Retirement at 65 is no hoot for Brown Owl

Known as Aunty Pam, after 26 years she now finds herself leading brownies whose mums she once also looked after as little girls.

But, as Pam approaches her 65th birthday in December, she knows that it all must soon end - even if she feels as fit as ever to carry on.

The problem is that Girlguiding UK, the association that governs brownies in this country, operates a policy which means brownie leaders have to stand down once they turn 65.

Pam, of Norton Lane, said: "Everyone I speak to says what a shame it is.

"I think they are losing a lot of good leaders at that age - an age where they have retired and have a lot more time to give.

"Nowadays, 65 is the new 45 - I'm fit and healthy and I've got a young outlook, I even take the group on a week long pack holiday each year!''

Pam said she has already been approached by a local scouts group to run a Beavers club - as their policy is to undergo an assessment at 65, rather than routinely stop people being in charge once they reach that age.

And although she has been told she can go back to help out at the brownies, she said it would not be the same.

"You can help out," she said, "but not on a permanent basis, and that doesn't give you the chance to get to know the girls. I don't want to be making coffee - it's the hands on stuff I like. I am really sad about leaving - I just love being with the girls."

Her upset was shared by parents and brownies at the Norton club, who are all devastated by the news.

Claire McGourlay, whose eight-year-old daughter Abigail attends Pam's brownie group, said: "The girls will be lost without Pam at the helm and they have been in floods of tears at the thought of her leaving.''

Claire, a lecturer in law at Sheffield University, added that the policy of forcing brownie leaders to retire was "not in tune with the 21st century".

But a spokesman for Girlguiding UK said a uniform policy was required due to local groups having difficulty judging when a leader should retire.

He said: "Some 65-year-olds are young and active but, equally, you can get some who are not as young and active as they think and it becomes very difficult.

"We wanted to make it as easy a decision as possible at local level. This way, everybody knows, and everybody is prepared for it."

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