The ladies that were members of their local sewing club were in a tizz.
They were about to welcome a visitor to their little group in the small village of Lower Bogton. This was no ordinary visitor. This woman toured all over the world giving talks about the fashion industry. They had been given talks by dressmakers, outfitters and seamstresses in the past, but this lady was something else. Here was a woman who had designed and made top selling, fashionable clothes for women, internationally. To say she was a celebrity would be an understatement. Strictly speaking, the maximum class number was twenty-five, but the president had managed to sneak a dozen more chairs in at the back. Those who missed out would have to be content with waiting outside to witness the superstar arrive and leave.
The lady in question happened to be taking a short break in her current world tour to visit a cousin in a nearby city. When she received the unexpected and somewhat delightful invitation from the club, she made arrangements to arrive at a nearby town by train. Although more used to talking to large audiences in countries around the world, she thought the visit might be fun.
This was the case, before getting off the train in a nearby town, only to be given the message by a man on a bicycle that owing to the club’s budget restraints they were no longer able to provide the limousine out to the village, as promised. Stunned by this turn of events, the luminary had not sufficiently recovered enough to enquire about buses before the man took off on his bike. She was fuming!
Returning to the station, she was told that she could continue her journey by catching two busses. Owing to the fact that this involved a great deal of time waiting around, she finally arrived at the club’s premises, a small room above the village butcher’s shop, just a few minutes before she was due to give her talk.
At the appointed time, she entered the room and stood behind the table for a few moments, gazing at her audience. She said, “Well, ladies, here’s the thing…” At this, she took a thimble from her purse, put it on the table… and left.
Her ongoing schedule would contain no plans for a return visit.