Standard

Today was St George's Day. St George is the patron saint of England and also of Scouting so Hertford District members of Scouting and Guiding paraded through the town (and caused traffic chaos as indeed happened all over the country).

It was a sunny afternoon and turn out was generally good although not great from our scout unit despite us having told them attendance was expected. It seems standard that parents think such events are optional and they don't encourage loyalty and reliability in their children. That said, the less well behaved ones stayed away which was a bonus!

Meanwhile I had the huge honour of carrying the District Girlguiding Standard so I'm blipping my two guide escorts Charlie & Jasmine. I've known these two since they were born, they came through my Brownie unit, then Guides and they've grown into wonderful young women, both volunteering for international as well as local activities. They were good company and a pleasure to chat with. In fact it's a good job I had their support, as, in the rehearsal I found the standard too heavy for my back and Charlie had to take it for the parade.

The standard itself was handmade from silk by some of my Girlguiding friends a few years ago. The emblems of trefoil, hart etc were all hand sewn with gold thread. It is a work of art and a treasure. It's also double sided, padded, and weighs a ton!