GIRL Guides past and present have been invited to attend the 17th annual luncheon to keep the spirit of the Guiding alive.

Organiser Anne Biddulph said she always enjoyed meeting former leaders, guides and parents who shared her passion for Guiding.

"I had a carpenter here one day and he looked at my (photos on the) wall and said he'd just done a job for a lady down in Kingscliff who was into Guiding, so I rang her up,” she said.

"Then I found out quite a number of people from Sydney were retiring up here, so it was just a matter of chasing them up.”

Former Guide Leader Elaine Scanlon said the group was open to having anyone with a background in Guiding at the luncheon.

"I had one lady from Scotland ask to come along. She was a Brownie and a Guide in Scotland,” she said.

Ms Scanlon said the Girl Guides gave young girls a great sense of achievement when she was actively a part of the organisation.

"We were teachers and we taught them about values and we had to learn things ourselves to teach the girls,” she said.

"It was good for the girls because they progressed without having the boys there. Often... they would say the boys could do it better then they could but in this way the girls were all together and we were helping to mould them and grow.”

While the Girl Guides has now amalgamated with the Scouts, Ms Biddulph said she hoped young girls would continue to join the group.

"We're struggling to keep it going up in this area with the young ones because there's so many other things going on,” she said.

"Young girls of 12 to 14 years old don't want to tie knots. The girls have other interests now.

"Years ago they didn't have as much to do.”

GUIDE LUNCH

• The Annual Guiding Luncheon will be held at Tweed Heads on Wednesday, October 11 from 10.30am (NSW).
• More info: contact Ann on 0755241454 or Elaine on 0755362428.