Antiques of various kinds

24 May
I went this evening to another WI Group Meeting which had been thrown open to neighbouring WIs from other groups.The speaker was Charlie Ross the antiques adviser whom we know from TV's Flog It and the Antiques Roadshow.The advantage of these larger meetings is that the hostess WI with the help of the Group Convenor can afford to invite speakers who appear either on TV or on the stage. The fact that a lot of these speakers donate their fees to their pet charities is an added feel-good factor to the WIs concerned.Mr Ross entertained everyone and involved us all in a mock auction which revealed how much and how little the audience knew about the antique world.
The annual reports of the WIs in the group were worth listening to and proved once again that the WI enjoys its food, its walks and its meetings on all sorts of varied subjects.Several WIs cater for the general public in their towns and villages so the members have to keep their hygiene certificates up to date: there must be at least one among the caterers involved. I often look around garden fetes and wonder whether these rules are followed by other organisations.The BFWI is planning some more basic hygiene courses and refresher courses--in the north of the county this time. Halls are always a problem for during the day as most halls have resident playgroups but I am sure somewhere will be found.

28 May
Listening to the test cricket commentary on radio I was surprised to catch the commentator discussing the WI calendar. Of course the match was in Yorkshire! Anyway he was explaining that the calendar's appeal had been because it featured real women (like they had at home!) and because the whole idea of posing naked was bucking the nation's image of the WI. How true!
Later in the evening did you watch the Zimmers making their recording which will rocket to the top of the charts for exactly the same reason?Here is a group of people over 70 years old refusing to lie down and conform to what everyone thinks they should be doing at their age. They should be sitting in a circle clutching at crocheted multi-coloured blankets vaguely aware of a TV which is blaring out rubbish.
The real purpose of the programme was to make people think about the standards of care for the elderly in society--physical and mental. It was so sad and I hope WI members took note and will re-vitalise all our mandates on the care of the elderly because we do have them--mandates, I mean. How can these care homes slip through the net of inspection? Can't the families see what is wrong when the old person is literally dying of boredom because his/her body has worn out before the mind? We all know of cases where grandparents bring up children or regularly child-mind. This has always happened after family tragedies but nowadays many are expected to do it in order to meet the mortgage requirements of the parents. Is this a just reward to look forward to for our generation?
As the song says "Let me die before I grow old".

30 May
Good Lord! My husband has looked at Ceefax which is announcing the cast for the next series of Big Brother. It includes a lap dancer, a female MP and a WI member! Please may I be excused from watching that. I bet she wins however they judge these things.