The End of 2012

This is probably my last entry for the year so may I wish my silent readers a Happy Christmas and a successful New Year!

5th December
The local WI gathered for its last meeting in 2012 which took the form of a party evening. We celebrated our rising membership, our continuing engagement with the town community through our bid for a grant to provide an exercise facility and the fact that so many of us had braved the dangers of ice-covered paths to actually get to the meeting.The programme for 2013 was announced and volunteers found to provide thanks to the speakers throughout the year and people to serve teas. The WI here doesn't charge for refreshments at meetings and gives everyone a county newsletter each month, nor does it have a raffle every month---all measures to offset the annual small rise in the subscription.
Arrangements for the Christmas dinner were completed and plans made for securing tickets for events in the New Year.A discussion evening was fixed to look at the future of Denman College before members completed the survey in the latest issue of WI Life.The Denman bursary is going to be spent on a cookery demonstration for all members by a Denman tutor in the summer.Our WI alternates its spending of the annual bursary between a course won by one member and a group activity of an educational nature to which every member can come. This year by inviting a Denman tutor we think we have combined the two options .
We enjoyed a very entertaining quiz set by a member, raised a glass of wine and tasted lovely festive food and then concentrated hard on the beetle drive.This is a sport that guarantees a lot of noise and laughter. It was a very fitting end to a sporty year.

27th November
In the afternoon the Book Group met to review The Harmony Silk Factory by Tash Aw. This novel is set in Malaysia in the 1940s.Events are described by three people who took part in the same situations together but of course take a different stance on the action. One begins to see the reasons for the outcome and the effects it has on the lives of the characters. We were transported into the heat of the East and could visualise the dense vegetation and the tensions within the group as they explored a small island off the coast.The author obviously loves exotic plants and the use of them in gardens too, which is in direct contrast to the brutality and deceptions in the break up of the area prior to invasion.

In the evening about half the local WI membership met in a pub to play skittles.Some had played before but most were beginners. It is a very noisy activity anyway but add to that two teams in battle drawn and it was no wonder that the bars below cleared quite early on.The pub is under new management and under threat of losing its skittle alley so we thought we would go down and play a session to try to influence the management decision to keep it. Now having tested the facility, it seems we may go regularly because we enjoyed ourselves so much. There was good food on offer too and that always influences WI thinking!

26th November
The craft group met for the final session this year. Some members are going to a local shop for a patchwork course. We are lucky to have 2 good craft shops in the area which provide different courses in different skills.There is also a very well-stocked little shop in a neighbouring town which is having to compete with the giants such as Hobbycraft but hasn't the space to run courses. I hope we can continue to support these places.