5th August
This evening the local WI decided to use our usual monthly meeting date for an extra rather frivolous get-together. We hired the community bus and filled some overflow cars and sallied forth to another Bucks village. There were probably about 25 of us who descended on a private house to try on hats. Yes, I must admit I went thinking whatever is going to hold my interest until 10 o'clock this evening trying on hats.Of course I reckoned without the supper and the wine thrown in too! It was great fun. The rain held off we were sitting outside eating and drinking until 9.30pm and everyone had a great time amongst 400 hats and fascinators. Some were downright silly hats, others very glamourous and some were fashion statements in every sense of the word.What a pity that the WI members don't still wear hats for the AGM! I saw about 10 this year---mind, some of those we tried on this evening would have well and truly blanked out the stage for those sitting behind! Much of the success of this event lay in the fact that we all had time to talk to each other and not feel rushed to meet the demands of a formal WI meeting.
I am slightly concerned about whether the photos taken will be brought out for our next WI meeting on scrapbooking.Some will need censoring, I think.
12th August
Oh dear! Another social event to report on. The local WI held its second Barbecue of the summer in a member's garden as requested on the questionnaire conducted in the winter.Once more the rain held off and once more we all enjoyed ourselves sitting around eating, drinking and talking. Perhaps in order to mollify the Charity Commissioners our hostess had devised an educational gardening quiz. The answers were very entertaining and revealed a knowledge of horticulture which probably warrants a few gardening subjects to be included for next year's WI programme. It was a pity some of those who requested a barbecue once more failed to attend but that was their loss. These social "dos" were not planned to raise funds but just to cover costs and both events were important for the friendship side of the WI.
Sunday, 16 August 2009
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
Summer recess
7th July
I am afraid that the WI has had to take a back seat this month as I have been rather involved with family events. This has meant that several WI fixtures have not featured on my calendar so lots of you will have a better idea of what's gone on than I have. However I know that our local WI Reading Group met today and we discussed Cranford which some of us had never read but had enjoyed the costume adaptation on TV.It is a very forward-thinking book, quite feminist for its time and very amusing in its social comments.What fun Mrs Gaskell had at the expense of Lady Ludlow with her views on education for the lower orders!
In direct contrast to that work, we also had read Sea of Poppies by Ghosh who is one of the group's favourite authors.This is an action-packed account of India at the time just before the Opium Wars in China. The book is the first part of a trilogy so it was a question of getting all the characters on to a sailing boat heading off into the Indian Ocean. Once past the use of Pidjin English and the nautical terms, it was a wonderful adventure story with memorable characters and lots of information on the history of the time. Once again the British Empire is exposed in a far from glorious light. I for one am looking forward to the next instalment as I cannot see how the passengers and crew can ever get themselves out of the situation they are in at the end of Part One.
9th July
Today the Education and Current Affairs sub-committee met. We seemed to spend most of our time planning coming events because we have a really good programme ahead stretching into 2011.Speakers have to be secured well in advance and halls too.We are looking forward to our repeat Brain Games session on cryptic crosswords and hope that everyone will apply within the time allocated in spite of several WIs not meeting in August. There is also the problem of the grandparents heaving a sigh of relief at the end of the school holidays and taking off on their own for a well earned rest from childcare.In planning our International Day on Holland, we are hoping for the WI members to be broadminded and attend the event which should be very interesting and educational as well.
23rd July
A young student came round to see me today. She is studying at a college for film-making and wanted to do her vacational project on activities in the local town.It is unfortunate that she needs this in the very month that the WI doesn't meet, in common with various other societies. However she could come to our next barbeque or to our extra meeting when we are off in posh frocks for an orgy of hat choosing.Neither of these events is at all traditional WI which is a pity.Perhaps we will not become filmstars this time but she promised to look in on one of the new WIs which has formed in Shoreditch in London near where she lives as a student.We read about the new young WI together in the WI Life. It would be lovely to think we might gain a new WI member who is young and interested in the aims of the WI even if it was not ours who benefitted.
I am afraid that the WI has had to take a back seat this month as I have been rather involved with family events. This has meant that several WI fixtures have not featured on my calendar so lots of you will have a better idea of what's gone on than I have. However I know that our local WI Reading Group met today and we discussed Cranford which some of us had never read but had enjoyed the costume adaptation on TV.It is a very forward-thinking book, quite feminist for its time and very amusing in its social comments.What fun Mrs Gaskell had at the expense of Lady Ludlow with her views on education for the lower orders!
In direct contrast to that work, we also had read Sea of Poppies by Ghosh who is one of the group's favourite authors.This is an action-packed account of India at the time just before the Opium Wars in China. The book is the first part of a trilogy so it was a question of getting all the characters on to a sailing boat heading off into the Indian Ocean. Once past the use of Pidjin English and the nautical terms, it was a wonderful adventure story with memorable characters and lots of information on the history of the time. Once again the British Empire is exposed in a far from glorious light. I for one am looking forward to the next instalment as I cannot see how the passengers and crew can ever get themselves out of the situation they are in at the end of Part One.
9th July
Today the Education and Current Affairs sub-committee met. We seemed to spend most of our time planning coming events because we have a really good programme ahead stretching into 2011.Speakers have to be secured well in advance and halls too.We are looking forward to our repeat Brain Games session on cryptic crosswords and hope that everyone will apply within the time allocated in spite of several WIs not meeting in August. There is also the problem of the grandparents heaving a sigh of relief at the end of the school holidays and taking off on their own for a well earned rest from childcare.In planning our International Day on Holland, we are hoping for the WI members to be broadminded and attend the event which should be very interesting and educational as well.
23rd July
A young student came round to see me today. She is studying at a college for film-making and wanted to do her vacational project on activities in the local town.It is unfortunate that she needs this in the very month that the WI doesn't meet, in common with various other societies. However she could come to our next barbeque or to our extra meeting when we are off in posh frocks for an orgy of hat choosing.Neither of these events is at all traditional WI which is a pity.Perhaps we will not become filmstars this time but she promised to look in on one of the new WIs which has formed in Shoreditch in London near where she lives as a student.We read about the new young WI together in the WI Life. It would be lovely to think we might gain a new WI member who is young and interested in the aims of the WI even if it was not ours who benefitted.
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
Feeling heated
29 June
Today several members of one of the county sub-committees gathered to conduct a ballot for an over-subscribed event. It breaks our hearts to have to turn members away when this happens. Partly we are pleased that whatever is planned has appealed to the members but also sad that there isn't room for everyone either in the hall or on the coach. We cannot always add on another coach or repeat the event almost immediately.A ballot is not the correct term for what we do: it suggests names are drawn out of a hat. It is more an allocation really, worked out by practicalities such as carloads, distance and then as a last resort we consult the account of previous ballots to see how a WI fared last time a similar decision had to be made. We do our best to be fair but it is a bit of a nightmare to be honest!
This afternoon the blood donors' van was in town so members of the local WI were on hand serving teas and juices to those recuperating not only from giving blood but also from the heat outside.
30 June
Down to the federation HQ today to make the final financial arrangements for the coming holiday to Norway.It was so hot in the car that I began to really dream of getting away to somewhere a little less tropical. There are ten people travelling to Norway in September under a different organisational plan as far as the BFWI is concerned and a lot depends on how successful this is as to whether these foreign holidays can continue to be on offer.Personally I think it would be a shame to see them finish but the Federation needs someone to head them up. If there is anyone out there who is willing to give it a go, please let the Federation Secretary know.
1 July
Local WI meeting tonight . The room was like an inferno when we walked in so we flung all the windows and doors open. We had to spend quite a long time discussing the rise in hall hire charges for our meetings. These are going to treble over the next couple of years which is going to drastically affect our budget. Although we will obviously object and try to get the terms reduced, we are also calling on all the members to actively enquire about alternative venues.It is rich really when the town was promised that on the closure of the secondary school, the building would be used for the benefit of local educational adult needs and to forge closer links in the community. Now the WI which is all about these aims is being driven out.The smaller rooms have long since been swallowed up into offices for the council instead of being available for small classes. Letters will need to be written!
We listened to a speaker telling us about her experiences on going up to Buckingham Palace to receive an MBE.
We finalised plans for our "posh hats" outing which seemed to fit in with the talk and made plans for the town show at the end of August where we will be promoting the WI in general as well as our local branch.
4 July
Doesn't it make you spit? You sit down to read the Saturday paper, turn to the page where someone is sent out to review a restaurant and what do you read? Jasper Gerard gets to the course which presents guinea fowl on the menu and completely out of the blue, with no connection to anything before or after, he writes "Guinea fowl can often be drier than a WI convention"! A WI convention? When did we last have a convention? Does he mean the Annual General Meeting? If so, can the uproar of the Tony Blair meeting be classed as dry? Or the appearances of Bill Bryson, or Sandi Tostig or indeed Maureen Lipman be classed as dry? He doesn't know what he is talking about, does he? Why make such an inane comparison--quite unnecessary. I think I shall have to reach for a particularly scratchy pen nib and the vitriolic ink to write another letter! Perhaps I am over-sensitive and all publicity is good publicity but I think it is another example of the WI name being taken in vain.
Today several members of one of the county sub-committees gathered to conduct a ballot for an over-subscribed event. It breaks our hearts to have to turn members away when this happens. Partly we are pleased that whatever is planned has appealed to the members but also sad that there isn't room for everyone either in the hall or on the coach. We cannot always add on another coach or repeat the event almost immediately.A ballot is not the correct term for what we do: it suggests names are drawn out of a hat. It is more an allocation really, worked out by practicalities such as carloads, distance and then as a last resort we consult the account of previous ballots to see how a WI fared last time a similar decision had to be made. We do our best to be fair but it is a bit of a nightmare to be honest!
This afternoon the blood donors' van was in town so members of the local WI were on hand serving teas and juices to those recuperating not only from giving blood but also from the heat outside.
30 June
Down to the federation HQ today to make the final financial arrangements for the coming holiday to Norway.It was so hot in the car that I began to really dream of getting away to somewhere a little less tropical. There are ten people travelling to Norway in September under a different organisational plan as far as the BFWI is concerned and a lot depends on how successful this is as to whether these foreign holidays can continue to be on offer.Personally I think it would be a shame to see them finish but the Federation needs someone to head them up. If there is anyone out there who is willing to give it a go, please let the Federation Secretary know.
1 July
Local WI meeting tonight . The room was like an inferno when we walked in so we flung all the windows and doors open. We had to spend quite a long time discussing the rise in hall hire charges for our meetings. These are going to treble over the next couple of years which is going to drastically affect our budget. Although we will obviously object and try to get the terms reduced, we are also calling on all the members to actively enquire about alternative venues.It is rich really when the town was promised that on the closure of the secondary school, the building would be used for the benefit of local educational adult needs and to forge closer links in the community. Now the WI which is all about these aims is being driven out.The smaller rooms have long since been swallowed up into offices for the council instead of being available for small classes. Letters will need to be written!
We listened to a speaker telling us about her experiences on going up to Buckingham Palace to receive an MBE.
We finalised plans for our "posh hats" outing which seemed to fit in with the talk and made plans for the town show at the end of August where we will be promoting the WI in general as well as our local branch.
4 July
Doesn't it make you spit? You sit down to read the Saturday paper, turn to the page where someone is sent out to review a restaurant and what do you read? Jasper Gerard gets to the course which presents guinea fowl on the menu and completely out of the blue, with no connection to anything before or after, he writes "Guinea fowl can often be drier than a WI convention"! A WI convention? When did we last have a convention? Does he mean the Annual General Meeting? If so, can the uproar of the Tony Blair meeting be classed as dry? Or the appearances of Bill Bryson, or Sandi Tostig or indeed Maureen Lipman be classed as dry? He doesn't know what he is talking about, does he? Why make such an inane comparison--quite unnecessary. I think I shall have to reach for a particularly scratchy pen nib and the vitriolic ink to write another letter! Perhaps I am over-sensitive and all publicity is good publicity but I think it is another example of the WI name being taken in vain.
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
A typical British summer
June 1st
A really pleasant way to start a new month! Three of us from the local WI had been lucky to be allocated places at Denman College's first Literary Lunch. We picked up a member from a neighbouring WI and we were off out for the day in lovely sunshine. Denman looked marvellous as usual and the new Ferris building is state of the art.The morning featured Santa Montefiore, a novelist of some renown who was a very accomplished speaker. She spoke with great humour about her life and her approach to writing and in no time at all it was lunch which was most enjoyable. In the afternoon two speakers talked about what was looked for in the entries for the WI Lady Denman Cup.This annual competition is different every year and although Bucks sends up 3 entries every year we haven't won for years and years. Well, there were 5 members from Bucks present today so perhaps there will be a change of fortune.
I would recommend people to go if another Literary Lunch is planned as it was good to discuss things with members from other Federations. Some had spent the previous night at the College so it had been a bit of a holiday as well.
June 2nd
Another lovely day on which 8 members of the local WI travelled down to High Wycombe ostensibly to visit the WI Exhibition in the library in the town. However as some had never been down to see Stuart Lodge, the Bucks Federation's ancient pile which is our headquarters nor had they sampled the delights of the WI shop we had a conducted tour of the premises too.We walked along to the library where we were given another conducted tour of the exhibits and the spanking new library. We were most impressed by the display and I think our archivist has done us proud. Of course after all that walking, we needed a little something for lunch and some indulged in retail therapy in the new Eden Centre. The exhibition closes soon so if you haven't seen it yet, you had better hurry.
June 3rd
I always like to imagine WI members staggering out into little lanes and busy roads all over the country at ungodly hours of the morning to catch trains and coaches to the Royal Albert Hall for the NFWI Annual General Meeting.In Bucks we are lucky as 7am is soon enough for us to contend with the rush hour across London.It was a really good meeting this year with excellent speakers and some interesting points raised on the single resolution about honey bees. This was of course carried almost unanimously.Maureen Lipman was her usual irrepressible self, the fellow from Yorkshire Tea knows exactly how to handle a WI audience, Eve Pollard was good too and we ended up with Richard Stilgoe with his Orpheus Centre Apprentices which was heartwarming.The weather was kind so we could migrate over lunch to the feet of dear Albert and watch the world go by with friends met in previous years.The only disappointing thing about the day was that the Albert Hall will no longer allow WI Enterprises to have a stall to sell WI items and there were none of the usual displays in the foyer.Oh! and what happened to the ice-cream man at the end of the meeting?
Two of us came straight back to our local meeting but didn't report on the AGM. We just sat and unwound and watched another excellent demonstrator and speaker from amongst our own members.The talent among WI members is amazing and yet so much is hidden under the proverbial bushel.
June 6th
Did you watch the programme on TV about the Calendar Girls? Of course you did.
June 8th
Today was the Dates Meeting where the chairmen and secretaries from all the Bucks sub-committees come together to hammer out the programme for the next 18 months and discuss policy too. As Bucks Federation is 90 next year watch out for lots of celebratory events and think how you would like to celebrate your membership of the WI. What has it done for you? And what have you done for it?
June 10th
When one chooses a date for a garden barbeque, one takes into account things like Wimbledon and the Fastnet races and plumps for a different date which is what we did locally. And the heavens opened about five minutes before everyone was due to arrive! Nothing daunted we carried on and enjoyed time together even if there was no chance of sitting in garden chairs in summer clothes. The event wasn't a fund-raiser but a social affair that the members had suggested in our WI questionnaire so that we could talk and get to know each other outside the meetings. So it was a success in its way.Never mind--we have another planned for an August evening. It can't happen twice, can it?
A really pleasant way to start a new month! Three of us from the local WI had been lucky to be allocated places at Denman College's first Literary Lunch. We picked up a member from a neighbouring WI and we were off out for the day in lovely sunshine. Denman looked marvellous as usual and the new Ferris building is state of the art.The morning featured Santa Montefiore, a novelist of some renown who was a very accomplished speaker. She spoke with great humour about her life and her approach to writing and in no time at all it was lunch which was most enjoyable. In the afternoon two speakers talked about what was looked for in the entries for the WI Lady Denman Cup.This annual competition is different every year and although Bucks sends up 3 entries every year we haven't won for years and years. Well, there were 5 members from Bucks present today so perhaps there will be a change of fortune.
I would recommend people to go if another Literary Lunch is planned as it was good to discuss things with members from other Federations. Some had spent the previous night at the College so it had been a bit of a holiday as well.
June 2nd
Another lovely day on which 8 members of the local WI travelled down to High Wycombe ostensibly to visit the WI Exhibition in the library in the town. However as some had never been down to see Stuart Lodge, the Bucks Federation's ancient pile which is our headquarters nor had they sampled the delights of the WI shop we had a conducted tour of the premises too.We walked along to the library where we were given another conducted tour of the exhibits and the spanking new library. We were most impressed by the display and I think our archivist has done us proud. Of course after all that walking, we needed a little something for lunch and some indulged in retail therapy in the new Eden Centre. The exhibition closes soon so if you haven't seen it yet, you had better hurry.
June 3rd
I always like to imagine WI members staggering out into little lanes and busy roads all over the country at ungodly hours of the morning to catch trains and coaches to the Royal Albert Hall for the NFWI Annual General Meeting.In Bucks we are lucky as 7am is soon enough for us to contend with the rush hour across London.It was a really good meeting this year with excellent speakers and some interesting points raised on the single resolution about honey bees. This was of course carried almost unanimously.Maureen Lipman was her usual irrepressible self, the fellow from Yorkshire Tea knows exactly how to handle a WI audience, Eve Pollard was good too and we ended up with Richard Stilgoe with his Orpheus Centre Apprentices which was heartwarming.The weather was kind so we could migrate over lunch to the feet of dear Albert and watch the world go by with friends met in previous years.The only disappointing thing about the day was that the Albert Hall will no longer allow WI Enterprises to have a stall to sell WI items and there were none of the usual displays in the foyer.Oh! and what happened to the ice-cream man at the end of the meeting?
Two of us came straight back to our local meeting but didn't report on the AGM. We just sat and unwound and watched another excellent demonstrator and speaker from amongst our own members.The talent among WI members is amazing and yet so much is hidden under the proverbial bushel.
June 6th
Did you watch the programme on TV about the Calendar Girls? Of course you did.
June 8th
Today was the Dates Meeting where the chairmen and secretaries from all the Bucks sub-committees come together to hammer out the programme for the next 18 months and discuss policy too. As Bucks Federation is 90 next year watch out for lots of celebratory events and think how you would like to celebrate your membership of the WI. What has it done for you? And what have you done for it?
June 10th
When one chooses a date for a garden barbeque, one takes into account things like Wimbledon and the Fastnet races and plumps for a different date which is what we did locally. And the heavens opened about five minutes before everyone was due to arrive! Nothing daunted we carried on and enjoyed time together even if there was no chance of sitting in garden chairs in summer clothes. The event wasn't a fund-raiser but a social affair that the members had suggested in our WI questionnaire so that we could talk and get to know each other outside the meetings. So it was a success in its way.Never mind--we have another planned for an August evening. It can't happen twice, can it?
Thursday, 28 May 2009
literary thoughts
19 May
Cheddington was once more the location for the BFWI Literary Lunch. This was the fifth of these annual get-togethers and they are always well attended. The speakers have been varied: we started with a Calendar Girl, then a romantic novelist, a journalist, a modern novelist and this time a biographical author who has just published her first book about Jane Austen. Hazel Jones was a very good speaker mixing humour with historical facts about life and marriage during Jane Austen's lifetime. The food was good and plentiful. I thought I heard a champagne bottle pop and the conversation certainly flowed. So do we continue with these lunches or do we try to think of something else? Next year is a celebratory one for Bucks Federation so the calendar may be full of exciting events.It would be really helpful if members would make their feelings known. We always receive letters of thanks and appreciation but some advice on this issue would be nice too.
20 May
I was asked to judge some of the classes for the local Blind Association. I was really impressed by what some of the writers could achieve in their lives in spite of the sudden onset of their disability. How does one come to terms with not being able to read or watch television or work with one's hands as one had been used to? Some of the handicrafts produced are really marvellous:it is humbling really.
21 May
Did you read that lovely letter in the Daily Telegraph which amid the gloom and doom of cheating politicians, pointed out the crazyness of getting the MPs to draw up a new set of rules for themselves? The correspondent from Wales suggested that it is administered by a "sensible, no-nonsense, incorruptible group of women--the Women's Institute". So there you go, girls!
25 May
I happened to catch the end of a TV programme about the Hairy Bikers on a visit to Denman College. They were making sponge cakes with the tutor who comes to Bucks to teach us for our hygiene certificates.The other spongemakers included some members from Bucks and ex-staff from Denman College. I was jumping up and down saying "Oh look ! There's so-and-so". It looked great fun and I wished I had seen all of the programme.
26 May
Local WI Book Group today and we have been reading a thriller by Peter James called "Dead Simple" which is to be the first in a series. Several of the readers really enjoyed this book and it was well plotted with many a twist and a few red herrings thrown in.It is not my sort of book as some of the violence is sadistic--not at all Agatha Christie like--and I do get fed up of hearing about the eating habits of police officers and their sex lives but I suppose that makes them more believable as people.Anyway besides me and one reader who suffers from claustrophobia and couldn't get past the first chapter, the others enjoyed it.I preferred "White Tiger" by Aravind Adiga which was related by a murderer and had its fair share of gore. Anyone reading this couldn't agree with the idea that India is no longer a Third World country, an opinion that was voiced the other day when discussing choosing a project for ACWW.
27 May
WI committee this evening with lots of plans for the rest of the year. My diary exhausts me to just think about what is to come in June and July.What with barbeques, extra trips out to visit the WI exhibition in High Wycombe, a chance to dress up for a summer posh event and walks and playreading and perhaps a barn dance and a mystery evening, we shall all be dizzy! Don't join the WI if you want a quiet sedate life! When will we find the time to sort out the Government?
Cheddington was once more the location for the BFWI Literary Lunch. This was the fifth of these annual get-togethers and they are always well attended. The speakers have been varied: we started with a Calendar Girl, then a romantic novelist, a journalist, a modern novelist and this time a biographical author who has just published her first book about Jane Austen. Hazel Jones was a very good speaker mixing humour with historical facts about life and marriage during Jane Austen's lifetime. The food was good and plentiful. I thought I heard a champagne bottle pop and the conversation certainly flowed. So do we continue with these lunches or do we try to think of something else? Next year is a celebratory one for Bucks Federation so the calendar may be full of exciting events.It would be really helpful if members would make their feelings known. We always receive letters of thanks and appreciation but some advice on this issue would be nice too.
20 May
I was asked to judge some of the classes for the local Blind Association. I was really impressed by what some of the writers could achieve in their lives in spite of the sudden onset of their disability. How does one come to terms with not being able to read or watch television or work with one's hands as one had been used to? Some of the handicrafts produced are really marvellous:it is humbling really.
21 May
Did you read that lovely letter in the Daily Telegraph which amid the gloom and doom of cheating politicians, pointed out the crazyness of getting the MPs to draw up a new set of rules for themselves? The correspondent from Wales suggested that it is administered by a "sensible, no-nonsense, incorruptible group of women--the Women's Institute". So there you go, girls!
25 May
I happened to catch the end of a TV programme about the Hairy Bikers on a visit to Denman College. They were making sponge cakes with the tutor who comes to Bucks to teach us for our hygiene certificates.The other spongemakers included some members from Bucks and ex-staff from Denman College. I was jumping up and down saying "Oh look ! There's so-and-so". It looked great fun and I wished I had seen all of the programme.
26 May
Local WI Book Group today and we have been reading a thriller by Peter James called "Dead Simple" which is to be the first in a series. Several of the readers really enjoyed this book and it was well plotted with many a twist and a few red herrings thrown in.It is not my sort of book as some of the violence is sadistic--not at all Agatha Christie like--and I do get fed up of hearing about the eating habits of police officers and their sex lives but I suppose that makes them more believable as people.Anyway besides me and one reader who suffers from claustrophobia and couldn't get past the first chapter, the others enjoyed it.I preferred "White Tiger" by Aravind Adiga which was related by a murderer and had its fair share of gore. Anyone reading this couldn't agree with the idea that India is no longer a Third World country, an opinion that was voiced the other day when discussing choosing a project for ACWW.
27 May
WI committee this evening with lots of plans for the rest of the year. My diary exhausts me to just think about what is to come in June and July.What with barbeques, extra trips out to visit the WI exhibition in High Wycombe, a chance to dress up for a summer posh event and walks and playreading and perhaps a barn dance and a mystery evening, we shall all be dizzy! Don't join the WI if you want a quiet sedate life! When will we find the time to sort out the Government?
Sunday, 17 May 2009
Bees today, but tomorrow?
6th May
The local WI held its resolution meeting tonight and we were delighted to welcome 3 visitors to a well-attended gathering. One visitor was from one of the Yorkshire federations; she is staying in the area conducting some research into her family history so we were very pleased that she had seen our notice and decided to drop in. The other two visitors were even more exciting as they were a mother and daughter who wish to join. I hope we made the young girl welcome enough for her to want to keep coming. Actually it was a very lively meeting because the members had taken part in so many different events during the month that there was one report after another and all of them interesting and revealing lots of aspects of WI life.The member who presented the resolution on the health of honey bees did so in a very cunning way. She gave us all a quiz on bees and then while talking us through the answers was able to transmit most of the information on the notes from NFWI so the whole operation was quite painless and produced more feedback than usual in these debates. Then we did a little sketch--albeit read-- about the process behind the production of a resolution which went down well.
7th May
Notice in the press that The Calendar Girls are going to produce another calendar next year. Is this wise I ask myself? The original was such a success and a trailblazing exercise which has been copied almost to boredom that I wonder whether they should just rest on their laurels now. We have seen firemen, farmworkers and nurses all in the buff and much of the appeal of the original was in the surprise element of members of a respectable society stripping off. Maybe you think differently on this.
I hope some of you have noticed the changes on the BFWI website recently. Have a look at the members' page which is getting up-to-date and of course, the home page is different too. Could we re-vitalise the discussion part now?
11th May
The local craft group from our WI has finished the pictorial side of its sampler but unfortunately we have forgotten what to write on the reverse! A case of diving around to find the instructions is called for.Meanwhile there are some whirly-gig scarves being knit following the pattern in the newsletter a couple of months ago. I had much rather produce something like this than fiddle about with quilling! The sessions are very enjoyable as the members bring problems along and there is usually someone who can sort them out. Also it gives us time to make arrangements for transport to events or arrange outings to craft exhibitions.
13th May
I popped over to another WI to take the members through the Bee health resolution today. I felt rather guilty but I copied what our own member had done for us and I am pleased to say it worked just as well again.The bonus here was that one member had a son who kept bees so she was able to add even more information and give us a firsthand account of what it feels like to open up a hive and find that the bees have been attacked by the verroa mite.That WI had also lost the instructions for the back of the sampler so we are not alone in our quandary.
14th May
Today was the meeting of the Education and Current Affairs sub-committee at which everyone moves round for the next year.We had received very favourable reports of the crossword workshop so we are arranging another for those who missed out last time. We are also planning to hold an international day in October and looking ahead to lots of events for 2010. If only people would reply to letters and e-mails, even if it is just a one word answer...One can send SAEs asking for just that and get no response. I am afraid I think it is a case of bad manners, not just thoughtlessness but I am old-fashioned.
The local WI held its resolution meeting tonight and we were delighted to welcome 3 visitors to a well-attended gathering. One visitor was from one of the Yorkshire federations; she is staying in the area conducting some research into her family history so we were very pleased that she had seen our notice and decided to drop in. The other two visitors were even more exciting as they were a mother and daughter who wish to join. I hope we made the young girl welcome enough for her to want to keep coming. Actually it was a very lively meeting because the members had taken part in so many different events during the month that there was one report after another and all of them interesting and revealing lots of aspects of WI life.The member who presented the resolution on the health of honey bees did so in a very cunning way. She gave us all a quiz on bees and then while talking us through the answers was able to transmit most of the information on the notes from NFWI so the whole operation was quite painless and produced more feedback than usual in these debates. Then we did a little sketch--albeit read-- about the process behind the production of a resolution which went down well.
7th May
Notice in the press that The Calendar Girls are going to produce another calendar next year. Is this wise I ask myself? The original was such a success and a trailblazing exercise which has been copied almost to boredom that I wonder whether they should just rest on their laurels now. We have seen firemen, farmworkers and nurses all in the buff and much of the appeal of the original was in the surprise element of members of a respectable society stripping off. Maybe you think differently on this.
I hope some of you have noticed the changes on the BFWI website recently. Have a look at the members' page which is getting up-to-date and of course, the home page is different too. Could we re-vitalise the discussion part now?
11th May
The local craft group from our WI has finished the pictorial side of its sampler but unfortunately we have forgotten what to write on the reverse! A case of diving around to find the instructions is called for.Meanwhile there are some whirly-gig scarves being knit following the pattern in the newsletter a couple of months ago. I had much rather produce something like this than fiddle about with quilling! The sessions are very enjoyable as the members bring problems along and there is usually someone who can sort them out. Also it gives us time to make arrangements for transport to events or arrange outings to craft exhibitions.
13th May
I popped over to another WI to take the members through the Bee health resolution today. I felt rather guilty but I copied what our own member had done for us and I am pleased to say it worked just as well again.The bonus here was that one member had a son who kept bees so she was able to add even more information and give us a firsthand account of what it feels like to open up a hive and find that the bees have been attacked by the verroa mite.That WI had also lost the instructions for the back of the sampler so we are not alone in our quandary.
14th May
Today was the meeting of the Education and Current Affairs sub-committee at which everyone moves round for the next year.We had received very favourable reports of the crossword workshop so we are arranging another for those who missed out last time. We are also planning to hold an international day in October and looking ahead to lots of events for 2010. If only people would reply to letters and e-mails, even if it is just a one word answer...One can send SAEs asking for just that and get no response. I am afraid I think it is a case of bad manners, not just thoughtlessness but I am old-fashioned.
Friday, 1 May 2009
That was April, that was
April 15th
I bet you are enjoying the irony of someone who is always saying that things must be up-to-date falling so far behind with the blog, so I had better do some catching up!
The local WI had its first session for a small group who fancied doing some playreading. We were ably guided by a member who is part of the town's amateur dramatic society.We had borrowed several sets of plays from the Bucks WI drama collection at Stuart Lodge.This is an amazing resource where Mrs Barbara Edwards had annotated and catalogued all the plays--- a real labour of love which should not be forgotten.Anyway we spent an enjoyable afternoon and roped in a passing grand daughter to read a part too. We have agreed to meet again and are plotting a contribution to the WI Christmas meeting.
April 20th
Not such a happy occasion today as about a dozen members attended a well-loved member's funeral.It is always sad to lose someone but this occasion was kept as a celebration of her life which went some way to soften the blow of an unexpected departure from our midst.
April 27th
Local WI meeting of the Book Group. We had expected a newcomer to the meeting but unfortunately she didn't appear so we will need to chase her up. The novel under discussion was "About Grace" by Anthony Doerr which was set in the Caribbean and Alaska. It contained some strange characters, all of whom seemed to have consuming interests in a subject such as metal sculpture, model boat making, sea creatures or (the main character's) the structure of snowflakes. The hero (if that is the right word) also suffered from severe attacks of deja vu about coming disasters which in most cases proved remarkably accurate and affected his life decisions.I had rather hoped people would be prompted to talk about this phenomenon which probably we have all shared at some time but I got the feeling the others didn't want to. Anyway the novel received a mixed reception.The next evening I watched a TV programme about snow crystals which was a bit weird--not the programme, but the timing.
April 28th
There was a meeting organised by the Education and Current Affairs sub-committee today at Bierton in a little hall still owned by the village WI.These halls are a mixed blessing to the WI.The accounts have to be kept separate but the buildings cost a lot to maintain and equipment tends to become out-of-date.We certainly battled today with desperate tables and metered heating but these problems were soon forgotten as 40 people pitted their brains against a selection of crosswords brought along by a devilish crossword setter for the Times and other newspapers. Tim Moorey was a wonderful speaker, quite charming and able to hide the workings of his devious mind behind a very engaging manner.We all enjoyed ourselves immensely and he liked us too and has promised to come back to hold another session for the members balloted out this time.
April 29th
An outing to Wimpole Hall was arranged for today by the new sub-committee for Homes and Gardens. Three coachloads of members and friends set out on a beautiful morning. Unfortunately one of the coaches broke down but the driver coped with the situation very well and within an hour a replacement coach had picked us up and we were on our way again. I wished that I had picked up the newspaper before I left the house so I could have exercised my improved skills at finishing cryptic crosswords.Instead during the wait with everyone else on our side of the coach we surveyed the portaloo across what looked like the trenches of the Somme battlefield and I wondered whether I would be the first to have to leg it across to the builders' facility!
Wimpole Hall is gorgeous and the gardens too but the stewards in the hall itself were so approachable and enthusiastic about the place that it added a lot to the visit.
As our coach had been given extra time because it arrived late, we had hardly had a quick wash before it was off to the local WI committee meeting.We heard what a good Council meeting it had been in spite of the fact that the County Chairman was too ill to attend.I was sorry to have missed it as I really enjoy council meetings and catching up with what is happening outside my patch.Our own meeting had been very successful when the members were asked to bring a photo meaningful to them and then talk about it.AND THEY DID.So that is a useful idea when a speaker leaves you in the lurch.Our treasurer has produced a budget for the year which we will discuss at the May meeting, then there are lots of events attended to report on and plans to make, so the evening should be full even though there is just one resolution to discuss.There was an active bees' nest in the structure of the wall in the walled garden at Wimpole Hall. They looked busy and healthy; I hope they keep that way.There is a lot of information about bees on the TV and in the papers at the moment so members should be quite well-informed for the Annual General Meeting at the Royal Albert Hall in June.
I bet you are enjoying the irony of someone who is always saying that things must be up-to-date falling so far behind with the blog, so I had better do some catching up!
The local WI had its first session for a small group who fancied doing some playreading. We were ably guided by a member who is part of the town's amateur dramatic society.We had borrowed several sets of plays from the Bucks WI drama collection at Stuart Lodge.This is an amazing resource where Mrs Barbara Edwards had annotated and catalogued all the plays--- a real labour of love which should not be forgotten.Anyway we spent an enjoyable afternoon and roped in a passing grand daughter to read a part too. We have agreed to meet again and are plotting a contribution to the WI Christmas meeting.
April 20th
Not such a happy occasion today as about a dozen members attended a well-loved member's funeral.It is always sad to lose someone but this occasion was kept as a celebration of her life which went some way to soften the blow of an unexpected departure from our midst.
April 27th
Local WI meeting of the Book Group. We had expected a newcomer to the meeting but unfortunately she didn't appear so we will need to chase her up. The novel under discussion was "About Grace" by Anthony Doerr which was set in the Caribbean and Alaska. It contained some strange characters, all of whom seemed to have consuming interests in a subject such as metal sculpture, model boat making, sea creatures or (the main character's) the structure of snowflakes. The hero (if that is the right word) also suffered from severe attacks of deja vu about coming disasters which in most cases proved remarkably accurate and affected his life decisions.I had rather hoped people would be prompted to talk about this phenomenon which probably we have all shared at some time but I got the feeling the others didn't want to. Anyway the novel received a mixed reception.The next evening I watched a TV programme about snow crystals which was a bit weird--not the programme, but the timing.
April 28th
There was a meeting organised by the Education and Current Affairs sub-committee today at Bierton in a little hall still owned by the village WI.These halls are a mixed blessing to the WI.The accounts have to be kept separate but the buildings cost a lot to maintain and equipment tends to become out-of-date.We certainly battled today with desperate tables and metered heating but these problems were soon forgotten as 40 people pitted their brains against a selection of crosswords brought along by a devilish crossword setter for the Times and other newspapers. Tim Moorey was a wonderful speaker, quite charming and able to hide the workings of his devious mind behind a very engaging manner.We all enjoyed ourselves immensely and he liked us too and has promised to come back to hold another session for the members balloted out this time.
April 29th
An outing to Wimpole Hall was arranged for today by the new sub-committee for Homes and Gardens. Three coachloads of members and friends set out on a beautiful morning. Unfortunately one of the coaches broke down but the driver coped with the situation very well and within an hour a replacement coach had picked us up and we were on our way again. I wished that I had picked up the newspaper before I left the house so I could have exercised my improved skills at finishing cryptic crosswords.Instead during the wait with everyone else on our side of the coach we surveyed the portaloo across what looked like the trenches of the Somme battlefield and I wondered whether I would be the first to have to leg it across to the builders' facility!
Wimpole Hall is gorgeous and the gardens too but the stewards in the hall itself were so approachable and enthusiastic about the place that it added a lot to the visit.
As our coach had been given extra time because it arrived late, we had hardly had a quick wash before it was off to the local WI committee meeting.We heard what a good Council meeting it had been in spite of the fact that the County Chairman was too ill to attend.I was sorry to have missed it as I really enjoy council meetings and catching up with what is happening outside my patch.Our own meeting had been very successful when the members were asked to bring a photo meaningful to them and then talk about it.AND THEY DID.So that is a useful idea when a speaker leaves you in the lurch.Our treasurer has produced a budget for the year which we will discuss at the May meeting, then there are lots of events attended to report on and plans to make, so the evening should be full even though there is just one resolution to discuss.There was an active bees' nest in the structure of the wall in the walled garden at Wimpole Hall. They looked busy and healthy; I hope they keep that way.There is a lot of information about bees on the TV and in the papers at the moment so members should be quite well-informed for the Annual General Meeting at the Royal Albert Hall in June.
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