By Jo Bush

The latest sewing machine refurbishing day held in Manchester on 1 November was the perfect opportunity to meet fellow volunteers, share some knowledge and pick up new skills.

Long-term volunteer Victor Turyamureba, my husband Phil and I were joined by members of the Didsbury group and several other volunteers who journeyed from near and far.

Didsbury Baptist church was the perfect venue – the vicar and church members who were in the middle of their own coffee morning were very welcoming. This was a great opportunity for me to meet the supporters that I’ve only ever spoken to on the phone before and to put faces to names.

Some of us managed to completely refurbish their sewing machines, though a few – myself included – didn’t quite make it! Between all the hard work Victor treated us a talk about his life in Uganda. We had so many questions that we almost ran out of time!

Thank you to Malcolm Sargent for helping to organise the day. A special thanks as well to Mavis, who provided everyone with such a wonderful lunch. This was so good it kept me going all the way home to Southampton on Saturday night!

If your group would be interested in hosting a sewing machine day next year then I’d be happy to discuss it with you.