SnB heart pillows for cancer patients
BIRGIT S .
I still remember my very first AWC meeting , a day in August of 1994 , at the home of M . J . D . near the Alster . I was warmly greeted by a group of eight American women . The subject was designing the layout of Currents , for which I was immediately drawn in . At that time , it was still done in black and white , not like today ‘ s magazine in color and distributed via the internet . One other member I met on my first day and still remember clearly was Becky T . She was introduced to me as “ our film guru .” She was — and still is , after all these years — the backbone of the Film Club .
In the early days , most members were the spouses of American businessmen being sent to Germany by their companies , as was our host , M . J . When her husband was transferred to Australia , they had to leave us . I was lucky to visit them in Melbourne during my holiday trip . Our members quite often were professional women in their own right , but they usually had no work permit for Germany . You got to know the “ ladies of leisure ” at lunch meetings , sometimes coupled with charity raffles , and visits to art exhibitions or day excursions around Hamburg .
The Film Club also became very popular . Applications to attend screenings at international film festivals earned some members status as film journalists . With their accreditation , they could attend the Berlinale , the Hamburg Filmfest , and far-away festivals in London , Cannes , and Tribeca . The written movie reviews are published in The Berlinale and Filmfest Hamburg special film issues , featuring also in-depth background information of the cinema scene .
Looking back over more than 25 years , the American Women ‘ s Club of Hamburg has offered me a wealth of different experiences and given me the opportunity to meet very smart and competent women who are always ready to help and lend support . I very much appreciate the warmth and friendship that has been offered over the years .
During a time when a considerable number of companies had to return back home , our membership changed . Young American women arrived , following the German boyfriends they had met in the USA . Soon they started families here . This increased the demand for Moms & Bumps and morning outings . But more working women also joined , and evening activities increased . Stitch ‘ n ’ Bitch has developed as an enthusiastic group combining fun and charity work .
Beck T . and Birgit S ., accredited journalists at Filmfest Hamburgh