Well, this has been a busy week and I have plenty of topics from which to choose a theme…I could be writing about a brilliant trip to the Globe Theatre to see ‘Taming of the Shrew’. I love that theatre and the way in which it recreates the Shakespearean experience: it feels like stepping back in time, which appeals to the historian in me. It’s the kind of place I would find inspiration for something like my Tudor Necklace, but since I launched that on here a little while ago, that seems like old news!
Instead, I was thinking about the topic of ‘news’ and how depressing it is these days. We are fed a constant diet of doom and gloom, whether it be the financial crisis, the impending end of fuel supplies, famine or simply the truly horrible crimes that both individuals and nations commit against one another on what seems like a daily basis. It can feel as though this world is an awful place to inhabit and it is amazing how quickly our media reverts to such stories after the recent celebration of human endeavour in the Olympic Games. Whatever happened to celebrating human kindness? Personally, I’ve stopped making the effort to follow the news – I’m sure someone would let me know about anything that really mattered and I’m finding that my mental health is vastly improved by focusing on the good things that are actually right here in my life.
So this week I thought I would talk a little about some of the lovely beaders I’ve met recently. I have to say that beaders strike me as a particularly friendly and generous bunch of people. Maybe I’ve been lucky in the ones that I have met, or maybe it actually reflects the fact that, in general, there is more human kindness around than the media would have us believe. Whatever the reason, whenever I have attended a class, bead show or bead group, I have found enormous generosity and friendliness. I have just joined the ‘Dangerous Beaders’, a bead group based in Watford. I’ve only been to two meetings, but I’m just overwhelmed by the welcome I have received and already I feel I’ve made friends. At my second meeting I was given a miniature cake stand by a lovely lady called Jean. She had seen some of my little beaded cakes and then came upon the stand whilst out shopping and immediately thought it would make a great way of displaying a cake, so she bought it for me. I am just incredibly touched at the kindness and thought of that gesture and the stand, with one of my favourite cakes, is now sitting proudly in my bedroom.
Last week Jean Power invited me over to lunch with her as she was teaching near me at Missenden Abbey. I first came into contact with Jean a few years ago when she was editor of Bead Magazine and she has always been incredibly kind, generous and supportive of my beadwork. Well, the lunch last week turned into a couple of trips to meet her class of beaders and what a lovely group of ladies they were! I also had the opportunity to admire some of Jean’s beautiful geometric beadwork and hear about the book she is currently writing. It has been a labour of love and the projects in there are so beautiful, so if you haven’t already seen her work, then take a look!
This evening I have my first trip to another bead group, this time in Great Missenden, thanks to an invitation from Anne-Marie Williams. I stumbled upon Anne-Marie when I was browsing her stall at the Big Bead Show and discovered that she runs a bead shop about ten minutes from me. She has a fabulous collection of Delicas, amongst other things, so imagine my excitement at finding a really local supply of beads! It turns out that Anne-Marie is another one of those kind and friendly beaders I keep stumbling upon. When I first visited her shop, I found myself not only buying beads, but with an invitation to meet some other local beaders, so is it any wonder that I’m rather looking forward to tonight? So, I’ve concluded that if you’re feeling as though the human race is a rather horrible species, join a beading group and maybe you’ll remember that for every news story of evil and pain, there are a lot of individuals quietly living their lives out of the media spotlight and giving good things to those around them!
