An introduction to Summerball.

This year on the 3rd of September we had a Summerball, it was a successful extravaganza! The event was host to local visitors of all ages, including special guests Paulie from Embra, Kim and Eddie from Galgael.

Members of the Craft Cafe came in style with their own outfits, Willie came in with a Hippie Waistcoat he made himself while other members also wore unique head gear, hats, make-up and charming hair do’s.

Their clothes covered the fashion of all decades starting with all the glitter and glam from the roaring twenties all the way to the punk eighties, we even had a guest appearance of James Bond!.

Food and music was aplenty, the buffet was scrumptious with lovely vegan chocolate puddings from Leight. The All Stars Skiffle Band had us on the dance floor from the first song and The Pink Ladies took to the dance floor to demonstrate fun dance moves.

A truly fantastic effort and all worthwhile, the addition of sale stalls was a new venture that we would like to make it a regular feature and we apologize to stall holders for any inconvenience.

We want to take a moment to thanks the following folk for making this possible: Alister, John, Heather, Marie, George, Darren, Sonny, Heather H, Chani, Yvonne, Carol. There are more people we would want to thank, we also want to give special thanks to Marie and Charlotte from Craft Cafe and Revolve.

We are sharing Charlotte’s photos to tell the tale!

The success of this years Summerball means a lot, this is put into perspective by an Australian study published the summer of 2022 demonstrated that the pandemic restrictions, while necessary, resulted in “lock-down loneliness” from which people, especially those with disabilities, older, and/or low incomes are struggling to overcome.

There were other experiments thought, people discovered or re-discovered the benefits of the outdoors, connecting and appreciating nature.

In Govan, we adapted to serve the needs of our community with initiatives ranging from cooked meals, daily telephone calls, social media networking, craft and cooking classes via Zoom. The Moogety garden was a very special place for myself as it became the host of afternoon teas and another option was Craft Cafe’s gardening sessions focused on flowers in the Centre Yard.

Craft Cafe went even further with producing packs that were sent on the post as well as using online platforms to share and encourage creativity. This includes a writing and visual art works shared within our newsletter.

On a personal level, I want to share that the reduced traffic was joyful as I could hear the birds on the main road, it was lovely to sit at the window to listen to their early morning songs. Elderpark was a good place for safe mindful walks (no blethers until we stopped at the arranged places) thanks to Woven in Govan.

Sunny Govan Radio continue to keep the music going, carried on blasting on blethers and tunes from presenters’ bedrooms!

All this positivism lead to a remote Summerball! Sunny Govan Radio played requests from the decades, Elaine from Heavenly Treats made hundreds of cupcakes with cards that were delivered by bike.

In light of the Australian study, we wish to place an emphasis on recovery. During the restrictions bad habits developed for many of us. Overeating that went on to be dubbed the “Corona Stone”, neglecting self care which our sister project Gilded Lily focused on by shared ways to look after ourselves.

For many it was their mental well-being that suffered, affected by addictions to drugs/alcohol. This is something that the Craft Cafe group took on, they sought recovery and maintenance of physical and mental health by adding exercises in every session including Tai’Chi and Yoga.

This aligns with the aim of the Shona Foundation and we will apply the lessons learned during those difficult times to our future ventures. It is great to be back at the Craft Cafe classes and be able to host Summerball 2022 at Connies Hall.

Join us and read updates on this blog for forthcoming fundraising events, trips to the coast and countryside. You are welcome to contribute to the blog, get in contact and share what you got up to! stories, photos, poetry and more are all welcome!

Stay connected!