2019 Procession Girlguiding London and South East London

Girlguiding London and South East England (LaSER) is one of the nine countries and regions of Girlguiding UK. We give girls and young women a space to discover their potential through fun, adventure and exciting opportunities across our 19 counties. Each year we're part of the Lord Mayor's Show, with a different one of our counties taking control of the procession. This year, it's Girlguiding Sussex Central county's turn! Here's all you need to know...

This year our guiding county, Sussex Central, is celebrating its 40th birthday. However, many of our units are over 100 years old now, because Girlguiding as a whole started in 1910! From that date on, guiding has grown in Sussex, leading to the eventual split of the guiding county in the 1960s and '70s into Girlguiding Sussex East, West, and finally, in 1979, Central. So that's why we're celebrating our Ruby Anniversary!

We're celebrating our special birthday in many different ways, making sure everyone has a chance to join in the fun. We held a large activity camp earlier in the year which was open to all ages. There was a birthday theme, alongside activities like bungee trampolining and zip wire. Later in the year, our members will be treated to an exclusive performance of Dick Whittington at our local theatre, The Hawth in Crawley, too!

Girlguiding Sussex Central county are excited and honoured to be representing Girlguiding LaSER in this year's Lord Mayor's Show. This is not the first time we have supported the show - in 2007 we were participants and in 2017 we ran the feeding station!

As well as the girls and leaders you will see in the parade on the day, many more will be travelling up to support us and taking part in our Lord Mayor's Challenge. They will earn a special badge while finding out more about London, its history and culture. The Challenge is open to anyone in guiding who would like to learn a little more about the event and London in a fun way.

Here's 2nd Burgess Hill Rainbows & Brownies, one of the first units to complete the challenge, showing off their badges!

I really enjoyed finding out about London, especially as my dad comes from there.

It was good fun to learn the songs and nursery rhymes.

I liked learning to say hello in different languages - we made a mobile of them!

Our Brownies started with a hunt for London landmarks, rewarded with a biscuit from our leader's London Bus tin, followed by a Pearly Queen craft while listening to old favourites like The Lambeth Walk, Oranges and Lemons and Knees Up Mother Brown. A great fun evening had by all!

Today our county is thriving. We have eight divisions representing our major towns and rural areas. We have almost 2500 young members with girls from 5 to 18 years enjoying a brand new programme of exciting activities that embrace a range of themes. They're encouraged to explore their culture, communicate ideas creatively, stay healthy, make a positive difference to their community and the wider world, and enhance their life skills.

We are supported by almost 1000 volunteer adults whose roles range from unit leaders, who work directly with the girls, to trainers in all manner of skills and activities and those who help with behind the scenes tasks like web development, account management and fundraising. We are lucky to have such a wealth of talent, giving the girls the best start in life. We'd like to offer this to more girls, though, so if you'd like to help out in any capacity and help girls have fun, adventure and the space to discover their potential please join us!

Our plans are progressing well and we are delighted that our final design submission has been accepted. Volunteers have already viewed the lorry which will be in the parade. Our thanks go to Will Porter and his team at Cranleigh Freight Services for donating the vehicle and drivers!

The lead coordinators are now visiting all units who will be in the show.

More news to follow!