18th April
It was announced in the media today that the WI with other women's groups had won a victory in the campaign against legal aid curbs for abused women. Kenneth Clarke said that now any woman whose partner or former partner had a caution for violence against her would be entitled to aid. The Government would also adopt the Police definition of domestic violence which includes emotional and psychological harm as well as physical abuse. A note from a doctor confirming abuse would entitle women to free legal support while those admitted to a women's refuge or receiving social services support would be entitled to claim legal aid too.
As we heard at the Annual Council Meeting BFWI had joined the NFWI campaign against the legal aid cuts and had written to all the Buckinghamshire MPs. Replies had been received from them all and one MP had included a reply from Kenneth Clarke in response to his letter forwarding our concerns.So remember, that if we can be bothered to write and express reasonable arguments, we can make a difference to the law of the land.
13th April
The Annual Council Meeting at the Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury was very well attended and much enjoyed by the Bucks WI members and guests.We heard that BFWI was financially healthy and learned the names of the Board of Trustees for 2012-2014. Peter Lien Head of the Cookery School at Denman College spoke engagingly about the changes in cooking over the last few years and Johnnie Walkers encouraged everyone to order their flowering bulbs through the WI Bulb scheme. Did you know that the UK grows more daffodils than anywhere else in the world? Roderick Watson described the development of the Dorney Lake until it became a suitable venue for the Olympics.
In the afternoon we received a progress report on the mandate passed in 2011 on care for stroke patients and went on to re-affirm two mandates agreed in 1982: the banning of the sale of snares and the discouragement of allowing children under secondary school age to take part in public demonstrations.Cups and Certificates were presented and then it was the turn of the main speaker to entertain us all. Adam Henson, the TV farmer and presenter was one of the fastest speakers I have ever heard but yet he spoke in sentences and was as clear as a bell.Perhaps this was because of his family's experience on the stage and the training on Countryfile and on the Coast programmes. He is certainly very ambitious for the success of his Cotswold Farm Park and supportive of British agriculture as a whole. Adam answered the many questions well. Altogether a very popular and entertaining speaker.
It was a good meeting with a full programme managed well by our own Chairman, Trustee Members and committee members.We look forward to the next ACM in April 2013. If you are asked to be a delegate or think you might like to attend as an observer, watch the Buckinghamshire Newsletter for notice of the speakers booked because they are always worth hearing and, as was explained at the meeting, this event is part of what you receive for your contribution to BFWI in your annual subscription.
Friday, 20 April 2012
Thursday, 12 April 2012
Small isn't always beautiful
11th April
A very small group of local WI members met this evening for the monthly discussion. This time the subject was "gadgets": what constitutes something termed a gadget? Do gadgets become items of universal usage and therefore just tools or equipment? Women's gadgets seem to be in the kitchen whereas those that appeal to males revolve around the car or they are electronic devices or executive toys.A lot of fun was had describing gadgets which actually caused more hassle than the simple method used for years.There is something derogatory in the word gadget. Of course we digressed into the causes of domestic friction when the males presumed control of the remote for the TV--inborn technical superiority---and in the car when perhaps the coming of satnav systems will reinforce the refusal to wind down the window and ask directions.
6th-9th April
The WI had been invited to have a stall at the Love Food, Hate Waste Chiltern Food Fair at Great Missenden. It was a pity we were not to enjoy the earlier good weather: it was wet and cold even under canvas but still people turned out to graze their way around the stalls. The WI was promoting the new range of WI foods and the latest recipe books published in 2012.The public still think of the WI as jam and cake makers.We were out to attract new members too.It is always pleasant to talk to others but is quite difficult to smile and appear enthusiastic when one's lost contact with one's feet and is beginning to hallucinate about cups of tea from a proper cup or a hot rum toddy.There will have to be better publicity about WI foods because no one knew anything about it and no one had seen it on sale in the few Waitrose stores which actually stock it.Such a pity! The jams are gorgeous but the labelling is so embracing that the colour cannot be seen; the flours are good but are unable to compete for price with in-store brands.If we are trading on the WI's reputation for good food, we need to hype up the product, be more aggressive in the market or we will be ignored.WI members need to buy the stuff themselves and demand it from the stores which do not offer it on their shelves.It is good stuff but we as members must buy it and promote it to create a platform for its sale outside the WI, otherwise it will fail. It's war out there on the shop floor.
22nd March
One member of the local WI Book Group pointed out this afternoon that we had never before spent so long discussing a book as we did today. The novel under scrutiny was "Room" by Sue Donaghue which is not a factual account of a real event but is vaguely based on those horrifying stories of women abducted and kept prisoner for years in the power of some perverted individual. However, this story was told through the eyes of a five year old child born under these circumstances into a world which was just one small room.One approached this novel with some apprehension thinking it was going to be too distressing but although one couldn't say one enjoyed it, it was an unforgettable book to read---so well written, so original and so thought-provoking. We requested the set through the County Library with little hope of getting it because it was so recently published but it arrived very quickly.All credit to the library for spotting a title which would be in demand. If you are part of a reading group, we all recommend it to you.
A very small group of local WI members met this evening for the monthly discussion. This time the subject was "gadgets": what constitutes something termed a gadget? Do gadgets become items of universal usage and therefore just tools or equipment? Women's gadgets seem to be in the kitchen whereas those that appeal to males revolve around the car or they are electronic devices or executive toys.A lot of fun was had describing gadgets which actually caused more hassle than the simple method used for years.There is something derogatory in the word gadget. Of course we digressed into the causes of domestic friction when the males presumed control of the remote for the TV--inborn technical superiority---and in the car when perhaps the coming of satnav systems will reinforce the refusal to wind down the window and ask directions.
6th-9th April
The WI had been invited to have a stall at the Love Food, Hate Waste Chiltern Food Fair at Great Missenden. It was a pity we were not to enjoy the earlier good weather: it was wet and cold even under canvas but still people turned out to graze their way around the stalls. The WI was promoting the new range of WI foods and the latest recipe books published in 2012.The public still think of the WI as jam and cake makers.We were out to attract new members too.It is always pleasant to talk to others but is quite difficult to smile and appear enthusiastic when one's lost contact with one's feet and is beginning to hallucinate about cups of tea from a proper cup or a hot rum toddy.There will have to be better publicity about WI foods because no one knew anything about it and no one had seen it on sale in the few Waitrose stores which actually stock it.Such a pity! The jams are gorgeous but the labelling is so embracing that the colour cannot be seen; the flours are good but are unable to compete for price with in-store brands.If we are trading on the WI's reputation for good food, we need to hype up the product, be more aggressive in the market or we will be ignored.WI members need to buy the stuff themselves and demand it from the stores which do not offer it on their shelves.It is good stuff but we as members must buy it and promote it to create a platform for its sale outside the WI, otherwise it will fail. It's war out there on the shop floor.
22nd March
One member of the local WI Book Group pointed out this afternoon that we had never before spent so long discussing a book as we did today. The novel under scrutiny was "Room" by Sue Donaghue which is not a factual account of a real event but is vaguely based on those horrifying stories of women abducted and kept prisoner for years in the power of some perverted individual. However, this story was told through the eyes of a five year old child born under these circumstances into a world which was just one small room.One approached this novel with some apprehension thinking it was going to be too distressing but although one couldn't say one enjoyed it, it was an unforgettable book to read---so well written, so original and so thought-provoking. We requested the set through the County Library with little hope of getting it because it was so recently published but it arrived very quickly.All credit to the library for spotting a title which would be in demand. If you are part of a reading group, we all recommend it to you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
