Help on tap at Dudley pub as landlady Lisa sews wash bags for frontline workers
The owner of a Dudley pub has turned to sewing during lockdown – in order to make wash bags for frontline NHS staff.
Lisa Sutherland, who runs the Britannia Pub, in Wollaston, with her partner, wanted to help make a difference to others after the Government put in place strict measures ordering pubs to close their doors.
First Lisa decorated the closed pub with their blue and white Christmas lights, which were lit up every Thursday to coincide with the Clap for Carers initiative. She then asked local children to draw rainbows so they could display them in the pub window's during lockdown.
But Lisa, 32, has now turned her focus into sewing material wash bags for frontline workers during the pandemic – a skill she only learnt during the lockdown.
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In total, she has made 1,300 bags which have been distributed to care homes, hospitals, GP surgeries, supermarkets and the NHS Nightingale Hospital in Birmingham.
She said: "I wanted to help – normally we do a fundraising day or a family fun day, but with the building shut we can't do that. I saw on Facebook people posting about making these wash bags for frontline workers.
"I thought it would be an easy task having a go at it. I had a sewing machine off my mother-in-law. I had to watch YouTube videos initially before I learnt to sew in a straight line!
"I have spent all day, every day for the last 16 days making the wash bags. I couldn't have done it without people donating fabric, ribbon, even down to cotton for the machine, every single thing has been donated to me.
"It is a relief being part of something that makes a difference – as together is the only way we are going to get through this."
She added: "I feel like a fraud when people tell how amazing it is what I am doing – I have the easy job compared to those on the front line."
Lisa has a contact-free drop-off point for materials behind the pub in High Street, Wollaston. You can also email sportsbar16@gmail.com
