Tarves Guild
TARVES GUILD celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2017 and it is still going strong. The Guild is no longer the 'Woman's Guild', simply 'The Guild', and men are warmly welcome as members. Meetings are held in the church on the 1st Thursday of each month from October – May (none in January) and we have a wide and varied programme each session. Due to Covid-19 meetings are currently suspended. Because of the current circumstanc On a personal note, and as travel restrictions eased, Wilf & I decided to venture into England for a short break in Shropshire – a relatively sparsely populated rural area. So, what happened - but a small outbreak of coronavirus at a camp not too far from the small hamlet we stayed in. We then travelled to West Yorkshire to check on our eldest son Simon, who has a learning disability. We found him coping well and was his usual cheery self. Simon plays for a disability football team and those who remember him from our time in Tarves, may be interested to know that he was selected to play for the Mencap England team last year for a 5 a side international tournament in Switzerland. He was also due to attend trials for the England team for the Special Olympics but, like so many other events, this too has been cancelled. Wilf is missing playing the church organ, although he keeps his fingers active on our piano at home but he says to expect a few “bum” notes on the organ pedals when Church services can finally restart. We are both missing seeing members and friends in Tarves, and we wish you all well in the current crisis. Jean Jowett (and Wilf), Fyvie History The Church Woman’s Guild (as it was known then) started on 8 June1917 when Rev A.W. McNair presided over a meeting in the Melvin Hall. It was agreed to form a Woman’s Guild in Tarves in conjunction with the congregation and The Countess of Aberdeen was appointed as Hon. President. Over 100 women met for that meeting and continued to do so in the years ahead. Since the early years the numbers attending the monthly meetings has decreased but Tarves Guild still is one of the largest in the area with over 30 members subscribing each year. Centenary Tarves Guild’s 100th Birthday was celebrated in November 2017 with an afternoon tea party in the church when neighbouring Guild members from Barthol Chapel, Methlick and Udny & Pitmedden joined us along with Mrs Meg Macdonell, widow of former minister, Rev Alasdair Macdonell, and former minister Rev Les Barrett with his wife Ruth. Long Service Certificates were also handed out by our minister, Rev Alison Swindells, to 9 members with a total of 334 years between them. There is a display board in the church with interesting reports about Tarves Guild events over the past 100 years. |