GING GANG GOOLIE GOOLIE GOOLIE GOOLIE WATCHA

Anne Saywell in hand knit jumper

The above words are often sung by Girl Scouts and Girl Guides and attributed to the authorship of Lord Baden Powell, father of Boy Scouting, but the song can be traced to a cabaret song once performed by the Swedes. If you google the words, you’re likely to turn up several song renditions, accompanied by dance and performed by Girl Scouts and Girl Guides from around the world.

I tuned in to performances recently, just after receiving sad news about the terminal illness of Anne Saywell, my good friend of nearly fifty years’ standing in England. Anne is a famous retired official of Girl Guides who could be called a human encyclopedia of songs, games, and crafts related to scouting for girls worldwide. She taught me “Ging Gang…” on a blistering day in the desert of Khuzestan Province, Iran where we led a TOFS (Troops on Foreign Soil) together for at least a year. Her leadership was an inspiration to Brits, Americans, Iranians, Turks, and other girls and leaders of a multicultural mix living in Ahwaz, Iran. Including me.

 

Diane with TOFS, Ahwaz, Iran 1974

 After playing the song via the Internet, I wrote the following:

“Tragic news arrives. A beloved friend is terminally ill. Grief closes my throat. Memory closes my eyes: Mah Jong at the Golf Club, Khuzestan Province, 120 degrees, Ahwaz, Iran, 1974. She strides across the desert, and I strain to keep up. That brisk British walk pulls me along. We’ve set out for Ahwaz after the game table, too impatient to wait for taxis. Marbles of sweat wet the long hair we both once tended. She runs out on the highway, arms flailing the air. A godsend, the Paykan taxi spins toward us. We begin to laugh. It’s red dog madness, that desert walk. Her laughter echoes. Ahwaz, Iran, 1974. Grief closes my throat. I try to let go.”

“Ging gang goolie goolie goolie goolie watcha,” old friend. I know you’re singing it right now, despite…