18th February
The story of horsemeat mixed in with or even being completely substituted for beef in prepared meat products is obviously going to run and run. Thank Goodness that eating horse is not a danger to our health but only to our sensibilities. I imagine there are droves of little girls instantly becoming vegetarian.As WI members we ought to be up in arms at this commercial dishonesty.The WI passed a mandate about the need for correct labelling of food way back in 1995 and we have suffered from EU legislation for many years which demanded a full account of the ingredients in jams and cakes sold on market stalls.So this becomes an issue with Europe where the rules are disregarded but it is the British farmers who are feeling the brunt when the shoppers turn away from buying beef.This mood will not last but even a short dip in sales will affect the livelihood of the farmers who are already struggling with the crisis in dairy farming and the recent weather disasters.The WI has always supported the rural community so it needs our help at present more than ever.
13th February
The local WI held a discussion evening tonight. We meet in a member's house, settle down with a glass of wine and talk about some topic set at the previous gathering. The subject can be anything at all except party politics or religion. The topic tonight was China so it did touch on politics and beliefs a little bit. I am ashamed to admit that I realised that I knew very little about China. However there were people present who had visited and had been fascinated by the different way of life and its culture.It was a pleasant evening: we learned a lot and only wandered off the subject once or twice which is pretty good for us!
12th February
We attended the By George...that's style! day at Princes Risborough. This was a new venue to us and in spite of the snowy conditions outside it was a capacity audience.The speakers covered the costume, social life and gossip of the period. In the afternoon there was the opportunity to learn how to dance a minuet and how to promenade with grace and style in order to impress in Georgian society.There was a lot of laughter and audience participation.Some are planning to visit Handel House in London following the talk from Antonia Grant who works in the museum and it would be great to see Fran Saltmarsh from Cambridge return to describe another slice of historical costume.We had to take our own refreshments or go out into the town for these but if the BFWI wants to keep the entrance prices down this is the only way it can be done: halls and good speakers are expensive for a full day's programme.
Tuesday 19 February 2013
Sunday 10 February 2013
Bright new future
This is my first blog entry specifically aimed at the new BFWI website. How exciting is that! While the weather has been so bad and everyone has been confined to barracks, members of the Buckinghamshire Federation Board of Trustees have been busy setting up this website. The previous webmistress has announced her retirement. It is a very time-consuming job and I admire the work that has been done. Those of us who are going to be able to contribute towards this new site have been led gently through all the stages and so far I have not heard of anyone who has succumbed to stress-related illnesses. In my case, it was a near thing!
Anyway please look at the site and use it. Let us know what you think. It is not complete yet: there are bits to add and perhaps a bit of shuffling to do but LOOK and KEEP LOOKING. We will know how many people do make contact but unless you admit to it we will not know what you are thinking. Don't let all this commitment be wasted. We want what Bucks WIs do to be shouted from the rooftops and we want to attract even more members than we did last year. After all, we're worth it!
6th February
The members of the local WI were pre-warned that the speaker had been forced to cancel which unfortunately is a known hazard at this time of year. However without much tearing of hair, the committee came up with an excellent solution by using our own members to fill the gap. So we heard about the work of the new BFWI Digital Champion: what she had learned at a course at Denman College and how she was supposed to use this training. Judging by the interest shown and the number of members who signed up to have her to visit and help them to make full use of their computers, I think she is going to be a very busy lady.
Then we listened to a presentation by a trainee WI Adviser in which she explained the progress of a resolution from the proposing WI right through to its being discussed at the NFWI Annual General Meeting, before becoming a mandate which all WI members may support. This was particularly interesting to our WI because we have been brooding on putting forward a resolution again. We know it involves quite a bit of hard work in preparation but even so...watch this space.
Unfortunately the WI application for a grant to help set up an outdoor community fitness area has not been successful. We had the blessing of the Town Council but that wasn't enough. We will think of other sources of funding and try again. The rest of the meeting took the form of a steady flow of dates for events both within our WI and in BFWI and in things where NFWI is involved.
The bursary cookery demonstration day 2 March in the town could do with some more people attending so we are opening it to others.They will have to pay for an entrance ticket although it is free to our own members.
4th February
I think I have been suffering from cabin fever. I have had to miss so many events during December last year and January this that I was really quite excited to attend the local WI craft group. We spent most of the time thinking about competitions which are being held this year and also about promotional events at shows where the committee had suggested we might have a presence. This also involves fund-raising with which our little group seems to have been saddled. Of course we produce items that are eminently saleable but we don't really want to be spending all our time doing that---dedicated members though we be. Competitions and especially co-operative ones are popular because they concentrate our minds on a shared activity rather than working on our own.
Anyway please look at the site and use it. Let us know what you think. It is not complete yet: there are bits to add and perhaps a bit of shuffling to do but LOOK and KEEP LOOKING. We will know how many people do make contact but unless you admit to it we will not know what you are thinking. Don't let all this commitment be wasted. We want what Bucks WIs do to be shouted from the rooftops and we want to attract even more members than we did last year. After all, we're worth it!
6th February
The members of the local WI were pre-warned that the speaker had been forced to cancel which unfortunately is a known hazard at this time of year. However without much tearing of hair, the committee came up with an excellent solution by using our own members to fill the gap. So we heard about the work of the new BFWI Digital Champion: what she had learned at a course at Denman College and how she was supposed to use this training. Judging by the interest shown and the number of members who signed up to have her to visit and help them to make full use of their computers, I think she is going to be a very busy lady.
Then we listened to a presentation by a trainee WI Adviser in which she explained the progress of a resolution from the proposing WI right through to its being discussed at the NFWI Annual General Meeting, before becoming a mandate which all WI members may support. This was particularly interesting to our WI because we have been brooding on putting forward a resolution again. We know it involves quite a bit of hard work in preparation but even so...watch this space.
Unfortunately the WI application for a grant to help set up an outdoor community fitness area has not been successful. We had the blessing of the Town Council but that wasn't enough. We will think of other sources of funding and try again. The rest of the meeting took the form of a steady flow of dates for events both within our WI and in BFWI and in things where NFWI is involved.
The bursary cookery demonstration day 2 March in the town could do with some more people attending so we are opening it to others.They will have to pay for an entrance ticket although it is free to our own members.
4th February
I think I have been suffering from cabin fever. I have had to miss so many events during December last year and January this that I was really quite excited to attend the local WI craft group. We spent most of the time thinking about competitions which are being held this year and also about promotional events at shows where the committee had suggested we might have a presence. This also involves fund-raising with which our little group seems to have been saddled. Of course we produce items that are eminently saleable but we don't really want to be spending all our time doing that---dedicated members though we be. Competitions and especially co-operative ones are popular because they concentrate our minds on a shared activity rather than working on our own.
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