Yantanabie Women: Remembrance and Thanksgiving

They came by bus and car, on a freezing cold morning, to the Yantanabie Hall, these women of the West Coast.  It was The Biggest Morning Tea and the tables groaned under the weight of scones, cream-filled sponge rolls, cream puffs and cakes and hotwater was poured into teacups from the ancient fire urn.  The walls were decorated with old photos, floral arrangements around deadwood and hessian bags, memorabilia of the 50's and 60's.  There were stalls too - children's clothes, home made jewellery, wrought iron art work, home produce, patchwork quilting, floral arrangements.  Women sat in small circles near the heaters with their craft and knitting. Led by the local art teacher, some painted shopping bags.  The Yantanabie Hall, with no ceiling and a holey roof and a claw hammer door knob, opened wide her arms in welcome; safe in the knowledge that restoration was on its way.  The gleam of a new roof beckoning, the promise of a new ceiling....what once was dead and left lying in a graveyard of buildings turned to rubble, will now live again.
Remembrance with thanksgiving.
We all trooped outside and gathered around the single stone memorial to the original Yantanabie Schoolhouse, to pay tribute to a past resident, who was a great netball player in her day, but who had been lost recently to cancer.  The 3 pink helium filled balloons were released in remembrance...and it is Trinity sunday week.  The rest were tied to a waiting bonfire pile as we remembered those whose journey to Christ came through cancer.  We remembered and gave thanks.
And then we happily returned to the hall, where memories of dances and parties added to the chatter over meat and vegetable soup and damper for lunch.