Hearts and minds

March 12th
The local WI craft group met to compare progress on the making of handbags. Some patterns had been taken from the last issue of WI Life or were adaptations of them. I am not into this felting business because I seem to have spent years trying not to felt my woollens in the wash and to actually aim to produce a thick mat goes against the grain.
I consulted the magazine for an address for some American friends who are coming to UK in May. They need a bed and breakfast near Gatwick and there are several regularly advertised in the back pages. The advantage is that they are tried and tested by WI members and they provide transport to the airport. Some will even garage your car while you are on holiday.
It is Fairtrade Fortnight and this organisation is always dear to the hearts of WI members.It is amazing how many places now stock fairtrade products. It is good to see even the supermarkets have got the message which is to a great extent from the consumers bringing them up short and asking for products to appear on the shelves. WI members do have a voice which supermarkets listen to. Just notice how they are adopting the idea of re-cycled plastic bags after our demonstrations against excess packaging last June.As they say, we can make a difference.

March 15th
Discussion today at the Education & Current Affairs sub-committee about the Let's Cook campaign which is being run through the county federations by the National WI. The idea is to encourage people from disadvantaged groups and youngsters to learn to cook healthy meals and to use their money more wisely. It has had quite a bit of media coverage and we have now two members in Bucks who are trained and ready to go.The courses for obtaining hygiene certificates or renewing them are running this month.We would like to hold some further north in the county as it is a long haul down to High Wycombe.
It is a long time since we held a Health Day so that was suggested but it is always a problem getting subjects to match the time of day so that those who might benefit can attend. Age related problems are less successful in the evening and IVF is no good in the afternoons (I could have phrased that better). Yet one needs to cover a variety of topics to obtain an audience large enough to cover the expenses of speakers and hall.

March 19th
Isn't it difficult these days to find really good craft shops? There used to be a marvellous fabric shop in the town where I live but it has been closed for years now. There is a renewed interest in knitting and crochet which is catered for by the department stores I suppose but the sort of place where you can toddle in with a pattern or a problem zip have disappeared locally. But not in Penzance.....I found a marvellous place up a side street which was selling local organic wools and kits made up by local people to make these popular scarves and handbags.I could have spent a fortune on wools and yarns.
Community life is changing or breaking down completely. We posted a letter to number 68 in a street in a big city some weeks ago. It should have gone to number 64.Because the contents were obviously important the 68 resident returned it via the bank and then to us.This was very kind of her but 68 and 64 had lived either side of 66 for over 6 years and didn't know each other's names. It is this sort of lack of cohesion that I think the WI can and should address. They may not suffer from loneliness but surely it is more comfortable to know a little about one's neighbours, to have some feeling of belonging.

March 20th
The WI Three Counties Quiz night started tonight.This competition has taken place for many years. Bucks, Herts and Beds federations hold meetings in their own counties to find the top 6 teams of 3 to compete against each other in June every year.The first of two meetings in Bucks was held tonight in Buckingham where 31 teams took part from WIs in the northern half of the county. On Thursday those from the south face the same questions.Some years the questions seem very hard but they were OK this year--a nice variety under ten categories. Everyone enjoys these events and shares a laugh at some of the answers.The final used to be broadcast on local 3 Counties radio but isn't anymore.We have some very knowledgeable members and the Suffolk Federation of WIs once appeared on University Challenge and went through to the second round which was quite an achievement.