On Friday 22nd March we said a very sad farewell to one of our founder members of the Great Bookham Belles WI – Carol Garrett. Our WI is like a close family and it certainly showed when we asked for volunteers to help decorate the Barn Hall in the Village for her wake at the request of Carol’s husband Nick. He knew that she loved being a Belle and was so involved in crafts that he felt it fitting that we should use some of the wonderful bunting made by his wife and her friends in our WI. So many of her friends from the Crafts and Laughs group offered help and support and we decorated the hall in glorious colours. Instead of buying funeral flowers we gave beautiful terracotta pots adorned with fabulous flowering bulbs so that the Garrett family could give them away to close friends and family to keep and plant in Carols memory. I would like to say a special thank you to Scruff and Jacky for making the pots look so magnificent. The Garrett family really appreciated them and loved giving them away.
Carol is the first Belle that we have had to say goodbye to and it was so emotional for all who knew her, she was a beautiful shining light who was so committed to us as a WI, she always baked, she always volunteered, she always supported events and her face lit up every time she smiled – she was very glamorous! She was crafty and clever and attended our Crafts & Laughs groups and any extra curricular craft activity that she could, bunting making, jolly jars etc. As a result we have decided that in her memory we will name one of our bursaries The Carol Garrett Bursary so that someone in our WI can attend Denman WI college to learn a new skill or craft and enjoy making things the way she did.
