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!