Club Updates Due to Covid Restrictions
Antrim Floral Art Group
Antrim floral art group have not meet in person from Covid started back in March 2020.
We have kept in contact with our members via telephone, text and emails.
We have also kept in contact with the NIGFAS Committee through their buddy system
which keeps us up to date on what different events are happening in NIGFAS.
We have delivered our NIGFAS Newsletters and Flower Arranger Magazines to our members socially distance of course.
We very much look forward to meeting up again in the near future as a Club
Armagh & District Floral Art Society
Armagh & District Floral Art Society members have been keeping in contact by
telephone and broken into smaller groups where they keep in touch with each other since March 2020.
Door to door delivery of The Flower Arranger Magazine and the NIGFAS Newsletters when
it has given the opportunity to speak to members, socially distanced of course.
We cannot wait to meet up again in person.
Ballymecash Flower Club
Ballymecash Flower Club has been meeting for over 20 years, normally the
3rd Monday of each month in the Cannon Jones Hall, St. Mark's Church Lisburn.
We were supposed to celebrate our Pearl Anniversary in May 2020 but a certain pandemic meant that was not possible.
The Club's committee has now meet a few times using a certain on- line platform-
this has taken a bit of getting used to, especially when it cuts out after 40 minutes!
However we have now got the hang of it and are planning to have our first virtual club night in March.
To date we havr kept in touch with members through the personal (socially distanced ) delivery of the NIGFAS Newsletter,
variety of websites and resources for our members too tap into. We are looking forward
to being able to meet again but in the meantime will continue to keep in touch using email,
hopefully with a few on line demonstrations, and telephone calls/ text messages
Ballymena Floral Art
1 - I send a regular newsletter to members by email and post, generally on a monthly basis.
2 - The committee meet monthly via Zoom.
3 - Committee members are in frequent contact with each other via what’s app.
4 - In Ballymena Floral Art Group we also have our own Facebook page which is updated regularly and floral designs by members are posted.
5 - We also hold a monthly meeting via Zoom for club members, from December 2020, with a demonstration each month by one of our own members.
6. The committee delivered little gift bags with Ballerina tulips and Honesty seeds to all members as a moral booster in October 2020 so they can look forward to a cheery floral display in Spring.
Bangor Flower Club
Leslie Brant has been making You Tube videos and sending the link by email to those on the internet ,
Phone calls have been made to members and several correspondence through the post.
Comber Flower Club
Comber Flower Club had our last Club meeting in our usual Church Hall
in February before Covid changed our faceto face contact.
Since then we have been keepinhg in touch with Club members by email, letters,
phone calls, a Club Newsletter and delivering the NIGFAS Newslwtter and Flower Arranger Magazine.
The Club Committee has been meeting regularly on Zoom and in December 2020
we took a big leap of faith and had our first Club demonstration on Zoom.
To overcome our lack of knowledge we enlisted the help of a member
of Spa presbyterian Church to help uswith the camera work and used their Church Hall
to carry out our demonstrations observing all the covid regulations at the time.
Now that we havre taken the first step we are planning to have virtual club nights in April and May 2021.
Everyone is looking forward to the future and to the time when we can once again meet
in our usual hall and enjoy the friendship and companionship of fellow Club members through flowers.
Cookstown Floral Art Club
Unfortunately Cookstown Floral Art Group have not been able to meet since March 2020 due to Covid 19.
Denise Campbell has been passing on any information to the members
quite a few by WhatsApp, 3 by email and a few by telephone who don’t have internet.
They also keep in contact with the NIGFAS Executive Committee through What's App
Dungannon Flower Arrangement Society
Unfortunately Dunngannon Club has not been able to meet
since March 2020 due to Covid 19 restrictions.
Gwen in her role as Secretary / treasurer has been keeping things ticking over
and has had chats with the mentoring group from NIGFAS and the NGFAS Executive Committee What's App
Greenisland Flower Arrangement Society
Initiatives during social Restrictions
Planned Programme suspended during April and May 2020 including AGM (May)
incorporating 45th Anniversary Celebration.
Use of Zoom for Committee Meetings
Purchase of Zoom Licence to facilitate one session Committee Meetings and Full Club Meetings.
Monthly Club Newsletters distributed by email (posted to four members without internet.)
They contained news/Information from NAFAS & NIGFAS, what’s on next month,
Challenges and Competition for NIGFAS Promoted ,crossword/Puzzles
, Photographs of designs done by members inspired by demonstrations done Sept. to Jan.
NIGFAS Newsletters distributed to members by Committee Members living nearby.
September. Virtual ‘Afternoon Tea Party’ and Fun Quiz taken by Member
October Demonstration by member on Techniques/ Mechanics for larger designs
November Demonstration by Club member – mechanics without floral foam
December Demonstration by member – Christmas Swags and other decorations.
January 2021 ‘Getting to grips with a Hand tied Design.’ Demonstration by member
Affiliation Fees paid by Club (Club Membership Fee holiday for members)
Flower Arranger Magazines subscriptions paid by members along with £10
as requested towards affiliation Fees.
Flower Arranger Magazines distributed to members in person by some Committee members
- 3 x copies posted to members living outside area.
Phone calls and greeting cards sent, as appropriate, to members
Planned programme for 2021 to May postponed, Including Anniversary Celebration.
Members will continue to lead meetings and show techniques and designs via Zoom
Holywood Flower Club
Holywood club has kept in touch with it's members by traditional methods;
regular emails keeping them abreast of what is available on Facebook and youtube.
Also letting them know about all the virtual competitions and how to enter them.
A Christmas time we sent everyone a Christmas Card with a little "virtual hug" token present.
In addition we delivered the Flower Arranger magazineto the members homes and where possible had a quick chat.
We did the same recently with the NIGFAS Newsletter.
Having an older membership we have probably been slower to adapt to the joys of zoom,
but we are getting thereand hope to arrang a couple ofdems by club demonstrators on zoom
for members who are becoming more comfortable with zoom as lockdown has continued.
Watch This Space!!
Londonderry and District Floral Art Society
Since the first lockdown we have tried to hold Facebook live monthly meetings
with a couple of breaks for holidays etc.We have kept in touch with members by phone calls,
Newsletters , up to date information on our Facebook and Website pages.
At Christmas we made a delivery of Spring bulbs to all our members.
We have also seen various members whe delivering Flower Arranger Magazine
and NIGFAS Newslwtters, socially distanced of course.
We encourage all our members to make contact with Committee members
to make sure we are awarecof all news relating to them and ultimately our club.
Lurgan and District Flower Arranging Society
Lurgan and District Flower Arranging Society are currently meeting via zoom
for our regular monthly meeting and along side that
we have ventured further with the technology available
to us and set up a What's App group for all paid up members.
This is proving to be a lifeline for our club with many of
our members posting pictures of their gardens,
plants and flower arrangements along with the odd funny story or joke.
While we are not able to meet in person, these platforms
are a fantastic asset to our club, they are really user friendly
and certainly a great benefit to the Lurgan Members.
Aine Mc Guinness
Chairperson
Mid Ulster Floral Art Society
Mid Ulster have kept in touch with members using a series of newsletters,
and a special Christmas edition incorporating puzzles, recipes and a step by step arrangement.
These have always included an update letter from the chair.
As chair I have sent out another information letter this week outlining plans
· a demonstration on line
· A virtual garden tour
· Newsletter with a "step by step" idea for an arrangement (Easter)
· Club competitions ( make at home and send in photographs)
Committee have had zoom meetings and have a whats app group
Omagh Floral Art Society
It's a year, sincewe have enjoyed faceto face contact with our members in the club setting.
Throughout this period, we have sought to maintain personnal contact with members.
Initially, this was acheived primarily through letters, we then progressed to providing
worksheets and copies of designs for members to work on at home.
Next we reached out by ringing members to obtain their email addresses.
This enabled us to issue updateson what was happening in the floral art
and to support and guide members in accessing Facebook and other sites, which we felt would be of interest
In February, committee members delivered pots of bulbs to each member. These were warmly received.