Since our last newsletter we have had a busy year opening the Workshop, organising events and generally pursuing our aims and objectives, all the time thinking about and planning for our proposed building. It’s not surprising that this should take up so much of our time, as until it is up and running we cannot display the embroidery properly, provide the many embroidery classes we hope to run or mount a wide range of exhibitions. In June last year we only had to raise £44,500 to meet our project budget, and earlier this year we felt sufficiently confident of closing the gap that the Trustees instructed tenders to be sought and details of the site lease to be agreed with Spelthorne Borough Council. During the month of May five contractors were preparing their estimates and will have submitted them to us on the 31^st May, so for those most closely involved with the design of the Centre these last days of May will have been very tense, and by the time you receive this newsletter they will either be smiling broadly or scratching their heads !!! Hopefully either an acceptable price will be received or we will have to think about things creatively till one is arrived at. In any event, if all goes well, we hope to be on site within a month or so, and everyone will then be able to follow progress as the new Centre rises out of the ground. At this stage we cannot be sure as to how long the building process will take as the contractors include this as part of their submission, but if we are able to start fairly soon we will be open next Spring.

Even to get this far has only been possible due to the overwhelming support of our local community. We are keenly aware that Riverside Arts has been heavily engaged in raising funds for their prestigious and important extension into the Bank, at the same time as our Parish Church of St. Mary’s has needed support for the now gloriously refurbished tower. This only makes us even more grateful for the help we have received, whilst allowing us to appreciate what an active and lively community is reflected by these three projects, and that’s without mentioning such organisations as Sunbury Neighbours and Alan Gifford’s group The Listeners, or the work of many other local churches and voluntary organisations.

We are thrilled that our chance meeting with a member of the British Clematis Society whilst the embroidery was on exhibition at the Palace of Westminster has led to the establishment of such a wide collection of Clematis within the Walled Garden. We know from recent correspondence with the Society that they are equally pleased. Earlier this year the Society held a master class in the garden and many local people took advantage of the skilled advice offered by the speicalists from the Society. Some took away seeds for germinating whilst others learned how and when to prune. The Society intends making this an annual event. In view of the success of the initial planting, the Society has decided to hold their annual ‘Mardle’ Day in the Walled Garden on Sunday 17^th July. Apparently ‘Mardle’ is a Norfolk term for getting together ahd having a good ‘chin-wag’, and that is exactly what the members intend to do. They are bringing their own picnic lunches, but tell us that they would welcome local visitors who can meet them and gather some tips on ‘Clematis Wilt’ or the difference between herbaceous and other types. They will be gathering late morning and staying till mid-afternoon, so do pop along and enjoy their company.

We held a number of events last year, and particularly successful was the International Evening in November. Two music groups played, Indian and Polish dancers performed, a pupil from St. David’s School played a Chinese stringed instrument with amazing skill, and our local ‘singing barber’ Irving Childs revealed his wonderful voice. The Dream Auction held at Sunbury Cricket Club in April this year raised £2,500.00 towards the building fund, and everyone enjoyed bidding for a wide selection of donated goods or services. We have tried to thank all who gave donation ‘lots’ as well as those who successfully bid for them, but if we have failed to thank you, please forgive us – we do appreciate your help. The gavel was wielded by the ex General Secretary of the TUC Norman Willis, who has given our project enormous support, and he brought his unique personality and wit to the occasion contributing greatly to its success.

Looking ahead to the Autumn, we will be holding our third ‘Picnic in the Park’ on the evening of Saturday 3^rd September. The Linden Wind Orchestra will again provide splendid music, and hopefully guests will come with sumptuous picnics, tables, napkins, candelabra and crystal glasses. We have to hope that the September weather is kind to us and we have one of those balmy early Autumn evenings. Attendance last year was up on 2003, and as the word gets around year on year, tickets are likely to go like ‘hot cakes’. They will be available in the Embroidery Workshop nearer the event, and as usual Albert Skinner will kindly sell them for us.

After having held a separate Open Gardens Day previously, we are delighted to have joined forces with St. Mary’s Church this year and to be opening 6 gardens on Sunday 3^rd July. The gardens are all clustered around St. Mary’s, and refreshments will be available at the Vicarage. Plants will again be sold. This now annual event is really worth attending, if only to see some lovely local gardens and appreciate what can be achieved whether you are a plantsperson or just a casual gardener. Tickets will again be available from the Workshop and at Albert’s, and all the proceeds will go to support the Church and our own building fund.

Once again in April this year we supported the exhibition at The Landmark Centre in Teddington mounted by ex-members of Thames Television to display their continuing output of artistic work, including paintings, prints, photography and sculpture. Our chief designer John Stamp exhibited his paintings and sculpture, and we supported him with a display describing and illustrating the embroidery. For obvious reasons we decided some time ago that we would not exhibit the precious embroidery at such an event, as to do so carries the all too real danger of accidental damage, but we did take some tent-stitched logos, and Vic Kettle created some impressive photographs of the embroidery which were displayed on newly created display boards. We were also able to show many of the bas reliefs of the embroidery created for the partially sighted. We enjoyed going to The Landmark and are greatly appreciative of the many embroiderers who acted as stewards for the 10 days the exhibition was open. Going to Teddington allowed us to meet new people and broadcast news of the embroidery.

We were disappointed that the May Fair on Orchard Meadow could not proceed this year, but we will be attending the Halliford Village Fair as we have done for the last few years. This Fair always has a real village sense of community, and if you haven’t attended it before, do so this year – it is going to be on Saturday 9^th July.

The Embroidery Workshop at Riverbank continues to open 4 days a week stewarded by our volunteers, and the embroiderers give their regular talks at venues in Spelthorne and other areas. For the third year running we were pleased to receive the Surrey Mayors as guests of our own Mayor George Trussler. The party was divided into two groups with one half visiting the Riverside Arts Centre whilst the other came to us, after which they changed places. Everyone enjoyed their visit and the visitors were very complimentary about the skills evident in the embroidery.

For a long time we have been intending to inaugurate a Friends of the Embroidery group to support the project generally, help with fundraising and provide a potential further range of volunteers to help steward the Centre. Many of you will have already expressed your willingness to become a Friend, and at long last we are getting nearer towards getting this new venture underway. For the last few months, local resident David Griffin has chaired the ‘ad hoc’ group to examine with a clear eye how it should be organised, the rules which should guide its activities, and its aims and objectives. With their help we have decided to launch it when the building is underway, and the Centre is nearer to its official opening.

We are constantly surprised to find people who live in Sunbury, some very close to the Workshop, who are totally unaware of the embroidery’s existence. If you have a friend, neighbour, aquaintance or even visitors who don’t know about it, please encourage them to come to the Workshop and talk with the embroiderers. These visits are important as they not only let us show the embroidery to its full advantage, but allows people to see, and hopefully buy our merchandise which helps the building fund, and which will contribute to the Centre once it is complete. The Workshop continues to be open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday between 10a.m. and 4p.m. and the senior embroiderers who are present at those times will always give a warm welcome. The Workshop can be contacted on 01932 788101 and you can also use this number for booking event tickets, leaving a message if necessary on the ansaphone, and if you need to do this we will always return the calls. If you have an email address and you would like to be kept informed of forthcoming events and any other news we would be delighted to add your address to our database, so please let us know.