Principal's Welcome

The first half of the term has absolutely flown by, a clear testament to the vibrant activity here at the Guild. It's difficult to highlight just a few of the many wonderful events we've held, but I must offer my thanks.

I'd like to acknowledge Lisa and Mel for the excellent Poetry & Art exhibition in our gallery, and Barry Clark for his fascinating lecture on The Northern Art Workers’ Guild and its numerous connections to Wilmslow. I was personally delighted to learn about the common ethos shared by our two Guilds.

We are continuing to expand our offerings with more one-off events, including activities away from the Guild. We have a day trip to York scheduled a week before Christmas, and we will be offering more outings in the New Year. If you know of a fantastic speaker or have an idea for a special activity, please let us know.

I look forward to welcoming you all back after the break.

With best wishes, Paula

Join Our Team: Teachers and Lecturers Wanted

We are seeking fun, dynamic, and enthusiastic teachers and lecturers to deliver interesting day and evening courses at the Guild.

Requirements:

Subject expertise

Excellent communication and teaching skills

An appropriate teaching qualification for the subject

If you know someone who may be interested, please ask them to send their CV to charitysupport@guildlifelonglearning.org.

A Gentle Appeal: Considerate Parking

Regrettably, we have experienced a few parking issues in and around the Guild during the first half of the term.

We kindly ask that you park with care and be mindful of others when using our on-site facilities or parking nearby. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated and is essential to creating a safe and accessible environment for everyone.

Introducing Cromford Mills Artist Residential, a two night all inclusive, residential sketching and painting weekend with Anna Riordan. 27-29th March 2026. 

Prices are for the whole Art course - teaching and drawing and painting activities on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4pm plus an evening session on Friday and Saturday. 

To find out more details click HERE

The Sleeping Beauty Pantomime

Thursday 11th- Saturday 13th December (including matinee)

^{📍 The Guild Theatre, 1 Bourne Street, Wilmslow SK9 5HD}

We're looking forward to our fun-packed Pantomime this Christmas. We are delighted to be presenting The Sleeping Beauty by Norman Robbins, the time-honoured fairytale of the beautiful young princess who, cursed by the wicked fairy Carabosse, sleeps for a hundred years until awoken with a kiss by a handsome young prince.

We are also looking to borrow or hire a spinning wheel for the show if you can help?

Tickets are available at http://www.wgp.org.uk/ and https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/wgp

Your feedback makes a difference! If you've enjoyed your time learning with us at the Guild, please take a moment to leave a Google review. You can scan the QR code, pictured or click this link

https://g.page/r/CT66ncAUccvpEBM/review

It really helps us!

Thank you 👌

Ready to dance your way to fitness? Zumba with Danielle is a fun high-energy workout that combines easy-to-follow dance moves with Latin and international music. No dance experience required—just bring your energy, a smile, and a willingness to move!

Each class is designed to:

✨ Burn calories while having fun

✨ Boost energy and confidence

✨ Improve coordination and flexibility

✨ Create a supportive, feel-good community

Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned dancer, every class is about letting go, moving to the beat, and enjoying yourself. It’s not about perfection—it’s about participation!

Come for the workout, stay for the party. Let’s dance, sweat, and smile together!

What an incredible achievement!

We at The Guild were so happy to support the Knutsford Bake Club's 11th annual Knutsford Bake Club Macmillan Coffee Morning. They raised a staggering £3,700, bringing their total for Macmillan Cancer Support to an astounding £17,200.

Along with other wonderful local businesses like Clarity Jewellers, Zapatos, Tatton Perk, York Organics, The Curzon Knutsford, Booths, and Groobox, we were honored to donate a raffle prize for such an important cause.

A special round of applause for Hannah Jewellery at the Wilmslow Guild for her hard work in organising this fantastic event. What a great way to mark the 35th anniversary of Macmillan's iconic Coffee Mornings!
 

ESOL goes AWOL!

For our final class of the summer, the ESOL students escaped the classroom with their tutor Alison, and enjoyed a lovely, sunny walk from the Guild to Black Lake and then on to Lindow Moss. We shared a picnic with a beautiful view of Rossmere Lake and learnt the history of Lindow Man, all the while chatting in English, practising some new vocabulary and enjoying the company of classmates from around the world.

Last year the two ESOL classes have been very well attended by over 30 students from a diverse range of countries including Japan, Hong Kong, Colombia and Ukraine. The students practise English for two hours a week, completing a variety of speaking, listening, reading and writing tasks. Every lesson also has a grammar focus, with plenty of opportunity to consolidate skills with exercises both in class and at home.

We are now offering two levels of ESOL: Beginner/Elementary (A1/A2) at 11am - 1pm on Mondays and Intermediate (B1) at 9am - 11am on Mondays.

Book Your Creative Boost!

Ready to transform your ideas into visual art? Our courses offer a path to unlock your creative potential and develop essential skills.

In Portraiture, you'll explore drawing and painting with pencils, watercolours, and acrylics. Learn to craft compelling faces using tracing templates and master facial proportions, hatching, and capturing shadows.

Join Sketch Club to acquire the essential skill of sketching. This quick method teaches you to capture the essence and three-dimensional structure of any object, which is vital for planning your ideas before painting or drawing. All you need is a simple pen or pencil!

Both courses are highly practical and perfect for anyone looking to develop skills in drawing and painting.

Book your spot in Portraits, Sketch Club, or both today and begin your artistic journey!

Our Gardening Club enjoyed a very successful visit to two quite different but equally outstanding gardens in July.

The first, Wildegoose nursery where we enjoyed lunch, is a specialist nursery in a historic walled garden in Shropshire.

We also visited John Massey's garden at Ashwood Nurseries which is regarded as one of the finest private gardens in the UK, set against the backdrop of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal.

Many plant purchases were made by members at both gardens and survived the coach trip back to Wilmslow. Our grateful thanks to Jane for organising this and numerous previous trips. After many years she has decided to step down and we look forward to someone taking her place in this rewarding role.

🌿 Help Our Club Bloom: Join the Committee!

Our Club is run entirely by volunteer members, and we'd love for you to join us! We currently have two exciting roles where your help would be invaluable:

1. Training for Lecture Secretary

Interested in curating a brilliant programme of talks? Heather Holmes needs someone to train up to take over this role. She’ll be planning the '26/'27 season soon, offering a perfect chance for you to shadow her and learn the ropes firsthand. Chat with Heather if you’re interested!

2. Organiser for Garden Visits

Jane Thornton has stepped down, so we need someone to take on the rewarding task of arranging those wonderful days out to beautiful gardens. The Committee already has some initial ideas for next year's trips!

Don't want to go solo? Both roles can easily be shared with a friend! Teamwork makes it easier and more fun.

Even if you don't want a Committee role, an extra pair of hands for general help is always appreciated. Please speak with Heather (for the Lecture role) or any Committee member if you'd like to help!

Creative Writing Super Stars ✨

Success just keeps coming to our amazing students at the guild! Arthur John, a loyal member of the Monday afternoon Creative Writing Workshop, is putting the finishing touches to the first of his series of books for children all based around the adventures of young 'Miss Chocolate Eclair'. The stories are based on those Arthur told his two daughters as bedtime tales many years ago, but he only started writing a couple of years ago - in his late eighties - and once his manuscript was finished he teamed up with Mary Bland, one of our gifted art students, who is illustrating the books. Mary and Arthur are a genuine dream team, often to be found in the guild cafe poring over the project, and we are so excited to see it unfold! 

Arthur cares devotedly for his wife as well as working on this project, and working on the stories has been a wonderful experience for him, giving him 'me time' and a chance to make friends locally after they moved to the area to be near family recently. Mary is a retired teacher, and loves to write and illustrate her own children's books too. When she is finished with Arthur's project, she will be refining her own picture story about 'a little bear who won't go to bed!' for younger readers. 

We are so happy that both Arthur and Mary  can put their obvious talents to such fantastic use... we are proud of you!

From Autobiography to Award-Winning Thrillers: Meet Anna Rains

A loyal and dedicated member of the Guild for Lifelong Learning.

It was 2004 when I first found the Guild, beginning with Creative Writing under the expert guidance of Sue Dodd and staying with her until she retired.

During the time between 2004 and now I have attended numerous classes and subjects – from Bridge lessons, water colour painting, craft classes – but always returned to writing.

There was a gap a few years after Sue left, and I found Gill Rossini. Two awesome women who encouraged and inspired me to tackle more complicated challenges.

Back in 2004, I thought I could write, something I rapidly realised was not the case, however, undaunted I took on the task of writing a biography about my extraordinary life and that of the very eccentric family I come from.  To be fair, it never really intended it to get published. It was written so theta my grandchildren and other members of my family could learn about the remarkable family I have descended from. They may believe they come from a normal family – but they don’t.

Sixty years of my life went into that book, now titled, ‘From a Bus to a Haunted Farmhouse’, and last year I extended it into the next twenty years to bring it up to date. I always tell people it is funny, because who wants to read a sad or boring book!

Since then, helped and encouraged by the extremely competent Gill Rossini, I have just completed my sixth book.

After the biography, updated in April last year, I have written a series of Ghostly Takes and Curious Stories from England – at least a couple of them are true or have truthful bits in them.

Then came, ‘In the Woke of Betrayal', a thriller about the kidnap of a child. Followed by, ‘The Senator’s Mistress, the woman who knew too much’, (the edition with the gold dragon bracelet on the cover). Both won, small awards, in an international competition.

And now my latest, ‘The Chateau of Lost Souls’. Completed on Saturday 18 October, so very new. A psychological thriller set in a restored chateaux in France. The chateaux is extremely haunted. This thriller could be called a Murder Mystery in reverse. Not just one murder, but eight people invited, all of whom have one thing in common, they have all killed someone – and got away with it. The owner, whose own brother was murdered and the killer never found, sets out to seek revenge. A complete cross section of people and characters who make up this intense story, are invited to the chateaux, now a world class hotel, for a murder mystery experience, not realising they are the intended victim.

Each one is put on the hot seat where the owner interrogates them to confess their crimes.  The twist is that they never see who is behind the sound system.

Back to the Guild. If it hadn’t been for Gill in particular, I would never have mastered the art of becoming a published author. She is an inspiration, full of so many ideas, always challenging and always positive and fun.

So, my suggestion to anyone who has ever thought ‘they have a book in themselves, or poetry or any other kind of writing, is to sign up to Gill Rossini’s classes, which are great for anyone, from complete beginner to advanced and more experienced writers. These can be life changing and, like me, set you off on an absorbing hobby – or career.

A fabulously creative start to the term for our ceramics classes

The Guild would like to say thank you to our lovely volunteers: Jo, Carole and Michelle. They kindly gave up some of their time over the summer holidays to help tidy, clean and organise our unruly pottery studio.
The Guild relies on the goodwill of students to help ensure we run effectively. Volunteers are always very welcome and there are a variety of roles that students can get involved with.
If you think you might be interested in volunteering at the Guild, please contact Ali or Paula who will be very pleased to hear from you.

One-off EVENTS Calendar, click on the titles to be re-directed to more information and booking.

8th November

Jewellery school- Ring Making Day With Mia

Calligraphy -Season’s Greetings (Cards)

15th November

Cinema- Italian At The Cinema

Art- Life Drawing

16th November

Jewellery school- Winter Wonderland

9th December

Jewellery School - Elves in the Workshop

Thursday 11th December to Saturday 13th December

Pantomime- The Sleeping Beauty by Norman Robbins

13th December

Jewellery School - Make your own Christmas presents

18 December

Coach trip to York Christmas market and festival

25 December

Christmas Day Lunch for those who would otherwise be spending the day alone

🎄 Get everyone together for a magical day out 🎄

NHS Clinical Game Jam

We are thrilled to have recently hosted the pioneering NHS Clinical Game Jam—a brilliant example of the innovative, community-focused events taking place at Wilmslow Health Centre.
Organized by the visionary Arun, this event brought together clinicians, game designers, and developers to co-create playable prototypes aimed at ✨ transforming health through innovation, one game at a time. ✨

We are proud to offer our facilities to local community groups, charities, and businesses running not-for-profit programs that directly benefit our local residents. Contact us today to inquire about availability and how we can support your next event!
 

Gallery@theGuild Our next exhibition

You're all invited to the private view

A huge thank you to wonderful Alison who submitted an article about the Guild to local magazine, The Link. Her article really highlights that lifelong learning is still as popular today as it was 100 years ago.

Wilmslow: Craft, Creativity, and Crime!

What a fantastic night on Thursday, 16th October, with a huge turnout for our double-header event!

Author Barry Clark shared his deep knowledge of the Arts & Crafts movement in the North West:an untold story, celebrating the beautiful local artefacts and the early recognition of talented women.

Things got excitingly dark! Our "Meet the Murderists" panel, featuring Sarah Hilary and Chris McDonald, spilled the secrets on how they craft their gripping crime mysteries.

It was a brilliant blend of learning and fun! These events are vital for building a stronger, happier community and advancing local education. Thank you to everyone who joined us!

Read the full story here! https://guildlifelonglearning.org/news_items/1804