16 March
Tonight there was a gathering of local WIs in our WI Group. The subject was "Weird and wonderful weddings across the World" which sounded interesting and proved to be most enjoyable. The speaker was an anthropologist who brought along a marvellous collection of visual aids and hardly stopped for breath as she discussed each item.We are lucky to have a good group whose members get together for outings as well as welcoming each other to their special events.I feel sorry for WIs when their group has fallen into disuse because a group really widens the opportunity to hear different speakers--not that a higher fee guarantees a better speaker but it means one can offer a larger audience which appeals to some speakers from farther afield.
24 March
Local book group this afternoon at which we were discussing "Gem Squash Tokoloshe" by Rachel Zadok. It's no good: I cannot remember that title and had to look it up again. However I shall remember the book for a long time.Some readers were put off by the first chapter in which the author took a risk of this happening but once through that, the story became spell-binding as it was about the childhood of the lead character as her mind was filled with the myths and legends of her African culture. What a terrifying imaginative world she lived in!
Other titles were discussed because we all seem to get through many books in a month and pass them around to share. We also went through a list of titles we had covered over the years in order to see whether we had enough to concoct a display based on the different world localities in which our books were based. No problem! What a contrast between the atmosphere conjured up in Gem Squash and the new series on TV of the Number One Lady Detective's Agency in Botswana!
25 March
Four stalwarts this morning met as a working party to plan an event coming up in May. I have always felt a bit guilty meeting in a hotel foyer, having a coffee and staying over an hour with papers all over the table but after today I will stop, as we were surrounded by other groups doing exactly the same, including (would you believe ?) 5 women who I am sure were sharing books in a book group.So if a venue is a problem, why not try that?
Our local WI committee was held tonight at which we discussed our main fund-raising event in November and how best to present it to the members so that they embraced the idea as well.It is rather ambitious and different so we will need everyone's support both in practice and in theory. We are back to 51 members and discussed this idea of becoming de-registered with the Charity Commission. It sounds as if it will cut down on a lot of form-filling without us losing any advantage of registration. Presumably each WI will still be protected under the Federation charity number but lose the individual number which few WIs used anyway.We have also received another letter of thanks from the RAF overseas which always encourages the members to buy the extra bag of sweets or toiletry when shopping.
26 March
Off to the WI Quiz evening in Buckingham tonight where 35 teams of three from the northern half of the county battled it out.It was an enjoyable affair but why these days cannot one remember a name within the time allotted? Actually our team thought there were too many American questions but no one else was heard to mutter on that score. Of course we didn't win but we never have, so we were very content to just enjoy the evening. The winning team contained a lady who told me because she was over 80 she wasn't as good at remembering as she used to be. You could have fooled me!
27 March
This week has been a week of ballots for events which is good because it shows the Federation is putting on activities that the members wish to attend. However it is sad for the organisers that they have to turn people away and much soul-searching goes on before those letters are posted. Many events are limited by the size of the hall available or the number of tickets we can obtain from a museum or a show. Sometimes the tutor cannot take more than a certain amount in order to give enough attention to everyone. The Federation keeps an account of members turned down for every event and this is consulted before another cut is made in order to try to be fair.Then if one is doing a cut in ratio, one has to consider places in a car and not reducing down to singles... It is a can of worms and now we open a lot of events to non-members, that problem comes into the equation.We really do the best we can but obviously do not please everyone.
28 March
I am still suffering the after-effects of our WI's Fun and Fitness Day! Actually it was fun but I was obviously unfit to take part.We spent the morning doing exercises on chairs and then gently, standing up. After a healthy lunch we went into line dancing and ended up on the floor with more exercises and then relaxation.There was plenty of time for drinks and chat and laughter throughout the day although there was serious intent too. Our instructor was very good and we did enjoy ourselves and learned quite a few ways to keep fit. It's only a matter of keeping at it.Whatever happened to Elliman's Embrocation?
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
Tuesday, 17 March 2009
Busy March
3rd March
There was a meeting down at the Federation Office for those interested in updating the Bucks website and setting up a team to keep it rolling. Members have lost interest in the discussion page and the campaigns information is almost 4 years out of date.This is not only embarrassing but a shame as there has been a lot of work done within the County recently on the projects promoted by the NFWI, such as the BIG Tidy UP and Violence against Women and the protest against cuts in adult education.You will be pleased to know that all will be rectified soon and we will be informed when the new website is launched.It would be good if WIs could get into the habit of sending snippets in about their own activities. We will probably be able to include photos now. The wonders of modern technology!
It was busy at High Wycombe as the WI shop was open and there were people coming and going. The shop is only open twice a month (the first and third Tuesday) but one can buy from a wide range of cards and stationery, gifts and kitchenware as well as the WI tools of the trade, such as registers and account books.It is worth going down to visit--perhaps to include a walk on the Rye now the weather is improving.
4th March
Our WI speaker tonight was a Wimbledon umpire who told us about her training and experiences on the tennis court. The rules and regulations about dress are as draconian as the poshest public school. The lady was a good speaker and everyone enjoyed her talk. We had quite a long discussion on what to do for our meeting where we have had a cancellation and I was able to put through some of the suggestions from the comments on my last blog. Imagine ...comments actually received! Anyway, there were lots of ideas put forward and I think we know what we are going to do.There was also a good report from one of the members on her course at Denman College where she was experimenting with machine embroidery.We were able to view her lovely work of art even though it is not quite finished. We always like an account of visits to Denman especially if the member went on our WI bursary.
9th March
I went over to a neighbouring village to iron out a long agenda this morning and finished the morning off learning about different species of snowdrops. I have always looked at snowdrops and thought how pleased I was to see them, heralds of Spring etc. but not recognising all the tiny differences there are between the varieties. I went straight home to stare into the faces of our garden flowers and was really pleased to find they were not all the same, and not just short and tall types either.
In the afternoon it was the local WI craft group meeting. The bad news here is that we will more or less have to start again with our sampler because of assembly difficulties.Personally I was disappointed that no one felt they had the time to produce a story sack as requested by the Federation for the Chiltern Show. It has to be the work of three people so that is that, I suppose.
11th March
This evening the Bucks Federation had been invited to attend the Soroptimists International Women's Day event in Aylesbury so two members of the Education and Current Affairs sub-committee went along with a promotional display and information on ACWW (Associated Countrywomen of the World).The Soroptimists seem to have the same concerns as the WI on campaigns such as violence in the home and the dreadful lack of food and facilities suffered by women across the world.We spent time chatting, listening to the Radio Oxford speaker and watching a fashion show but the real highlight was the variety of stalls selling wonderful hats and ethnic handicrafts from around the world and a presentation on the work done in Nicaragua.
12th March
Up and away this morning to the subcommittee meeting of Education and Current Affairs. We have received the full complement of replies from the county MPs about cuts in adult learning opportunities and thanks for our efforts with the campaign against Violence against Women in rural areas. The full report on the survey makes interesting, although depressing reading. Most of the agenda was to do with forthcoming events because we have a lot at the planning stage at present. The trip to the Darwin Exhibition was oversubscribed and it is with relief we can report that the Crosswords workshop will be able to go ahead. One never knows with something absolutely new whether it will appeal to members or not.We all live on tenterhooks until the budget deadline is reached.
After the meeting a physiotherapist joined us for a session on Core Wellness. I cannot describe this as a hands on session, more an-on-your-knees activity. Luckily we knew each other quite well beforehand but we certainly knew each other a lot better afterwards.It was really worthwhile to learn the exercises and was good fun but I don't know whether we would get any takers for a bigger event for the WIs, which is what the organisers want us to do. You know, "cascade", which in this context is an unfortunate word to use! But it is good that people will now talk about problems with pelvic floors which would have been unthinkable only a few years ago.
There was a meeting down at the Federation Office for those interested in updating the Bucks website and setting up a team to keep it rolling. Members have lost interest in the discussion page and the campaigns information is almost 4 years out of date.This is not only embarrassing but a shame as there has been a lot of work done within the County recently on the projects promoted by the NFWI, such as the BIG Tidy UP and Violence against Women and the protest against cuts in adult education.You will be pleased to know that all will be rectified soon and we will be informed when the new website is launched.It would be good if WIs could get into the habit of sending snippets in about their own activities. We will probably be able to include photos now. The wonders of modern technology!
It was busy at High Wycombe as the WI shop was open and there were people coming and going. The shop is only open twice a month (the first and third Tuesday) but one can buy from a wide range of cards and stationery, gifts and kitchenware as well as the WI tools of the trade, such as registers and account books.It is worth going down to visit--perhaps to include a walk on the Rye now the weather is improving.
4th March
Our WI speaker tonight was a Wimbledon umpire who told us about her training and experiences on the tennis court. The rules and regulations about dress are as draconian as the poshest public school. The lady was a good speaker and everyone enjoyed her talk. We had quite a long discussion on what to do for our meeting where we have had a cancellation and I was able to put through some of the suggestions from the comments on my last blog. Imagine ...comments actually received! Anyway, there were lots of ideas put forward and I think we know what we are going to do.There was also a good report from one of the members on her course at Denman College where she was experimenting with machine embroidery.We were able to view her lovely work of art even though it is not quite finished. We always like an account of visits to Denman especially if the member went on our WI bursary.
9th March
I went over to a neighbouring village to iron out a long agenda this morning and finished the morning off learning about different species of snowdrops. I have always looked at snowdrops and thought how pleased I was to see them, heralds of Spring etc. but not recognising all the tiny differences there are between the varieties. I went straight home to stare into the faces of our garden flowers and was really pleased to find they were not all the same, and not just short and tall types either.
In the afternoon it was the local WI craft group meeting. The bad news here is that we will more or less have to start again with our sampler because of assembly difficulties.Personally I was disappointed that no one felt they had the time to produce a story sack as requested by the Federation for the Chiltern Show. It has to be the work of three people so that is that, I suppose.
11th March
This evening the Bucks Federation had been invited to attend the Soroptimists International Women's Day event in Aylesbury so two members of the Education and Current Affairs sub-committee went along with a promotional display and information on ACWW (Associated Countrywomen of the World).The Soroptimists seem to have the same concerns as the WI on campaigns such as violence in the home and the dreadful lack of food and facilities suffered by women across the world.We spent time chatting, listening to the Radio Oxford speaker and watching a fashion show but the real highlight was the variety of stalls selling wonderful hats and ethnic handicrafts from around the world and a presentation on the work done in Nicaragua.
12th March
Up and away this morning to the subcommittee meeting of Education and Current Affairs. We have received the full complement of replies from the county MPs about cuts in adult learning opportunities and thanks for our efforts with the campaign against Violence against Women in rural areas. The full report on the survey makes interesting, although depressing reading. Most of the agenda was to do with forthcoming events because we have a lot at the planning stage at present. The trip to the Darwin Exhibition was oversubscribed and it is with relief we can report that the Crosswords workshop will be able to go ahead. One never knows with something absolutely new whether it will appeal to members or not.We all live on tenterhooks until the budget deadline is reached.
After the meeting a physiotherapist joined us for a session on Core Wellness. I cannot describe this as a hands on session, more an-on-your-knees activity. Luckily we knew each other quite well beforehand but we certainly knew each other a lot better afterwards.It was really worthwhile to learn the exercises and was good fun but I don't know whether we would get any takers for a bigger event for the WIs, which is what the organisers want us to do. You know, "cascade", which in this context is an unfortunate word to use! But it is good that people will now talk about problems with pelvic floors which would have been unthinkable only a few years ago.
Sunday, 1 March 2009
books and crafts
23 February
A meeting of the local WI Book Group today. We seem to have got through a lot of titles over the last few weeks.We are also bang up-to-date with our "set" books because one was "The Reader" by Schlink and the other was "Faceless Killers", a Wallandar detective story as seen on TV.We had quite a long discussion on whether we liked to see a film after we had read the book or not. Personally if I have enjoyed the book, I don't like to interfere with my feelings towards it by seeing someone else's take on the book. The flyers for the very successful film of "The Reader" seemed to emphasize the concentration camp part of the novel which worried me slightly as it was crucial on the page but there was more to it than that. However I hear that the film does follow the order of presentation of the story and the acting is great. It is a good short novel and the characters are strong and believable. Discussion led us on to "The Welsh Girl" by Peter Ho Davies and "Suite Francaise" by Irena Nemerovski which covered the prisoners of war in British camps and the early years of the German Occupation of France.
The detective Wallander is not a person I would like to have any dealings with. You cannot say he is a pleasant character and if the author,Henning Mankell wants us to be on his side, he doesn't really succeed. I am told that his private life is a link between the stories but I became tired of his dietary problems, let alone his shattered marriage so I wont be watching any of the TV series. The scenery will obviously be attractive on the screen which could act in its favour.
The Book Group has been asked to prepare a display for this year's Winslow Show so we will have to think of something that will attract people into the WI tent from our readings in the past.Perhaps geographical, as this month we have touched on Germany, Sweden, France and Wales.
24 February
The Arts and Home Crafts sub-committee held a Craft Collation meeting at Cheddington today. It was well attended and very enjoyable.It managed to be quite informal although there was a large audience. The show -and -tell session was difficult because of the lack of a microphone but most people were audible. The work shown was of a high standard, varied and beautiful. Most items were decorative rather than useful. Ideas were tossed around and it was good to learn that the Federation is planning some competitive projects for the future eg some more story sacks and samplers. Competition brings out the best in the craft circles and a shared purpose binds a group together.There were a lot of crafty bargains to be bought at giveaway prices and the cakes at teatime were wonderful.
25 February
The local committee meeting was very busy and chatty .There are lots of events planned in the county over the next couple of months and we have our own Group Meeting coming up too. We were pleased to have received a supportive reply from our MP against the proposed cuts in adult education. He had already signed the Early Day Motion.The programme setters have a problem cancellation for June. We are wondering whether a do-it-yourself session might go well instead--not home improvements, but short talks from our own members either on a theme or based on a personal photo. It has been done successfully elsewhere and someone suggested it in our questionnaire.
A meeting of the local WI Book Group today. We seem to have got through a lot of titles over the last few weeks.We are also bang up-to-date with our "set" books because one was "The Reader" by Schlink and the other was "Faceless Killers", a Wallandar detective story as seen on TV.We had quite a long discussion on whether we liked to see a film after we had read the book or not. Personally if I have enjoyed the book, I don't like to interfere with my feelings towards it by seeing someone else's take on the book. The flyers for the very successful film of "The Reader" seemed to emphasize the concentration camp part of the novel which worried me slightly as it was crucial on the page but there was more to it than that. However I hear that the film does follow the order of presentation of the story and the acting is great. It is a good short novel and the characters are strong and believable. Discussion led us on to "The Welsh Girl" by Peter Ho Davies and "Suite Francaise" by Irena Nemerovski which covered the prisoners of war in British camps and the early years of the German Occupation of France.
The detective Wallander is not a person I would like to have any dealings with. You cannot say he is a pleasant character and if the author,Henning Mankell wants us to be on his side, he doesn't really succeed. I am told that his private life is a link between the stories but I became tired of his dietary problems, let alone his shattered marriage so I wont be watching any of the TV series. The scenery will obviously be attractive on the screen which could act in its favour.
The Book Group has been asked to prepare a display for this year's Winslow Show so we will have to think of something that will attract people into the WI tent from our readings in the past.Perhaps geographical, as this month we have touched on Germany, Sweden, France and Wales.
24 February
The Arts and Home Crafts sub-committee held a Craft Collation meeting at Cheddington today. It was well attended and very enjoyable.It managed to be quite informal although there was a large audience. The show -and -tell session was difficult because of the lack of a microphone but most people were audible. The work shown was of a high standard, varied and beautiful. Most items were decorative rather than useful. Ideas were tossed around and it was good to learn that the Federation is planning some competitive projects for the future eg some more story sacks and samplers. Competition brings out the best in the craft circles and a shared purpose binds a group together.There were a lot of crafty bargains to be bought at giveaway prices and the cakes at teatime were wonderful.
25 February
The local committee meeting was very busy and chatty .There are lots of events planned in the county over the next couple of months and we have our own Group Meeting coming up too. We were pleased to have received a supportive reply from our MP against the proposed cuts in adult education. He had already signed the Early Day Motion.The programme setters have a problem cancellation for June. We are wondering whether a do-it-yourself session might go well instead--not home improvements, but short talks from our own members either on a theme or based on a personal photo. It has been done successfully elsewhere and someone suggested it in our questionnaire.
Saturday, 21 February 2009
Fiddle and fume
9th February
Today was the first real craft group meeting for our local WI because last month we combined a craft shopping expedition with a light lunch to celebrate the new year. One of our members demonstrated the art of quilling and then we experimented making flowers and decorations for greeting cards. It was all rather fiddley but we ended up with at least one reasonable card! We will return to this craft next month when we hope to progress to animal designs and more recognisable flowers. Some time was spent on the progress of our WI sampler too.It was very pleasant to get out of our houses after all the snow ---although the footpaths were still lethal for the walkers.
One of the subjects of conversation, over juggling with tiny pieces of paper, was the WI subscription book of vouchers which members receive every year. Some members think this is a waste of money but in actual fact the WI brings in funds to the organisation from the advertisers, even if individual members just bin it.So it must be worth the advertisers' while to make those offers contained in the token book. In our own WI, I have heard of people who have more than paid for their WI subscription by taking advantage of offers on holiday bookings, insurance, new sewing machines and vacuum cleaners. Also if no one in one's own family has allergy problems, there is nothing wrong with handing the token over to another member who would be glad of it.Also there are shops where one receives a discount if one shows the WI membership card from the front of the token book.
This entry is rather late because my family has been struggling with the installation of Broadband which we thought would swing us into the 21st century, seamlessly providing an all-singing-all dancing service.Don't you believe it! It has taken a good three weeks and finally ended up with my threatening to take the engineer hostage unless he had fixed it before leaving the house.He thought I was joking! In place of the extra back-up service provision subscription, I think BT should arrange something on the same lines with the Relate marriage guidance people.How the Powers that Be can say they plan to have everyone on Broadband beats me, when the willing horse to the trough cannot drink the waters there of. And then to put on the box "Just follow the easy set -up guide and you are off"... Where are Trade Descriptions when you need them?
Today was the first real craft group meeting for our local WI because last month we combined a craft shopping expedition with a light lunch to celebrate the new year. One of our members demonstrated the art of quilling and then we experimented making flowers and decorations for greeting cards. It was all rather fiddley but we ended up with at least one reasonable card! We will return to this craft next month when we hope to progress to animal designs and more recognisable flowers. Some time was spent on the progress of our WI sampler too.It was very pleasant to get out of our houses after all the snow ---although the footpaths were still lethal for the walkers.
One of the subjects of conversation, over juggling with tiny pieces of paper, was the WI subscription book of vouchers which members receive every year. Some members think this is a waste of money but in actual fact the WI brings in funds to the organisation from the advertisers, even if individual members just bin it.So it must be worth the advertisers' while to make those offers contained in the token book. In our own WI, I have heard of people who have more than paid for their WI subscription by taking advantage of offers on holiday bookings, insurance, new sewing machines and vacuum cleaners. Also if no one in one's own family has allergy problems, there is nothing wrong with handing the token over to another member who would be glad of it.Also there are shops where one receives a discount if one shows the WI membership card from the front of the token book.
This entry is rather late because my family has been struggling with the installation of Broadband which we thought would swing us into the 21st century, seamlessly providing an all-singing-all dancing service.Don't you believe it! It has taken a good three weeks and finally ended up with my threatening to take the engineer hostage unless he had fixed it before leaving the house.He thought I was joking! In place of the extra back-up service provision subscription, I think BT should arrange something on the same lines with the Relate marriage guidance people.How the Powers that Be can say they plan to have everyone on Broadband beats me, when the willing horse to the trough cannot drink the waters there of. And then to put on the box "Just follow the easy set -up guide and you are off"... Where are Trade Descriptions when you need them?
Friday, 6 February 2009
More snow, birds and glass
Yet more snow.The snow is bringing about a great communal spirit in the town. Groups of adults and children are standing around talking or building snowmen. Someone said there were so many snowmen in the Winslow Hall field that they looked like Chinese warriors! Some of the talk will be about the proposed new 3500 house development planned for the old Little Horwood airfield. It is only a proposal so far but it resulted in a huge public meeting in the town this week and this is proving another unifying agency among the locals.
Our garden was visited by two fieldfares today much to the annoyance of the regulars.They were given a poor welcome but after a while began to give as good as they got. I was so disappointed with our results from the recent Garden Bird Watch. I especially waited to start my hour until the green woodpecker alighted but he never showed up all weekend.The trotty wagtails came along, all jaunty the next day, the ring collared doves went elsewhere so I was left with a very dull tally, when the garden has a wide variety of birds normally. However, they tell you not to cheat, so I didn't but was sorely tempted.
4th February
The bad weather caused us to have a rather select meeting which was a pity as the speaker was most interesting. He was talking about glass, its uses and manufacture and he had plenty of visual aids and a pleasant relaxed manner.The meeting was taken for the first time by our new Vice-President which gave everyone a chance to judge her performance. She obviously came up to scratch and members got to know her a little better. We had changed the format of the meeting again and it was very satisfactory--- except for the events book as I mentioned last week.Plans are well afoot for our WI Health and Fitness day at the end of March and we can now open it to other organisations in the town.Our own members have had first bite of the cherry.The WI programme is going to be added to our County website entry soon. The letter about adult education cuts is written and approved so that can go to our MP to join those from other WIs across the country. The boxes for the Forces overseas are still receiving contributions and this scheme was really brought into context for me because when I returned home the News was on television.Amazingly a handsome young army major was being interviewed in Basra about the planned withdrawal and he was my son's primary schoolfriend. I wonder whether he remembers the pair of them setting off to remove the wallpaper from my son's bedroom walls using pieces of metal toy train track as scrapers. Fortunately in those days, if you clipped the ears of a near-neighbour's child, you did not receive a court summons but a box of conciliatory chocolates and a friend for life! Keep safe, lad.
Our garden was visited by two fieldfares today much to the annoyance of the regulars.They were given a poor welcome but after a while began to give as good as they got. I was so disappointed with our results from the recent Garden Bird Watch. I especially waited to start my hour until the green woodpecker alighted but he never showed up all weekend.The trotty wagtails came along, all jaunty the next day, the ring collared doves went elsewhere so I was left with a very dull tally, when the garden has a wide variety of birds normally. However, they tell you not to cheat, so I didn't but was sorely tempted.
4th February
The bad weather caused us to have a rather select meeting which was a pity as the speaker was most interesting. He was talking about glass, its uses and manufacture and he had plenty of visual aids and a pleasant relaxed manner.The meeting was taken for the first time by our new Vice-President which gave everyone a chance to judge her performance. She obviously came up to scratch and members got to know her a little better. We had changed the format of the meeting again and it was very satisfactory--- except for the events book as I mentioned last week.Plans are well afoot for our WI Health and Fitness day at the end of March and we can now open it to other organisations in the town.Our own members have had first bite of the cherry.The WI programme is going to be added to our County website entry soon. The letter about adult education cuts is written and approved so that can go to our MP to join those from other WIs across the country. The boxes for the Forces overseas are still receiving contributions and this scheme was really brought into context for me because when I returned home the News was on television.Amazingly a handsome young army major was being interviewed in Basra about the planned withdrawal and he was my son's primary schoolfriend. I wonder whether he remembers the pair of them setting off to remove the wallpaper from my son's bedroom walls using pieces of metal toy train track as scrapers. Fortunately in those days, if you clipped the ears of a near-neighbour's child, you did not receive a court summons but a box of conciliatory chocolates and a friend for life! Keep safe, lad.
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Funds freeze and snow
Continuing the poetic turn with which I started the year, do any of you remember that poem which describes a classroom of children distracted by the snow falling outside, the wonder and beauty of it, which finishes with the teacher calling them to order with the words "It's only snow"? How chilling in every sense of the word.
I am always distracted by snow and spend happy minutes just watching it. I know it is inconvenient and I have come to an age when the last thing I want to do is suffer a fall on ice but all the same... Anyway, this snowy interval does provide a space in which to update the blog.
28th January
The local WI committee meeting was held in someone's cosy and warm house as usual and although we had members with seasonal colds and some away enjoying winter breaks in the sunshine, we got quite a lot done. We have received a certificate in thanks from ENCAMS for our efforts in the Big Tidy Up last September which is rather nice. We all agreed that the town needed doing again. Sadly we heard that there were no longer any funds to continue our work on the Let's Sew project in Bletchley. This tied in with a letter received from NFWI asking members and WIs to write to their MPs about the cuts in funding for adult education.The WI is an educational charity and we have our own residential college at Abingdon and the WI is a centre for the Lifelong Learning Project.Apparently CALL (the Campaign for Adult Lifelong Learning) is going to put up an Early Day Motion at the end of February and needs support. We will put the idea of a letter to our members next week.
The change of format last month was voted a success so we will try again to have the speaker's slot first, then break for refreshments and then the business. If we keep the drawing of the raffle right to the end, no one will sneak off before the business! I think we will have to think of a way to circulate the events book from the very beginning of the meeting and hope that the members will read their Monthly Letter as soon as they pick it up because any promotion of events which the President does in the business section will be ignored as everyone prepares to leave at the end of the meeting. There must be a way round this. What do you do in your WIs?
I am always distracted by snow and spend happy minutes just watching it. I know it is inconvenient and I have come to an age when the last thing I want to do is suffer a fall on ice but all the same... Anyway, this snowy interval does provide a space in which to update the blog.
28th January
The local WI committee meeting was held in someone's cosy and warm house as usual and although we had members with seasonal colds and some away enjoying winter breaks in the sunshine, we got quite a lot done. We have received a certificate in thanks from ENCAMS for our efforts in the Big Tidy Up last September which is rather nice. We all agreed that the town needed doing again. Sadly we heard that there were no longer any funds to continue our work on the Let's Sew project in Bletchley. This tied in with a letter received from NFWI asking members and WIs to write to their MPs about the cuts in funding for adult education.The WI is an educational charity and we have our own residential college at Abingdon and the WI is a centre for the Lifelong Learning Project.Apparently CALL (the Campaign for Adult Lifelong Learning) is going to put up an Early Day Motion at the end of February and needs support. We will put the idea of a letter to our members next week.
The change of format last month was voted a success so we will try again to have the speaker's slot first, then break for refreshments and then the business. If we keep the drawing of the raffle right to the end, no one will sneak off before the business! I think we will have to think of a way to circulate the events book from the very beginning of the meeting and hope that the members will read their Monthly Letter as soon as they pick it up because any promotion of events which the President does in the business section will be ignored as everyone prepares to leave at the end of the meeting. There must be a way round this. What do you do in your WIs?
Thursday, 22 January 2009
Year3: 2009
2009
Already we are nearly one twelfth of the way through the year and I haven't added a thing to my blog. Actually I am a bit despondent about it as I ended 2008 with a plea for information on how many people actually valued it or even read it. I would have ended it with the quote
"I have no precious time at all to spend
Nor services to do till you require"
but I didn't think of it at the time. Now with a complete lack of response "I wander lonely as a cloud .." might be more appropriate.However I am reliably informed that the blog chalks up hits (in internet jargon) so I will soldier on for a while.
January 7th
The first event of every WI year seems to be the series of Resolution Selection meetings. This year I attended the first of the four organised across Bucks.Members vote how they think personally on whether the resolution should be discussed at the National AGM in June at the Royal Albert Hall. They are not representing their own WI although they should report back on the result of the voting at the particular meeting attended.WI Advisers presented each of the 5 resolutions and there was another source of interest this year because two of the presenters were trainee WI Advisers. The NFWI trains members who have been suggested by the Federations as likely lassies: they learn all the information on the history and structure and rules of the constitution of the WI so that they can form new WIs and help with problems in their own counties.
The resolutions to choose from this year were on the health of honey bees, action on flooding, hospital cleaning services, residential care fees for the elderly and GP led health centres. All wanted to urge action by the Government and if any of these become mandates in June, the WI will be able to lobby the Government. The NFWI has a very powerful and effective public affairs department. The members at the meeting in Aylesbury wanted the resolution on the health of bees to be first on the agenda and the question of fees for residential care to be second.I think the elderly care would have received more votes if we hadn't become side-tracked by the postal code lottery rather than the different rates demanded for the same services in the same residential home fixed by income.Perhaps that issue will come out more at the other meetings.
In the evening we attended our first committee meeting of the local WI. It was mostly to do with sorting out jobs for the new year as there has been a slight change in the make-up of the committee. Unfortunately we have lost some WI members through ill-health but we have also gained a handful of new ones to replace them so our membership will probably remain about the same.
January 8th
Thank Goodness the snow was on the way out as the last few days have rendered the smaller roads very hazardous for walking or driving---the main roads were well salted.The Education and Current Affairs sub-committee met at High Wycombe. We were a rather select group because of illness as well as the weather.
We have loads of plans to complete for events in the Spring and Summer and have some really good things on the agenda.One of our recurring problems is that a lot of speakers these days require powerpoint presentations and the Federation is going to have to invest in a projector.We will have to consult others for advice.
January 12th
The advantage of bad weather and a break for Christmas is that one has time to read. Our local WI Book Group has knocked off a lot of titles over the holiday. The novel we were supposed to be sharing "Housewife Down" by Alison Harper was not popular and was returned to the library collection very quickly! However we had enjoyed reading several of the Kate Adie books which we had purchased at the Council Meeting. She writes so well and, for all she denies it, is a very brave lady.Three of us read The City of Djinns which is non-fiction, an account by William Dalrymple of a year in Delhi but gives a very good backwards history of India. Although it is amusing, it really opens one's eyes to the horrors of partition in 1947. When will the Powers-that-Be realise that partition never works, be it Ireland, Cyprus or Korea? I also enjoyed The Tenderness of wolves by Stef Penney, and then there were the Christmas presents as well. There are books going in all directions across the town! Again we have lost one member of our reading group because of deteriorating sight but we have gained a new member so it is as we were here too.
January 13th
The National press office at New Kings Road has been successful again in obtaining very good coverage of another young WI newly formed. A lovely picture of girls lined up on a bridge in Colchester with the article stressing how they were going to do new things at their meetings to shake off the elderly image of the WI. Several WI husbands were reported as saying "What's new there? We have listened to accounts of activities of this sort for years in the local WIs". Never mind, it is good publicity and will off-set the rather negative coverage with Trinny and What's her name on the TV dress programme.
January 14th
A really good local meeting tonight about evacuation in World War II. OK, so a lot of our members were old enough to have been evacuees or to have harboured them but the younger members enjoyed the two-way exchange of memories and tales of the wartime plane crash in Winslow. Actually it was a very lively meeting. We changed the order of proceedings and managed to alter the seating to break up the set groups and forced everyone to wait until the real end of the meeting instead of drifting off without really saying goodnight, which is one of my pet hates.
January 16th
I had a meeting with a caterer today to try and work something out for the Literary Lunch in May. Now that we have employed outside caterers we will probably have to stick with that until the Catering Committee gets in some younger blood. It is a pity really, as our WI catering is always excellent and of course cheaper but needs must if we haven't the physical manpower.
January 19th
The local WI Craft Group treated itself to a lunch out today. We justified this by visiting Hobbycraft for supplies for some of our meetings to come. I must admit to getting side-tracked in the shop and had to be very strong-willed not to equip myself for another project before finishing the one I have draped over several surfaces at home.We are looking forward to making our sampler for the Federation display book and there are members interested in drawing line prints for the teacloths, also requested by County.
Already we are nearly one twelfth of the way through the year and I haven't added a thing to my blog. Actually I am a bit despondent about it as I ended 2008 with a plea for information on how many people actually valued it or even read it. I would have ended it with the quote
"I have no precious time at all to spend
Nor services to do till you require"
but I didn't think of it at the time. Now with a complete lack of response "I wander lonely as a cloud .." might be more appropriate.However I am reliably informed that the blog chalks up hits (in internet jargon) so I will soldier on for a while.
January 7th
The first event of every WI year seems to be the series of Resolution Selection meetings. This year I attended the first of the four organised across Bucks.Members vote how they think personally on whether the resolution should be discussed at the National AGM in June at the Royal Albert Hall. They are not representing their own WI although they should report back on the result of the voting at the particular meeting attended.WI Advisers presented each of the 5 resolutions and there was another source of interest this year because two of the presenters were trainee WI Advisers. The NFWI trains members who have been suggested by the Federations as likely lassies: they learn all the information on the history and structure and rules of the constitution of the WI so that they can form new WIs and help with problems in their own counties.
The resolutions to choose from this year were on the health of honey bees, action on flooding, hospital cleaning services, residential care fees for the elderly and GP led health centres. All wanted to urge action by the Government and if any of these become mandates in June, the WI will be able to lobby the Government. The NFWI has a very powerful and effective public affairs department. The members at the meeting in Aylesbury wanted the resolution on the health of bees to be first on the agenda and the question of fees for residential care to be second.I think the elderly care would have received more votes if we hadn't become side-tracked by the postal code lottery rather than the different rates demanded for the same services in the same residential home fixed by income.Perhaps that issue will come out more at the other meetings.
In the evening we attended our first committee meeting of the local WI. It was mostly to do with sorting out jobs for the new year as there has been a slight change in the make-up of the committee. Unfortunately we have lost some WI members through ill-health but we have also gained a handful of new ones to replace them so our membership will probably remain about the same.
January 8th
Thank Goodness the snow was on the way out as the last few days have rendered the smaller roads very hazardous for walking or driving---the main roads were well salted.The Education and Current Affairs sub-committee met at High Wycombe. We were a rather select group because of illness as well as the weather.
We have loads of plans to complete for events in the Spring and Summer and have some really good things on the agenda.One of our recurring problems is that a lot of speakers these days require powerpoint presentations and the Federation is going to have to invest in a projector.We will have to consult others for advice.
January 12th
The advantage of bad weather and a break for Christmas is that one has time to read. Our local WI Book Group has knocked off a lot of titles over the holiday. The novel we were supposed to be sharing "Housewife Down" by Alison Harper was not popular and was returned to the library collection very quickly! However we had enjoyed reading several of the Kate Adie books which we had purchased at the Council Meeting. She writes so well and, for all she denies it, is a very brave lady.Three of us read The City of Djinns which is non-fiction, an account by William Dalrymple of a year in Delhi but gives a very good backwards history of India. Although it is amusing, it really opens one's eyes to the horrors of partition in 1947. When will the Powers-that-Be realise that partition never works, be it Ireland, Cyprus or Korea? I also enjoyed The Tenderness of wolves by Stef Penney, and then there were the Christmas presents as well. There are books going in all directions across the town! Again we have lost one member of our reading group because of deteriorating sight but we have gained a new member so it is as we were here too.
January 13th
The National press office at New Kings Road has been successful again in obtaining very good coverage of another young WI newly formed. A lovely picture of girls lined up on a bridge in Colchester with the article stressing how they were going to do new things at their meetings to shake off the elderly image of the WI. Several WI husbands were reported as saying "What's new there? We have listened to accounts of activities of this sort for years in the local WIs". Never mind, it is good publicity and will off-set the rather negative coverage with Trinny and What's her name on the TV dress programme.
January 14th
A really good local meeting tonight about evacuation in World War II. OK, so a lot of our members were old enough to have been evacuees or to have harboured them but the younger members enjoyed the two-way exchange of memories and tales of the wartime plane crash in Winslow. Actually it was a very lively meeting. We changed the order of proceedings and managed to alter the seating to break up the set groups and forced everyone to wait until the real end of the meeting instead of drifting off without really saying goodnight, which is one of my pet hates.
January 16th
I had a meeting with a caterer today to try and work something out for the Literary Lunch in May. Now that we have employed outside caterers we will probably have to stick with that until the Catering Committee gets in some younger blood. It is a pity really, as our WI catering is always excellent and of course cheaper but needs must if we haven't the physical manpower.
January 19th
The local WI Craft Group treated itself to a lunch out today. We justified this by visiting Hobbycraft for supplies for some of our meetings to come. I must admit to getting side-tracked in the shop and had to be very strong-willed not to equip myself for another project before finishing the one I have draped over several surfaces at home.We are looking forward to making our sampler for the Federation display book and there are members interested in drawing line prints for the teacloths, also requested by County.
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