Guiding light bows out

Gloria Black has packed away the camping kit and said goodbye to crafts and games after dedicating 45 years to Failsworth’s 17th North-East Manchester Hope Methodist Church brownies.

Gloria, of Clifton Street, Failsworth, said: “I have been going to the Hope Methodist Church since I was a child and when I found out the brownie leader had just lost her assistant and needed help, I volunteered to become a leader.”

That was in 1964 and the 65-year-old has worked with generations of Failsworth youngsters since.

In 1967, she re-established the guide group at the church, acting as a guide leader for nine years until she gave it up after having a baby and then concentrated on running the brownies.

She said: “There have been many memorable moments over the years, including going to a reception at the Knowsley Safari park where the Queen was in attendance and taking three of the girls down to the Commonwealth service at Westminster Abbey in 2007. I’ve loved working with the girls and I’ll really miss them.”

Gloria, whose daughter, Caroline Black, is also a brownie leader at the church, caught up with many of her former charges when they joined her current brownies for a special retirement party at the church. She said: “I’m looking forward to spending more time with my grandson and sorting out the garden.”