Interesting offers

From time to time the County hears about interesting offers of activities, supplies etc. We've listed these here 'as offered' without any comment on their suitability etc. However, if you have any personal experience of any of these organisations, do let us know by email and we'll add them to our Unit Resources pages. And, of course, there's a list of discounted entries and services for Girlguiding UK members on the CHQ website too (you will need to sign in to see it).

Mosaic Madness. David Bowers describes himself as a "passionate and experienced Community Mosaic Artist working with schools, community groups, youth clubs, churches, etc in creating a range of mosaic projects for their environment." He says "I am there to direct and assist them in creating mosaics through all the stages of design, breaking of the tiles, actual mosaicing and grouting. A mosaic project can be inside or outside, floor or wall based and can be created by a any any age and ability. Every child can say “I helped to make that,” and this will improve self esteem, motivation, pride in an environment - and of course everyone gets to have fun. As part of my work I have been involved with the Brownies and now want to develop my work within your organsation. This can be anything from working with a group to create a large mural for their building or local community. Or on a smaller level creating a mosaic foam tile picture frame (this is something I post to you to run yourselves) which only costs £1 to make for the materials." David Bowers - 07900 280297 or mosaic-madness.co.uk

Young Drive has been running driving events (quad bikes, go karts, etc) since 1995 for children aged betweeneightand seventeen. Unlike other companies in this field, they specialise in events for children and families. YoungDrive is situated in 120 acres of glorious Sussex countryside about 5 miles from Blackland Farm in Ashurst Wood, just off the A22 north of Forest Row. Theyclaim an unblemished safety record and hold full public liability insurance. All activities have been carefully chosen and tested to be appropriate for the designated age groups. They are apparently used by many local authorities, Scout and Guide groups and youth clubs, as well as by families for those special occasions.For our Centenary year a discount is being offered on group events - quote GG100YD when booking. Contact them on 01342 822257, mail@youngdrive.co.uk or see the website www.youngdrive.co.uk.

Blue Cross Pet Talks "As part of an on-going commitment to promote responsible pet care to young people, The Blue Cross Britain's pet charity offers a national free education service to children aged 5-12. To date we have seen over 100,000 children. Our talks are not a fundraising initiative but are part of our programme of information and education.

Fully trained and CRB-checked volunteers are now visiting Rainbows and Brownies in your area. Talks can be to large groups or made age-appropriate for smaller groups of children. The programme is particularly appropriate to areas such as Animal related activity badges. Talks can be given on subjects such as Pet care, Safety around dogs, History of The Blue Cross including our work during World War I & II.

If appropriate to your group's ethos, volunteers may be accompanied by their fully trained and temperament-checked dog. All volunteers are able to make use of hand puppets and other age-appropriate games and resources to help bring to life the message of The Blue Cross.

Availability of talks will be dependant upon the availability of our volunteers, so call 0845 3701027 or email education@bluecross.org.uk to arrange a talk or visit www.bluecross.org.uk for more details.

The Blue Cross is Britain's pet charity, providing practical support, information and advice for pet and horse owners. Through its network of animal adoption centres it re-homes thousands of animals each year. Its hospitals provide veterinary care for pets of people who cannot afford private vets' fees."

If anyone has had one of these visits and would like to comment, we'd be happy to 'promote' this information to the Unit resources pages. Webmaster

"I am Shaun from Bezerkaz Circus. You may have seen us featured in Guiding Magazine in January 2009, or in the past. We are partly based in Sutton, Surrey. We run exciting circus skills workshops and offer performances for events and weekly meetings all over the UK. We have helped countless Guides, Scouts and Brownies achieve their circus badge over the years and offer a wide range of activities which meet the criteria. We also visit camps and have been at many County and District Camps, district or group circus days as well as many large internationals and even the World Scout Centenery. In addition to running activity bases we can also do shows, meet and greet, stilt walking, unicycle displays, giant bubbles and fire juggling. I am hoping you may consider us for any events that you are organising - please do visit www.bezerkaz.co.uk for more information. " These people came to Epsom Division Circus Day in 2007.

Scotty's Circus Workshop "I run circus workshops and provide balloon modelling at family fun days, outdoor events, shopping centres, birthdays, holiday camps, playgroups and schools. This involves children having a go on anything from plate spinning, diabolos and juggling to pogo sticks, stilts and balancing games." Phone 07835 770911 or www.scottyscircusworkshop.co.uk.

Priory Events. " I would like to introduce you to Priory Events, an exciting teambuilding centre which can host a variety of events and activities suitable for youth groups. Priory Events can assist you in providing holiday activity day, term-time events and activity sessions. I have attached a couple of sample activities for your information, but do please call or email and I would be happy to give you more information or tailor an event specifically for your group.

Priory Events is set in beautiful English countryside and specialises in youth activity days, corporate events, client entertainment, teambuilding, management training, 4 x 4 off road training and survival training. We also offer a variety of exciting motorised activities including Apache off-road racing cars, Honda pilots, quad bikes and sporting trials cars. We have top quality instructors in archery. Above all, our instructors, teambuilders and training facilitators make sure that everyone who takes part has fun!

Our beamed ‘Old Barn’ with its roaring fire during the chillier months provides a comfortable base for the day. We serve delicious freshly prepared food from Priory Farm’s acclaimed kitchens. The Barn is also ideal for small meetings or conferences in a relaxed environment away from the workplace.

If you are ever coming to the area, do call so that we can show you around our magnificent venue. We are just half an hour from London and the South coast by train and only 8 minutes from the M25. We can collect you from Redhill Station, a few minutes away, if this helps. We aim to help you as much as possible with the organisation of your event and will be pleased to assist with travel and local accommodation arrangements.

Once you have had a chance to look at the information, please contact us with an idea of dates, numbers and the purpose of your event, so that we can prepare some proposals specifically for you."

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