This week
A funny statistic appeared in the national press re. the WI's carbon footprint. Apparently following our eco-initiative WI members have reduced their annual amount of household rubbish to 18st instead of the national average of 152 st. They have been doing it for only 4 months so how do they know that?
I prefer the story about Charmouth WI in Dorset whose chronicle of wartime village events has become a national treasure. Accounts of knitting socks for the local regiment, caring for evacuees and providing food from gardens and hedgerows fill this scrapbook--beautifully illustrated and written with humour. No wonder it has won a national award!
12th March
As usual when one of the family moves house I approached the local branch of Country Markets (WI Markets as was) to arrange the delivery of a parcel of goodies to the new address. The parcel scheme is a wonderful national organisation which promises to deliver selected items from the local stall to the value of whatever the customer wishes, ranging from preserves to flowers, from pastries to cheeses.The person in Glamorgan that I was talking to lived previously in Drayton Parslow. The recipients will say "The WI mafia strikes again"!
13th March
A small group of WI members were invited to RAF Cottesmore in Rutland as a thank you for the parcels sent out to the forces in Afghanistan. We were welcomed by the Squadron Leader, driven around the base, given lunch and then had a conducted tour of the control tower and the aircraft hangars. We were even allowed to climb up and inspect the cockpit of a Harrier plane.The pilot has just a bit more space inside than a Formula One racing driver. All the personel were so grateful for the parcels and so appreciative of what the Bucks' WI members were doing for them. How they love the sweets, biscuits, cakes, coffee and toiletries that have been arriving out there! One Harrier pilot said that the men and women were like children opening a Christmas stocking. Westbury and District WI know of 500 boxes that have been filled and have passed through their hands but there are others going direct through Post Offices in Bucks.
So well done everyone.
14th March
Eight members of the local WI went by train as a group to the NEC in Birmingham to see the Sewing for Pleasure Exhibition. The attraction for us was the Textile Treasures of the WI. This was an excellent display, beautifully presented which made us feel very proud to be a part of such a talented organisation. Bucks Federation seemed very well represented but we may have been biassed! We went our separate ways following our interests, met up for lunch and then it was off again until we had worn our feet off.
I imagine all the WI members interested in horse racing backed DENMAN for the Cheltenham Gold Cup. It may be why the odds were so short!. He won of course.
18th March
The local WI enjoyed a Soup and Sandwiches lunch at the home of a member today. This was to raise funds and also to get rid of our soup lake. We seem to lurch from mincepie mountains to soup lakes in our WI! A very pleasant way to spend a couple of hours though.
19th March
The WI where I am a dual member met today and we listened to a pair of girls from John Lewis who advised us on how to co-ordinate our wardrobes for the new season. They knew their job but the members expressed strong views on the lack of sleeved dresses, appropriate sizes and cheerful colours in clothes for women over 40 years old. We know more about "power pants" than we did before so that fulfils the educational aims of the WI.
20th March
WI Life arrived this morning. Lo and Behold our WI book group was featured as well as the Bucks Federation.In the last issue the editors gave Taplow and Hitcham WI to the Berkshire Federation and in this one they gave us to Cheshire. That'll teach us not to go seeking glory. I thought it was an excellent issue--lots to read and think about: plus the new programme for Denman College.
Friday, 21 March 2008
Friday, 7 March 2008
Terracotta and Glass
27th February
The local WI committee met tonight in a member's house.Apparently no one had come up with a better idea than the quiz for our annual fundraiser in November so we began to think of contacts whom we could use. We shall ask for a few volunteers at the March meeting to form a working party to run the event. Of course the hall has to be booked well in advance but the finer details can be tackled later. It will need good publicity to spread it around the other town organisations.
The Town in Bloom event is more pressing at the moment so two members were absent while attending that's planning meeting in another house! There always seems to be a core of people who are involved in lots of different circles and they are the ones who volunteer all the time.Thank Heavens for the doers of this world!
Our April meeting is going to be an Open Meeting because the topic has general appeal.The WI Widowers are to be invited and ex-members who feel they cannot be sure to be well enough to turn out for WI meetings during the winter.
28th February
Unfortunately I was balloted out of the allocation of tickets to visit the Terracotta Army so my husband and I set off at the crack of dawn to queue at the British Museum for entrance tickets. According to the web there would be 500 tickets available every day from 9.15am. We joined a long queue at 9.15am and by the time we got to the desk the first available slot was 2.55pm so we amused ourselves until then and enjoyed a leisurely lunch. The exhibition is well worth a visit but it may interest you to know that to view it and travel up by train was £10 per head more expensive than the trip organised by the WI with a coach. We didn't include the lunch in this calculation and of course we couldn't use concessions on the train because of the time of travel. The exhibition itself gave reductions only to students and the disabled. So you see what a good offer some of our WI outings are!!
5th March
Hardly had we set foot inside the Local Centre where we hold our WI meetings when the fire alarm went off.We were lucky as we still had coats on; the Tai Chi students were coatless and bare foot waiting for the all clear. Some joker had pressed a panic button somewhere so there was no fire which was a relief.
The response to the boxes for the forces appeal has been marvellous. We will be able to fill another six after tonight's meeting. The local Lions' Ladies have joined in with the WI on this project.We organised delegates for the Annual Council Meeting and the Briefing for the AGM meeting.I tried very hard to explain how much better it was to volunteer for working parties than to be at the mercy of its members and be volunteered for something which one didn't want to do. It didn't work! The members could see me coming but we have a nucleus for all 3 which we need this year.
The speaker was excellent talking and demonstrating about her work with stained glass. Perhaps we will be able to fix up a craft session with her later. I always like to hear of the moments when a person is suddenly aware of what he/she wants to do with their life and refuses to be diverted in spite of all sorts of difficulties.
The local WI committee met tonight in a member's house.Apparently no one had come up with a better idea than the quiz for our annual fundraiser in November so we began to think of contacts whom we could use. We shall ask for a few volunteers at the March meeting to form a working party to run the event. Of course the hall has to be booked well in advance but the finer details can be tackled later. It will need good publicity to spread it around the other town organisations.
The Town in Bloom event is more pressing at the moment so two members were absent while attending that's planning meeting in another house! There always seems to be a core of people who are involved in lots of different circles and they are the ones who volunteer all the time.Thank Heavens for the doers of this world!
Our April meeting is going to be an Open Meeting because the topic has general appeal.The WI Widowers are to be invited and ex-members who feel they cannot be sure to be well enough to turn out for WI meetings during the winter.
28th February
Unfortunately I was balloted out of the allocation of tickets to visit the Terracotta Army so my husband and I set off at the crack of dawn to queue at the British Museum for entrance tickets. According to the web there would be 500 tickets available every day from 9.15am. We joined a long queue at 9.15am and by the time we got to the desk the first available slot was 2.55pm so we amused ourselves until then and enjoyed a leisurely lunch. The exhibition is well worth a visit but it may interest you to know that to view it and travel up by train was £10 per head more expensive than the trip organised by the WI with a coach. We didn't include the lunch in this calculation and of course we couldn't use concessions on the train because of the time of travel. The exhibition itself gave reductions only to students and the disabled. So you see what a good offer some of our WI outings are!!
5th March
Hardly had we set foot inside the Local Centre where we hold our WI meetings when the fire alarm went off.We were lucky as we still had coats on; the Tai Chi students were coatless and bare foot waiting for the all clear. Some joker had pressed a panic button somewhere so there was no fire which was a relief.
The response to the boxes for the forces appeal has been marvellous. We will be able to fill another six after tonight's meeting. The local Lions' Ladies have joined in with the WI on this project.We organised delegates for the Annual Council Meeting and the Briefing for the AGM meeting.I tried very hard to explain how much better it was to volunteer for working parties than to be at the mercy of its members and be volunteered for something which one didn't want to do. It didn't work! The members could see me coming but we have a nucleus for all 3 which we need this year.
The speaker was excellent talking and demonstrating about her work with stained glass. Perhaps we will be able to fix up a craft session with her later. I always like to hear of the moments when a person is suddenly aware of what he/she wants to do with their life and refuses to be diverted in spite of all sorts of difficulties.
Thursday, 21 February 2008
WI unconcerned with health issues
11th February
Local WI craft group meeting this afternoon. We had booked a demonstrator to show us a new kind of knitting which doesn't seem to have a name.It is rather like making a patchwork of knitting, working in squares and triangles but not having to seam them--just build up with the knitting needles.It is quite fun to do as I hate sewing up.The lady who demonstrated works for a fashion designer and is asked to test patterns to see if they actually work.It will be interesting to see what we come up with for the next meeting after a little practice on our own.
15th February
I think I can count on one hand the times in 40 years membership of the WI when I have wondered why I am a member. The first time must have been about 30 years ago when at the AGM in the Royal Albert Hall the members voted against the provision of improved nursery care facilities and I listened to people saying that a mother's place was in the home etc. quite oblivious even then of the mothers who had to work to maintain their children.I remember feeling that the majority was actually voting against the support of family life.The second time was when at the resolution selection time I listened to members saying that prostate cancer was not a subject the WI should be heard to be discussing. This was about 20 years ago and again I thought that one of the aims and objects of the WI was the health and well-being of the whole family and that this topic surely encompassed that.
Today was the third time. The Education and Current Affairs Sub-Committee has been planning a day on women's health.Speakers and demonstrators had been booked for months to talk about the management of breast disease, recent advances in reproductive medicine and maintaining healthy lifestyles.Today I had to unravel all that knitting because there were not enough members willing to come to learn about such things."This is just for young people"."We don't discuss things like that".Really? Don't you read the papers? Don't you see the unhappiness of daughters and daughters-in-law who don't know where to turn for help and advice with their problems? Is it not part of family life to be able to know how to support your friends and relatives as they wrestle with the misery and fright of a diagnosis of breast cancer which can strike at any age. I hate the sentence --"So-and-so was always there for me" but I'll use it now because the Bucks WI member wont be there for anyone.
Membership of the WI is not to enjoy a non-stop entertainment :it is far more than that.It is educational and 100% supportive of family life and values. If we forget that, we might as well belong to a club --lower in stature than the working men's clubs which were originally formed to look after their own.
You will have gathered that I am a little annoyed and very disappointed. Also embarrassed because what will our speakers think of the WI when I tell them that we couldn't raise a big enough audience to not be an insult and a misuse of their time away from their worthwhile occupations helping women face their health problems? In fact I'm so cross that my grammar and punctuation has gone awol.
18th February
Well after all that I was really impressed with what my WI had provided in our boxes for the Forces in Afghanistan. I took them up to Westbury and District WI this morning and was filled with admiration at the way its members had organised themselves to handle this project. I'm glad to say that there is a lot of support for this campaign and that the recipients of the parcels are taking the time to write and say thank you. This adds a personal touch to the scheme. Some have mothers who are WI members and who knows perhaps when the girls are demobbed they may remember and become members themselves.
19th February
The local WI book group met today. We had been reading Penelope Lively's "A House unlocked" which is an autobiography describing this novelist's childhood. It stirred memories of World War II and of another way of life in a country house where gardening, hunting and organised picnics a la the Bloomsbury set were enjoyed.But the author also discussed the changes in society over the last half century, the alteration of values and the coming of travel.I picked up an article in the national press where the Campaign to Protect Rural England said that a new village green boosted village life. "It tends to encourage events, inclusivity and a resurgence of traditional forms like the Women's Institute".This was one of the points Penelope Lively was making too.
We are hoping to join up with another reading group in the town for a session together but we need to decide on a book to all read and discuss.
Local WI craft group meeting this afternoon. We had booked a demonstrator to show us a new kind of knitting which doesn't seem to have a name.It is rather like making a patchwork of knitting, working in squares and triangles but not having to seam them--just build up with the knitting needles.It is quite fun to do as I hate sewing up.The lady who demonstrated works for a fashion designer and is asked to test patterns to see if they actually work.It will be interesting to see what we come up with for the next meeting after a little practice on our own.
15th February
I think I can count on one hand the times in 40 years membership of the WI when I have wondered why I am a member. The first time must have been about 30 years ago when at the AGM in the Royal Albert Hall the members voted against the provision of improved nursery care facilities and I listened to people saying that a mother's place was in the home etc. quite oblivious even then of the mothers who had to work to maintain their children.I remember feeling that the majority was actually voting against the support of family life.The second time was when at the resolution selection time I listened to members saying that prostate cancer was not a subject the WI should be heard to be discussing. This was about 20 years ago and again I thought that one of the aims and objects of the WI was the health and well-being of the whole family and that this topic surely encompassed that.
Today was the third time. The Education and Current Affairs Sub-Committee has been planning a day on women's health.Speakers and demonstrators had been booked for months to talk about the management of breast disease, recent advances in reproductive medicine and maintaining healthy lifestyles.Today I had to unravel all that knitting because there were not enough members willing to come to learn about such things."This is just for young people"."We don't discuss things like that".Really? Don't you read the papers? Don't you see the unhappiness of daughters and daughters-in-law who don't know where to turn for help and advice with their problems? Is it not part of family life to be able to know how to support your friends and relatives as they wrestle with the misery and fright of a diagnosis of breast cancer which can strike at any age. I hate the sentence --"So-and-so was always there for me" but I'll use it now because the Bucks WI member wont be there for anyone.
Membership of the WI is not to enjoy a non-stop entertainment :it is far more than that.It is educational and 100% supportive of family life and values. If we forget that, we might as well belong to a club --lower in stature than the working men's clubs which were originally formed to look after their own.
You will have gathered that I am a little annoyed and very disappointed. Also embarrassed because what will our speakers think of the WI when I tell them that we couldn't raise a big enough audience to not be an insult and a misuse of their time away from their worthwhile occupations helping women face their health problems? In fact I'm so cross that my grammar and punctuation has gone awol.
18th February
Well after all that I was really impressed with what my WI had provided in our boxes for the Forces in Afghanistan. I took them up to Westbury and District WI this morning and was filled with admiration at the way its members had organised themselves to handle this project. I'm glad to say that there is a lot of support for this campaign and that the recipients of the parcels are taking the time to write and say thank you. This adds a personal touch to the scheme. Some have mothers who are WI members and who knows perhaps when the girls are demobbed they may remember and become members themselves.
19th February
The local WI book group met today. We had been reading Penelope Lively's "A House unlocked" which is an autobiography describing this novelist's childhood. It stirred memories of World War II and of another way of life in a country house where gardening, hunting and organised picnics a la the Bloomsbury set were enjoyed.But the author also discussed the changes in society over the last half century, the alteration of values and the coming of travel.I picked up an article in the national press where the Campaign to Protect Rural England said that a new village green boosted village life. "It tends to encourage events, inclusivity and a resurgence of traditional forms like the Women's Institute".This was one of the points Penelope Lively was making too.
We are hoping to join up with another reading group in the town for a session together but we need to decide on a book to all read and discuss.
Tuesday, 12 February 2008
Education, flora and fauna
17 January
It was the day for the final meeting of a series of four when the Bucks WI members are gathered to select the resolutions which they think are worthy to go forward to the Annual General Meeting of NFWI in June 2008.There must have been about 100 people present to hear the resolutions outlined by the members of the Member Services Committee.No one represents her WI at these meetings: she makes her own decision. We had six resolutions to choose from which all mirrored some aspect of the interests and campaigns of the WI movement.We thought about artificial additives in children's medicines, the dangers of Group B Streptococcus infection in infants and inappropriate imprisonment of the severely mentally ill. For education we discussed fairer funding for schools and for the environment we considered safer routes for pedestrians and a ban on sea bottom trawling. The last topic was presented by a local WI member whose WI had sent up this resolution.
It will be interesting to discover whether our choice as a county federation is the same as the one from the country as a whole.
30 January
Our local WI committee tonight was very busy as not only our WI but the County Federation and National gird up their loins for the new year activities after the Christmas break.There is always so much forward planning to do, scrabbling for dates which do not clash with other events and weighing up ideas for fundraising. We think we know what we will suggest to the meeting next week but one never knows what the reaction will be. Sometimes one wishes one didn't need to be democratic--it would certainly speed things up!
4th February-8th February
At home I have been without my computer so this blog has been in limbo for weeks, stored somewhere in the ether because my machine decided to break off communications with my provider.What a palaver! Why on earth would a machine suddenly think of that? And the helplines talk pure jargon so that in the end it is better to hand the whole thing over to a professional and hope he isn't losing your life's work in some black hole.It is also rather unsettling to realise how dependent one has become on a computer. This little room seemed quite heart-less!
Anyway I went off on the WI winter break to Cricket St Thomas where I didn't need to think of electronics at all.
Forty two of us joined the holiday. We visited Lyme Regis, the Donkey Sanctuary and Sidmouth. The seas were impressive as it was very windy. Even so some brave souls were speeding among the waves on sailboards.During the showers we were able to take coffee before walking along the Cobb and remembering Jane Austen's heroine being blown off the top.
The sun shone while we talked to the donkeys.It is an amazing story how that enterprise developed from one woman's vocation into a national concern which will provide speakers all over the country. The work done for special needs children on the site is impressive too. Sidmouth is a lovely little town with lots of old fashioned shops which are a delight and proved a mecca for our party.(Actually that isn't a good word to use as the members didn't remove their shoes but came out with more pairs than they had when they went in!)
Next day we explored the little safari park and went for walks and on the last day we visited Exeter.The embroideries in the cathedral are magnificent and it is heartwarming to hear of a group carrying on the traditions of hundreds of years in making beautiful objects for their church just for the joy of their creation.On the way home we spent some time at the Butterfly Farm at Studley Grange so we studied flora and fauna during our travels in the West Country.
These holidays do us all good providing a chance to meet and talk to others and speed us through the dark months of winter.
While we were away the BBC did another showing of Calendar Girls. Thank Goodness it did, as it proved a great antidote to that ghastly Jam and Jerusalem series which people have had to endure during the past weeks.
It was the day for the final meeting of a series of four when the Bucks WI members are gathered to select the resolutions which they think are worthy to go forward to the Annual General Meeting of NFWI in June 2008.There must have been about 100 people present to hear the resolutions outlined by the members of the Member Services Committee.No one represents her WI at these meetings: she makes her own decision. We had six resolutions to choose from which all mirrored some aspect of the interests and campaigns of the WI movement.We thought about artificial additives in children's medicines, the dangers of Group B Streptococcus infection in infants and inappropriate imprisonment of the severely mentally ill. For education we discussed fairer funding for schools and for the environment we considered safer routes for pedestrians and a ban on sea bottom trawling. The last topic was presented by a local WI member whose WI had sent up this resolution.
It will be interesting to discover whether our choice as a county federation is the same as the one from the country as a whole.
30 January
Our local WI committee tonight was very busy as not only our WI but the County Federation and National gird up their loins for the new year activities after the Christmas break.There is always so much forward planning to do, scrabbling for dates which do not clash with other events and weighing up ideas for fundraising. We think we know what we will suggest to the meeting next week but one never knows what the reaction will be. Sometimes one wishes one didn't need to be democratic--it would certainly speed things up!
4th February-8th February
At home I have been without my computer so this blog has been in limbo for weeks, stored somewhere in the ether because my machine decided to break off communications with my provider.What a palaver! Why on earth would a machine suddenly think of that? And the helplines talk pure jargon so that in the end it is better to hand the whole thing over to a professional and hope he isn't losing your life's work in some black hole.It is also rather unsettling to realise how dependent one has become on a computer. This little room seemed quite heart-less!
Anyway I went off on the WI winter break to Cricket St Thomas where I didn't need to think of electronics at all.
Forty two of us joined the holiday. We visited Lyme Regis, the Donkey Sanctuary and Sidmouth. The seas were impressive as it was very windy. Even so some brave souls were speeding among the waves on sailboards.During the showers we were able to take coffee before walking along the Cobb and remembering Jane Austen's heroine being blown off the top.
The sun shone while we talked to the donkeys.It is an amazing story how that enterprise developed from one woman's vocation into a national concern which will provide speakers all over the country. The work done for special needs children on the site is impressive too. Sidmouth is a lovely little town with lots of old fashioned shops which are a delight and proved a mecca for our party.(Actually that isn't a good word to use as the members didn't remove their shoes but came out with more pairs than they had when they went in!)
Next day we explored the little safari park and went for walks and on the last day we visited Exeter.The embroideries in the cathedral are magnificent and it is heartwarming to hear of a group carrying on the traditions of hundreds of years in making beautiful objects for their church just for the joy of their creation.On the way home we spent some time at the Butterfly Farm at Studley Grange so we studied flora and fauna during our travels in the West Country.
These holidays do us all good providing a chance to meet and talk to others and speed us through the dark months of winter.
While we were away the BBC did another showing of Calendar Girls. Thank Goodness it did, as it proved a great antidote to that ghastly Jam and Jerusalem series which people have had to endure during the past weeks.
Sunday, 13 January 2008
Welcome to the WI in Bucks 2008
2008
Why wasn't I surprised at the thundering e-silence that followed my request for advice on whether to continue with this blog or to let it sink into oblivion? Not one comment received on site, but I was told not to stop by various people in conversation because it is about the only thing that moves on the informal area of the BFWI website. I learn that there are WI husbands out there who read my column in order to see what their wives are involved in at the moment! Welcome--perhaps I will receive messages from you.
Another New Year, a new WI diary in breath-taking pink, a new WI calendar to fill up beside the phone, new ideas to put on top of the old ones? Everyone is busy making resolutions or drawing up "mind maps" for the coming year.I shall try and tart my blogsite up a bit to include the odd picture perhaps and I may be able to manage to alter my leapfrog style of making additions which will no doubt confuse me but make things more comprehensible to the reader.
2nd January
I travelled down to Stuart Lodge, the BFWI office at High Wycombe, with loads of paperwork which contained cheques. I needed to be sure they had arrived rather than trust the vagaries of the Post Office after the extended holiday.The forecast of snow the following day also speeded me on. It was lovely to see the decorating work in progress and the new fittings in the upstairs bathroom. The place looks 100% better already after the damage from floods and burglary.The staff deserve the improvement after putting up with the devastation for many months.
In the evening the local WI met in committee to plan the January meeting.It looks as if we are in for another busy year. Subscriptions are due next week: £27 of which each WI keeps almost half and the rest is divided between the county federation and the National Federation.Did you know a season ticket to watch a football team costs around £500? Our programme looks entertaining, finances are secure and we have volunteers for every job to be done. We also have various dates on the calendar when we will playing our part in the life of the community.
5th January
I spotted an article in a colour supplement about the national marmalade making championships. No, I didn't know there was such a thing either! Apparently it is being held this year beside Ullswater. There are hundreds of entries coming from all over the world and of course, who are the judges? WI trained craft and produce judges.
7th January
A bit of excitement today at our WI Book Group meeting. Not only have we a new member but we had to have our photograph taken because we are about to appear in print in WI Life. Just before Christmas two of the group wrote a piece about the readers and enclosed a written book review. We sent it up to the County Library Reading Group Newsletter and that appeared in late December. Then we sent it to WI Life and the editor said he liked it but wanted a photo! The review was of A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon but at the January meeting we were discussing The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. This is well worth reading as it gives an insight into events in the Congo which is poignantly topical today for what is happening in poor Zaire at the moment.There was so much to talk about in the book that we were ready for a cup of tea to wet our whistles by 4 o'clock.
9th January
Wow! Our first meeting of the year and seven potential new members showed up! We knew to expect some but not seven, so everyone had to work together to ensure that the visitors felt welcome and would come again.It was certainly a full house and Thank Goodness the speaker was very entertaining.She also managed to talk very positively about the process of vetting and consultation which the BFWI puts speakers through before they are included in the Speakers' Yearbook. We have set up a working group to liaise with the Town in Bloom event in June, have 3 people going to mastermind our entry for the NFWI Healthy Lifestyle Competition but have had to scrub our entry for the BFWI Quiz in March as it clashes with our own meeting and no one wants to miss that.
We are going to join in with Westbury and District WI which is filling boxes with items for the military personnel in Afghanistan. This is not just for Christmas but an on-going activity. It cannot be termed as political as it is not about judging whether the forces should be there or not, but supporting those who have been sent there.We will try to fill 6 boxes over the year.
10th January
Today the Education & Current Affairs Sub-committee met and we spent the time putting the final touches to plans for the Health Day It's a Woman's Thing, pre-planning a Polish Day and dreaming of a huge undertaking for 2010, the BFWI anniversary year. I'm not going to tell you what that may be!
We need volunteers for this committee because when our term ends in April this year some members are calling it a day.BFWI needs more people on Executive too. Dear Reader, please think about enquiring into what is involved, remember what pleasure you have taken in WI events and consider what time you could spare to put something back into the organisation.
Guess what? NFWI Public Affairs are going to have a blogsite--copycats!
Why wasn't I surprised at the thundering e-silence that followed my request for advice on whether to continue with this blog or to let it sink into oblivion? Not one comment received on site, but I was told not to stop by various people in conversation because it is about the only thing that moves on the informal area of the BFWI website. I learn that there are WI husbands out there who read my column in order to see what their wives are involved in at the moment! Welcome--perhaps I will receive messages from you.
Another New Year, a new WI diary in breath-taking pink, a new WI calendar to fill up beside the phone, new ideas to put on top of the old ones? Everyone is busy making resolutions or drawing up "mind maps" for the coming year.I shall try and tart my blogsite up a bit to include the odd picture perhaps and I may be able to manage to alter my leapfrog style of making additions which will no doubt confuse me but make things more comprehensible to the reader.
2nd January
I travelled down to Stuart Lodge, the BFWI office at High Wycombe, with loads of paperwork which contained cheques. I needed to be sure they had arrived rather than trust the vagaries of the Post Office after the extended holiday.The forecast of snow the following day also speeded me on. It was lovely to see the decorating work in progress and the new fittings in the upstairs bathroom. The place looks 100% better already after the damage from floods and burglary.The staff deserve the improvement after putting up with the devastation for many months.
In the evening the local WI met in committee to plan the January meeting.It looks as if we are in for another busy year. Subscriptions are due next week: £27 of which each WI keeps almost half and the rest is divided between the county federation and the National Federation.Did you know a season ticket to watch a football team costs around £500? Our programme looks entertaining, finances are secure and we have volunteers for every job to be done. We also have various dates on the calendar when we will playing our part in the life of the community.
5th January
I spotted an article in a colour supplement about the national marmalade making championships. No, I didn't know there was such a thing either! Apparently it is being held this year beside Ullswater. There are hundreds of entries coming from all over the world and of course, who are the judges? WI trained craft and produce judges.
7th January
A bit of excitement today at our WI Book Group meeting. Not only have we a new member but we had to have our photograph taken because we are about to appear in print in WI Life. Just before Christmas two of the group wrote a piece about the readers and enclosed a written book review. We sent it up to the County Library Reading Group Newsletter and that appeared in late December. Then we sent it to WI Life and the editor said he liked it but wanted a photo! The review was of A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon but at the January meeting we were discussing The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. This is well worth reading as it gives an insight into events in the Congo which is poignantly topical today for what is happening in poor Zaire at the moment.There was so much to talk about in the book that we were ready for a cup of tea to wet our whistles by 4 o'clock.
9th January
Wow! Our first meeting of the year and seven potential new members showed up! We knew to expect some but not seven, so everyone had to work together to ensure that the visitors felt welcome and would come again.It was certainly a full house and Thank Goodness the speaker was very entertaining.She also managed to talk very positively about the process of vetting and consultation which the BFWI puts speakers through before they are included in the Speakers' Yearbook. We have set up a working group to liaise with the Town in Bloom event in June, have 3 people going to mastermind our entry for the NFWI Healthy Lifestyle Competition but have had to scrub our entry for the BFWI Quiz in March as it clashes with our own meeting and no one wants to miss that.
We are going to join in with Westbury and District WI which is filling boxes with items for the military personnel in Afghanistan. This is not just for Christmas but an on-going activity. It cannot be termed as political as it is not about judging whether the forces should be there or not, but supporting those who have been sent there.We will try to fill 6 boxes over the year.
10th January
Today the Education & Current Affairs Sub-committee met and we spent the time putting the final touches to plans for the Health Day It's a Woman's Thing, pre-planning a Polish Day and dreaming of a huge undertaking for 2010, the BFWI anniversary year. I'm not going to tell you what that may be!
We need volunteers for this committee because when our term ends in April this year some members are calling it a day.BFWI needs more people on Executive too. Dear Reader, please think about enquiring into what is involved, remember what pleasure you have taken in WI events and consider what time you could spare to put something back into the organisation.
Guess what? NFWI Public Affairs are going to have a blogsite--copycats!
Friday, 28 December 2007
Christmas festivities
7th December
One of the WIs in our local WI group hosted an evening concert by the Bletchley Belles singers at Mursley. This has become an annual event to raise money for Willen Hospice and the host WI. The Bletchley Belles got together several years ago to compete in the WI contest for choirs. They did very well regionally and have continued singing together ever since for their own enjoyment and for those of us who like to go along to listen.
8th December
More carols at the WI event held in Buckingham Community Centre tonight. Bravura Brass provided the accompaniment and there were readings by members of the Leisure and Performing Arts Sub-committee. It was a lovely evening and the singing was great. The refreshments were traditional mincepies homemade by WI members.
10th December
Our local craft group was a very small gathering this afternoon as these dreadful coughs and colds took their toll. But we have planned our 2008 programme of demonstrations and activities and we spent a cosy time chatting around a coal fire.
11th December
Tonight the local WI members went out for a Christmas dinner at Claydon House. This is an extra event so if we wish to attend we have to pay for ourselves and our guests.We hire the community bus to which the WI pays an annual affiliation fee so that no one has to avoid alcohol consumption for the drive home. It is a very popular event for which we all have an excuse to dress up: the males enjoy wearing dinner jackets too. We choose fairly local restaurants and change the venue every year.This custom also provides an opportunity to socialise and to thank partners for their support during the year.You know the sort of thing--moving tables and chairs, taxi-ing, bringing refreshments out to tents and answering endless telephone calls!
End of year
There are no more WI events planned for 2007 so this will be my final entry for this year.I don't really know how successful this idea has been or whether to continue in 2008. The aim was to show what the WI has to offer locally, within the County Federation and nationally. I also wanted to encourage Bucks WI members to look at the website and to use it. I have received few comments on the blog but several in conversation so it's up to you readers and Bucks Executive to decide what becomes of this spot.
In the meantime may I wish you all the best for 2008 and rather like Bruce Forsyth would say "Keep WI-ing!"
One of the WIs in our local WI group hosted an evening concert by the Bletchley Belles singers at Mursley. This has become an annual event to raise money for Willen Hospice and the host WI. The Bletchley Belles got together several years ago to compete in the WI contest for choirs. They did very well regionally and have continued singing together ever since for their own enjoyment and for those of us who like to go along to listen.
8th December
More carols at the WI event held in Buckingham Community Centre tonight. Bravura Brass provided the accompaniment and there were readings by members of the Leisure and Performing Arts Sub-committee. It was a lovely evening and the singing was great. The refreshments were traditional mincepies homemade by WI members.
10th December
Our local craft group was a very small gathering this afternoon as these dreadful coughs and colds took their toll. But we have planned our 2008 programme of demonstrations and activities and we spent a cosy time chatting around a coal fire.
11th December
Tonight the local WI members went out for a Christmas dinner at Claydon House. This is an extra event so if we wish to attend we have to pay for ourselves and our guests.We hire the community bus to which the WI pays an annual affiliation fee so that no one has to avoid alcohol consumption for the drive home. It is a very popular event for which we all have an excuse to dress up: the males enjoy wearing dinner jackets too. We choose fairly local restaurants and change the venue every year.This custom also provides an opportunity to socialise and to thank partners for their support during the year.You know the sort of thing--moving tables and chairs, taxi-ing, bringing refreshments out to tents and answering endless telephone calls!
End of year
There are no more WI events planned for 2007 so this will be my final entry for this year.I don't really know how successful this idea has been or whether to continue in 2008. The aim was to show what the WI has to offer locally, within the County Federation and nationally. I also wanted to encourage Bucks WI members to look at the website and to use it. I have received few comments on the blog but several in conversation so it's up to you readers and Bucks Executive to decide what becomes of this spot.
In the meantime may I wish you all the best for 2008 and rather like Bruce Forsyth would say "Keep WI-ing!"
Sunday, 9 December 2007
Mummies and Let's Cook
27th November
Over the next ten days, 140 Bucks WI members and friends will visit O2 and see the Tutankhamun Exhibition before being driven by coach to look at the Christmas lights. The exhibition was fascinating and although very crowded one was able to examine all the exhibits. The "shop" was awful! Whatever does one do with a miniature teddy with a Tutankhamun headdress?
These WI excursions to exhibitions and museums are always popular so there will be huge demand for the Terracotta Warriors in March 2008.
And aren't our coach drivers brilliant?!
28th November
Local WI committee tonight where the main business was planning the December Christmas monthly meeting. We also arranged how to ballot the members on their views about the WI Denman bursary. The special event called Food and Flowers had been a great success not only socially but also financially so the treasurer is starting her new term with a smile on her face.
3rd December
The Book Group meeting was small today because of illness but we enjoyed discussing Mark Haddon's A Spot of Bother. Although part of its content was to do with homosexuality and was very explicit ( which would have been considered taboo in the early days of our readers' lives), we managed to really enjoy the novel. We are going to try writing a review for inclusion in the Bucks County Library Reading Group newsletter and who knows? perhaps even WI Life. (The editor did request reviews in the last issue). We'll see how we go.
5th December
The WI Christmas meeting was well attended and very pleasant. There were some readings but no carols this year as we have lost our pianist. The result of the ballot was a wish to alternate the bursary between an individual award and an extra meeting for all members.We will start with an individual drawn by lot as the last two years have been special meetings.
One member had sweet-talked a trade demonstrator in Central Milton Keynes into giving her a good selection of cookery knives to donate to the Let's Cook project in Bletchley. We will present these next week along with the large casserole dishes already donated last month.
The Let's Cook scheme was started by NFWI. It is to encourage the County Federations to train volunteer WI members to teach basic cookery to disadvantaged groups. Bucks has trained two people already and has run a very successful course for young mothers in Bletchley. Another is planned for early 2008. Our WI wondered about offering Let's Sew. Of course, like anything else these days all instructors and helpers have to be police checked and this puts off volunteers.
I can understand this situation but don't you think it is time the WI led the revolt against some of these daft Health and Safety rules? In the press this week we have had parents forbidden to bring home-made mince pies to a PTA carol service and school nativity plays abandoned for fear of affront to other faiths.And what price now for summer fetes wanting to run name the teddy competitions? Yet we have footballers running about the fields called Jesus and receiving yellow and red cards like everyone else!
Someone or some organisation has got to make a stand and halt this paranoia.
Over the next ten days, 140 Bucks WI members and friends will visit O2 and see the Tutankhamun Exhibition before being driven by coach to look at the Christmas lights. The exhibition was fascinating and although very crowded one was able to examine all the exhibits. The "shop" was awful! Whatever does one do with a miniature teddy with a Tutankhamun headdress?
These WI excursions to exhibitions and museums are always popular so there will be huge demand for the Terracotta Warriors in March 2008.
And aren't our coach drivers brilliant?!
28th November
Local WI committee tonight where the main business was planning the December Christmas monthly meeting. We also arranged how to ballot the members on their views about the WI Denman bursary. The special event called Food and Flowers had been a great success not only socially but also financially so the treasurer is starting her new term with a smile on her face.
3rd December
The Book Group meeting was small today because of illness but we enjoyed discussing Mark Haddon's A Spot of Bother. Although part of its content was to do with homosexuality and was very explicit ( which would have been considered taboo in the early days of our readers' lives), we managed to really enjoy the novel. We are going to try writing a review for inclusion in the Bucks County Library Reading Group newsletter and who knows? perhaps even WI Life. (The editor did request reviews in the last issue). We'll see how we go.
5th December
The WI Christmas meeting was well attended and very pleasant. There were some readings but no carols this year as we have lost our pianist. The result of the ballot was a wish to alternate the bursary between an individual award and an extra meeting for all members.We will start with an individual drawn by lot as the last two years have been special meetings.
One member had sweet-talked a trade demonstrator in Central Milton Keynes into giving her a good selection of cookery knives to donate to the Let's Cook project in Bletchley. We will present these next week along with the large casserole dishes already donated last month.
The Let's Cook scheme was started by NFWI. It is to encourage the County Federations to train volunteer WI members to teach basic cookery to disadvantaged groups. Bucks has trained two people already and has run a very successful course for young mothers in Bletchley. Another is planned for early 2008. Our WI wondered about offering Let's Sew. Of course, like anything else these days all instructors and helpers have to be police checked and this puts off volunteers.
I can understand this situation but don't you think it is time the WI led the revolt against some of these daft Health and Safety rules? In the press this week we have had parents forbidden to bring home-made mince pies to a PTA carol service and school nativity plays abandoned for fear of affront to other faiths.And what price now for summer fetes wanting to run name the teddy competitions? Yet we have footballers running about the fields called Jesus and receiving yellow and red cards like everyone else!
Someone or some organisation has got to make a stand and halt this paranoia.
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