In March this year, I joined the Online Guild. What a wonderful group! Even though (with a few exceptions, at Woolfest) I have only ‘met’ members by exchanging email messages, I feel as though I know them. Age is of no consequence (I believe we’re all twenty something!). The breadth of members’ combined knowledge of all things textile is staggering, and everyone is so willing to share their expertise without making you feel stupid for not knowing.

When I joined, one member welcomed me with the comment “its nice to have another man join” but, unlike Dot with the cycling club, I didn’t feel exotic, but pleased that I wasn’t thought strange for engaging in what is mainly a woman’s hobby.

So many young people today don’t engage in a creative pastime, those that do need to be encouraged. I’m sure that the young lad would feel welcome in the Online Guild and benefit from the exchange of ideas and sheer enthusiasm of its membership. And he wouldn’t even have to reveal his age – he would be twenty-something as well!

Kev.
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When I was seriously into cycling in my early 20s I remember having to search around for a cycling club which had other women members. One club I never went back to the welcome was “oh good, about time we had some women in this club”. Ah. I’d not mind being the only one BUT I did mind being treated like something exotic.

I love what Jayne says about new buildings in New York having public spaces. Wonderful! Sadly I can’t imagine it catching on in the UK. Lack of public spirit.

Later on, I didn’t stay in the local Amenity Society long because they were all over retirement age and very defensive when faced with someone in their 30s: it was like being expected as a child to be “seen and not heard”. Young faces welcome, young voices not!!

I’m sure the same problem may arise for men with WSD Guilds – if you meet up with other people out of common interest, you don’t want to be treated as “different”.

I’m in the Alsager Guild, and find them a friendly and busy group for all ages, there are no cliques and no ageist comments. Possibly because it’s a small and expanding Guild, about half the members least seem to have joined in the last 2 years. The age range is from 20s to 70s. Men tend to be husbands / partners, but I’m sure that male WSDs would fit in fine.

We meet in public places where we can hang out for free; people come up to us and ask what we’re doing and we tell them! Anyone can join anytime and pay the $2 for any meeting they attend. Our normal meeting spot is a public atrium in a midtown office buidling. Some people don’t come when the meetup is scheduled in a bar or outdoors or some other place they don’t want to be. (No problem.)

Kids are more than welcome. Our regular place doesn’t allow “furniture”; wheels would be pushing it so mostle we spindle. (oh, and it is *much* easier to spindle than it is to knit on a crowded commuter train, if only because it is easier to join a broken thread than it is to retrieve dropped stitches, and there’s nothing to count!)

There’s some kind of law here in New York whereby big new office buildings have to include public spaces. We had a long discussion with some English tourists who told us there’s nothing like that in Londo. I suppose if you have to reserve and pay for a place to meet…