Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2012 | Page 68

ISLAND LIFE

Guiding way through 100 years
Girlguiding on the Island has reached
a remarkable milestone, with the
celebration of 100 years of the Guide
Movement in Ventnor.
To celebrate the event past members
joined with the current Guides to
enjoy an evening of nostalgia and
entertainment. Following an appeal, a
number of past members made contact
with Girlguiding IW secretary Suzanne
Whitewood, and over 60 past members
and friends of Girlguiding attended
the celebration party at St. Catherine’s
School, Ventnor.
Some former members attending had
been Guides in the 1940s and recalled
Rallies at Carisbrooke Castle where
World Chief Guide Lady Olave, (Sic)
Baden Powell had been in attendance.
There were several past members
attending who had been Guides
in the 1960s and a photographic

display depicted the Guides’ entries
in Ventnor Carnivals with everyone
remembering how they were in
yesteryear.
Among the guests were the Island’s
High Sheriff Nick Hayward and his
wife Nicky; Susan Scoccia, Chairman
IW Council and Ventnor Town Mayor,
Stephen Stubbings. Also attending
were Girlguiding IW County
President Patricia Partridge and Island
Commissioner Janet Lovell.
A potted history of Ventnor Guides
was presented by Suzanne Whitewood
which was interspersed with a fashion
show of Guide uniforms thorough
the years modelled by the Guides,
and underlining how fashions have
changed over the years.
The 1st Ventnor Guides had had
some well known local personalities
over the years including May Saunders

Judith appears in
Show me Monet!
Island artist Judith Barton SWA
was one of only 36 artists selected
from across the UK to appear on
the recent BBC2 series, Show me
the Monet!
Around 3,000 submissions
of artwork were shortlisted to
300 by a panel of art experts.
The artists were then filmed
and interviewed, and 100 were
selected to go on to the next
stage at Eltham Palace with their
works for a full day’s filming.
That culminated in a gruelling
interview by three judges who
selected the final 36, with two
votes necessary to qualify for the
prestigious exhibition at the Mall
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Gallery, close to Buckingham
Palace.
Judith’ ‘Birthday Girl’ was
received with much acclaim at
this private view where many of
its Limited Edition prints were
ordered. Judith said: "I tend to
paint larger than life character
images for exhibitions, but small
images are more popular to hang
at home".
After the show ‘Birthday Girl’
was selected for exhibition by the
Society of Women Artists, where
it hung for another two weeks at
the Mall Gallery.
To see more of Judith’s work
visit www.judithbartonart.co.uk

who had attended the first World
Guide Camp, held at Foxlease,
Hampshire in 1924 and subsequently
was Chairman of Ventnor UDC in
the 1970s. Anyone prepared to help
run the guides should contact Julie on
01983-854016.