As always with the write-ups for THLAS get-togethers it’s hard to know where to start what with all the wonderful and lovely things that happened, but hopefully I can remember them all, and truly, if you don’t read any more than this first sentence, it was just to say a huge thank you to everyone who made our 7th birthday celebrations one of the best we’ve had.

I was feeling all nervous in the morning of the 26th October as husband and I waited in my sister’s shop for the cake delivery, just because it felt a while since we’d done anything on a grand scale and this was an event that had been in the planning for quite some time and I so wanted it to all come together. I honestly needn’t have worried. Literally from the moment we put out the A-frame board and pulled the picnic tables into place and spread out the postcards and pens people came to join us with smiles and delight at the idea of sending messages of friendship and connection to Oxford’s Twin Cities on the free and lovingly designed postcards.

All the liaising with Angela from Oxford International Links and Vez from Oxford City Council was coming to fruition before our eyes, and it was lovely to see so many people from all walks of life, generations and backgrounds come to take part. I’d been slightly anxious that our two lovely volunteers, Mark and Bianca, from the Oxford Ideas and Science Festival might be standing around thinking we’d rather overstaffed the event, but in fact apart from a couple of welcome lulls it was so busy with people coming and going, as well as explaining the smorgasbord of celebrations contained in the day, that it was the perfect amount of helpers. It really was a wonderful collaboration that took in our 7th birthday, the Market’s 250th, the IF Oxford month-long festival, as well as the continuation of the Oxford International Links’ postcard project from the previous year.

Some of the highlights of the day were:

Sharing Axel Scheffler’s wonderful Postman Bear postcard featuring the Covered Market’s postbox inspired postbox, drawn especially for the event.

The beautiful and brilliantly made Society birthday cake to match the postbox topper in the market, arriving with Roger the delivery man from The Cake Shop!

Supporter Liz being the first to arrive all the way from Southampton with treats and presents and cards – and award-winning marmalade from her sister and member, Rose!

Spotting Donna (Member No. 406) of Ruby Tuesdays from Droitwich, who had made the trip especially as well!

Meeting Avril (Member No. 946) and husband (I want to say Simon) who despite him having his arm in a sling had made the journey to be there. Avril was in her beautiful postbox-adorned dress for the occasion.

Julie (Member No. 1163) from Abingdon who I recognised, followed shortly after by Madelaine (Member No. 1300) from Winchester, and Sally (Member No. 441) from Hertfordshire.

I genuinely hadn’t expected people to make a special journey so members coming all that way completely bowled me over. Fiona (Member No. 1147) and husband, I think took the prize though for the greatest distance travelled having come all the way from Carlisle in Cumbria!

And even those that couldn’t make the day sent lovely messages of thanks and good wishes for the celebrations and the future of THLAS. What super supportive and brilliant members you all are!

We had a real giggle singing happy birthday to ourselves in the market and sharing out the cake with postcard writers towards the end of the afternoon, and I was delighted to find 85 postcards in our special Twin Cities Postcard Project postbox with such kind and touching messages to all of the seven cities around the world. We hadn’t realised the serendipity until cutting the cake that it was 7 twin cities and 7 years of THLAS.

I should say a special thank you to Scott too for always being a calm presence, general Sherpa, and catering manager, and to Sam for letting me take over her shop and window with event gubbins and birthday cake, for making Twin Cities signs, and sorting stamps if anyone wanted one for the main postbox.

It really was a day to remember set in the heart of Oxford City in the beautiful Covered Market.

A huge thanks again to everyone!

Dinah

Find more photos from the day in the Gallery.