Monday 27 July 2015

TABI 10th Anniversary Conference 2015: Summary

Spiral Tarot


Well ! I had NO idea that so much time had passed so quickly and that I have been silent for over 4 weeks; I am so sorry, my dear friends - you'll find the tissues to dry your tears right over there.

I had got sucked into the vortex that is the end of term, feeling like a visitor in my own home as I spent so much time away from it at various school events - two separate sports days, a 'Wimbledon' and other stuff that I've already forgotten; then weekends currently tend to be full of child/cricket club-related activities; and then I lacked inspiration, and thought that perhaps the knitting project posts were all a bit samey and clinical; and then of course I have actually been away !

As in, got on a train and went somewhere !

I know ! It felt odd to me too, I have become such a sad homebody who uses too many exclamation marks, it seems !

But I went to TABI's 10th Anniversary Conference, held at the Aston Conference Centre; superbly organized by my Good Twin Alison Cross and the Treasurer Caroline Blackler, all I had to do was eat, drink, socialize and take photos - I was quite open that I wasn't there for the educational aspects, although some of it seeped in despite my best intentions: Alison's own talk on how to use elemental dignities to aid interpretation of reversed Court cards, Jane Struthers' very useful talk and spreads on relationship readings; and my friend Andy Boroveshengra's introduction to reading Lenormand, which I am convinced made it appear deceptively simple, but is actually just the mere tip of the iceberg. Caitlin Matthews' sung blessing at the beginning of her talk added an unexpected New Age touch to the Conference, and ensured everyone was awake ...

I came away with quite the swag bundle, as you can see:




A custom souvenir tarot bag from AniaM:




 And lastly - and which connects my tarot to my knitting - the thoughtful thank you gift I received for doing nothing:























A gorgeous yarn bowl from the Stone Penguin Pottery.

But the best part of the whole weekend was making so many new friends, and meeting up with old ones:


The Good, The Eviller and The Evil Twins