Busy March

3rd March
There was a meeting down at the Federation Office for those interested in updating the Bucks website and setting up a team to keep it rolling. Members have lost interest in the discussion page and the campaigns information is almost 4 years out of date.This is not only embarrassing but a shame as there has been a lot of work done within the County recently on the projects promoted by the NFWI, such as the BIG Tidy UP and Violence against Women and the protest against cuts in adult education.You will be pleased to know that all will be rectified soon and we will be informed when the new website is launched.It would be good if WIs could get into the habit of sending snippets in about their own activities. We will probably be able to include photos now. The wonders of modern technology!
It was busy at High Wycombe as the WI shop was open and there were people coming and going. The shop is only open twice a month (the first and third Tuesday) but one can buy from a wide range of cards and stationery, gifts and kitchenware as well as the WI tools of the trade, such as registers and account books.It is worth going down to visit--perhaps to include a walk on the Rye now the weather is improving.
4th March
Our WI speaker tonight was a Wimbledon umpire who told us about her training and experiences on the tennis court. The rules and regulations about dress are as draconian as the poshest public school. The lady was a good speaker and everyone enjoyed her talk. We had quite a long discussion on what to do for our meeting where we have had a cancellation and I was able to put through some of the suggestions from the comments on my last blog. Imagine ...comments actually received! Anyway, there were lots of ideas put forward and I think we know what we are going to do.There was also a good report from one of the members on her course at Denman College where she was experimenting with machine embroidery.We were able to view her lovely work of art even though it is not quite finished. We always like an account of visits to Denman especially if the member went on our WI bursary.
9th March
I went over to a neighbouring village to iron out a long agenda this morning and finished the morning off learning about different species of snowdrops. I have always looked at snowdrops and thought how pleased I was to see them, heralds of Spring etc. but not recognising all the tiny differences there are between the varieties. I went straight home to stare into the faces of our garden flowers and was really pleased to find they were not all the same, and not just short and tall types either.
In the afternoon it was the local WI craft group meeting. The bad news here is that we will more or less have to start again with our sampler because of assembly difficulties.Personally I was disappointed that no one felt they had the time to produce a story sack as requested by the Federation for the Chiltern Show. It has to be the work of three people so that is that, I suppose.
11th March
This evening the Bucks Federation had been invited to attend the Soroptimists International Women's Day event in Aylesbury so two members of the Education and Current Affairs sub-committee went along with a promotional display and information on ACWW (Associated Countrywomen of the World).The Soroptimists seem to have the same concerns as the WI on campaigns such as violence in the home and the dreadful lack of food and facilities suffered by women across the world.We spent time chatting, listening to the Radio Oxford speaker and watching a fashion show but the real highlight was the variety of stalls selling wonderful hats and ethnic handicrafts from around the world and a presentation on the work done in Nicaragua.
12th March
Up and away this morning to the subcommittee meeting of Education and Current Affairs. We have received the full complement of replies from the county MPs about cuts in adult learning opportunities and thanks for our efforts with the campaign against Violence against Women in rural areas. The full report on the survey makes interesting, although depressing reading. Most of the agenda was to do with forthcoming events because we have a lot at the planning stage at present. The trip to the Darwin Exhibition was oversubscribed and it is with relief we can report that the Crosswords workshop will be able to go ahead. One never knows with something absolutely new whether it will appeal to members or not.We all live on tenterhooks until the budget deadline is reached.
After the meeting a physiotherapist joined us for a session on Core Wellness. I cannot describe this as a hands on session, more an-on-your-knees activity. Luckily we knew each other quite well beforehand but we certainly knew each other a lot better afterwards.It was really worthwhile to learn the exercises and was good fun but I don't know whether we would get any takers for a bigger event for the WIs, which is what the organisers want us to do. You know, "cascade", which in this context is an unfortunate word to use! But it is good that people will now talk about problems with pelvic floors which would have been unthinkable only a few years ago.