On Saturday 2nd April, over 70 leaders from Girlguiding Durham South, attending their first face to face training day in over 2 years, at the TCR The Hub.
Due to the pandemic, the leaders regular training has had to be either postponed or has taken place via Zoom. The morning session was split into the relevant sections, Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers, to allow the leaders to discuss relevant situations and share ideas. After lunch, the leaders then had a choice of activities provided by the Hub. The activities included willow weaving, lino printing and archery.
A further activity was led by County Commissioner, Diane Farrer, making survival blankets out of empty crisp packets. Diane is involved in The Crisp Packet Project and regularly makes blankets for the homeless community, some of which most recently have been sent to Ukraine.
Training organiser, Karen Thompson was delighted with the attendance, and the response from the leaders was amazing. “We were mindful, that for a lot of these leaders, coming to a face-to-face training would be daunting after such a long period away, but many have found it to very therapeutic and a perfect way to get things back on track. We are grateful for our friends (Rachel Tweddle and team) at the Hub for once again providing us with a great venue,” said Karen.
Many of the leaders are now looking for forward to a full weekend training at Waddow Hall, one of the Girlguiding activity centres, in May.