Going round in circles

25th April
Another very good article about the WI appeared in The Daily Telegraph last week. This featured the new WI formed in Shoreditch which is trendy (according to the title) and yet is still interested in crafts. There is definitely a surge of interest in the WI movement which must be related to the fact that our magazine WI Life now has a huge circulation base which is attracting not only more advertising revenue but also informing every member of what is going on, out there, beyond her village hall. I keep hoping more of the doubters publicly will eat their words.
This morning our area of the Bucks County Council held one of its Getting Closer to Communities sessions. The local WI was invited to attend. The idea was for the organisations within the community to meet and exchange ideas on what was good and what was lacking in their locality.There was a lot of officialdom present using all the right sort of words but even so I think something useful was achieved. The thing that worries me is that it was very similar to the Area Focus Groups that have been being held and also to the local Town Council's Town Plan meeting which is yet to come.Surely one layer could have been cut out? These events are not cheap to run as the carrot of snack refreshments has to be presented.
This evening was great fun. The Leisure and Performing Arts sub-committee held a Hoedown in one of the Aylesbury schools.I think a lot of people cannot tell their left from their right nor clockwise from anti-clockwise but who cares? The supper was suitably American, the caller knew what he was trying to get us to do and the atmosphere was great. I suppose this committee has got to the end of its regional evenings and we will be able to start again with a Caledonian Evening. I for one look forward to it.

30th April
Today was the event which has been occupying the minds of a small Working Party for several months--The Literary Lunch at Cheddington. This was the fourth in a series but it was slightly different in that the WI Catering Committee was not doing the refreshments. We called in the professionals which was a blessed relief to the caterers but meant that the price had to go up.Unfortunately none of the WI caterers can be expected now to lift the pans of a size necessary for over 150 diners so it will have to be either outside caterers or a simpler meal. When we started, we wanted to offer something really special, something different and we did! WI catering is second to none.
Anyway the meal today was excellent, plentiful and hot.I was impressed by the serenity in the kitchen. The hall manager is one of the best in the County and the room looked really attractive.Our speaker was very good too. Salley Vickers is a well known novelist, highly thought of in literary circles, a keen supporter of the WI and an entertaining speaker.She will be a hard act to follow.

1st May
My poor little car struggled down to High Wycombe because it was full of everything but the kitchen sink from the day before. It was the first meeting of the new 2 year term of the Education&Current Affairs sub-committee. This is a small group which could do with some more volunteers. It has an interesting remit: but not the domain for blue stockings. What WI sub-committee is? At the moment we are working on an outing to the Arboretum at Westonbirt and a day event called A Taste of Poland which unfortunately is taking place in Bucks --not in Poland. Of course the visit to the Terracotta Army was arranged by this committee too so there is off-site work as well as keeping up with NFWI campaigns when we have to write letters to MPs or Councils for this, that and the other.Come and join us, please!