Although the title of our meeting last night may have sounded lacklustre to some, it turned out to be a most interesting one in which we covered a myriad of receptacles for holding things! These included
Bagpipes love them or hate them!
Gasbags (no, not the sort that talks foolishly or excessively!) but this kind which was British built. It was inflated with hydrogen and unfortunately crashed in France en route to India killing all 48 people onboard.
Oxford bags which were first worn by Oxford undergraduates in 1924
Colostomy bags which are now available with covers in all colours and patterns
Drawstring muslin bags for making your own bouquet garni
Nose bags used to prevent feed wastage and to prevent one animal eating another’s ration.
Money bags and purses through time
Teabags – did you know a small amount of plastic is often used in tea bags to glue the bag together. How safe is it and are the bags truly biodegradable?
IV bags
Our host had a great variety of bags on display and she told us a bit about the history of bags.
One of our number had a Tongan shopping bag bought about 35 years ago made of thin strips of wood which were hammered to make them as thin as possible before being woven and then block printed with patterns carved in wood.
Another member of the group had a bag made by ROKA of recycled nylon.
Of course there was much discussion about the alarming rise in the use of supermarket plastic bags and the disposal of them. Dog poo bags too are a cause for concern as well as bags which claim to be made of potato starch and compostable, but in fact remain intact in the compost bin for months.
We can definite recommend this topic for discussion. There was so much more that we didn’t have time to cover in a single meeting.