Page 382 - She's One Crazy Lady!

had such a great team of loyal and reliable volunteers who stayed with us for years. They worked incredibly hard, tackling the most bizarre of jobs – always with much frivolity and laughter in what they called our ‘Sweat Shop’ downstairs – they loved it! Newer, younger volunteers gradually came on board which was great because it meant more pairs of hands at our events but with them being younger they had work and family commitments, so their time with us was restricted.
The ‘to do’ list (I have always relied so heavily on my ‘lists’!) was always long and was added to frequently.
Don’t get me wrong. I was truly loving everything about the charity but we had to be level-headed and think carefully about its future. Ideally, it would have been great to formally employ more people and create additional posts of responsibility, but there was no way we could justify or afford this.
We always had very complementary remarks about how smoothly our events ran which was heartening, but no one ever realised or saw just what went on behind the scenes beforehand. We prided ourselves on such good organisational skills but underneath we were often flapping like ducks in water at the last minute, always keeping a smiley face! We were gluttons for punishment. I knew something had to give.
Early in 2019, I began to think about the future of Crazy Hats – aware that, at some point, we would have to slow down – to wind the charity down and possibly close – in 2020? 2021? Who knew? I knew, whatever route we took, winding down / closing would not be a quick or easy process and, of course, would come as a shock or disappointment to many. Allowing for this kind of time span would ensure the closure would be handled sensitively and unhurried. They were just ‘thoughts’.
I always remember Muriel Wallis, my enthusiastic and bubbly music teacher at St. Peter’s School, telling me when she and her Cavendish Singers came along to Highfields to perform for us at our first Crazy Hats Day, that the day she died, her choir would stop performing – her funeral being their last performance. She said her choir was ‘her baby’ and could never be managed in the way she wanted by another person. A few years later Muriel sadly passed away and at her funeral her choir, for the last time, sang their hearts out for her. It was a very emotional service but a true celebration of her love of music and of the pleasure she had given to so many people – a ‘thank you’ too for her hard work and commitment over many, many years. Muriel’s choir members must have felt incredibly sad, but I would imagine, very proud and respectful of her decision to give her the send-off she wanted.
I thought of Muriel whenever thoughts of closing our charity entered my mind.
Muriel’s wishes were exactly how I felt about Crazy Hats. Although we had terrific support from everyone and a fantastic, supportive team, Crazy Hats was ‘my baby’ and the thought of someone else taking over the reins was never an option for me. There were individuals who would tell me they wanted my job, that they wanted to sit in my chair
“I always remember Muriel Wallis, my enthusiastic and bubbly music teacher at St. Peter’s School, telling me that the
day she died, her choir would stop performing.”
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