In September 2020 i travelled north with my girlfriend Maria . We were visiting Port Macquarie, and stopped overnight at Karuah . Whilst in the area we visited the Myall Lakes Creative Arts Centre, Tea Gardens.
Whilst there, i asked one of the volunteers , Sue if anyone hooked rugs . She said that she might be able to help me. i took her details and phoned her back a few weeks later . I was in luck – finally. It was a Patons Turkey Rug design number 5467 size 70cm x 140cm.
I had had a rug kit for possibly 30 years, and had a few false starts to get it done. I was determined to find someone who could hook it, so that i could hang it.
Sue told me that she had learned to hook when she lived in North Carolina , USA for a number of years. Much history is recorded in North Carolina on hooked rugs ,which are then hung in homes .
Sue and Penny from the Centre, made the hooking of my rug a “joint project .” Lillian and i , dropped the rug off on November 24 2020 to Sue in Tea Gardens.
I collected my finished rug on April 20 2021. Sue , Penny and i had afternoon tea , the rug was unveiled and photos were taken . The rug looked wonderful . On the way back to Sydney , i called in to have lunch with Kathleen Moss on the Central Coast . Kathleen had been a textile teacher at St George Girls High School , Kogarah for many years . She inspected my rug and was pleased with it.
It took me a while to work out how to hang the rug . Bunnings, by chance, had printed an article on hanging rugs ,which proved to be useful .
Finally , by December 2022, my handyman ,Luis had hung my rug in my bedroom . There were no more walls left to hang it on! The pattern resembles the Astra Zenecca symbol , which is topical as a result of Covid.
The lovely painting on the wall was my 90th birthday gift to my late father. It shows my 3 beautiful Cavalier King Charles Spaniels -left to right -William , Raine and Angus McTavish. The painting was painted by a local artist , Bruce Sharp , who passed away on January 11 2023, aged almost 92.
Teddy , my current Cavalier , is featured on my bed with some of his toys. Teddy sleeps on a cotton rug – he is a very privileged lad under my care.
Sue and i it turns out had 6 degrees of separation . She knew very well the Director of Nursing , in the 1980’s, at St George Hospital , the late Rosemary Snodgrass. I knew Rosemary when i served on St George Hospital Board – 1985-1988.
February 8 2023
