Food for thought

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.