Hello everyone. It is glorious here at Stoke Lodge, sun shining, birds tweeting, it’s really starting to feel like summer at last! We are in the thick of 23/24 planning and as soon as we have a date for when next year’s courses are available, we’ll be letting you know right here, ‘in the loop’.More

I do hope you have all enjoyed the easter break.  Here’s hoping that the rain eases off soon and we get some much-needed sunshine.

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I hope you all had an enjoyable half term break.  As we edge towards the end of February I wanted to share a few of the courses coming up on our next open Saturday on the 4 March and a little bit about International Women’s Day on the 8 March.

There are still a few places available for our one day courses at Stoke Lodge on Saturday 4 March

Amigurumi – 3D crochet –  Cactus 10am to 4pm with Cristina £50/£38 T73A
Discover the art of 3D crochet and create items for you or to gift love ones.

Freemotion Machine Embroidery Garden Vessel With Dissolvable Fabrics 10am to 4pm with Debby £55/£40 T15G
“Learn how to sew ‘freestyle’ – drawing with a sewing machine.

Upholstery On Saturdays 10am to 4pm with Nicky £55/£40 T14E
These one day workshops can be used as a “taster” or as an opportunity to complete an unfinished project.

Opera:Puccini e Verdi – tenuto in Italiano 11am to 4pm with Marika £40/£24 LTD32
When we talk about Italy we cannot forget the Italian Opera, because it is in Italy where the opera arias were born and became famous.

French Day – La Bretagne : Decouvrir le Morbihan et Finistere 10 to 4pm with Albane £48/£30 LAF25
Benefit from a day of total immersion in French, discovering one of France’s most popular and beautiful regions, where the tutor comes from.

Interior Design-A Beginners Guide 10am to 4pm with Charles £55/£40 D73C
A practical and enjoyable introduction to interior design. Develop the confidence and the skills you need to tackle your own project.

Drawing A Portrait With A Likeness In 4 Easy Steps 10am to 4pm with Sheila £45/£30 D34B
Enjoy this Saturday workshop where you will learn four essential drawing techniques to scale up your chosen photograph and draw a portrait

International Women’s Day – 8^th March

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘Embrace Equity’.

This is all about us understanding that giving everyone the same resources or opportunities is not always enough to allow people to reach an equal outcome. True equal opportunities is about providing people with the individualised resources they need to succeed and thrive, and as we are all different, this may mean different support for different people.

The website has a nice image that helps to show how giving people the different support they need helps to create an equal outcome.

Here is a bit more on equity from the IWD website

Equity can be defined as giving everyone what they need to be successful. In other words, it’s not giving everyone the exact same thing. If we give everyone the exact same thing, expecting that will make people equal, it assumes that everyone started out in the same place – and this can be vastly inaccurate because everyone isn’t the same.

The concept of ‘fairness’ can get tricky as it’s often assumed that ‘being fair’ means that everybody gets the same thing. Often, this has been taught when we were growing up, but ‘fairness’ really only works when we’re all the same to start out with.

International Women’s Day is a great chance to celebrate the achievements of women and to champion and listen to the voices of women.
And yes, if you are wondering there is an International Men’s Day, its on 19 November.

Here are a few inspiring quotes from some influential women authors…

“Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.”   Mary Shelley

“When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak.”   Audre Lorde

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.”   Alice Walker

“No need to hurry. No need to sparkle. No need to be anybody but oneself.”   Virginia Woolf

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”   Anne Frank

Kindest regards
Jenny

Hello everyone. Spring half term is bringing with it the start of the spring flowers and some beautiful, if a tad chilly, spring days.
A few snowdrops are popping up around Stoke lodge and before we know it the daffodils will be in full swing.

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Thank you to everyone who has joined courses with us this term it has been fantastic to have you all learning with us.  Courses for the Spring and Summer term are available to book, with a few extra courses to be added on in the next week or two. So do book early to avoid disappointment.More

Hello everyone,

Autumn is in full force now with the trees changing colour by the day.  I feel very lucky to work in such a beautiful setting, particularly when the sun is shining!More

Hello everyone and welcome back to the autumn term at Stoke Lodge.More