Vague ramblings

3rd August
Today dawned bright and fresh after the storms of the night so another couple and ourselves set off for a walk in the Vale and decided to have lunch together at a village pub. Once more it wasn't long before I recognised other WI members enjoying eating together in three different parties from WIs within the county. The WI really is a network stretched all over the country so it would never do to try and fix an illicit rendezvous because someone would be sure to turn up and recognise you!
This evening the local WI held its summer al fresco meeting with a buffet supper and sporty games on the grass around the hall where it meets. There was a little time for consultations on events coming up but no real business done. It was enjoyable just to be frivolous and compete in garden party type activities.

2nd August
There was a big turn-out of WI members at the funeral of one of the Bucks County stalwarts from the past Catering Committee.Of course her local WI provided the refreshments for the buffet after the ceremony and another member played the organ.Mary Bowden died at the age of 87 but it is only within the last five years that she declared herself unable to lift the huge pans necessary for bulk catering.We are all so grateful to have known her and will always remember her cheerfulness.

1st August
I forgot to mention that several of our local WI are learning to crochet so we meet on Monday afternoons.Some people are starting from scratch, others are remembering what they learned before and others are learning to read and make sense of written instructions. I am trying to remember how to tat and discovering that my fingers are far too stiff to take it up again easily.We use the sessions to plan future activities and to catch up on holidays already taken.

July
I don't usually comment on private holidays but thought I should share some of the things that occurred this year. My husband and I set off to walk the middle stretch of Hadrian's Wall, a length of about 65 miles which is the interesting bit in the middle. I knew that 3 couples from our town were going to be doing the whole lot around the same time---one being our WI President.So I wasn't all that surprised to hear her shout across the moor where there is the site of the Temple of Mithras but what was amazing was that three out of five of our hostesses at the B&Bs where we stayed were WI members. The first one recognised my Denman College sweatshirt and she phoned along ahead to the next hostess. As a result we enjoyed long talks about common WI problems and campaigns. What came out very forcibly was their delight at the stay of execution for bank cheques. The cheque is vital for their businesses and for them living out in the country, often with poor internet connections and no reliable mobile reception. You can imagine my husband's opinion of these conversations: he was heard to mutter that he had walked miles to get away from the WI. I am afraid that it can be compared to the hidden Mafia sometimes!