10 Ambassadors present at Western Europe Gathering
Congratulations to the Dutch Scout and Guide Fellowship committee for organising an excellent Gathering this October. The group accommodation Hygge near Bergeijk was a great base for exploring the area, as we were challenged to learn new skills on the theme of “Doing after Learning”.
Knots, identifying music, geocaching in the forest, golf, Scout Hiking and wine tasting were all on offer, and we all enjoyed learning about falconry and cigar making at the museums in nearby Valkenwaard. In the forest we did supplement the geocaching handsets with a few sneaky peeks at Google maps on our phones, which revealed we had just slipped over the border into Belgium before guiding us safely back to the car park! We also enjoyed a mini-train ride around Bergeijk to visit the historic church and the windmill – some of our intrepid explorers risked the almost vertical climb to see the grindstones in the cabin. The local Scouts invited us for coffee in their wonderful woodland clubhouse, and joined us one evening for a campfire, full of songs from around the world. A weekend full of good friends, great food and lots of laughter, thank you DSGF for a super time.
I was given the opportunity to present a slide show about the International Ambassadors Guild and the Scout and Guide projects we have recently supported, sharing photographs of some of the projects from 2024 and 2025. Out of the 44 participants at the Gathering, no fewer than 10 were already members of IAG, so it was a great chance to meet our members and to say a big “thank you” for their ongoing support. As well as welcoming a new member from Ghana, I was able to present Life Membership Diplomas to two members who had been Annual Members for ten years – well done ladies!
Helen Watson, Secretary IAG