*/$%*)("££ brownies?

Here is a typical example of the standard email I receive four or five times a day to my university email address.

Dear All,

There is a Brownie Unit in Court Road Eltham who meet on a Wednesday night from 6.00pm to 7.30pm and they desperately need some help and support on a regular basis.

They currently have one leader in training and 16 very keen brownies. They urgently need to find one more leader or unit helper but if they could find 2 that would be even better as it would allow their numbers to increase to 24.

If you think you could help please contact the District Commissioner, Ann Fairthorne, on rew.mottingham@ntlworld.com.

Many thanks

Janice Larkin

It's uncanny- only the other day I was thinking "What better way of advancing my career prospects as a thirty-year-old man than becoming the leader of an all-girl youth movement for the under 11s"