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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