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Dear Friends,
Having just inherited the seat at the Big Oak Desk, I wish to say how pleased I am to be working with the members of this Guild. What a loving, caring and talented group they are. I feel privileged, and, rather awed too, in view of my calligraphic experience (or rather, lack of it). When joining the Guild only relatively recently, I felt rather like a Rip Van Winkle. How come?
Once upon a time, in the far distant past when the BBC in England began TV transmissions again after WW II, Tom Gourdie demonstrated calligraphic writing on the TV. Suffering in those days from loss of marks on school homework assignments - teachers in those days not willing to suffer bad handwriting - Mr. Gourdie’s program excited me, and that excitement, in turn, impressed my mother enough to buy me the Swan Calligraphic fountain pen, ink and textbook. So I started teaching myself and giving my schoolteachers a shock at the improvement in the legibility of my essays. Over the decades (yes, decades!) since, my calligraphic activities were rather sparse, doing some menus for a nursing home, wedding invitation for a son, and that sort of thing. Just 3 or 4 years ago, looking around for some social and/or occupational activity to enjoy, I learned of the Niagara Calligraphy Guild, went to the next meeting and after 5 minutes with this great group, knew I had “come home.”
However, having gone to sleep, calligraphy-wise all the long years, I was stunned to learn how it had grown into such a popular activity and with such variety of skills to learn, supplies available, etc. So much to catch up on! And what marvellous talent shown by the members. All this expertise unstintingly shared with and to fellow members and between guilds world-wide, thanks to the Internet, etc. What an awakening!
So, brave members of Niagara Calligraphy Guild, thank you for trusting me as your new President. We’ll have a good new year of activity and pleasure, I know.
Chris (Van Winkle) Towndrow