This one feels weird because I’ve tagged as #girlguidingpaddles even though there was no paddling. But it was a boathouse event and the boathouse is definitely #girlguidingpaddles. We do these on-shore evenings every year as part of our fundraising and awareness, Guides one year, Brownies the next. In my first year at the boathouse, we … More On-shore evening at the boathouse with Guides
Bumblebee Paddles was meant to be about paddling but it’s also going to have to be about Bumblebee – this particular identity, this blog, it’s about me as a Girlguiding volunteer. It’s about my kayaking journey, sure, but it’s also about the boathouse and the girls and what we do there – as volunteers. It’s … More A few thoughts on National Volunteers Week
I’m almost surprised I haven’t done this yet. Get to know our boathouse! I talk a lot about the boathouse because a huge part of my paddling life – or least the paddling life as documented on this blog – takes place there. So I thought it was about time I showed you around the … More A tour of the boathouse
Since the season is about to start again, I thought I’d do a reintroduction! Hello, I’m Julie but my Brownies call me Bumblebee. I’m a Brownie and Ranger leader (and sometimes Guide leader but not currently) coming up on my 18th anniversary but for the purposes of this blog, we’ll focus on a different Girlguiding … More Hi, I’m Bumblebee: a reintroduction for 2025
One thing that we – and by “we”, I mean, the instructor, three assistants, manager & treasurer of our boathouse – have noticed over the last few years is a lack of resilence in the girls we take out to sea. It’s very easy to talk about “kids these days!” but a lot of the … More Kayaking, Guides and resilience
I started this blog to chronicle my paddling adventures, leading up to becoming an instructor at our Girlguiding boathouse and so I want to veer slightly off the subject of paddling and onto adventures and Girlguiding. The Scouts were founded 116 years ago and on the surface, little has changed in that time. They still … More Girlguiding vs adventure
Bumblebee Paddles 