International Women’s Day at The Rockfield Centre

THE ROCKFIELD Centre (TRC) will be hosting a programme of events for International Women’s Day on Sunday (March 11) from 11am till 4pm.

The drop-in events will include a political engagement workshop and round-table discussion with local councillors and community activists hosted by Oban Women’s March. The theme will be how to encourage more women to participate at a community, local authority, national and international level. After lunch an afternoon of cultural celebration is planned, featuring performances by local writers, singers and musicians.

If anyone would like to perform or has other suggestions for the day, email Kirsty MacDonald on kirsty@therockfieldcentre. org.uk who said: ‘All ideas are very welcome.’

The event is free and child friendly with a children’s corner. Donations are welcome.

Ahead of that event, on Saturday (March 10), a charity ‘sew in’ for SIMBA will take place from 10am to 1pm for sewers and knitters to create blankets for SiMBA memory boxes. SiMBA provides memory boxes to parents who have lost babies during pregnancy or around the time of birth and these blankets will form part of those boxes. Fabric and patterns will be supplied, but donations of fabric are most welcome. Please take along your sewing machine and scissors, or your wool, pattern and needles.

Tea, coffee and home baking will be provided. If you can't sew or knit but would like to help, go along and help the sewers by cutting fabric and supplying refreshments.

Meanwhile TRC Scratch Choir continues to meet, with its monthly session tomorrow (Friday March 9) at 8pm. The song this month is Simple Minds’ 1985 smash Don’t You Forget About Me.

Rhona Dougall, TRC arts co-ordinator, explained: ‘The idea behind Scratch Choir is that anyone can come along, even if they have no experience, and we all learn a song from scratch in two hours. It’s free, fun and informal. No singing on your own, nothing scary - just turn up and learn a song in a relaxed, friendly environment.’

Those who can are asked to make a donation to The Rockfield Centre on the night, but the sessions are free to those who cannot.