PAM MARSDEN: A special day for pages, princesses and May Queens

It was Alverstoke & Forton Girlguiding District May Fair last month.

It was a lovely traditional day with a May Queen, her page and princesses drawn from the Brownies and Guides who took part.

Our VIP for the day, who kindly carried out the presentation of the crown for the May Queen, and gave out the certificates for them all to keep, was Anne Charlesworth, of Alverstoke. Mrs Charlesworth is part of Gomer Trefoil Guild and has helped out at Guiding and the fair for many years. The Queen this year was Miley and her page was Demi, both from 1st Forton Rainbows. The princesses came from 1st and 2nd Alverstoke Rainbows, 3rd Forton Rainbows, 2nd and 5th Forton Brownies and 2nd, 6th, 7th and 9th Alverstoke Brownies.

As you can see, Guiding is strong in this area and supports the young people in the district thanks to the volunteer leaders who assist each week.

The fair began with the annual parade through the village, thanks to the kind assistance of the police and Gosportarians who marshalled all the Rainbows, Brownies, Guides, Rangers and Young Leaders present.

The fair is held annually, with many stalls and activities, to support the units in the area.

The Guide Association was established in 1909, thanks to the efforts of many intrepid girls who refused to accept that scouting was ‘just for boys’.

Soon, these young women began completing badges in sailing, aviation and home electrics. Later still, Girlguiding members were making important contributions to the First World War effort – growing food, acting as messengers for government organisations and working in hospitals, factories and soup kitchens.

It’s been more than 100 years since Girlguiding was established, and our members are still pushing boundaries and achieving great things.

To find out more about Girlguiding, go to girlguiding.org.uk.