Eye - 09 January 2015

From peace postcards to new ways with old Friends

Peace postcards

Bournemouth Quakers have threaded Friends’ into a local exhibition called ‘The unfolding war’.

Kate Wright told Eye the story, which began in November 2014 when ‘Bournemouth Libraries invited people to embroider a postcard to commemorate the 1914-18 war. Many embroidered postcards were sent by troops serving in France.

‘Len Wigg, the librarian at Bournemouth Meeting, did some research about Bournemouth Quakers so the following information was submitted.’

The Quakers (Society of Friends) was committed to peace and opposed fighting in the First World War. In 1914 the Friends Ambulance Unit (FAU) was formed to provide ambulances and hospital ships as a contribution to alleviate suffering. Alfred Victor Grubb was a Bournemouth Quaker who served in the Friends Ambulance Unit.

Other named Bournemouth Quakers who gave practical support included Lucy Fairbrother and William Mold. Lucy Fairbrother was involved in the Friends War Victims Relief Committee, including the funding and organising of Belgian refugees coming to Bournemouth. William Mold set up the Bournemouth War Hospital Woodwork Depot to supply the hospitals in France with equipment such as trays, crutches, bed tables, etc. William Mold was a teacher at Bournemouth School for Boys and Bournemouth Municipal College.

She added: ‘A postcard for peace has been produced to illustrate the badge of the Friends Ambulance Unit and the medical supplies produced in Bournemouth as part of the commemoration of Quaker service in 1914.’

A new way with old Friends

A creative Quaker crafted Christmas gift wrap… using old copies of the Friend!

Instead of shiny rolls of soon-to-be-discarded wrapping paper, Sue Holden, of Leyburn Meeting, found a way of fashioning Friends into gift bags:

Step 1.
Take a closed double page of the Friend and fold over a 2cm strip down the long open side.

Step 2.
Cut the 2cm strip off the underneath page. Fold the other 2cm strip over the cut edge and stick, making a cylinder shape 17.5 cm across.

Step 3.
Measure 6cm up from the bottom edge and make a fold.

Step 4.
Hold this 6cm section at right angles to the rest of the page and gently push the folded side edges towards each other, pressing them into two triangle shapes (see diagram, below).

Step 5.
Now fold the bottom edge up about 4cm.

Step 6.
Fold the top half of this section down over the section you have just folded, to create the base of the bag, and stick.

Sue writes: ‘Once dry and opened up, you have a wonderful recycled/upcycled paper bag and outreach opportunity into the bargain!’ The bags aren’t just for Christmas, Sue intends to use them ‘for distributing rhubarb [and] gooseberries from the Meeting house garden next summer.’

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