Several members of our Catholic Women’s League met for the first time last week after an absence of several months owing to the pandemic. We kept in touch on a regular basis via our group’s WhatsApp, where there was always an abundance of love, care, support and prayers for members and their families as we progressed through those dark days of lockdown and isolation. Often the burden was lightened by the appearance of jokes and videos, shining a sliver of light into the gloom. We also managed successfully to wrestle with technology and bring Zoom to our group, finally seeing familiar smiling faces on the screen (isn’t it interesting, and often surprising, peeking at someone else’s décor?).
But nothing can create such a ‘feel good’ atmosphere as seeing each other in person. We decided we just had to meet. One of our members opened her lovely garden and we gathered for tea, cake and a glass of bubbly in celebration. There was of course the obligatory raffle with prizes of bottles, smellies and a large selection of home grown vegetables freshly dug that morning. All proceeds went to our local St Francis Hospice.