A belated happy New Year to you all in this first, official newsletter of 2021. I hope you had a nice festive season, and that you managed to have some quality time with those closest to you. Let’s hope we are at the beginning of the end of our exile, and that face-to-face is on the horizon, even if that horizon seems to be very far away as yet. Well done to all of you for keeping things going and creating beautiful things in a time of anxiety, sadness and huge stress. You are totally awesome people!! (if this was a phone, I’d have some sickly emojis here)
Those of us who got involved in the debate on the WhatsApp group, we decided unanimously to pay our dues for this year. Many of us are paying for the privilege of belonging to other online societies, and the frieze project, if it is to become an heirloom with a long life, will need mounting using materials of top quality. That will have to be paid for. As things are going, with no other Covid curved balls, we should be able to meet again some time at least in 2022, and there will inevitably be things we need to do to make our meeting place nice again. Who knows what we will find when we open up after two or so years? Accordingly, our treasurer, Helen O’Hanrahan has sent a list detailing the amounts you need to pay and the banking details. Please let us have these as soon as possible, and put your own name as reference so we can keep track of who has paid. Any problems, please let Helen know.
The Member Fees are:
- Under 60 R140,00
- 60-69 R120,00
- 70-79 R100,00
- 80-89 R 80,00
- 90+ Honorary
The bank details are:
Witwatersrand Embroiderers’ Guild
Absa Bank
Savings account
A/c 9362064660
Cresta 632005
Some sad news. Those of you who came on Tuesday will remember Leonie Pybus, a quiet person who was always there with something pertinent and helpful to say. Unfortunately she has lost the battle with cancer and died early on the 1st February. She was an intelligent woman and very perceptive, and often knew just the right thing to say to encourage you and enable you to see things differently. May she rest in peace. We will miss her.
Last Saturday, Hilary Walker went – in this rather grey weather – to wait at the Recreation centre to receive pieces from you for the frieze. So far we have five pieces, two from Dot Gibbons, one from Helen O’Hanrahan, and two from Mary Lou Kingaby. Not a frieze yet, but so far an awesome flag!!!! I know there are many pieces in the pipeline, so we look forward to some wonderful contributions, and ultimately a final product which will be of great artistic and historical relevance.
We look forward, this coming week, to the ONE HUNDREDTH BIRTHDAY of our oldest member (by about two months). We wish Helen Paton our very best, and hope she has a wonderful day, and her family will be allowed to visit her. She has, apparently, moved to Elm Park, and with this revolting Virus has had to be kept apart from the world of people who could infect her and others who live there. Should we decide to do anything as a Guild, we will certainly be told on the WhatsApp group. I am sure we are the only Guild in the world which has, (along with Helen Bird) two active 99 year old members. God willing, we’ll be the first with two centenarians.