21st August
Every year BFWI invites every member who serves on any sub-committee or who holds a special responsibility within the organisation to join them for supper somewhere in the County. I hasten to add that we all have to pay for the privilege: there is no such thing as a free supper either! Even so it is a nice gesture and we appreciate it. It is about the only occasion when we all get together and can talk over our plans and ideas for the coming year. This year we met at Naphill and the local WI did the catering. Excellent, of course.One of the best things about the evening was that no one rushed us and we were able to do a lot of talking or should I call it networking these days?
22nd August
The local newspaper has done us proud with the article about the WI's opposition to the closure of the Post Offices in our area. I hope that lots of people will write this week to the Consultation Team and express their concerns. The trouble is that if we save one, another will be for the chop as the Post Office maintains it has to fulfil its quota.
25th August
Thank Goodness it stopped raining even if there was no obvious sunshine for the Winslow Show. It was great to see the animals back in the show-ring after last year's ban because of foot and mouth disease restrictions. We had lots of visitors to our stand which had a new location this year, right next to the pig roast so we were sure of people dropping in to look at our exhibit. We majored on the Big Tidy Up campaign which NFWI will launch in September. Winslow WI is hoping to do a litter pick around the town sometime in October so we were asking people where they thought the trouble spots were to be found. We are going to invite other organisations in the town to join us. Our knitted house exhibit was popular with the children, as was the little free quiz which was organised for them. I hope we attract some new members but it was nice talking to our own members and visitors from around the country. These events are a lot of work but well worth the effort.At the end of the day everything was packed off to go to the County Show at Aylesbury where I am pleased to see we have a couple of tables for promotion in the Shopping Tent.
30th August
Front page spread in the Daily Telegraph about the "sexiest WI in Britain"! All publicity is good publicity except one's obituary they say and personally I don't think this will do the WI any harm. The matter that I question is talk of re-writing the rules. There is nothing in the rules to stop WI members making nude calendars or learning pole-dancing but a group is not a WI unless it obeys the constitution. WI Lite is a WI drawing up its own programme and providing what its members want which is exactly what every WI should do. One of the things people who enquire about joining the WI are always told is to look around, visit lots of WIs and see which suits you. It is a shame the members of Bramley WI complained about the new one but it is ever so irritating if a new WI is formed in one's locality and one sees it as a threat: there is room for both.
We may not want to have speakers and demonstrators who will teach us how to appear beautiful and sexy enough to appear in glossy magazines.We have all had our moments! Quite frankly there are a lot of younger people who don't want that either. They are turning their attention to learning traditional crafts and skills which recent education has missed out.We are learning from them the modern technology for communications--each generation benefitting from the other and appreciating what the other can provide. It was ever so and the WI programme should cater for the membership. The first WI members fought for emancipation and the education of women and without their efforts and dedication WI Lite would never have been able to strut their stuff anywhere accept in the privacy of their own homes.
The WI is alive and well but its members reveal it in different ways!
There must be something in the water in Hampshire these days.
Sunday, 31 August 2008
Monday, 18 August 2008
abuse and exploitation
3rd August
Well of course they had to pat the WI on its collective head and say that it was sweet of it to care and ho! ho! you are dear innocents in a world you have no idea about. The WI Guide to Brothels on Channel 4 chose to go along this route and I think the two ladies from Hampshire Federation rather played them at their own game--TV production not prostitution, I hasten to add.If you want to present a resolution which will tackle violence against women where prostitutes are at the mercy of some of the worst perpetrators of violent abuse, then you must get the attention of thousands to support you and what better way than through the home TV set? The aim is to license brothels, not to ban them, and to afford these women some form of protection. This is what the police wish too. Think of the employment opportunities for the bureaucrats of Health and Safety, Hygiene Inspectors and their ilk!
It was a very informative programme and amusing in the same way as the WI Alternative Calendar was amusing because of the juxtaposition of the WI's image and the shady world of nudity and sex. But you had to admire the bravery of those two to even think of doing what they did. Could you have talked to some of those people, gone into those places?
4th August
Almost a full house for the local WI Book Group this afternoon. We have been reading several books over the summer but Joseph O'Connor's Star of the Sea was the "official" choice this month. We agreed that it wasn't a book we would have taken off the library shelf if we had been left to our own devises. However it was much enjoyed and admired as a novel which described the horrific conditions in which the people of Scotland and Ireland dispossessed by either the clearances or the potato famine travelled to a new life in America.
I had been reading Two Caravans by Marina Lwycka (the Tractors in Ukrainian woman) which was another depressing and horrifing story, even more disturbing as it was set in modern day Britain. Talk about violence to women and rampant abuse of the immigrants coming to our shores and it is not much better than on board the Star of the Sea hundreds of years ago.It was funny too but I felt ashamed that I had almost forgotten about the cocklepickers drowned on Morecombe Sands and the exploited flowerpickers in Cornwall.Mind the flowerpickers were helped by the Cornwall WIs but we know of youngsters working for next to nothing in hotels and restaurants in London, fleeced by unscrupulous agents but travelling up from the respectable Home Counties.
7th August
The local WI had planned a summer outing to Waterperry Gardens and then tea with an Oxfordshire WI but the numbers dwindled and dwindled until we had to cancel the tea which was very embarrassing. In the end only ten of us went as even more baulked when they saw the morning weather but they need not have worried because we had no rain at all while there. The gardens are well worth seeing and the items for sale are interesting but rather expensive to buy--well, the things I was eye-ing were! There were few people there because of the weather forecast so we enjoyed a leisurely walk round and on the way home stopped for a lovely cream tea at one of our own Bucks villages' post office plus shop plus cafe. Who wants to think about cholesterol levels at a time like that!
Well of course they had to pat the WI on its collective head and say that it was sweet of it to care and ho! ho! you are dear innocents in a world you have no idea about. The WI Guide to Brothels on Channel 4 chose to go along this route and I think the two ladies from Hampshire Federation rather played them at their own game--TV production not prostitution, I hasten to add.If you want to present a resolution which will tackle violence against women where prostitutes are at the mercy of some of the worst perpetrators of violent abuse, then you must get the attention of thousands to support you and what better way than through the home TV set? The aim is to license brothels, not to ban them, and to afford these women some form of protection. This is what the police wish too. Think of the employment opportunities for the bureaucrats of Health and Safety, Hygiene Inspectors and their ilk!
It was a very informative programme and amusing in the same way as the WI Alternative Calendar was amusing because of the juxtaposition of the WI's image and the shady world of nudity and sex. But you had to admire the bravery of those two to even think of doing what they did. Could you have talked to some of those people, gone into those places?
4th August
Almost a full house for the local WI Book Group this afternoon. We have been reading several books over the summer but Joseph O'Connor's Star of the Sea was the "official" choice this month. We agreed that it wasn't a book we would have taken off the library shelf if we had been left to our own devises. However it was much enjoyed and admired as a novel which described the horrific conditions in which the people of Scotland and Ireland dispossessed by either the clearances or the potato famine travelled to a new life in America.
I had been reading Two Caravans by Marina Lwycka (the Tractors in Ukrainian woman) which was another depressing and horrifing story, even more disturbing as it was set in modern day Britain. Talk about violence to women and rampant abuse of the immigrants coming to our shores and it is not much better than on board the Star of the Sea hundreds of years ago.It was funny too but I felt ashamed that I had almost forgotten about the cocklepickers drowned on Morecombe Sands and the exploited flowerpickers in Cornwall.Mind the flowerpickers were helped by the Cornwall WIs but we know of youngsters working for next to nothing in hotels and restaurants in London, fleeced by unscrupulous agents but travelling up from the respectable Home Counties.
7th August
The local WI had planned a summer outing to Waterperry Gardens and then tea with an Oxfordshire WI but the numbers dwindled and dwindled until we had to cancel the tea which was very embarrassing. In the end only ten of us went as even more baulked when they saw the morning weather but they need not have worried because we had no rain at all while there. The gardens are well worth seeing and the items for sale are interesting but rather expensive to buy--well, the things I was eye-ing were! There were few people there because of the weather forecast so we enjoyed a leisurely walk round and on the way home stopped for a lovely cream tea at one of our own Bucks villages' post office plus shop plus cafe. Who wants to think about cholesterol levels at a time like that!
Sunday, 3 August 2008
As others see us
20 July
An early start to help steward in the WI tent at the Chiltern Show at Great Missenden. Our site was very close to the main stage so we were able to follow the various items featured throughout the day. It was very rewarding to see that most of the recommendations for the awards for work in the community were put forward by WI members. These were not just for local members but for people who had been spotted as making a worthwhile contribution to the life of others in their home area. The WI was also well represented in the prize list for the original writing competition. One of our own WI members was highly commended so we felt very proud about that.
Apparently attendance had been low the day before but it was fine on the Sunday. However it does work out very expensive for the families visiting and it may be wise for the organisers to make more favourable terms for family tickets in order to increase the gate figures.We were promoting the WI of course and had lots of members drop in to see us and the usual amount of people saying that they will join as soon as they retire! We joined when we were mothers and working part-time too, a lot of us so why can't others? I don't believe it is any harder for the modern younger mother than it was for us.
22 July
This evening I attended the meeting arranged by Post Offices Ltd re. probable closures in North Bucks. The WI has been fighting these closures nationally for several years now and we have been writing letters to all and sundry in the hope of influencing the powers that be against adding to rural isolation.There was a representative from Post Watch, an organisation which has been fairly sympathetic towards our concerns but which in reality has very few teeth to alter these rulings. The meeting was attended by about 50 people and all the old arguments were aired both for and against. We were told that we could make our concerns known and send up more information to back our cause during the consultation period but one felt it was a foregone conclusion. The inadequacies of local transport had not been fully considered in a practical fashion. OK one can get a bus from Twyford to Marsh Gibbon to visit the Post Office but with the best will in the world what can one do in Marsh Gibbon for two hours before starting the return journey! And why consider closing a branch which is growing in its custom in favour of one where the trader wishes to retire?
The writing was on the wall for Post Offices when the Government altered the payment of pensions and removed other services from the PO counters. And then to keep saying to the elderly "Look this up on the Web and pay this over the Web" is ludicrous! Why should they be forced to have a computer or to have to ask a family member to do it for them ?
25 July
The local WI craft group enjoyed a really amusing session working on the exhibit for the Winslow Show. It is great fun working together and coming up with solutions to problems and arguing the feasibility of someone else's mad ideas.It is also amazing what strange things people keep which they think may come in useful..and they do! Adaptation is the name of the game on these occasions.
30 July
The local WI committee met tonight over a glass of wine to discuss the results of the questionnaire which we had sent round our members last month. There was a 60% response which is marvellous and better still the majority had positive comments to make. We discussed each question and our WI secretary has prepared an immediate report for our September meeting and the committee has the beginnings of an action plan built on the replies. It was a very useful exercise to see whether we were providing the members with the WI which they wanted. We have gained new ideas for speakers, suggestions for extra activities and constructive comments on the running of our meetings. I will write more about our findings at a future date when we are a bit further along the line with planning. I do recommend that WIs do take a look at themselves every now and again. This idea came through a meeting which two of our members attended which had been organised by the Member Services sub-committee. There is another one planned for September so watch the Green Letter for dates and time.
An early start to help steward in the WI tent at the Chiltern Show at Great Missenden. Our site was very close to the main stage so we were able to follow the various items featured throughout the day. It was very rewarding to see that most of the recommendations for the awards for work in the community were put forward by WI members. These were not just for local members but for people who had been spotted as making a worthwhile contribution to the life of others in their home area. The WI was also well represented in the prize list for the original writing competition. One of our own WI members was highly commended so we felt very proud about that.
Apparently attendance had been low the day before but it was fine on the Sunday. However it does work out very expensive for the families visiting and it may be wise for the organisers to make more favourable terms for family tickets in order to increase the gate figures.We were promoting the WI of course and had lots of members drop in to see us and the usual amount of people saying that they will join as soon as they retire! We joined when we were mothers and working part-time too, a lot of us so why can't others? I don't believe it is any harder for the modern younger mother than it was for us.
22 July
This evening I attended the meeting arranged by Post Offices Ltd re. probable closures in North Bucks. The WI has been fighting these closures nationally for several years now and we have been writing letters to all and sundry in the hope of influencing the powers that be against adding to rural isolation.There was a representative from Post Watch, an organisation which has been fairly sympathetic towards our concerns but which in reality has very few teeth to alter these rulings. The meeting was attended by about 50 people and all the old arguments were aired both for and against. We were told that we could make our concerns known and send up more information to back our cause during the consultation period but one felt it was a foregone conclusion. The inadequacies of local transport had not been fully considered in a practical fashion. OK one can get a bus from Twyford to Marsh Gibbon to visit the Post Office but with the best will in the world what can one do in Marsh Gibbon for two hours before starting the return journey! And why consider closing a branch which is growing in its custom in favour of one where the trader wishes to retire?
The writing was on the wall for Post Offices when the Government altered the payment of pensions and removed other services from the PO counters. And then to keep saying to the elderly "Look this up on the Web and pay this over the Web" is ludicrous! Why should they be forced to have a computer or to have to ask a family member to do it for them ?
25 July
The local WI craft group enjoyed a really amusing session working on the exhibit for the Winslow Show. It is great fun working together and coming up with solutions to problems and arguing the feasibility of someone else's mad ideas.It is also amazing what strange things people keep which they think may come in useful..and they do! Adaptation is the name of the game on these occasions.
30 July
The local WI committee met tonight over a glass of wine to discuss the results of the questionnaire which we had sent round our members last month. There was a 60% response which is marvellous and better still the majority had positive comments to make. We discussed each question and our WI secretary has prepared an immediate report for our September meeting and the committee has the beginnings of an action plan built on the replies. It was a very useful exercise to see whether we were providing the members with the WI which they wanted. We have gained new ideas for speakers, suggestions for extra activities and constructive comments on the running of our meetings. I will write more about our findings at a future date when we are a bit further along the line with planning. I do recommend that WIs do take a look at themselves every now and again. This idea came through a meeting which two of our members attended which had been organised by the Member Services sub-committee. There is another one planned for September so watch the Green Letter for dates and time.
Monday, 14 July 2008
wheels within wheels
3rd July
Back to school with the girls for sewing today. Progress is being made with the crochet lessons although the pieces are turning out to be triangles instead of squares! At least they are persevering and enjoying a good laugh.We were shown the photos of the evening dress being worn for which we had helped to produce accessories and were given a happy account of the event. A new person came along to learn to knit and everyone seemed relaxed in our company.I must admit I enjoy talking to the youngsters and meeting their children.
7th July
More knitting and talk today but this took place in our local WI craft group. The project for Winslow Show is taking shape and looks a lot better than I thought it would a month ago.If it attracts children, it will draw the mothers in as well and you never know, they might find something in the rest of the display to tempt them into joining.
10th July
The second Thursday every other month is now the regular meeting day for the Education and Current Affairs Sub-Committee. This month we welcomed two observers to the meeting. This is the way in which we hope to recruit people on to the committees. Some volunteer and some are spotted at other events held across the county.We had to wind up the Westonbirt outing and the Taste of Poland Day and then start to plan the next series of activities. Nothing daunted by having to cancel the Health Day in the Spring, we are going to try a slightly different slant in October in Winslow Public Hall. We are taking some travel under our wing and thinking about another international day.The really good news is that we now have an appointed representative for ACWW (the Associated Country Women of the World).This is an international organisation to which every WI contributes its Coins for Friendship each year. One may specify how the money should be spent to help women less fortunate than ourselves. In the past BFWI has helped with fresh water projects in Lesotho, bought sewing machines for Africa and cattle and goats for India.We hope that now we have another representative, we may be able to ask the members to undertake a named scheme again.What seems a small amount to us in UK can make a huge difference in the Third World.
12th July
Six members of our local WI took part in a very different activity today.We travelled north to the DIRFT centre near Daventry and enjoyed a conducted tour of the Eddie Stobart logistics park at Crick.One may do this only with a bona fide member of the Eddie Stobart Fan Club! It was great fun clambering into lorries, being shown round the workshops and hearing how the journeys and loads are planned. We saw where freight is transferred on to rail and learned how the drivers are trained and the way they live in their lorries and the type of loads they carry. We were told of the costs not only of the vehicles but also of the journeys.Unfortunately we cannot afford to have our names on the front of one of these giant lorries but why pay when one can spot one's lorry right there in the parking area? I think one of the most impressive things of the visit was to be told how well the drivers are looked after and that it still is a family concern and this caring element is appreciated by the men. Oh dear I have just realised that I forgot to ask if they had female drivers! They were certainly females in the HQ planning routes and loads, but there would be wouldn't there! That's organisation and we are good at that. Everyone we spoke to seemed to take a pride in working for the company so we were impressed. Now there are five more who will relieve the monotony of motorway travel by spotting Eddie Stobart named lorries.The company is also environmentally aware and does lots of worthwhile things for charities.
Back to school with the girls for sewing today. Progress is being made with the crochet lessons although the pieces are turning out to be triangles instead of squares! At least they are persevering and enjoying a good laugh.We were shown the photos of the evening dress being worn for which we had helped to produce accessories and were given a happy account of the event. A new person came along to learn to knit and everyone seemed relaxed in our company.I must admit I enjoy talking to the youngsters and meeting their children.
7th July
More knitting and talk today but this took place in our local WI craft group. The project for Winslow Show is taking shape and looks a lot better than I thought it would a month ago.If it attracts children, it will draw the mothers in as well and you never know, they might find something in the rest of the display to tempt them into joining.
10th July
The second Thursday every other month is now the regular meeting day for the Education and Current Affairs Sub-Committee. This month we welcomed two observers to the meeting. This is the way in which we hope to recruit people on to the committees. Some volunteer and some are spotted at other events held across the county.We had to wind up the Westonbirt outing and the Taste of Poland Day and then start to plan the next series of activities. Nothing daunted by having to cancel the Health Day in the Spring, we are going to try a slightly different slant in October in Winslow Public Hall. We are taking some travel under our wing and thinking about another international day.The really good news is that we now have an appointed representative for ACWW (the Associated Country Women of the World).This is an international organisation to which every WI contributes its Coins for Friendship each year. One may specify how the money should be spent to help women less fortunate than ourselves. In the past BFWI has helped with fresh water projects in Lesotho, bought sewing machines for Africa and cattle and goats for India.We hope that now we have another representative, we may be able to ask the members to undertake a named scheme again.What seems a small amount to us in UK can make a huge difference in the Third World.
12th July
Six members of our local WI took part in a very different activity today.We travelled north to the DIRFT centre near Daventry and enjoyed a conducted tour of the Eddie Stobart logistics park at Crick.One may do this only with a bona fide member of the Eddie Stobart Fan Club! It was great fun clambering into lorries, being shown round the workshops and hearing how the journeys and loads are planned. We saw where freight is transferred on to rail and learned how the drivers are trained and the way they live in their lorries and the type of loads they carry. We were told of the costs not only of the vehicles but also of the journeys.Unfortunately we cannot afford to have our names on the front of one of these giant lorries but why pay when one can spot one's lorry right there in the parking area? I think one of the most impressive things of the visit was to be told how well the drivers are looked after and that it still is a family concern and this caring element is appreciated by the men. Oh dear I have just realised that I forgot to ask if they had female drivers! They were certainly females in the HQ planning routes and loads, but there would be wouldn't there! That's organisation and we are good at that. Everyone we spoke to seemed to take a pride in working for the company so we were impressed. Now there are five more who will relieve the monotony of motorway travel by spotting Eddie Stobart named lorries.The company is also environmentally aware and does lots of worthwhile things for charities.
Sunday, 13 July 2008
Inside and outside June activities
23rd June
I have written before about the Bucks Federation Dates and Sub-Committee Chairmen's meetings. This is the day on which all the sub-committee officers and anyone appointed to perform a special task for the county as a whole, come together to plan the timing of events over the next 2-5 years. Everyone fights her own campaign and hopefully at the end there is a unified programme for action. Sometimes one has to hold back and listen to others re-invent the wheel rather than say "We've tried that" and dampen new enthusiasm. Maybe the situation has changed and it will work this time.
25th June
This afternoon the local WI Book Group met and we were joined by a new reader whom we hope will become a WI member. We have gained several new members through our extra interest groups such as the ramblers and badminton. We had been reading different titles and some had been playing catch-up with past books for discussion such as The Book Thief and various Salley Vickers titles. Therefore the subjects were a bit more general than usual but no less enjoyable for that. We have a recommendation from a member of the group and a set from the Bucks County Library for next time.
The local WI committee meeting took longer than usual as our questionnaires were shared out among committee members for delivery around the town. These questionnaires were suggested after our secretary had attended a training day run by the Member Services Committee.We hope to find out what our own members think of their WI and how it could be improved. There was also the need tonight to decide how best to mend the rift about an added game for another charity at our fund-raising quiz in November and to arrange the take-up for the extra outing in August to Waterperry. The e-mail solves some problems of communication but shoe leather is still needed sometimes.
26th June
Two of us from our WI went to a neighbouring town to help with a Let's Sew project with young mothers.These are very enjoyable sessions and there is a lot of talk and laughter. We help with various needlework ideas which the girls have started such as making accessories for an evening dress or teaching crochet or knitting.The amount of basic materials which they have is amazing but they lack the skills to make use of them. That is where we think we can be useful and the girls and the staff certainly make us very welcome.
29th June
A big town event today when the gardens are on show and refreshments are available all day. Fortunately the WI caters in the afternoon only. We had set up a working party to organise our contribution and it was extremely successful.Everyone turned up when they said they would to serve and clear away and the flow of delicious cakes was wonderful. The bulk of the proceeds from this event goes to local charities but some surplus is made by the WI too to add to funds.
2nd July
Our WI meeting tonight was a bit disappointing as the speaker showed too many slides and the commentary was not really very good. We could all produce holiday slides from a foreign country but what one needs is some local facts and pieces of information or anecdotes which will make one want to visit there too or teach one something about another way of life.At least be able to identify the flora and fauna! Unfortunately the speaker came recommended by two federations' yearbooks so others will be booking him so we will have to send in a critical report to the producers of the yearbook to encourage him to improve or drop that subject from his repertoire.The filling in of those report sheets is an important chore for WIs and a necessary part for the production of the list of recommended speakers. We stand or fall by the quality of our speakers at the monthly meetings.
The attendance was very good considering the appeal of Wimbledon and the lovely summer evening. We listened to an excellent report of the NFWI Annual General Meeting at Liverpool made by our link delegate who had obviously enjoyed the experience. I hope it is our WI's turn next year at the Royal Albert Hall.We also obtained the permission of the members to play a part in the Big Tidy Up campaign launched by our National Chairman last month.We hope to feature it at the Winslow Show and involve other groups in the town.
I have written before about the Bucks Federation Dates and Sub-Committee Chairmen's meetings. This is the day on which all the sub-committee officers and anyone appointed to perform a special task for the county as a whole, come together to plan the timing of events over the next 2-5 years. Everyone fights her own campaign and hopefully at the end there is a unified programme for action. Sometimes one has to hold back and listen to others re-invent the wheel rather than say "We've tried that" and dampen new enthusiasm. Maybe the situation has changed and it will work this time.
25th June
This afternoon the local WI Book Group met and we were joined by a new reader whom we hope will become a WI member. We have gained several new members through our extra interest groups such as the ramblers and badminton. We had been reading different titles and some had been playing catch-up with past books for discussion such as The Book Thief and various Salley Vickers titles. Therefore the subjects were a bit more general than usual but no less enjoyable for that. We have a recommendation from a member of the group and a set from the Bucks County Library for next time.
The local WI committee meeting took longer than usual as our questionnaires were shared out among committee members for delivery around the town. These questionnaires were suggested after our secretary had attended a training day run by the Member Services Committee.We hope to find out what our own members think of their WI and how it could be improved. There was also the need tonight to decide how best to mend the rift about an added game for another charity at our fund-raising quiz in November and to arrange the take-up for the extra outing in August to Waterperry. The e-mail solves some problems of communication but shoe leather is still needed sometimes.
26th June
Two of us from our WI went to a neighbouring town to help with a Let's Sew project with young mothers.These are very enjoyable sessions and there is a lot of talk and laughter. We help with various needlework ideas which the girls have started such as making accessories for an evening dress or teaching crochet or knitting.The amount of basic materials which they have is amazing but they lack the skills to make use of them. That is where we think we can be useful and the girls and the staff certainly make us very welcome.
29th June
A big town event today when the gardens are on show and refreshments are available all day. Fortunately the WI caters in the afternoon only. We had set up a working party to organise our contribution and it was extremely successful.Everyone turned up when they said they would to serve and clear away and the flow of delicious cakes was wonderful. The bulk of the proceeds from this event goes to local charities but some surplus is made by the WI too to add to funds.
2nd July
Our WI meeting tonight was a bit disappointing as the speaker showed too many slides and the commentary was not really very good. We could all produce holiday slides from a foreign country but what one needs is some local facts and pieces of information or anecdotes which will make one want to visit there too or teach one something about another way of life.At least be able to identify the flora and fauna! Unfortunately the speaker came recommended by two federations' yearbooks so others will be booking him so we will have to send in a critical report to the producers of the yearbook to encourage him to improve or drop that subject from his repertoire.The filling in of those report sheets is an important chore for WIs and a necessary part for the production of the list of recommended speakers. We stand or fall by the quality of our speakers at the monthly meetings.
The attendance was very good considering the appeal of Wimbledon and the lovely summer evening. We listened to an excellent report of the NFWI Annual General Meeting at Liverpool made by our link delegate who had obviously enjoyed the experience. I hope it is our WI's turn next year at the Royal Albert Hall.We also obtained the permission of the members to play a part in the Big Tidy Up campaign launched by our National Chairman last month.We hope to feature it at the Winslow Show and involve other groups in the town.
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
AGM Liverpool 2008
Delegates and Observers from Bucks left in two coaches on Tuesday for Liverpool to attend the NFWI Annual General Meeting on June 4th. On the way we enjoyed a short visit to Bridgemere Gardens to grab some lunch and to look at the WI gardens still maintained there after successes at the Chelsea Flower Show. We arrived at a pleasant hotel just outside Chester for an evening meal and a night's accommodation before the big event the following day.
An early breakfast and off to the arena for doors open at 9.30am.It is a lovely hall on the banks of the Mersey and the atmosphere was marvellous as coach after coach disgorged its load right outside the doors.
The singing of Jerusalem was inspiring in spite of a rather tinny piano. We were welcomed by Councillor Mike Storey to his city of culture and then it was down to business.NFWI Chair Fay Mansell stressed the need to continue to increase the membership and mentioned all the positive things achieved which are listed in the Annual Review. The WI was vital to the social well-being of the UK and was the glue which held society together. She aimed to make WI membership in 2015 stand at 250,000.The Hon. Treasurer Aleathia Mann told us the WI had a surplus of £434,000. The subscription next year would be £29 with £14 pooling of fares.
The resolution on the unsuitability of imprisonment for the mentally ill was carried by a 97% vote in spite of Government assurances that the matter was being addressed. Nobody seemed to believe him when family members and magistrates listed their personal experiences.
Averil MacDonald, a physicist from Reading University talked about the need for women in science.Although girls started off ahead of boys academically, they reached a glass ceiling at 30 years old. She pleaded for flexible hours of work and for part-time work not to be prefaced by the word "only". Change it to PRIME TIME WORK and see the benefits for everyone.
The resolution on deep sea trawling was well proposed by Bucks WI Chearsley and caused a lot of healthy debate. However it had a basic flaw in its wording so that although the proposers wanted to ban only harmful bottom trawling, it read as if they demanded a total ban on all bottom trawling. Amendments had been sent in but NFWI had not accepted them as it didn't see the ambiguity, whereas this had been pointed out both at Bucks Briefing Meetings and at the WI discussions in May. As a result, the coastal areas were up in arms in support of the fishing industry and the motion was not carried: 3051 to 3335.
Baroness Susan Greenfield (in a very smart trouser suit where the trousers were shorts) spoke to us about the way in which the human brain makes us all unique. This was a fascinating topic and really stretched the audience's understanding.She condemned the over-use of computers where children and adults could merge the real world with the cyber world. Everyone has the potential to be someone eg an individual, anyone eg part of a collective body, and nobody eg lost in a sensory world. Combine the three and you reach the EUREKA moment of creativity.
The improvements to Denman College were described. There were reports on the campaigns of the last year and then Sandi Toksvig took the stage. We were swept along from funny story to funny story and everyone loved her energy and sense of fun.The serious part of her message was that WI members should make sure to record their personal lives and those remembered of their forebears in our wonderful diverse language.
The National Chairman finished by launching the Big Tidy Up campaign and the search for a WI face or W-Icon for the Sky Learning Channels which will bring great kudos and about £10,000 to the NFWI.This was followed by a choir singing 3 items and then taking part in a concluding rendition of Jerusalem.
It was a great AGM to have attended, some controversy and some mind stretching presentations and some uproarious fun. We all travelled back in good humour even though it was a long ride home.
An early breakfast and off to the arena for doors open at 9.30am.It is a lovely hall on the banks of the Mersey and the atmosphere was marvellous as coach after coach disgorged its load right outside the doors.
The singing of Jerusalem was inspiring in spite of a rather tinny piano. We were welcomed by Councillor Mike Storey to his city of culture and then it was down to business.NFWI Chair Fay Mansell stressed the need to continue to increase the membership and mentioned all the positive things achieved which are listed in the Annual Review. The WI was vital to the social well-being of the UK and was the glue which held society together. She aimed to make WI membership in 2015 stand at 250,000.The Hon. Treasurer Aleathia Mann told us the WI had a surplus of £434,000. The subscription next year would be £29 with £14 pooling of fares.
The resolution on the unsuitability of imprisonment for the mentally ill was carried by a 97% vote in spite of Government assurances that the matter was being addressed. Nobody seemed to believe him when family members and magistrates listed their personal experiences.
Averil MacDonald, a physicist from Reading University talked about the need for women in science.Although girls started off ahead of boys academically, they reached a glass ceiling at 30 years old. She pleaded for flexible hours of work and for part-time work not to be prefaced by the word "only". Change it to PRIME TIME WORK and see the benefits for everyone.
The resolution on deep sea trawling was well proposed by Bucks WI Chearsley and caused a lot of healthy debate. However it had a basic flaw in its wording so that although the proposers wanted to ban only harmful bottom trawling, it read as if they demanded a total ban on all bottom trawling. Amendments had been sent in but NFWI had not accepted them as it didn't see the ambiguity, whereas this had been pointed out both at Bucks Briefing Meetings and at the WI discussions in May. As a result, the coastal areas were up in arms in support of the fishing industry and the motion was not carried: 3051 to 3335.
Baroness Susan Greenfield (in a very smart trouser suit where the trousers were shorts) spoke to us about the way in which the human brain makes us all unique. This was a fascinating topic and really stretched the audience's understanding.She condemned the over-use of computers where children and adults could merge the real world with the cyber world. Everyone has the potential to be someone eg an individual, anyone eg part of a collective body, and nobody eg lost in a sensory world. Combine the three and you reach the EUREKA moment of creativity.
The improvements to Denman College were described. There were reports on the campaigns of the last year and then Sandi Toksvig took the stage. We were swept along from funny story to funny story and everyone loved her energy and sense of fun.The serious part of her message was that WI members should make sure to record their personal lives and those remembered of their forebears in our wonderful diverse language.
The National Chairman finished by launching the Big Tidy Up campaign and the search for a WI face or W-Icon for the Sky Learning Channels which will bring great kudos and about £10,000 to the NFWI.This was followed by a choir singing 3 items and then taking part in a concluding rendition of Jerusalem.
It was a great AGM to have attended, some controversy and some mind stretching presentations and some uproarious fun. We all travelled back in good humour even though it was a long ride home.
Thursday, 5 June 2008
Premises old and new
23rd May
I know it is 6 months before the event but tonight the local WI had a planning meeting for our big fundraiser in November.Halls and speakers need at least 6 months pre-warning so we thought we might as well organise some of the detail at the same time. At present quizzes are very popular in our locality so we will need to make ours a bit different.Is this a case of "thinking outside the box"?
Every WI needs to make a little extra money above the subscription to pay for its meeting place and speakers during the year. Some WIs cater for other organisations or run money-making stalls at fetes and town events. We prefer to hold a large meeting which attracts the locals so that we can socialise at the same time.
28th May
I am a dual member of another WI which allows me to enjoy the events arranged over there. Dual membership involves paying the dues to that WI but not the part that goes to the County federation or NFWI. I can take an active part in my "second" WI's life but my vote on County or National matters has to go through my first WI.
Anyway, my second WI had arranged a walk this afternoon and booked a Blue Badge guide to show us round the Roman villa and Bradwell Abbey. I bet you didn't know that within yards of the concrete cows in Milton Keynes is the remains of a Roman villa. It was an interesting walk not just for the history but also because the river had burst its banks and we ended up having to make a diversion and paddle along the redway.
The local WI's committee meeting in the evening ended off a rather full WI day. I shall be sorry to miss next week's meeting when a group of handbell ringers is booked to entertain us but I will be up in Liverpool for the Annual General Meeting.
29th May
What a week! This morning we were off to the Oxfordshire Federation WI headquarters at Tackley for a meeting for members of county federations' Education and Current Affairs sub-committees arranged by NFWI. I was interested to see this federation's answer to having to move from an inconvenient premises in Oxford to somewhere cheaper and more suited to modern WI use. It is ideal in a converted farm courtyard set up in an attractive village. Is this the way Bucks should go? What kind of letters did their members write after negotiating a single track road to get to their headquarters? It isn't true that our members don't reverse---well, not the majority of us!
It was an informative meeting where we learned about the many educational opportunities in the WI and the various schemes that are up and running at the moment. There is money available out there if only one knew how to get hold of it in time for arranging local courses etc. Federations attending were from as far away as Cambridgeshire and Avon and they had all managed the minor roads OK.
I know it is 6 months before the event but tonight the local WI had a planning meeting for our big fundraiser in November.Halls and speakers need at least 6 months pre-warning so we thought we might as well organise some of the detail at the same time. At present quizzes are very popular in our locality so we will need to make ours a bit different.Is this a case of "thinking outside the box"?
Every WI needs to make a little extra money above the subscription to pay for its meeting place and speakers during the year. Some WIs cater for other organisations or run money-making stalls at fetes and town events. We prefer to hold a large meeting which attracts the locals so that we can socialise at the same time.
28th May
I am a dual member of another WI which allows me to enjoy the events arranged over there. Dual membership involves paying the dues to that WI but not the part that goes to the County federation or NFWI. I can take an active part in my "second" WI's life but my vote on County or National matters has to go through my first WI.
Anyway, my second WI had arranged a walk this afternoon and booked a Blue Badge guide to show us round the Roman villa and Bradwell Abbey. I bet you didn't know that within yards of the concrete cows in Milton Keynes is the remains of a Roman villa. It was an interesting walk not just for the history but also because the river had burst its banks and we ended up having to make a diversion and paddle along the redway.
The local WI's committee meeting in the evening ended off a rather full WI day. I shall be sorry to miss next week's meeting when a group of handbell ringers is booked to entertain us but I will be up in Liverpool for the Annual General Meeting.
29th May
What a week! This morning we were off to the Oxfordshire Federation WI headquarters at Tackley for a meeting for members of county federations' Education and Current Affairs sub-committees arranged by NFWI. I was interested to see this federation's answer to having to move from an inconvenient premises in Oxford to somewhere cheaper and more suited to modern WI use. It is ideal in a converted farm courtyard set up in an attractive village. Is this the way Bucks should go? What kind of letters did their members write after negotiating a single track road to get to their headquarters? It isn't true that our members don't reverse---well, not the majority of us!
It was an informative meeting where we learned about the many educational opportunities in the WI and the various schemes that are up and running at the moment. There is money available out there if only one knew how to get hold of it in time for arranging local courses etc. Federations attending were from as far away as Cambridgeshire and Avon and they had all managed the minor roads OK.
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