June 20th: BA Summer Meeting - Northumbrian Basketry Group, Rothbury

Determined to make the best use of the extra day we had booked off we were setting off at 9am. Ok, it didn't happen but by 11am we were heading for the M6 - at least we missed any rush hour traffic!

We went to Carlisle stopping at Westmorland Services for a coffee and a cake and to admire the 'Coffee Tree.'

We drove to Birdoswald Fort so Patrick could achieve his ambition of visiting Hadrian's Wall.

The scenery was spectacular and we were impressed by the amount of mixed woodland Northumbria boasts.

Arriving in Rothbury we found our hotel, The Queens Head. It was a lovely old building, a real ale pub too! We then had a stroll around Rothburg, a lovely "town" with village qualities, which seems untouched by any degree of development. The nearest we found to a supermarket was a Co-op in the row of other shops. Rothbury had everything you needed though!

We then had our meal and 'found' about 20 basketmakers. My  tutor Catherine Davies was there as well as Geoff Forest who I had met at York Summer School a few years ago.

The next morning having been told that the Celtic knot basket did involve alot of kneeling and bending I went for a reduced version of the full breakfast on offer!

We all met up at the Jubilee Institute, which must have been all of 50 yards from the hotel! There were a few speeches and we separated into groups for our workshops. Patrick made a small donkey creel. One clan were making a Northumbrian Fishwifes creel, an interesting frame basket on a wooden 'yoke.' Poor fishwife!

The hospitality was great - drinks, food and venue. The best thing about the weekend, apart from basketmaking, was the fellowship and sharing that takes place at BA events. Ideas and tips are generously and enthusiastically shared. It is a great experience, reinforcing and empowering.

In the evening we were treated to entertainment by a trio of Northumberland musicians, piping and singing followed by a buffet designed to feed 5000 I think!

Sunday - no bending so I was able to have the full breakfast, which would keep me going all day! Various basketmakers were demonstrating and a rush seat and dolly demonstration was ongoing. Some had not finished their baskets on the Saturday so continued with them. There were basket sales as well as knitted toys from Keanna Knitter Critters, designs created from all-natural homespun wool bought from local Kenyan women.

There was a steady stream of visitors throughout the day, admiring and taking part in hands on projects. This was a very sociable time with more sharing and friendship - even IT skills were exchanged! The weather was glorious all day and we were glad of the air conditioning on the way home!