Under a spell

November 30th

Love or hate them, it seems you have to have an opinion on Jedward and the other X-factor hopefuls these days to avoid being a social pariah.

And if you haven’t snapped up the new Susan Boyle CD, you are missing out on the most talked about album of the year.

Reality television is everywhere at the moment and there seems to be no escaping it.

My guess though is some of these brusque men who calim to be watching it under duress are secretly enjoying their weekend dose of X-Factor and all the rest.

Well, I had a good reason for missing out on the latest exploits of Jedward, Simon and Louis last Saturday, as I was under the spell of the guides.

Guidespell is the Greenock Girl Guides’ version of the Scout Gang Show and was being staged at Greenock Arts Guild Theatre as part of the 2010 centenary celebrations.

One of the perks of the job is being asked along to events put on by schools and community groups and I thought I had seen it all over the years.

But I was very impressed by the talent on show the and it was no surprise to me later when I heard they had won awards for their performances.

Of course, Girlguiding celebrates its 100th year in 2010 and this show was indicative of the positive influence this organisation has on the lives of those who take part.

And they were ably supported on the night by the district scouts, who played their part in producing a great show.

Boys and girls, young and old, it was great example of what organisation, enthusiasm and talent can produce.

With all that on display, who needs X-Factor when we have our very own talent show right here in Inverclyde?