7th Midsomer Norton Brownies first opened their doors on 8th February 1968 at Redfield Road Methodist Chapel, under the wing of Brown Owl, Janet Robins, and Tawny Owl, Christine Gardiner.

Joan Chivers replaced Christine, who moved away from the area, before she took a back seat and handed the Tawny Owl name to Deanna Turner.

The Pack enjoyed many happy times, as they do fifty years on. Janet and Deanna took the girls away on many Pack Holidays, which included horse riding, dry slope skiing, a Christmas and Royal Wedding; plus days out, along with learning Guiding Traditions. The Pack has always been very popular and has rarely been low in numbers.

When Deanna decided that it was time for her to take a step back and join Friends of Guiding, this then left a position for a Guider. Linda LeFevre then joined the pack as Barn Owl. A few years after this, Janice Eggatt started as a parent helper and then decided to take the plunge and become a Guider, Tawny Owl.

When Janet decided to step back and join Friends of Guiding and Trefoil Guild, Linda took the Pack over as Leader In Charge. Janet is still a very active member of our pack, and comes on outings with us; last year enjoying holidaying with us in Swanage. The Leadership Team has now been joined by Ruth Boucher, (who was previously a Guide Leader), and was a Brownie within the unit; her daughter Abigail, (also an ex-Brownie), is a Young Leader, along with Mia Gaynor.

Over the last fifty years, the Pack has seen many young girls grow through Guiding and become Leaders of their own sections, also having many girls join us whose mums were our Brownies. We have also seen the uniforms change dramatically, which the girls find fun looking back, and more importantly, the Brownie programme – which now gets the girls more involved, where they make the choices, and these spread through the community more.

On 8th February, the pack held a 50th Birthday Party where we played traditional party games, including Dress the Brownie in uniform from the 1990s, which proved to be fun.

We have many fun activities planned for our special year – these include a skittles evening, trip to a Bird of Prey sanctuary, pack holiday in Bournemouth and an evening for parents to come along. The girls have set themselves a challenge to try to complete as many Brownies interest badges as they can throughout the year.

If anyone has any memorabilia of being part of the 7th Midsomer Norton Brownies, please contact: [email protected]

If you are interested in Volunteering, or for your daughter to join Girl Guiding, please visit: www.girlguiding.org.uk

Ruth Boucher