Queens Platinum Jubilee

Today’s beautiful weather is in complete contradiction to the wet and blustery weather that caused the postponement of our Queen’s Jubilee celebration in 2022.  Following many months of meticulous planning, over 80 Guides and Leaders from the Central Highlands Region came together for an enjoyable day filled with activities centered around Queen Elizabeth II.

Depending on age, the girl participated on a whole range of activities, including:

• making and racing hobby horses from pool noodles – before the Queen had real horses, she had many rocking horses and horse toys. She was an accomplished rider at a young age.
• learning a Scottish dance that the Queen enjoyed
• identifying items that represent the Queen’s interests, such as photography, pigeon racing, farming, stamp collecting and charity work
• watching a kilt being folded and discussing the Balmoral tartan and the Girl Guides Victoria tartan
• attempting to build a 2.7 metre high cardboard wedding cake and talking about how Australian Guides contributed to the Queen’s wedding cake by shipping ingredients required to England
• slicing through a sandy version of the Queen’s wedding cake with a playing card without causing the decoration fall
• practicing deportment along an obstacle course whilst balancing a book on the head
• making and eating Jam Pennies, one the Queen’s favourite afternoon tea choices
• discussing how the Queen stored her breakfast cereal
• learning what the Queen kept in her handbag and the messages she conveyed with the placement of her bag
• accepting the challenge of a slackline to represent the activities the Queen enjoyed as a Girl Guide and Ranger
• learning some car maintenance such as checking the oil etc as the Queen was a mechanic in the war
• playing games from different countries to represent the Queen’s travels throughout the world

It was certainly a very busy day.

Thank you to the volunteer Leaders who put aside their Sunday to run activities at the event, and special thanks to those who spent many months putting it all together: Julie-Anne, Margaret, Denise, Melissa, Suzanne and Karen.