20th November
At Lacey Green Memorial Hall today BFWI held a fund-raising lunch for ACWW (Associated Country Women of the World), the organisation to which the WI is affiliated.This is where the Pennies for Friendship collections which the WIs make, go every year. It is a shame that many members know nothing about the work that this worldwide organisation does for rural women wherever they live.Recently BFWI has been collecting for a self-help scheme in Kenya and has raised over £3000 for this group. The money raised today was the conclusion of this particular appeal so we will need to choose another one for the next year. Margaret Mackay who is the UK member of ACWW in charge of projects spoke today about the set-up of the ACWW and described the different kinds of good projects it carries out and then finished with pictures from our adopted scheme. We saw the women planting seeds for fruit and vegetables, setting up irrigation networks and harvesting their crops for home consumption and for sale.We enjoyed listening to Liz Eaton from Oxfordshire Federation of WIs talking about her sponsored cycle ride around Mount Kenya to raise funds for an orphanage for girls near Nairobi.Presently it is caring for 32 girls but wants to expand to hold another 80.This is an on-going project because girls are not valued in Kenya and therefore abandoned at the roadside when they are orphaned: their parents are often victims of HIV/Aids. The boys are more likely to be looked after by grandparents as future workers to bring money into the family.Both speakers made us feel privileged to be where we are with our families well-fed and healthy, living under a roof and able to go to school. If you want to know more about ACWW or become a member go to www.acww.org.uk and about the orphanage visit Liz Eaton's website. Liz will also speak at meetings within a reasonable distance of Oxford.
25th November
It was quite entertaining to be asked to promote the WI at the matinee performance of Calendar Girls at the new theatre in Aylesbury. Actually most of the audience were already members, some from as far afield as Hertfordshire and Cambridge so it was really a case of chatting to friends while waving a great big yellow sunflower in one's hand.I think the evening audiences would be more promising for recruitment purposes. Can you imagine that 4 women I spoke to didn't even know the connection between the calendar and the WI!
In the evening I went along to the meeting about the possible closure of 14 libraries in Bucks. Poor old Andrew Carnegie must be turning in his grave! I think the WIs ought to take this issue to heart and see what the members can do to help. It is no use saying it must not be considered as the savings have to be made. We must make the best job of it that we can and bring positive ideas to the next stage of these public consultation meetings.
Monday 29 November 2010
Tuesday 16 November 2010
Fighting talk
15th November
There's no doubt about it. The WI is hitting the headlines these days... and all for the right reasons.Today there is a snippet about how the WI is joining once more with the National Farmers' Union to renew the fight for the dairy farmers. You remember the Great Milk Debate events a couple of years back. Perhaps we will have to organise some more meetings in areas different to those where past meetings were held.This time Sainsburys is voicing its concern that the price of milk to the farmer is so low that 3 dairy farmers go out of business every day.If the WI is continuing to promote local produce, it must support this industry.
Still on food-- what about the coverage of the Jam Festival at Denman College? We had a half page spread on that in the national Sunday papers written by William Langley which was excellent publicity for the WI as it is today. The sub-title expressed his admiration for the WI which he says has "a knack for preserving tradition while moving with the times".We can forgive the puns, if he delivers the message. I wonder how many members from Bucks entered the competition. At least they wouldn't have had the difficulties in getting their entry to Abingdon that those from the outposts would have suffered. Just how does one wrap a jar of jam to go through the post?
Earlier in the week there was a reported spat between a Shropshire WI and the Elfin Safety people working for Network Rail. Apparently WI members had been maintaining a station platform garden for years and had suddenly been stopped in case one of their number fell on the line. Naturally the members were outraged but it turns out that Network Rail does in fact encourage WIs to undertake these activities and has been known even to pay the insurance for the members, provided they follow their safety guidelines but some of these Shropshire lassies were over 90 years old! Age-ism raises its nasty head again. Gardening obviously keeps one fit.
10th November
The local WI discussion group met tonight.We discussed the WI campaign Care not Custody as well as we could with no real expertise amongst us.We are thinking of inviting a magistrate or someone familiar with the Courts to come along to talk informally with us.Obviously one must be in favour of improving the system so that the unstable criminal gets treatment rather than become lost in a prison, for everyone's sake. But how can this be done now that the psychiatric institutions have been closed and the sufferers are released into community care? And how can the WI alter this situation?
The latest issue of WI Life contains the resolutions for selection for the AGM in 2011 and the voting form for the WI members. We must think when we vote which resolution we can best promote and stand a chance of making a difference. Sometimes just writing to MPs is not enough because what we are asking for is too huge even for them; it is a lifetime's mission. I think the care for the mentally ill who have committed a criminal act, for whatever motive, falls into that category.
Something outside the resolution list which we could all get our teeth into is the proposed closure of public libraries or the idea of making them in to community-run volunteer establishments. Watch out for consultation meetings in your area and keep your eye on this local issue--as well as the high speed train, of course!
There's no doubt about it. The WI is hitting the headlines these days... and all for the right reasons.Today there is a snippet about how the WI is joining once more with the National Farmers' Union to renew the fight for the dairy farmers. You remember the Great Milk Debate events a couple of years back. Perhaps we will have to organise some more meetings in areas different to those where past meetings were held.This time Sainsburys is voicing its concern that the price of milk to the farmer is so low that 3 dairy farmers go out of business every day.If the WI is continuing to promote local produce, it must support this industry.
Still on food-- what about the coverage of the Jam Festival at Denman College? We had a half page spread on that in the national Sunday papers written by William Langley which was excellent publicity for the WI as it is today. The sub-title expressed his admiration for the WI which he says has "a knack for preserving tradition while moving with the times".We can forgive the puns, if he delivers the message. I wonder how many members from Bucks entered the competition. At least they wouldn't have had the difficulties in getting their entry to Abingdon that those from the outposts would have suffered. Just how does one wrap a jar of jam to go through the post?
Earlier in the week there was a reported spat between a Shropshire WI and the Elfin Safety people working for Network Rail. Apparently WI members had been maintaining a station platform garden for years and had suddenly been stopped in case one of their number fell on the line. Naturally the members were outraged but it turns out that Network Rail does in fact encourage WIs to undertake these activities and has been known even to pay the insurance for the members, provided they follow their safety guidelines but some of these Shropshire lassies were over 90 years old! Age-ism raises its nasty head again. Gardening obviously keeps one fit.
10th November
The local WI discussion group met tonight.We discussed the WI campaign Care not Custody as well as we could with no real expertise amongst us.We are thinking of inviting a magistrate or someone familiar with the Courts to come along to talk informally with us.Obviously one must be in favour of improving the system so that the unstable criminal gets treatment rather than become lost in a prison, for everyone's sake. But how can this be done now that the psychiatric institutions have been closed and the sufferers are released into community care? And how can the WI alter this situation?
The latest issue of WI Life contains the resolutions for selection for the AGM in 2011 and the voting form for the WI members. We must think when we vote which resolution we can best promote and stand a chance of making a difference. Sometimes just writing to MPs is not enough because what we are asking for is too huge even for them; it is a lifetime's mission. I think the care for the mentally ill who have committed a criminal act, for whatever motive, falls into that category.
Something outside the resolution list which we could all get our teeth into is the proposed closure of public libraries or the idea of making them in to community-run volunteer establishments. Watch out for consultation meetings in your area and keep your eye on this local issue--as well as the high speed train, of course!
Tuesday 9 November 2010
Plans and more plans
4th November
At the meeting of the Education and Current Affairs sub-committee today we spent most of the time completing arrangements for the coming ACWW event in Lacey Green. The trouble with the WI is that one has always to plan so far ahead so there were plans made for events in March, May and July 2011 which makes one feel halfway into the new year already. Every month the NFWI publishes its NFWI News in the same way as the county federations present theirs and it is part of this committee's remit to keep up with the campaigns on which NFWI is working.This means sifting through information so that we can encourage our WI members to become involved on such issues and mandates which have been passed at AGMs.It may be the survey on re-cycling facilities or Care not Custody or labelling of food with the real country of origin.It is all interesting stuff but it is quite a struggle to find opportunities to engage the Bucks members in these activities: we seem to be always lagging behind but usually manage to get there in the end.
2nd November
Local WI book group today when we were discussing "Lacuna" by Barbara Kingsolver. We had enjoyed her novel "The Poisonwood Bible" set in what used to be the Belgian Congo but this time she was writing about Mexico and the USA between the 1920s and the Cold War. No wonder it takes 10 years between novels because the author researches her stories so thoroughly.To weave the exile of Trotsky in Mexico with the works of the great muralist Diego Rivera into the stories of her fictional characters takes some doing.Not everyone enjoyed this book but I think even those who didn't finish learned a lot about the history of Russia after the revolution and Lenin's death and about the dreadful period of MacCarthyism in America which is not so long ago.The scenery in Mexico was wonderfully described.There was humour too and some memorable cameo portraits among the characters. I really enjoyed this novel although its length was a bit of a challenge which took over from all domestic duties until finished.
30th October
It was a triumph but the local WI members are absolutely exhausted after hosting a Murder Mystery evening for 147 people.We served a 3 course supper and the tickets were sold out a fortnight beforehand.Every year we have a big fund-raiser which we hope will attract people from outside the WI as well as members from other WIs in neighbouring villages. We have built up a reputation for good events and the townspeople support us. Some of this goodwill comes from the fact that we pass a proportion of the profits back into a community project: this year it will be towards the re-furbishment of the little meeting hall in the town centre, last year it was the surgery.Anyway the players were excellent, having written a play especially for us. The food was good, the kitchen members worked their socks off and the front of house waitresses were speedy. It was nice to receive messages of thanks and appreciation from the audience but not a good time to suggest that we repeat the event as soon as possible!
At the meeting of the Education and Current Affairs sub-committee today we spent most of the time completing arrangements for the coming ACWW event in Lacey Green. The trouble with the WI is that one has always to plan so far ahead so there were plans made for events in March, May and July 2011 which makes one feel halfway into the new year already. Every month the NFWI publishes its NFWI News in the same way as the county federations present theirs and it is part of this committee's remit to keep up with the campaigns on which NFWI is working.This means sifting through information so that we can encourage our WI members to become involved on such issues and mandates which have been passed at AGMs.It may be the survey on re-cycling facilities or Care not Custody or labelling of food with the real country of origin.It is all interesting stuff but it is quite a struggle to find opportunities to engage the Bucks members in these activities: we seem to be always lagging behind but usually manage to get there in the end.
2nd November
Local WI book group today when we were discussing "Lacuna" by Barbara Kingsolver. We had enjoyed her novel "The Poisonwood Bible" set in what used to be the Belgian Congo but this time she was writing about Mexico and the USA between the 1920s and the Cold War. No wonder it takes 10 years between novels because the author researches her stories so thoroughly.To weave the exile of Trotsky in Mexico with the works of the great muralist Diego Rivera into the stories of her fictional characters takes some doing.Not everyone enjoyed this book but I think even those who didn't finish learned a lot about the history of Russia after the revolution and Lenin's death and about the dreadful period of MacCarthyism in America which is not so long ago.The scenery in Mexico was wonderfully described.There was humour too and some memorable cameo portraits among the characters. I really enjoyed this novel although its length was a bit of a challenge which took over from all domestic duties until finished.
30th October
It was a triumph but the local WI members are absolutely exhausted after hosting a Murder Mystery evening for 147 people.We served a 3 course supper and the tickets were sold out a fortnight beforehand.Every year we have a big fund-raiser which we hope will attract people from outside the WI as well as members from other WIs in neighbouring villages. We have built up a reputation for good events and the townspeople support us. Some of this goodwill comes from the fact that we pass a proportion of the profits back into a community project: this year it will be towards the re-furbishment of the little meeting hall in the town centre, last year it was the surgery.Anyway the players were excellent, having written a play especially for us. The food was good, the kitchen members worked their socks off and the front of house waitresses were speedy. It was nice to receive messages of thanks and appreciation from the audience but not a good time to suggest that we repeat the event as soon as possible!
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