Bingo Night with GirlGuiding Upton & Blewbury

Tonight it was Bingo – and what a night it was.

Upton and Blewbury GirlGuiding hosted a brilliantly organised fundraising evening at Chilton Village Hall, partly to help HS Cadet Isabella raise funds for her international expedition to the World Guiding Centre in Mexico next year, where she’ll join other young women from across the region. Knowing how much international Scouting shaped my own values and aspirations when I was young, I was genuinely delighted to be there to support her.

The hall was absolutely packed, including a sizeable and impressively focused posse from the local WI who, I must say, proved to be formidable bingo players, calmly managing several books at a time. Isabella took on the role of caller for the evening and did so with real poise and charm.

Anne, our High Sheriff’s Chaplain, landed a full house and promptly donated her prize back into the fund for Isabella’s trip. Mark and I were far less successful – our cards remained stubbornly uncooperative.

But it didn’t matter one bit. It was a wonderful, warm-hearted evening, impeccably run, full of community spirit, and enormous fun. And for once, I was in mufti rather than High Sheriff rig, slipping quietly into the crowd and simply enjoying the night.

A superb event – and I left truly chuffed for Isabella and deeply admiring of the volunteers who made it all happen.