Meet the Shepherd’s Bush community club fighting loneliness, one stitch at a time
Interview with Bridget Harris, founder of knitting group ‘The Purls.UK’
One of the largest sections of society to suffer as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic are the elderly and vulnerable that have been forced to isolate for months, without any social contact outside of their home. Loneliness is already a huge problem among these members of the community, with few opportunities to socialise available even before strict distancing guidelines came into effect.
Long before anyone had ever heard of the virus now known as COVID-19, Bridget Harris had been on a mission to fight loneliness and had set up a weekly knitting club whereby anyone can come along on a Wednesday, knit clothes and most importantly: have a chat. Not content with just tackling one issue, Bridget had the idea that the clothes knitted in the club be given to the homeless and their pets.
“I was distributing and displaying health information at a Homeless Lunch Club and thought how lovely it was to get a hot meal at lunchtime but felt dismayed that after the hot meal, people would have to go back out onto the streets.”
“That’s when the idea for The Purls.UK was born. Loneliness and isolation are one of the biggest reasons why a person’s health deteriorates, I decided to start a friendship club where we would help the street homeless and their pets stay warm by knitting and crocheting warm clothes for them.”
“We are pearls because we have all come out of our shells and got together to make warm clothes for the street homeless and their pets, that’s why the spelling is the purls.?”
A close knit community
The socialising doesn’t stop at the weekly meetings, as monthly social outings and holidays also get celebrated by the members.
“We have at least one social outing a month, our launch party and also our Christmas celebration get together where we all cooked a dish and shared from our different cultures.”
Members come from all over the community, and the numbers are growing.
“We’re 50 and growing, some of the ladies knit at home because they work during the day. Plus, a growing number of followers on Instagram which is very encouraging. They are a variety of wonderful people, from all cultures and walks of life, who like to socialise and help others.”
Socially distanced knitting
As with most clubs, The Purls.UK had to adapt when social distancing guidelines came into effect.
“The club was affected like everyone else we could no longer meet together at our chosen venues, so we all knitted at home and stayed in contact by text and video messaging.”
“Our socials will be a picnic at a local West London community gardens, if the weather stays bright and sunny. ?”
The future of The Purls
We would like the club to grow and roll out across London and maybe beyond, venturing into different parts of the UK. We are going to try raising some finances so that we can have a good supply of wool, marketing materials, cover our communication costs and finance for project coordination.
Interested in joining the club but not a natural-born knitter? Anyone is welcome to join.
“I knitted baby clothes for my children many years ago, they are both adults now with children of their own. The members have different skills levels– some people have joined as absolute beginners.”
“If anyone has isolated or lonely family members, neighbours or friends please do let them know about joining The Purls.UK. Also they can see what we do on Instagram @thepurls.uk.”
