It's hard to believe that 5 years ago we were in the midst of the first UK Lockdown and it's difficult to think of those days without sadness and remembering the accompanying stress & fear.

But out of that came my move into Zoom classes (my first was just over 5 years ago) and I will be forever thankful for that, and thankful to all of you who have supported me, & the shops/ societies/ groups etc I've been able to teach for from home.

As I wrote last year I'd already taught private virtual lessons but it took this to spur me into bigger classes and many of you into trying a virtual class for the first time.

These classes have meant that many of us were able to stay in touch, keep our businesses going, have an incentive to keep beading even when we didn't feel like lifting a needle, increase our knowledge, learn from others we'd never have met otherwise and, through our beading, spread beauty in an increasing dark world.

They also gave me an education on the importance of 'live' learning and it's been wonderful to meet many beaders who, due to a variety of reasons, were excluded from in-person classes.

Being able to communicate & socialise with others through a shared love has got us through very tough days and I've been privileged to go along those journeys with many of you and have a window into the highs & lows of how the world was feeling evidenced through the moods, colours & conversations brought to classes.

Personally I've learnt so much from so many of you (and that's not counting all the colour combinations I've 'stolen'!) and virtual classes have meant that even in the depths of health crises, and a very long period when I was unable to bead & struggled to leave the house due to eye issues, I was able to turn on the screen and forget the real world for a while.

Live learning being open to more is something I'm passionate about, and will continue to be involved in through my classes/ open beading/crafting sessions for different groups of people so thank you to all those if you who continue to book/ come to them- it means the world to me.