The Trefoil Extra!

Scarborough Trefoil Guild had a very interesting afternoon just after VE Day, which led to some of our older members sharing moments when they were bombed.
Margaret told us how a bomb landed on her street on 18 March 1941. 'We could hear the planes droning overhead and the sirens sounded about 9pm. I was sitting talking to my family and the next minute I was covered in bricks and my eyes and mouth were full of dust, then there was just a weird silence. Then we all started to shout for help. I was unable to move below my waist and it was difficult to move my hands and arms. I could see fire in front of my face and then the fire fighters started to put water on the burning debris. I remember it as if someone was continually pouring buckets of water over me and I couldn’t breathe. When the men reached me they couldn’t release me until the mains electricity was turned off, as my legs were trapped by the electric meter and the fuse board. Every time they tried to dig me out with their shovels and pick axes I received electric shocks. It took until 7.30am the next morning before I was carried out and put in an army ambulance and taken to the first aid centre where I was given a bacon butty and a cup of tea. I was very lucky not to be badly injured – just a badly bruised back which was black from my neck to my bottom and a crushed left foot. We learned afterwards that it had been a land mine or an ariel torpedo which was why we didn’t hear anything before our house collapsed'.

Burwell Trefoil’s residential weekend this year took place at Old Brooders Bunkhouse near Lavenham.  In late November it had to have a Christmas theme, enjoying festive food, drink, decorations and crafts.
Our weekend included a ghost tour around Lavenham.  Who know there were so many ghosts there.  One house had been used as Harry Potter’s home in the films and the ghosts there inspired Nearly Headless Nick and Peeves.
No-one could resist the antique and specialist shops and a few Christmas presents were purchased as well as sampling a couple of the lovely cafes. 
Also based at Milden Hall is a beautiful barn that has been turned into a Tudor Barn complete with four poster beds and a table long enough to seat 22!
We were privileged to be able to use this barn to hold two promise ceremonies as well as being able to take photographs on one of the four poster beds.

Although advances in the understanding and treatment of epilepsy mean that many with this diagnosis are able to live in the community, there are still a minority who require specialist care. Having decided to support those who live at the Chalfont Centre for Epilepsy, Gerrards Cross and Denham Trefoil members raised  £1,420, chiefly from a Purple Party. Purple is the colour of epilepsy. Trefoil members, including a trio of chairs (national, region, county) and Guiding friends from across Buckinghamshire came dressed appropriately, were treated to a cream tea and entertained with old time music hall singing. In return for an afternoon of fun, friendship and making memories, they supported our fund raising most generously.

44 members attended the annual Anglia region holiday held at Hautbois in September.
One of the highlights of the week was a visit to the seaside at Sheringham and ended with the End of the Pier Show at Cromer. Everyone agreed it was a lovely way to spend the afternoon.
We are already making plans for next year and details will be out soon.

In August 2025 Trefoil and Girlguiding members joined an adult leaders’ narrow boating trip on the Kennet and Avon canal.
Julie and Tracy, Girlguiding qualified narrow boating experts, kindly gave up 16 days to take us up and down the route. To make this possible, they ran 6 pirate days for Brownies and Guides to bring the boats together
I was on the down trip from Great Bedwyn to Bath for 5 days. We had 15 adults which made navigating the Caen Hill flight of 16 locks easier as we navigated the locks in tandem. On our Caen Hill day we navigated a total of 29 locks in just 2 and a quarter miles! 

Members of the Bexhill Trefoil enjoyed their harvest supper, as can be seen from all the empty plates! Delicious home-made vegetarian sausage rolls and old-fashioned trifle were special favourites and there were very few leftovers to take home!

The ladies from Dukeries Trefoil have achieved some inventive traveling. We took 3 bus journeys to make a day long outing as far as we could travel using our free bus passes. 
Negotiating timetables, we succeeded in reaching Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire. 
Arriving in time to do a lovely woodland walk to make a visit to the famous ‘Kinema in the Woods’, spent an evening in a local hotel and did the reverse bus journey the following day. A very happy and rewarding trip.

Mansfield Trefoil visited Southwell Minster on 18 September 2025. We travelled by public transport from Mansfield to Southwell. We visited an exhibition in the Minster The Longest Yarn 2 :Britain at War. a celebration of creativity, and the magic of storytelling through textiles. All the exhibits are knitted or crocheted.  Awe inspiring, we can't image the hours it took. Well worth a visit if it comes to your area.

Lesley Haworth, NEE chair, took the opportunity at the national conference to hand out the prizes to 3 members attending to pass on to the winners.
Congratulations to all the winners and a big thank you to everyone who took part in our quiz. I hope you have learnt a bit more about our region and we hope to welcome you all to the national Annual Meeting in June 2026 in Scarborough.

Sara’s Great Northern Marathon Challenge saw her cover 135 miles on foot across four counties, Northumberland, Durham, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, a distance of five marathons across five days. She ran, jogged, and walked through the moorland, steep ridges, and the rolling hills of northern England, with the support of towns, villages, and local Trefoil Group members along the way.

North of Tyne Trefoil Christmas day out to Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland.  Dressed for Christmas the castle was magnificent.  And the lunch in the cafe pretty good too! 

I think that two of the most important aspects of being part of the Trefoil Guild are getting together with friends old and new, and trying new things, and it was in this spirit that members from across Manchester county Trefoil Guild met together in July to enjoy an activity day. There were a few other crafts available to try, provided my members.  Pat had brought some lovely kits to make greetings cards which were very popular, producing very elegant looking results!  Some members chose to have a go at needle felting, while others were very taken with an art activity provided by Sheila. After lunch we got together for what turned out to be my favourite part of the day - Djembe drumming. 

Ashton Amblers Trefoil Guild enjoyed at weekend at Beamish. Highlights included visiting the hair salon, visiting the old dentist and visiting the chip shop!

Members of Pennine Division Trefoil went to visit London and bought tickets to go inside the Tower of London to see the poppy installation for the 80th anniversary of World War II.

Members of Banff Buchan Trefoil learned about the intricate art of lace making at one of their monthly meetings.
Members were shown many samples of different items of lace which had been made by Heather MacDonald, one of our Trefoil Members

To celebrate the 30th birthday of Liskeard Trefoil they invited all the Cornish Trefoils to join them for a talk about Emily Hobhouse, who was born at St Ive near Liskeard and who did amazing work during the Boer War. A house and museum have been set up in memory of Emily and all the visitors found her story to be very moving. The talk was followed by a salad lunch and lots of puddings. A traditional Cornish cream tea finished off the afternoon.

During May the Falmouth Trefoil held a very special celebration tea party for Joan Ball, a long standing and much loved member of their group, who reached the wonderful age of 100 years. Joan is as sharp as a button, always cheerful and enthusiastic, and is a role model for us all. Joan is a well loved, treasured, and respected member of Falmouth Trefoil and they all raised a glass of Pimms to toast her good health.

Penwith Trefoil celebrated their 40th birthday recently. We had our harvest meal, joined by members of Kerrier, Truro Spires and Falmouth Trefoils.
A special celebration cake was enjoyed by everyone. 
We also celebrated with a birthday lunch at a hotel and consumed a second cake which was cut by our oldest member, Elsteen! 

6 Trefoil Cornwall members went kayaking under the watchful eye of Emma Batten, Girlguiding Cornwall’s qualified canoeing adviser. Perfect weather, high tide and still water enabled them to have an enjoyable time on the water, paddling upstream and back on the Truro River.

What a wonderful time the St Austell Trefoil had at the St Austell Croquet Club recently.  We were warmly welcomed and given a quick lesson in hitting the balls.
Paired up we played 'Golf Croquet’ until one team scored 7 hoops.  We then swapped lawns to play another team.  We were even given tea, cake and pork pie as a super finish to the afternoon.  Certain members became very competitive over the final hoop! 

7 members from Anglesey and Clwyd Trefoils got together to travel up the Kennet and Avon canal negotiating the Caen Hill flight, a flight of 29 locks.

During the day there were craft activities and all of the 90 people attending did some form of craft. Initially there were talks about Patagonia, then lunch then crafts.

Moira Dalmedo and Michelle Dumoulin supported the
Happy Vibes - a group of people affected by emotional
or mental health with a fun afternoon - playing bingo,
singing and dancing.