Beanies for bonces – Ettrickbridge ladies help keep our troops warm
Muriel Lightly (89) of Ettrick Bridge knits wool hats for the soldiers in Afghanistan with other members of The Ettrick Bridge Craft Group. Muriel Lightly (89) of Ettrick Bridge knits wool hats for the soldiers in Afghanistan with other members of The Ettrick Bridge Craft Group. From left, Kay Ross, Beverley Strawson, Muriel Lightly and Carol Beveridge.
A crafting group from Ettrickbridge are busy knitting hats to keep British soldiers’ heads warm under their helmets in Afghanistan.
The beanie hats are the latest charity venture for the eight regular knitters, quilters and sewers of the Ettrickbridge Craft Group, who’ve met in the village hall every month for the last five years, and in the past three weeks have knitted 17 hats for the soldiers.
“The craft group is an outlet for people who may not be able to get out, or may not know people,” explains 73-year-old retired medical secretary Sarah Parry. “You bring your craft, and show others how to do it.”
“It stops us hanging around the streets,” adds 89-year-old Muriel Lightly, a retired social worker known as ‘the knitter of the village’.
The crafters’ charitable projects so far include knitting school jumpers and pull-on hats for African children, making quilts for soldiers who’ve lost limbs, and even creating, as Muriel herself describes: “twenty-five knitted boobs to help nurses teach mothers how to breastfeed. We’ve never laughed as much as we did that morning.”
The ladies discovered ‘Knitting hats for our troops’ from Muriel’s neice, who runs a craft group near Chester.
The national campaign, she said, was inspired by a visitor to Afghanistan who was horrified to see soldiers wrapping rags around their heads to keep warm on night patrol.
“Someone noticed the soldiers hadn’t been provided with adequate warmth, because their helmets got cold,” Sarah explains.
The group’s impressive pile of hats, each taking one person about five hours to make, are “nothing compared with what will be done,” Sarah added, “By this time next year we’ll have done a hundred if we can buy the wool.”
“The hats have to be made from pure wool: there can’t be any polyester or nylon,” Muriel said: “If the soldiers are in a fire out in Afghanistan, acrylic would melt and burn their scalp.
“There are only two other rules: the hats have to be in dark colours – anything bright would draw attention to them and they could be shot at – and they must include the label to say it’s pure wool. Other than that it’s very simple – we can send anyone a pattern.”
“There’s a limitless number needed: soldiers keep changing, and wool isn’t easy to wash,” Sarah said.
“It’s the postage we’re finding expensive,” Muriel adds, “but as long as the funds keep going, we’ll keep going.”
If you would like to contribute any 100 per cent pure, double knitted wool, or any funds for the group to buy wool or post their hats, contact Sarah on 01750 52287 or via email at davidettrickbridge@btinternet.com
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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