Attending a festive church service on Sunday morning, I was struck by how smart the Beavers, Cubs and Scouts looked, occupying the pews in front.

Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said of the Brownies and Guides sitting nearby.

I was there to watch my nephews appear in their Scouts Christmas show; one of a series of little church parade performances by local Scout and Guide movement packs.

The boys all wore smart uniforms, with neckerchiefs and woggles, displaying their badges down their sleeves, but the Guides and Brownies looked a sorry sight. Shuffling up to the front in hooded tops, sweatshirts and jeans, they looked like they were hanging out by the swings in the park. As a Queen’s Guide, my hackles rose.

Guides was a big part of my youth; every Tuesday evening I was at the helm of Red Rose patrol in my blue shirt, neckerchief and air hostess-style cap. Whenever I carried the Guide flag at church parade, or took part in Scout and Guide marches, I felt a sense of pride, which was largely down to a pride in appearance instilled into us at Guide meetings.

From shiny shoes to neatly-pressed uniforms, we were expected to turn out looking presentable. It was the same in Brownies, when our shoes were inspected each week by Brown Owl. Sure, it was a different time (it was actually a different century), and I accept that uniforms change over the years, but when did Guides and Brownies become so scruffy?

The Guiding movement has evolved since my day, in terms of the range of activities on offer. These days they do things like outdoor pursuits, joinery, electronics and car maintenance, as well as learning more traditional Guiding skills like first aid, cooking and camping, which is great. And the emphasis still appears to be on developing life skills, teamwork, leadership, resourcefulness and independence.

But there doesn’t seem to be much pride in appearance now, if the Guides I saw on Sunday are anything to go by. Gone are the blue shirts, bearing rows of neatly sewn-on badges – now your average Guide uniform involves T-shirts, jogging pants, gilets, hooded tops and baseball caps. I’ve nothing against this attire (apart from baseball caps, which no-one aged over ten should wear, unless they’re actually a baseball player), as it’s more practical for today’s Guiding pursuits, but as a collective uniform it looks a bit ‘thrown-together’.

Some of the Guides on church parade wore jeans and hoodies, while others were in tracksuits. Maybe if they’d stuck to the same colour it would’ve looked less of a mess.

Either way, I doubt the Baden-Powells would have approved.