is Scouting and Guiding a thing of the past?

I think that a lot depends on the area you live in. I was brought up in a family that was very involved in Scouting and Guiding and actually met my husband through the movement. I was a Brownie and a Guide and a Brownie leader; you are right in just what guidinbg teaches (or used to), however I do think that today's members are not allowed to enjoy themselves anything like as much as my generation did. Health & Saftey has stopped many of the activities we enjoyed and Child Protection regulations and excessive training requirements are putting people off from becoming leaders. Badges have been 'dumbed down' and the uniform has been modernised. When I was a girl guide there were reasons for different parts of the uniform - the tie became a sling, the lanyard rope etc. By the time I left Brownies at the age of 11 I had been taught skills in knitting, cooking,sewing etc, knew all the patron saints, flags, emblems, knew (and still remember) all the National Anthem, knew all my knots, I was taught to skip, walk on plant pots, had learnt how to become involved in charity events and in helping the community, taken a cycling proficiency test, gained so much confidence and independence and nade lots of friends for life. Sadly I don't think that so many of today's young girls are able to gain such experiences. As a Guide I learnt SO much more, I went stalking, hiking, made fires using only 1 match and returfed afterwards so it looked like we'd never been there, camped in fields where we dug our own 'lats', made all our appliances by lashing etc, cooked only on an open fire, wentcollecting wood and water. I became a Queen's Guide, I did loads of community and charity work and was even presented to the Queen. As a Brown Owl, I loved my girls, I took them on Pack Holiday and I loved passing on all that I had learned. Sadly our church and church hall closed and were sold and now in the area where I lived there are no scxouting or guiding activities at all. Very sad in my opinion.