Report of Meeting held on July 2nd 2009
OUT OF THE ATTIC: Craster W. I. welcomed visitors from Belford and Brizlee. After discussing arrangements for our tea day in August, Rosemary Gibbs introduced the speaker, Mrs. Bramwell from Horsley. The title of her talk was ‘Out of the Attic’. We were fascinated by the wonderful range of family keepsakes, from christening robes, a bill for a funeral in the eighteenth century, smelling salt bottles, family jewellery and Christmas cake decorations. Mrs. Bramwell put us in mind of a magician as she pulled more and more treasures from her mother’s old leather suitcase.
Many of the items, such as a beautiful wedding dress, evening bags and amazonite necklaces given to bridesmaids by the bridegroom in the late 1800’s, would be just as fashionable today.
Mrs. Bramwell read out, beauty tips, recipes and remedies from old handbooks. They also included advice on how to treat sick cows and sheep.
She also produced old tin openers bringing back memories of cut fingers, whisks, glove stretchers, butter pats.
Jointed dolls with china heads and real hair came from the bottom of the suitcase. These dated from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In a very little box were the smallest dolls we had ever seen. The smallest of them all was not jointed but wore a tiny knitted dress. All the dolls were carefully wrapped in muslin cloth, which was a traditional method of preservation.
Mrs. Bramwell kept us enthralled by her descriptions of the various items. She told us why she thought it was so important to keep objects of family interest – clothing, photographs, letters and jewellery – for the next generation.
Her talk was interspersed with amusing memories and anecdotes of family members and friends. We all had a most enjoyable time. Joyce Shaw expressed this in her vote of thanks.
The competition was won by Rosemary Gibbs with Doris Clarke and Winnie Banks, runners up. Sybil Dawson celebrated her birthday on the night. Winners of the Raffle were Nancy Grey, Sheila Dixon, Mrs. Bramwell and Trish Flegg. Winnie Banks, Sylvia Biott, Fiona Craster and Carol Grey were hostesses for the evening.
Meeting Reports
