1st Merton Park Brownies are busy preparing for their second Pack Holiday of the year. At the October half-term, we shall be transforming ourselves into Harry Potter characters for three days at Walton Firs Campsite near Cobham. Over the past two years our Pack Holidays have taken us to Heyswood and Walton Firs in the company of Winnie the Pooh and Piglet, into an underwater world and into the spring with Peter Rabbit and Friends.

When we're not holidaying we spend our Tuesday evenings on a variety of activities. The girls have completed a number of badges. In the last few years we have worked as a unit for Cook, Hostess, Artist, Computer, Jester and Communications badges and have held very successful Blue Peter Bring and Buy sales. We often combine taking the badges with entertaining the girls' parents, families and friends, either with a mini show, or a tea prepared and served by the girls, but when we do Cook's Badge, the girls eat the food themselves! Individual girls also take Interest badges and several have completed Swimmer, Rider, Collector, Craft and Dancer. We have even had a Downhill Skier! This term we have also learnt several new games and campfire songs, made craft items and held a mini football tournament which was suggested by one of the Brownies.

In June we joined other Brownies, Guides and Rainbows from the Division for an Activity Day. Here the girls took part in games and crafts with new friends and met friends from school who attend other units. They enjoyed following a trail round the campsite, decorating stone "pets", making collages with natural materials, having a picnic and campfire and playing a variety of parachute games. Elizabeth and I, the two Guiders, spent the day flapping the parachute and organising the games for Brownies and Rainbows, and marvelling at the effect this had on our fingers, knees and voices.

Elizabeth Waddon began working with us as a Young Leader and grew into a fully warranted Guider. I took over the unit in 1993, when my daughter was a 9- year old Brownie and the existing Brown Owl wanted to move on. That daughter will be 18 in October, and, as an adult, will join us to help on Pack Holidays and at meetings as a Unit Helper until the demands of her A Levels and university take her away.

We meet in the Church Hall every Tuesday from 6.00- 7.30pm and currently have a thriving unit with quite a long waiting list. Girls can join us when they are 7 and leave when they are 10. Recently several have stayed on until 10½ when there has been the chance of going on another Pack Holiday. It is advisable to put girls' names on the waiting list when they are about 4 to maximise the chances of a place at 7, although occasional places sometimes become available to later applicants if a girl moves away and we have no-one of the right age near the top of the list.