24-25 February
This weekend I have found myself thinking a great deal about the train crash in Cumbria. Probably this is because I know the area so well. The prettiest road in England leads from Tebay to Kendal: I forget its number. There's a controversial statement for you! I bet you all have your favourite. I admit the road surface is not the best but the views...even with a wind farm over the hill!
Thank Goodness it seems the construction of the carriages appears to have helped to reduce the number of injuries to the passengers or this could have been a major disaster like Hatfield.It is for these sort of events that the county Emergency Planning scheme has been created. The WIs are circulated annually with a request for members to make themselves available in the event of disaster to help in any way they can, be it manning information points or serving refreshments to casualties and service staff. This is also why the WI conducted a survey of village halls and meeting places so that the relief organisations know what is available and who can administer TLC. There was a group of WI ladies serving drinks and light refreshments under a hawthorn tree beside the railway line at Hatfield.
26th February
Local book group today. We read" Stuart: a life backwards" by Alexander Masters which had been recommended in WI Life. We certainly learned a lot about the ills in today's society and about the vicious circle of homelessness. This was the subject of one of the resolutions discarded from the list this January.I made a private vow to buy a copy of the Big Issue next time instead of looking at my feet and hurrying by.
If you want a really poetic novel about modern inner city life, try Jon Macgregor "If No one speaks of remarkable things".
27th February
Great Milk Debate local planning committee met tonight. We have our speakers signed up and publicity from NFWI to help in the campaign. The staff in London are pulling out all the stops on this.This is part of the follow-up to the passing of a mandate at the WI Annual General Meeting and shows how some of the money which the WIs contribute to NFWI as a part of the annual subscription is spent.
It is a shame that the major retailers are very loth to send out speakers to these debates as they should be prepared to defend their position on this issue. Otherwise it looks as though they are not sure of their conduct towards the dairy industry. It will be bad publicity for them not to appear or make some statement.
What a marvellous tool the Web is for finding out about organisations and contacts for speakers and details for outings! A press on a few keys and you can find out the opening hours of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
28th February
Local WI committee met to arrange the next monthly meeting and plan the main fundraising event of the year. No WI can function without raising some funds above the annual subscription.The subscription is supposed to cover 11 meetings per year but the cost of hiring halls and of hosting speakers is more than this. Last year we had a very successful Christmas Tree Festival which engaged the whole of the local community and we wish to repeat this triumph. Coffee mornings help but are not enough so it is a case of everyone putting on their thinking caps.