Border Line
23rd October 2023
A wonderful night with girls from North Northumberland and Scottish Borders Guiding, at the newly reopened Union Chain Bridge over the Tweed, Wednesday 20th September.
Berwick Guides met Coldstream and Duns Guides and leaders, together with Rangers, Young Leaders and invited guests met on the ‘Border Line’, in the middle of the bridge. They exchanged scrolls of friendship and re-enacted an event held in 1950. The scrolls, made by the Guides, included pictures and scenes from our towns.
The evening also included the launch of a new Girlguiding Badge, created in collaboration with the Union Chain Bridge Project, Girlguiding Northumberland and Scottish Borders. The UCB project has been working with local Guiding groups for several years.
At the bridge we learned about its history, from Carol, who had been involved in the project. She let us know about how it has connected England and Scotland for 203 years, its construction, recent repairs and reopening.
We then moved to the Chain Bridge Honey Farm for fun STEM construction and bridge building activities. Guides enjoyed working in teams to build towers, beam and suspension bridges, and built a giant tetrahedron.
We finished with a campfire, including singing a specially song written for the event, and enjoyed cake and new friendships.
Pauline Molloy, Berwick Girlguiding Division Commissioner said ‘the evening was true Girlguiding – fun, friendship, food… and a fire’.
Guide Evie who exchanged one of the scrolls said that it was good to meet Guides from across the border and as one of the first across the bridge it made it special.
Leader Gillian said ‘we look forward to more events with Scottish Borders Guiding in the future’.
Many thanks go to to the Robson family, from the Chain Bridge Honey Farm for hosting the event, and members of the Union Chain Bridge Project for their support.
History of the Guiding Scrolls of Friendship
Girlguiding were re-enacting the relay of scrolls of friendship made for the 1950 Girlguiding World Conference, held in Oxford.
The scroll for France started in Inverness and when it arrived in the Borders was taken by Coldstream Guides to Twizel Bridge then it was handed over to Berwick Sea Rangers on the Union Chain Bridge. They then took the greetings scroll by bicycle, foot and boat into Berwick Quay, aboard the ‘Border Pride’.
Duns Guides handed over the scroll for New Zealand to Berwick Guides at Starch House, Mornington.
At Berwick Town Hall on 11th July 1950 Guides, Brownies and Sea Rangers held an impressive ceremony on the Town Hall steps. Then scrolls for New Zealand, France, South Africa and Liechtenstein were collected by Wooler Guides and made their way south through Northumberland to Oxford.
Gillian Ridley
Leader, 4th Berwick Guides
