MARCH 2018
LEDBURY
After welcoming everyone to the Valentine’s Day meeting, our president Margaret Coulson introduced two representatives of the TSB who had asked to speak to the meeting to give advice as to how we could protect ourselves from fraud.
Members then took to the floor to speak on the evening’s theme - ‘Thanks for the Memory’ - recalling their special memories of people, places and music. Their presentations were brilliant and offered an insight into their lives. Jenny Harrison remembered the presentation of the military MBE to her husband and how he made the Queen laugh. Jean Harper told us about the hymn which had been included in 3 family funerals and 2 family weddings and was to be included at her own funeral. Jenny Treasure recalled her explorations and experiences travelling in the United States with her husband. Jenny Strudwicke told us about and her family’s escape to England from Normandy in September 1939 as the invading troops entered France. All very personal and expertly presented.
Naturally the evening’s competition was for ‘A Heart’ with many and varied entries.
Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday 14 March at 7.30 pm at the Parish Room of the Catholic Church New Street Ledbury HR8 2EE.
The speaker will be Peter Garner speaking on “The Natural Wonders of the Malverns”.
Visitors are always welcome.
HOLMER
Jean Mather is holding the colourful knitted 'gardener' which had been donated to our WI. It was decided to raise funds by having a name the 'gardener' competition. Jenny Hare , our president, sealed his name in an envelope prior to the meeting, members were invited to have a guess for 25p. The lucky winner was Sue Patmore who correctly 'identified' him as Alan, after a very famous gardener of the same name!
At our March meeting, Colin Bates told us about his work at Cadburys. His family was one of the first to benefit from the Bournville Trust homes, with Colin later being apprenticed to Cadburys ,which was the start of a way of life not just a job. He quickly progressed to become a mechanical engineer with the appropriate qualifications being gained .
He explained that methods of chocolate production have changed dramatically over the last fifty years. A workforce of 8,000/9,000 has been streamlined to just 1,000 now, with automation being responsible for that reduction. The new processes are highly technical and continue to produce the same delectable results nevertheless! Whereas, previously, humans packed the sweet treats by hand, making up any deficit in weight by the addition of small sweets, now robots ensure a swift, exact operation. Colin described the processes which the raw materials pass through to produce the end product. A fascinating story, culminating in the distribution of samples for all present! Yum!
A vote of thanks was given by Gwyneth James and a grateful round of applause by the ladies.
Holmer WI next meets on Wednesday April 4th at 7.30pm in St. Marys church, Grandstand Road. The subject of the talk will be Bhutan and Kenya, and will be led by Mark Helme. Do come along and join us ladies. We are sure you will have an entertaining evening out.
MUCH COWARNE
At the February meeting Much Cowarne WI enjoyed a memorable step back in time when Julia Orton-Davies presented an awesome and inspiring talk on World War II. Julia had newspaper cuttings and pictures of local scenes which many members could relate to, her enthusiasm for the subject came over in her talk.
Our March meeting entitled Coach Holiday Experiences was given by Jan Jones of the local coach company based at Burley Gate. Jan's true stories of characters that have travelled on the coach trips, with her as their driver, were absolutely hilarious. Jan is now now in the process of writing a book of her memorable days at the wheel driving folk on their holiday trips.
BISHOPSWOOD
We started our meeting as normal singing “Jerusalem” and today we had the pleasure of Mr Chris O’Grady’s company who would be our speaker for the afternoon. Incidentally, he is a member of the City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus, so our “Jerusalem” today is like no other. With his accompaniment, our singing suddenly takes on a life of its own. He was glorious and with his help I think we have set a new bar. Thank you Chris.
We then proceeded to conduct business as usual, finishing with four birthdays one of which is with a celebration cake and sparkling candle, singing “Happy Birthday” to Jill whose 80th birthday it is this month. We then proceeded to have a break with a cup of tea and of course, a sample of the lovely homemade chocolate birthday cake.
We then had the pleasure of listening to Chris tell his remarkable story about his sabbatical in 2010. To mark his 50th birthday he left his home in Pershore, Worcestershire to follow the mediaeval “Via Francigena” route taken by Christian travellers for hundreds of years, he planned to walk to St. Peter’s in Rome. This journey was to be 1,200 miles, taking approximately 114 nights and with three languages, minimal clothing, one pair of boots, later a pair of poles essential for walking, a rucksack and a tent he started his journey (the tent was actually only used once). The night before leaving, talking through his fears, he concluded that he was intelligent enough to deal with whatever came his way, that he was tenacious enough to not give up and that his faith in the world being essentially good would see him complete his journey in safety. He got engaged to Gill on the night before his departure and accompanied by her and a few friends; he went to Pershore Abbey where they sang the John Bunyan hymn “to be a pilgrim”. They said a prayer, he was blessed and hugged by the vicar then ... quietly and simply, he started walking south.
On his first day the few people that he met were somewhat bemused when he told them he was walking to Rome. He was only in Winchcombe and Italy did seem a rather long way off. However, his first night was spent on the floor of the Baptist Chapel in the Cotswold village of Hawley which was cold but dry and safe from that night’s spring frost. The second night saw him staying in Fairford at the house of a churchgoer there who had responded to his contact with the vicar requesting accommodation. And so it went on, four months of many different beds: a few nights staying with friends, lots of offers through www.couchsurfing.org (the traveller’s website) and then some 20 nights when he had no pre-arranged place to stay and fate provided him with a bed and something to eat in France and many pilgrim hostels in Italy (with no map just following the path). He says that to walk day after day is a wonderful way to clean out one’s mind of all the debris that collects over the years.
Chris is a charming gentleman who entertained us with very many interesting and funny stories of his adventure and about the many hundreds of different people he met from all walks of life en route. He carried with him a wonderful leather “diary” with the many handwritten references and drawings from his fellow acquaintances and hosts. After four months, Chris finally reached Rome and, to crown the moment on his arrival in Rome, he shared an audience (with the many other pilgrims) with Pope Benedict XVI.
The next WI Bishopswood meeting is on Friday 23rd March, 2018 (our 99th Birthday) we will welcome Mr Matthew Hall to speak to us about “My Life of Crime”.
BROMYARD
Our ladies and speaker, Judith Harris, wore something green to #showthelove at our February meeting. Judith is a Level 1 national dressage judge with twenty-five years experience of judging horses and riders. She described dressage as “athletics for horses” where the ultimate aim is for the horse to respond smoothly to the rider’s minimal aids (leg, hand, seat) and for the rider to appear relaxed and effort free while performing a series of pre-determined moves. Judith described the array of marking sheets that require judges to concentrate simultaneously on different aspects of the performance.
A small group made another of our regular visits to a local care this time to make Easter cards with the residents. A quick game of Scrabble accompanied by the usual chatter and refreshments concluded our visit.
In March we welcomed back Malcolm Penny, the renowned zoologist, who treated our members to another enthralling evening. Malcolm’s talk and slide show covered his career travelling the world filming wildlife and wild places for Anglia Television. From Antarctica to Zambia he was able to study a wide range of animals from alligators to zebras. Somewhere in between he worked with the leading names in his field including Sir Peter Scott at Slimbridge and David Bellamy. No wonder he described himself as “a very lucky boy”.
TUPSLEY
At the March meeting ladies of TUPSLEY WI had the pleasure of a Golden Labrador named Rosie, together with invited speaker Claire Rush who gave us an insight into how life changed for her with the arrival of her first Guide Dog. After losing her sight some years before, the arrival of a Guide Dog was to give her companionship and the chance to go out into the street for the first time on her own. Before Rosie, Claire had other dogs and now, together with Rosie, you may see them both walking through Hereford, or pausing at a Pedestrian light and Claire feeling for the special switch that indicates whether the road is safe to cross. The trust and affection between Rosie and Claire was very evident throughout the talk.
BOSBURY
At our March meeting we welcomed Wendy Steadman and her three helpers, plus sewing machines, to show us how to make a bag.
Morsbags started in 2007 by Claire and Joe Morsman as a response to the number of plastic bags being used and the damage they cause to marine wildlife. They put a simple bag pattern on a website and before long hundreds of Morsbags were being made worldwide. Wendy’s group started in 2011, as an offshoot of the Marden Arts & Crafts Society, using recycled fabrics. The finished bags are given away free. They are always in need
of fabric donations e.g. curtains, throws, remnants etc.
We had great fun making our bags which we took home to use on our next shopping expedition.
LEDBURY
Members and visitors were welcomed to the meeting by our President Margaret Coulson.
David Garner, Plant Recorder for Herefordshire, then gave a presentation about ‘The Wonders of the Malverns’ – an accurate description of what he observes and photographs on the hills. Plants, flowers, animals, birds, butterflies, moths, fungi – many beautiful photographs with snippets of information about each. Fascinating talk, which urged us to observe the wonders of nature when we walk as well as marvelling at the views.
The evening competition was for a garden implement – members had to be quite imaginative to bring items which would fit on the table and they succeeded admirably!
Our next meeting will be held at 7.30 pm on Wednesday 11 April at the Parish Room of the Catholic Church New Street Ledbury HR8 2EE.
The speaker will be David Harrison, MA telling us about two fascinating sisters who used immense wealth created by the industrial revolution and their deep religious convictions to transform the cultural life of Wales.
Visitors are always welcome.
BRAMPTON BRYAN
NGS Gardens in Herefordshire - presented by the double act Rowena Gale & Penny Usher.
After introductions Penny gave a brief history of NGS, founded in 1927 to raise money for nursing care, in the first year 609 gardens were opened to the public, 10 of which were in Herefordshire with 2 of them still open regularly today. There are now just under 4000 gardens registered in England and Wales (Scotland do their own thing)! In the last 10 years over £25,000,000 has been donated, 2017 was a record year with £3,100,00 to charities. NGS also funds small charitable group gardens. Funding has been donated to many hospitals for instance Salisbury Spinal Unit where a car park was replaced with a garden to enable access not just for wheel chair access but for beds to be pulled outside to enjoy flower gardens; many other similar projects are in the planning.
Between Penny and Rowena, they took us on a wonderful tour of 20 gardens across Herefordshire and just over the border, from small cottage gardens to those over 29 acres, Japanese gardens, to an organic herb garden; including Rowena’s own. Using a slide show with photographs taken by Rowena, the talk was entertainingly delivered with humour from both ladies; quite a double act. With so much more to say, but supper smelling so good after a few questions, we were thanked for listening and reminded about the wonderful reception that we would receive at any of the gardens, not to mention the wonderful tea and cake.
Doris mentioned a friend that had fallen in her garden and was there for over an hour and when she was found, she was weeding; never waste a moment eh!
Sue gave the thanks and like a lot of us there hadn’t realised the wealth of history or fantastic efforts and charities supported.
UPTON BISHOP
Upton Bishop WI met on Tuesday 13th March and after a short business meeting Jacqui Woodhouse welcomed the speaker for the evening Fraser Gunn RNLI Education Liaison Volunteer/Presenter.
He was brought up in St Ives in Cornwall and was inspired to become involved with the RNLI after being rescued from near disaster as a teenager by the RNLI to which he owes his life. He spent 5 years in the Air Force and then 30 years in the Fire Service and on retiring he decided it was “payback time” and has been actively involved in fundraising for 20 years and in the past 10 years has been an Educational Volunteer going to schools and Youth Organisation teaching Beach and Water Safety.
This most interesting and informative talk with slides and short videos gave the members a detailed insight into the work of the RNLI. The RNLI is a charity that saves lives at Sea through lifeboats, search and rescue, lifeguards, water safety and education and flood rescue. It is run separately from the coastguards, independent of the government and relies on volunteers and supporters to run a life saving service.
Since it was established in 1824 by Sir William Hillary, the RNLI has saved over 140,000 lives. From the original wooden rowing boats of the 1800 to steam powered and in 1905 the first motor powered boat. Later in1963 inflatable lifeboats were added to the fleet. In 1972 the first rigid inflatable lifeboats and in 2002 hovercrafts joined the RNLI Fleet and in 2005 The Tamar class lifeboat was designed with speed and crew safety in mind.
Life boats also played a great part in both of the world wars rescuing 5,332 lives and 6,376 lives respectively. To run the RNLI in 2016 it cost £177.3 million for this life saving service all funded by generous supporters. It costs £485,00 a day to run the RNLI all money donated by the public which may sound a lot but worth it as on average 23 people are rescued by lifeboats per day.
HM The Queen has been the Patron since 1952 and HRH The Duke of Kent has been President since 1969. In addition the RNLI runs training courses and gives others knowledge and skills not only at home but also abroad.
After some question and answer time Pat Lemin gave the vote of thanks for this most informative talk.
The next meeting of Upton Bishop WI is on Tuesday 10th April 2018 when all are invited to the Millennium Hall, Upton Bishop at 8.00 p.m. The Countess of Bathurst is the speaker talking about her experiences setting up WI’s and Book Clubs in a Gloucester prison. Cost £4 including refreshments.
Anyone interested in joining is most welcome. Please contact either President Jane Pendlebury on 01989 780763 or Secretary Clare Bell on 01989 780383 for further information.
SALTMARSHE & DISTRICT
Mrs. Margaret Roy was our inspiring Speaker at our March meeting, when she led us through the Wye Valley Walk; "136 miles of hill-climbing and riverside walking", as it's described in the guide. The whole walk came about when the Roys lived in Malvern but travelled regularly to Pembrokeshire, thereby crossing over the Wye itself and being intrigued to find out more.
The logo for the walk http://www.wyevalleywalk.org/ is that of a leaping salmon, and can be seen on signposts and waymarkers as you journey along.A "passport" can be carried with you for "stamping" at 14 places along the route, which adds to the fun. Margaret's illustrated presentation was peppered with interesting facts about the River itself and the cities, towns and villages settled along the way. Did you know, for example, that Plas Gwyn, where Elgar once lived, housed a laboratory for his amateur chemistry?
Margaret raised £1,800 for The Multiple Sclerosis Society, who supported her brother with the condition. We admired her motivation and enthusiasm.
Next month we revert to our evening time of 7.30pm when we will join Mr. Kenneth Reeve for his "Tales of My Escapdes as a WW11 Evacuee".
That's on Wednesday April 11th and the competition is A carved or Decorated box. Visitors are always welcome to join us in Saltmarshe & District Hall.
COLWALL WINGS
Colwall Wings WI meeting on Weds 21st March was another truly successful event. We were privileged to welcome Dame Yve Buckland to talk to us about "Glass slippers and Glass ceilings ......and what is really important in life!". Dame Yve has achieved a tremendous amount in her professional life, and in her personal life too. She spoke about juggling work/life balance when she started her family, the support she received in order to be able to continue with her career, and the choices she went on to make in order to have some sanity around her hectic lifestyle.
And what a lovely speaker! She regaled us with some brilliant stories - mainly at the expense of being a woman in the workplace, and the only woman on the Board in many instances! What a great combo - power suit, briefcase and expressing machine!
A great supporter of the need for equality, Dame Yve showed us what can be done with drive, determination and support. We are resolved to share her vision with all the young ladies in our lives.
Colwall Wings WI, from left Jane Stratton (President), Linda Hartley (Programme Organiser), Dame Yve Buckland, (Speaker), Ali Darling (Programme Organiser)
BISHOPSWOOD
99th BIRTHDAY MEETING ON 23rd MARCH, 2018
We began our meeting with a beautifully presented tea provided by The Committee members. After our tea we cut the lovely 99th Birthday Celebration cake homemade by our President, who sadly was unable to attend this meeting.
We then welcomed our speaker Mr Matthew R. Hall, criminal barrister, thriller/crime author and 10 years a screen writer and producer had come to talk to us about “My Life of Crime”. Matthew was born in London but lives and works in the Wye valley where he spends much of his spare time looking after his sixteen acres of woodland and working for the conservation of the countryside.
He was educated in the Hereford Cathedral School and Worcester College and ran away to Oxford in the early 90’s where he graduated in law. During a career at the Bar, where men are generally called by their surnames, he worked mostly in the field of criminal law. At that time, when a criminal was shot on the tow path of a canal was a pivotal moment in his decision to become an author. He learnt the craft of screen writing and eventually got his first commission in television 23 years ago writing an episode of the ITV hit series, Kavanagh QC starring John Thaw. He then went on to write his own show “A wing and a Prayer” (A BAFTA nominated original series) as well as contributing to the up and running show Dalziel & Pascoe, Scarlet Pimpernel, Loving You (film for ITV), New Street Law, two series of Foyle’s War, A&E, Holby City to name but a few that can be attributed to his talent.
He started by saying that in the past books were mainly advertised and sold by book shops like Waterstones but that now it is mainly done by word of mouth. Matthew went on to regale us with entertaining stories about the many colourful characters he has come across in his career (both as clients and fellow professionals) and their inspiration for his books. If you want to know about some of the best bits you’ll just have to read his enthralling thriller books or watch his current TV programme on BBC Wales i-player “Keeping Faith”.
It was interesting to learn the many facets of the job of the coroner. They have to determine the cause of the “how, when and where” of any sudden or unnatural death. There are 103 coroners in England and they are part judge/part investigator. He told us they have very little resources and are locally funded by Councils and generally hold their inquests in village halls. They are able to ask questions of witnesses that a judge can’t and make a judgement. The coroner examines all unnatural deaths which haven’t obviously been caused in the conduct of a crime (more than one in five of all deaths fall into this category). As a direct result of their independence, coroners have succeeded in embarrassing successive governments in their dogged pursuit of the truth. In recent years coroner’s juries have returned verdicts of unlawful killing in cases in which British soldiers have been killed by so-called friendly fire in Afghanistan and Iraq, causing major diplomatic friction between Britain and the USA. He also told us about the young coroner Andrew Walker who was appointed to help clear a backlog of military inquests which had developed in RAF Brize Norton at Carterton, Oxfordshire.
His debut novel, “The Coroner” was nominated for the Crime Writer’s Association Gold Dagger in the best novel category. His second novel in the Jenny Cooper series was “The Disappeared” in January 2010, “The Redeemed” the third novel in the same series was published in April 2011 with the fourth “The Flight” published in February 2012.
Matthew is a very entertaining speaker. I think I speak for everyone when I say we had a most enjoyable afternoon.
The next WI Bishopswood meeting is on Friday 13th April, 2018 at 18:30hrs.
Jane Wilmot on the left and our newest member Sue Westermen on the right.