taken in their favourite hat and they are in our scrapbook.

The June meeting was our annual BBQ held at Audrey and Peter Staite’s home. Again it was a lovely evening and we were able to sit outside until it was dark.

Our July meeting will be on the theme ‘Adventure 100’. We’re going to our highest point at St Bartholomew’s Church, to see the restoration work which is now finished - and then back to Jean’s for a ploughman’s supper.

See you all at the Boules Competition.

May is the month for Annual General Meetings. Thursday 6th May saw nearly 80 of us at Willersey Village Hall -it was a squash, but we managed. Unfortunately we could not spread out as part of the complex was being used as a Polling Station for Election Day. At the meeting we said our farewells to Avril, and part of her presentation was the adoption of a Beehive, she was thrilled, can’t say the same for her husband. Avril then gave her thanks to her County Team with arrangements of flowers in red and gold. A special thanks note was given to Cotswold Guild for all the support they have given to Avril.

Trefoil Brooches were presented to Heather Brimble and Pam Cottle in recognition of their service to Trefoil, and Beryl Evans presented a brooch to Avril showing gratitude for all she has done for the County. Margaret Francis received her Dark Horse Venture certificate for Digital Photography, Carol Tipper would have received her Gold Award but unfortunately she was unable to be present, so her Guild Chairman took it for her in her absence. Mary Sollars was introduced to us as our new County Chairman and starts with our good wishes and support in her new role.

The entertainment for the evening was by Flowers Original, I think we all expected a flower arrangement demonstration, but wrong, it was the musicians who normally play for the Morris Men - there was no room to dance, but they had us clapping and singing. An excellent supper finished off the evening.

Saturday 15th May and 29 of us went to the Region TG AGM in Reading. The highlight of the day for us all was when Avril was introduced as the new Region Chairman. What an honour for Avril and Gloucestershire. We send her our love and best wishes as she takes up her new appointment.

 

What a busy weekend we had at the end of March; Monday was the coffee morning at Deer Park is was, as always, very well attended with lots of goodies to buy and a good raffle. The coffee and chat were both excellent and we were very pleased to welcome visitors from Middlesex.

Tuesday morning dawned a bit dull, but at least it was not raining and we were off on a daffodil walk for our County Spring Ramble. Over80 of us met at the car park at Queen’ Wood, Kempley, and divided into our walking groups. The long walk group went off with 21 people and a dog to do about three miles. At first we played hunt the daffodil, but gradually we spotted them opening up, also plenty of primroses. Our walk (or mud slide) was led by Tony Williams and he requested that his fee be sent as a donation to one of our Guide Charities, for which we were grateful. The short walkers (about a mile) also enjoyed themselves under the leadership of our own Tom Mockford. We arrived back at Dymock Village Hall for a super Ploughman’s Lunch with desserts and coffee prepared by Preston Social Group.

Jean Griffiths

 

The Thinking Day Luncheon this year was held at Stonehouse Court Hotel . The round tables were well decorated with centenary balloons and flowers and the room looked very attractive. The manager welcomed the 92 members present and gave us a potted history of the hotel. The raffle raised £115.00 which was to go to help the Girl Guides in Haiti .

The Trefoil Executive held last week was Avril’s last meeting in the Chair, her term of office has come to an end.  Avril was thanked for her skill in running the meetings in such a business like way, and for the care she has taken of us all during the last five years. Our best wishes and promises of support in the future go with Avril as she is now to become our Region Chairman.

Coopers Hill Trefoil Guild had a visit from the Wimberry Clogs for their March meeting. What a fun evening! This very talented group of people, based in the Forest , entertained us with music, song and dance. We all tried on the clogs and had a tapping time, hope they will visit us again.

For fun we are doing the Centenary Quiz – BUT HELP! Who is Ursula Devereux?

Trefoil County Day, at the beginning of September, was held on the day marking the Launch of the Centenary Celebrations and a wonderful day it was too. We had over sixty people there and everyone was busy with their chosen activities, ranging from Canal Painting to Weaving, Accounts and Computers, Archery, Sugar Craft and Cameras. Avril Dooley and Sue Matthews welcomed all the guests who had joined us for the afternoon, and after a beautiful cake was cut and the next 100 year of Guiding was toasted in Champagne, tea was served to everyone.

The Autumn Coffee Morning was held in the middle of September and although not as many people as usual attended it was a happy gathering and about £130.00 was raised. A visitor from Somerset caused quite a sensation with her flashing Centenary neckerchief, are these going to become popular?

Skittles Match. During Trefoil Trails in 2008 when Cheltenham and Coopers Hill met they had a skittles match, it was fun and they agreed to do it again. Well they did, at the end of September twenty three Trefoil members met and battle raged, this time Coopers Hill won by a narrow margin. The supper was superb and the noise level from the chatter was unbelievable, but a good time was had by all. We hope to repeat the evening again next year, Cheltenham are after revenge.

Our Autumn Ramble this year was a walk along the tow path of the Gloucester –Sharpness Canal. We met at Saul Junction, in the mist, for coffee and a catch up with old friends. The walk was led by Dennis Sollars and we went from Saul to Slimbridge, about 4.5 miles. The weather improved with every step we took, and by the time we reached Slimbridge, we were shedding jackets and cardigans as the sunshine was so hot. We had cars at every bridge to take anyone who had walked far enough on to Slimbridge, so that no one felt that the distance was too far to tackle. A little canal boat called ‘Perseverance’ carried twelve passengers from Saul to Slimbridge, and after lunch twelve different passengers returned by boat to Saul. We had a lovely lunch at the Tudor Arms which we all were ready to enjoy. There were the usual number of 60 Trefoil members, husbands, partners and dogs, who took part. It was a lovely morning and we are looking forward to the Spring Ramble already.

Jean Griffiths

 

Antarctica Experience (click here for photos of the adventure)

Well, we did it!!! A party of eight Trefoil Guild members from Gloucestershire, Bristol , Liverpool and Balloch set out to visit Antarctica ... and what a fantastic experience we had!

After a fifteen hour flight we landed in Buenos Aires , Argentina , where we enjoyed a tour of the city and the facilities of a super city centre hotel, (the roof top bathing pool was most inviting).

Next was a four hour flight to Ushuaia, the southern most city of the world, and a tour of the Tierra del Fuego National Park at the end of the Pan-American Highway . We then embarked on MVFram for our adventure. It is a fantastic ship built two years ago for Arctic and Antarctic exploration cruises.

Luckily the crossing of the Drake’s Passage was relatively calm, and after our mandatory lecture on Antarctic ‘etiquette’, we were ready to make our first landing on Half Moon Island. This was the first of our many landings on islands and also on the Antarctic mainland. We walked over rocks and boulders and sometimes were knee deep in snow, no easy task when wearing all the gear - thermals, waterproofs, hats, scarves, gloves, wellington boots and lifejackets, but what we saw made it all worthwhile. We visited Argentinian, British and American bases, including Port Lockroy which has the only Post Office and shop in Antarctica .

Watching Humpbacked whales feeding, seals on ice flows, rockeries of penguins and the nesting sites of cormorants, gave us a really wonderful insight into the life of these creatures.

Crossing the Antarctic Circle, where King Neptune was evident with ice cubes christening the necks of those who volunteered, and cruising down to 68degs.14mins.south, in Marguerite Bay where the sun only sets once a year, and further south than other cruise ships, made us an especially lucky group of people. From the top at Neko Harbour in a snow storm, we saw a glacier calving and the resulting waves along the shore. At two of the stops we were unable to land but were taken in the Polar Circle, boats cruising amongst the icebergs and ice flows, seeing seals and penguins on them. The magnificent seascapes we saw on these cruises were breathtaking!

On our return crossing of the Drake’s Passage we made a detour to see Cape Horn , sailing among flocks of Albatross - something one can only imagine in dreams.

On board, between the excitement of the landings and cruises, we attended fascinating lectures on all aspects of Antarctic history, wildlife and exploration, and of course enjoyed splendid food and service.

This was a trip of a lifetime, and no written words can adequately convey the vastness and beauty of this wonderful area of snow, ice and rock, and the emotions we felt during our trip.