A Cultural Ambassador

Glenice speaks Japanese.
She needed to because she had sixteen trips to Japan, promoting New Zealand, Wool and Wool Craft.

A resilient and driven woman with eight children and a farm to run with her husband; Glenice was, and still is, a weaver in her spare time at home in South Westland.

In 1989 she received a NZ Wool Board Award which paid her expenses to Japan on behalf of the NZ Embassy.

Glenice spoke at fairs and events about New Zealand. She was motivated to share her passion for wool with Japanese craft groups. With a laugh, she says she didn't dare try and teach anything about weaving because the Japanese culture has mastery with silk.

Glenice spent the majority of her time in the northern Hokkaido Prefecture.

Wool Craft was particularly suited to the long winters and she thought it would be a useful thing to teach. She further explains that, in the North, there is snow for five months and the sea freezes as the temperature drops to 40 below.

One of her highlights was experiencing the autumn salmon run.

Glenice was often asked to talk about New Zealand at schools. She marvels at her experiences; she once taught a kindergarten class of 120 5-year-olds how to felt. After a very busy two hours, each of them had brightly coloured NZ wool ball to take home to show their family.

With a New Zealand-Japan Foundation Grant she was able to take her husband Jim to Japan with her. He was a great help; carrying and organising her equipment for events. He also entertained with the men, which saved her another job.

Jim had been part of the occupying force after WWII.
He had always liked the Japanese, their diligence and their strong work ethic had appealed to his farming mindset. He was astonished at the developments since his time in Tokyo during the war when the city had been flattened.

Glenice described her trips to Japan as unpaid working holidays - "I was just a cultural ambassador" she says, as if anyone of us would have the artistry or the tenacity.

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