From the first moment I spied the listing, I knew the bidding was going to sky rocket. I’ve been following Girl Guide auctions closely on eBay for a year and a half now and I had never seen one of these babies pop up before. Though they were not uncommon during the time when Guides were eligible to achieve them, they are highly sought after now. What am I talking about, you may ask? A blue and white All-Round Cord (sometimes also called an "All-Around Cord").
While I have one All-Round Cord pin (the version with the modern GGC trefoil), I do not thus far have the tasselled, satiny royal blue and snow white hued cord itself. But goodness knows I want one.
As the week progressed I watch the listing price climb higher and higher, first $10 then $20, by early Saturday afternoon it was $40 and I knew that no matter how much I longed to add that cord to my collection, unless I won a lottery before day was over, there was no way I could even debate bidding on it. And so long after the sun had set, I watched one of my most sought after Girl Guide items sell for $44 US. In these modern days of eBay anonymity I have no clue who the lucky winner was, but I truly hope that they will treasure the cord as much as I would have.
Having joined the world of Guiding as a Pathfinder I missed out on the opportunity to achieve earning the All-Round Cord. As a Pathfinder I’d sometimes see one lopped proudly through the epaulet on a Guide’s shoulder and secretly think to myself how gorgeous it was and how wonderful it must have been to earn such an esteemed piece of insignia. I went on to achieve the Canada Cord, the highest level of award that a Pathfinder can earn, and love that beautiful crimson and white cord (and pin) with a passion, but I still can’t help yearning for an All-Round Cord.
As a Girl Guide and Girl Scout enthusiast with a broad range of interests in terms of what I collect (patches, earned badges, pins, scarves, etc) my wish list of items that I hope to one day be able to find continually grows in size seemingly by the day, but no matter how many items I’ve got my eye open – or hope to trade – for, there are certain few that have the ability to truly set my heart a flutter in that particular way that only the most pined for treasures can. Amongst collectors of all sorts, these kinds of items are sometimes referred to as your “Holy Grails”, as their scarcity, price point or some other element make them illusively hard to get your hands on.
For me such items include Ranger Badges (http://www.guidingproject.info/catalogue/rangers.html) (I am immensely fortunate to have a couple, but need numerous others), A/D/D patches from the Yukon and NWT/Nunavut, A/D/Ds from my home town and the areas around where I spent my childhood Guiding years (in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia) – and as you already know from this post, an All-Round Cord.
Surely though, for those like myself who still actively collect GG and GS items, there must be certain pieces – maybe a rare Brownie badge or crest from a particular camp you enjoyed attending – that you’d dubbed your Holy Grails. If you have such items that you’re trying to track down, I’d love to know about them! There’s a slim chance I might have what you’re looking for on my dupes list or know of someone else with the item(s) in question. But if not, I’d be more than happy to keep an eye peeled for you in case I do happen upon your dream GG item, all I ask in return is that you drop me a line if you ever come across an All-Round Cord :)
Photo of the All-Round cord from the
auction which led to the inspiration for this
post. Image by 2splats on eBay.
Cheerful, beautiful and bursting with exuberance, this lovely retro cookie package from 1962 is pretty enough to frame!
Packed full of interesting images and subdued hues, the art from this package hailing from 1978 resembles that of many of the Guiding handbooks of the time.
