Like London buses... — An Elegant Sufficiency

There’s nothing for ages and then two posts come along one after the other! Or so the saying goes… (interesting link, that😉 )

Anyway, this is nothing about buses, I promise, but a record of a lovely day spent with my Avening WI friends in the nearby village of Cherington.

Now, my Hero and I would have dearly loved to have lived in Cherington, had we been able to afford one of a pair of houses which were under construction when we built ours. As it is, perhaps it’s for the best, for though it remains a lovely Cotswold village, it’s no longer the vibrant community it once was, sadly. In recent years like so many similar villages around the country, it’s been taken over by people who don’t really live here at all. So, for the first time any of us could remember, we spent the day in this delightful village hall and there was not a single Cherington resident amongst us.

We were there to make “spooly birds” with our teacher Sue Green from local Cowshed Studio. These little felt birds were designed by Sue from a design shared with her by a Russian friend and Sue’s sample had a very folklore-ish feel to it.

It was a good opportunity to raid my studio and pull out a few bits and pieces; scraps of this and that in the hope that something might come in useful.

Because, for all Sue had said she’d bring everything we might need, we can’t pass an opportunity to “use what we have” can we?

We were soon busy cutting out felt shapes and starting to sew, digging deep into our repertoire of embroidery stitches to embellish the felt in the hope of creating something as cute as Sue’s examples.

The tea urn was in constant use and mugs of tea and coffee were topped up all morning.

Because, of course, although we were there to sit and sew, the lively conversation was all part of the fun and quite often that means the drinks go cold! Sitting beneath that glorious bunting (which we’d also made) we remembered other fun days like this one. Time to enjoy each other’s company, to share news, a few memories and also to catch up with the latest happenings as we sewed.

Around one o’clock someone suggested it might be lunchtime and suddenly a feast appeared over by the kitchen. We’d agreed to a “bring and share” lunch and each of us had brought a contribution. I had made a brown rice salad: a long time favourite from Edward’s school days when a friend shared the recipe with us. Since then, it has spread far and wide (and down under) and become a firm favourite for such occasions.

One thing is sure, no-one goes hungry at an Avening WI Bring and Share. This was after we’d all eaten and the empty plates cleared away!

During the afternoon, one by one the little birds took flight!

Each one filled with character and personality.

Some didn’t quite make it to the stuffing stage but acquired wings and were ready to dive in.

Others, like mine (!) were still in pieces and will be finished at home. Guess who was doing a lot of chatting and not so much sewing then?

Our monthly meeting is on Thursday when we’ll celebrate the 93rd anniversary of Avening WI’s foundation. All the (finished!) little birds will be brought along to tweet with us and enjoy cheese, wine and a fascinating speaker, Nick Minter. I had better get sewing then and finish my bird!

When I went along to Avening WI having just moved to Gloucestershire almost forty years ago, little did I know what fun and friendship it would lead to, eh?

Oh and in case you fancy giving the rice salad a go, here’s the recipe (in its original format!)