Bunting and Home.

It was a make bunting day in the village hall today. Nellie of the Woods organised it for the refugee women, it was kept small and was publicised through the Red Cross, with the aim of giving the women a fun day and a safe place to relax, talk, make bunting! Circus girl ran activities for the children, vegan Jo's daughter did face painting and lunch and afternoon tea was provided. There were 24 women and 7 of us from the village. I took my knitting and my camera! 
It was just the best day - the women talked to each other, made supportive links, an Afghan mother shared her crochet skills with one of her daughters and the other practised her English - she had only been in the country for 2 weeks. There were women from China, Nepal, Syria, Afghanistan. many were fine seamstresses and made their own clothes. Some sat on the soft chairs and just chatted to each other. One woman spent most of the day with her child, and was known to be at risk, she was seen at lunchtime swapping phone numbers with another woman. 
The whole day was relaxed, gentle, supportive and fun.  I had always struggled at the big refuge events to strike up conversations - but this gave everyone the opportunity to talk about what they were making, to ask for help or give help, and so conversation was given a focus and could then develop. I sat with the Afghan family at lunchtime - she said the husband had been here for 4 years,the she had been here  18 months, her oldest a year. A long time for the family to finally be all together again. There was one woman from the village I had never met before - she had lived here all her life and her parents came down to do the washing up at lunchtime! (I recognised her mum as I pass her walking her dog  on the way to the chickens! ) She had lost her husband to Motor Neurone disease just over a year ago. I had noticed a chair lift outside one of the houses I pass on the way to the chickens had gone and feared something had happened to the owner. She had brought her crochet and a whizzy dizzy sewing machine and lots of fabric, buttons and threads. She told me she had started making things whilst caring for her husband. Talk turned to how Calstock had become home for many of us from all over the country, and I asked one of the Plymouth women whether she felt at home - she said she did. Her friends wanted her to move to London but she said that Plymouth was now her home and she had no intention of leaving it! Many spoke of how welcome they had been made to feel and how helpful people had been. That was so good to hear as when I moved down 17 years ago I barely saw anyone from another country/culture and many of the people I worked with and dealt with from Plymouth were racist and xenophobic. 
At 3 the women made their way to the train station, the guy from the Red Cross who had joined us at lunchtime  took them up in his minibus as after a glorious sunny day it had begun to pour with rain! I got a lift up the hill with Vegan Jo's husband who had come to collect the daughter. I closed all the windows I had opened to let the fresh air in, changed my clothes and took the car back to the hall to tidy up and give Nellie and another woman who had made the lunch a lift home with all their stuff. The other woman was the one who had the birthday last weekend and she was wearing one of my cardigans! It's such a lovely feeling to see people wearing clothes you once owned - Nellie was wearing one of my mothers old jumpers! Homeopath Girl had spotted a skirt her daughter had worn as a young child on the table covered with children's clothes for anyone who wanted them - she is now a strapping teenager! 
So many little elements that made this day so very wonderful - such a warming feeling of belonging and supporting and being supported. The whole day is here.