Jeri has been kind enough to describe what we in the US do in order to enjoy lacemaking. I have spent many pleasurable hours in just such groups. However, I feel a profound sense of sadness that people in the UK are losing the support of the adult schools because it is a very significant loss. I belonged to a class that met at a local historical society. It advertised the classes and held them in its facility. When a new secretary was hired, she became very delinquent about getting out the sign-up materials and they typically arrived after the first week of class. The result was that from the moment she became secretary we never had a new person in the class. Only those people who were already aware of the class signed up and they all called each other in advance to warn that the class was about to start. This lack of advertising was the death knell of the class because eventually all the old class members died, moved or became interested in other hobbies. The advertising keeps new people coming in. The holding of the class or group meeting in a private home also has a very significant impact. For one thing, you can't advertise! When it is held in a private home there is a lot of timidity about giving out the phone number of the person holding the meeting or class. There is a lot of timidity about bringing someone. You may like them, but will the hostess? And then if the hostess doesn't like them and doesn't want them in her home it is a big problem. Because the hostess is being kind enough to host, it seems impolite to include anyone she doesn't like and force her to have them in her home. Also, she will cease to provide hospitality if there is anything that is displeasing about the arrangement. Thus the group becomes a group of the hostess' friends. This tends to result in a real homogeneity of the members of the group. Of course, one can have really deep friendships when everyone is very much the same, but sometimes a little heterogeneity can make for a more vibrant, and larger group. Devon
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