Is this the time for banner-waving?

19th July
I hope every WI member is keeping tabs on the debate about milk prices and the dairy industry. The WI has always supported the farmers in their campaign to end the injustices of the difference between the cost of producing a pint of milk and the price offered to the farmers by the supermarkets. In Buckinghamshire the number of dairy farms which have gone out of business over the past decade is alarming. If the state of affairs is not altered all our milk soon will be imported. The housewife can make a point here by refusing to buy milk from the supermarket even if the price is lower than what is supplied by the local roundsman. The big supermarket chains have to listen to the WI buyer. We did it with plastic bags and food labelling so let's get together to save the dairy farmers! Forget about border control people and airport personel: they have got jobs and can afford the time to negotiate but the dairy farmer is losing his livelihood right now. Look out for the new WI posters for this campaign and if you know of a good site for display, order some or (don't say who suggested this!), casually leave them close to the relevant shelves in your local supermarket.

17th July
Local WI book group today and we were discussing "Half a Yellow Sun" by Adichie which is all about the civil war in Nigeria and the fall of Biafra. This took place at the end of the 1960s when many of us were either at college or rearing children. I think we all remembered the photos of starving babies which were used to publicise appeals for aid posted in banks and on public hoardings but this novel really brought all the suffering home to us.The writing is very powerful and the book has an interesting structure. It had us searching atlases and recent history books for places and names: one member even unearthed a road map from a parent who had been working in Nigeria in the years before the conflict.What a lot of wars are really about the mining of oil and the machinations of the West to keep it flowing out of the Third World and into their fuel tanks.This novel was about the effects of the war on pairs of lovers,families and communities and the waste of all the advantages gained from the growth of education and healthcare during the years before independence which brought old tribal jealousies to the fore again.

12th July
The old sub-committee which used to be called Education and Current Affairs is now to be called just Current Affairs.Perhaps we could have called it Just Current Affairs! Apparently everyone thought the former title too dull and that it put the WI members off getting involved with its work: they don't want to be educated any more. Pity really, as the WI is an educational charity and education is a part of the movement's history and aims.The committee has had many successful events where the educational element has been dressed up and these have been popular with members. At present we are planning a day on Caring Matters in September which we hope will help people who find themselves caring for someone either now or will do in the future, to feel not so alone and to realise what a lot there is on offer for those caught up in this situation. Unfortunately we have to charge for an entrance ticket because we must cover the price of hiring a hall. Perhaps we should have tried for sponsorship but can a charity apply for charity from another? Anyway come along and learn how to work the system. There are a lot of carers in the WI and they save the national economy masses of money so deserve to benefit from the services out there.We are also planning some fun events but beware, they may be masking an educational element or even be tied in with one of the NFWI's current campaigns such as milk, water or care of the environment.

11th July
We enjoyed a really interesting discussion evening today. We had all been asked to bring along an item which meant something to us and talk about it. It need not be financially valuable but should be of special value to the owner. Actually, this might be a good idea for one of those occasions when the speaker cancels at the last minute.The items brought varied from a large piece of boating equipment to a small everyday fork, from a framed embroidered picture treasured after its maker had died to a picture of a jukebox which someone had bought and was her pride and joy, bringing back memories of the swinging sixties and all that jazz! I think everyone really enjoyed themselves and had to take part and of course, we all learned a little more about each other which is an important aspect of being a WI member---the friendship bit.