This seems a long time ahead I know. We have been asked to organise the annual craft competition at our group meeting & we have chosen to make it for ‘paper -craft’. It would be lovely if some of our members would enter so Suriya is offering free taster sessions on card making to get you started, & she also has many paper-craft items to sell at very low prices. What a good opportunity to stock up, or start a new hobby! I know that both Suriya & Kit will also be very generous with sharing their skill & experience with any of our members. Please get in touch with Suriya if you are interested-she’s very willing to talk to us about what is to her a way of life!

This week a few members took up Natalie Kay’s very generous offer of a visit to this gallery & a workshop in ceramics, to include, of course, refreshments & a lovely selection of Pret a Manger sandwiches for lunch! Suriya has kindly told us about their day, but this is just an idea of what they did-there was so much more than this. It started well with freshly brewed coffee & croissants, after which, Natalie gave them some detailed information about the gallery & its history & then a tour of the current exhibition. Afterwards there was a fun activity, where they did some free writing with a collage. Natalie then took them on a tour of the workshops where they saw some amazing artists at work, including Elaine Wilson, who is an author & also teaches at the university. They then got down to the serious business of actually playing with clay-which was a lot harder than they imagined! However, they all managed to produce something of which they were proud! It was a first attempt after all! Altogether it was a very interesting day & we would like to thank Natalie for her kindness in inviting us.