VISIT OF HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN

The visit of HM The Queen to view the Embroidery in June was undoubtedly the highlight of the year. Over 250 people were present within the Walled Garden with many more well-wishers lining the car park and the roads outside. The weather was perfect and the garden looked at its best.

The Queen spent over an hour viewing the embroidery and talking with the many groups of embroiderers and other guests while girls from the 1st, 2nd & 4th Sunbury Guides served teas and coffees to the discreet musical accompaniment of the Tony Kinsey Trio. Also present in the garden were representatives of the many local organizations whose emblems are recorded on the embroidery.

It is clear from the photographs of the day (and also form the video record of the event now available for sale in the Workshop) that the visit was an enjoyable one and a great recognition of the efforts of so many people within the community who have all worked so hard to create the Embroidery. These include not only embroiderers but all those who have helped in any way and who have constantly encouraged and supported the project. The success of the day was the result of many efforts and the Embroidery Committee would like to thank especially Spelthorne Borough Council who underwrote the major costs involved with the tents, Surrey County Council who provided teas and biscuits, Surrey Police for their careful supervision, the British Red Cross for providing a reassuring presence, and the Embroidery Stewards organised by Geoff Sims and Malcolm Hill who helped the day go so smoothly. Thanks also go to John Were, Ken Ferguson and Sightline for their terrific video footage, to Vic Kettle for his fine photos, and to the many local businesses whose continued support of the project is greatly appreciated.

The Tapestry of Dreams concert produced by Moira Edwards in Riverside Arts Centre earlier in the year provided a wonderful evening of words and music with a mixture of seriousness and fun. The evening was a sell out and helped raise over £600 for the

Building Fund.

The Workshop was open on 22nd July as part of this years Arts Festival and welcomed over 300 visitors, many of whom had not seen the Embroidery before. Many thanks to the Arts Festival organisers for the invitation and the publicity they gave to our event.

The Regatta kindly provided space for us again this year. We had a stall on the Island and, as was the case last year, the Workshop was open simultaneously for people to drop in and see the Embroidery. The Regatta can usually be relied upon to provide a glorious sunny day, however this yea�r we did sell a few umbrellas!

Della and Alan Pascoe kindly opened their garden for an afternoon in September in aid of the project. The weather was mixed but it did not deter well over a thousand people coming to see the Embroidery and enjoying tea and cake in the wonderful setting (thanks to the many cake makers who spent the previous week baking!). A balloon race sponsored by Kevin Knight was also a great success with a number of return slips from the Lewes/Newhaven area. A winner will be announced shortly. The event raised over £4500 which exceeded all expectations.

A dance at the Sunbury Cricket Club was organized by the Lower Sunbury Business Community in aid of the Building Fund, also in September. The evening was highly enjoyable with a fantastic MC or 'caller' who made the mysteries of barn dancing accessible to all. Many thanks to Laurie Maskall and family and Irving Childs for all their efforts and for raising £300 for the Building Fund.

A 'fun-raising' evening was produced jointly by the Riverside Youth Theatre and the Embroidery with proceeds shared between the Riverside Arts Centre Development Programme and the Building Fund for Sunbury Millennium Embroidery Centre in the Walled Garden. A series of sketches with food and drink in the interval provided for a memorable evening which was rounded off with a spectacular rendition of the 1812 overture with combs provided by Boots and paper bags (the 'percussion' section) courtesy of Londis! The evening raised over £1500 for the two projects, and thanks go to Linda Perkins, Ellie Roper and Gerry Cook and all the performers for an unforgettable... something!

Talks and presentations continue to be given to various groups and organisations both in the Workshop and at outside venues. Groups we have spoken to this year have included The London Embroiderers Guild, The Kingston Branch of the Embroiderers Guild, the National Association of Women’s Clubs, the Crantham Association, various Branches of the WI, St Peter’s Hospital , Probus, St John’s Club Walton, the Sunbury & Shepperton Local History Society, the 4th Sunbury Brownies, and a number of classes from local schools, among many others. So far this year over 40 talks and presentations have been given with many engagements for 2002 already in place. This is a continuing activity organised by the Workshop which not only helps to raise funds but takes awareness of the project to an ever widening audience. A request was recently received from Holland for a visit to the Workshop by 50 members of the Dutch Lace Guild to take place during August of next year.

Another offshoot of this outreach programme is the Project’s current involvement with the Staines Day Centre. The manager of the Centre had been approached by a group of ladies who had seen the embroidery and were excited by it and wanted to produce an embroidered wall hanging for the new Staines Day Centre to be opened in 2002. They had limited experience but enormous enthusiasm and over recent weeks a team from the Workshop has helped them with preparing a design and transferring it onto canvas. Each fortnight members of the workshop team visit the Staines Day Centre to help solve any technical problems and offer support and encouragement.

A number of embroiders are also involved with the 3Bís Alzheimer Club where John Stamp has initiated an arts programme for sufferers. An exhibition of paintings, ceramics and embroidery inspired by and in collaboration with The 3Bís Alzheimer Club is being held at the Riverhouse Barn Gallery, Walton on Thames between 14th -18th Nov from 11am - 4pm.

if your group would like a talk please don't hesitate to contact the Embroidery Workshop on 01932 788101 during its opening hours 10am to 4pm Mon, Tue, Wed & Fri.

Although the Queen’s visit has to some degree overshadowed the Committee’s activities for the first half of the year the principle aim continues to be that of raising funds for the proposed Embroidery Centre in the Walled Garden. Quantity Survey Ross Sinclair has recently been commissioned to carry out a Feasibility Cost Plan for the scheme which puts the cost of the building at £425,000. Drawings of the scheme, together with a model, are on display in the Embroidery Workshop.

The project has raised over £91,500 to-date and the Building Fund currently stands at £44,000.

A pledge of £5,000 has been received from The John Lewis Partnership.

An application for grant recently made to Spelthorne Borough Council under their Capital Partnership Scheme was considered at a meeting on 30th October 2001 by Members of the Executive who awarded the project the sum of £42,000.

This puts the total amount in the Building Fund (both actual and pledged) at £91,000. We hope that this amount will exceed £100,000 by Christmas.

A number of other approaches and applications are awaiting consideration from both corporate and charitable bodies, with further applications in the pipeline. If anyone has any suggestions of funding sources or contacts please let us know.

The Embroidery Committee is planning a series of local fund raising events for next year. If you have an idea for an event that you would be prepared to help us with (anything from a simple coffee morning to something more ambitious) again, please let us know.

Every little helps.

During the month of September £7,700 was raised from the operation of the workshop and from the various special events.

Collecting boxes are located in many of the village shops and a number of these boxes have been emptied several times. We would like to thank all the local shops and businesses for their continued support of the Project. Smaller home collection boxes made out of card are available from the Workshop. If you would like one to put in the hall (or even in the loo) please pick one up.

The Workshop at 'Riverbank', Thames Street, Sunbury-on-Thames (opposite Camille) is the real heart of the project and it is open four days a week 10am to 4pm Mon, Tue, Wed & Fri. So far this year it has received over 3500 visitors.

During December in the run-up to Christmas the Workshop will be open every Saturday from 10am to 4pm as well as during its normal weekday opening hours, so please drop in, be assured of a warm welcome and simplify your Christmas shopping!

New Christmas Cards with a picture of the embroidered gift presented to HM The Queen are currently available (£3.00 for 5), as is a Video Record of the Queen’s Visit. The video, which runs for around 70 minutes, covers the entire day’s event from the early morning security checks through to The Queen taking flowers from well-wishers in the car park just prior to her departure. The video was kindly edited for us by the Staines Cine & Video Society and makes a splendid record of the day. It is available for £12.00 in both VHS format (for UK & Australia) and also in NTSC format suitable for Canada and the US.

Mugs made from fine bone china and depicting a coloured image of the Village Panel will be available from mid November.

Jigsaws, Posters (framed £25 & unframed £2) Activity Books, Cards, Bookmarks and other items continue to be available in the Workshop, as are copies of the Treasure Hunt booklet which costs £5 and entitles entry to the Treasure Hunt which runs until mid-January and carries a first prize of £500. The odds of a prize are extremely good, and the brain teasing clues are a treasure in their own right.

The Sponsor a Building Square scheme still has many squares for colouring in and £5 will sponsor a part of the proposed building and procure a certificate.

Also during December a Raffle is being held in the Workshop, with the prize a piece of embroidery by Pam Judd of 'St Mary’s Church' (as it appears on the Village Panel). This is the second item of embroidery to be raffled depicting scenes from the Village Panel (the first being 'The Wisteria' embroidered by Carole Tompkins which was raffled at the Monksbridge Open Garden Day). These are unique pieces and a very modest investment could just acquire one for Christmas, so please drop in.

The Project was saddened to learn of the recent death of Barbara Horne (aged 91) who was a resident of The Sunbury Nursing Home. She was great supporter of the Project and corresponded regularly and longed to see the Embroidery it in its new home. She gave instructions to her family that any donations at her recent funeral should go to the Sunbury Millennium Embroidery Building Fund. We are greatly touched by this gesture. She will be sadly missed.�

We would like to thank Spelthorne Borough Council for their continued endorsement and support, and also the many private supporters who have made donations and funded the project throughout its existence.�