Welcome to 2021
Happy New Year, readers, and here is to a better one for us all.
In celebration of creativity, resilience and hope and to coincide with the 20th anniversary of GlobalYell, the charity that began with music and now includes textiles, will be going back to its roots. With funding from Creative Scotland we are planning a series of classes and workshops in different arts and crafts, and these will be online and available by post. More details about this will follow soon but already there are some singing events in preparation and a community textile programme being planned. As part of this there will be a new member of staff at GlobalYell to help with the delivery and administration of the programme. It is exciting to be contemplating the future at such an uncertain time.
Over the course of this year the blog will continue to bring news from around the world. Contribuitions to the blog are always welcome and can be sent to andy@globalyell.org. Although textiles and music are the foundation for the charity, the blog is going to include more than that. It is always inspiring to have new perspectives and I am looking forward to finding out many new things.
Over Christmas and New Year while finishing off the final edits on the Master of Research degree in Shetland Tweed, I did a lot of thinking about the future for The Shetland Tweed Company, particularly with the findings from the research fresh in mind. This year I would like to expand that company too because now we are the last tweed company in the isles and it feels like there is a duty to make the business succeed so that tweed weaving in Shetland does not disappear completely. It is another exciting prospect and something to help with focus when things are still so uncertain.
As the Spring bulbs push upward - the first daffoldils have already flowered - and the light in the Northern Hemisphere changes, and as good news about vaccines arrives, so 2021 is looking more positive and brighter. I hope it fulfils that promise and that you all have a good, safe and healthy year. The blog will return next week in full. In the meantime, here are the fireworks that welcomed in this New Year from London.