WI Spotlight A - D
WI Spotlight
A - D
NAME OF WI: ALLENSMORE WI
MEETING TIME: 2nd Thursday, 7.30 pm
VENUE: The Pateshall,Allensmore
Allensmore WI was formed in 1926 so we are 86 years old. This year there are 27 members who meet on the 2nd Thursday of each month. Each year two of our members agree to arrange a varied programme of events which include different speakers, demonstrations and visits to interesting places. Several of our members have been to Denman college to learn a new skill and we are all looking forward to a visit there this coming December.
We are a friendly group and welcome new members.
NAME OF WI: ALMELEY WI
MEETING TIME: 3RD Thursday, 7.30 pm
VENUE: Almeley Village Hall
Almeley WI was founded in 1923, so in 2013 we will be celebrating 90 years of the WI supporting the women of our village. We currently have 18 members and, whilst this is a relatively small number, we feel that we are a lively active group providing benefits not only for our members but for the wider community.
Like all WIs we aim to have a varied and interesting programme which starts off in the New Year with our annual meal. In August we usually provide cream teas for the Village Fete and this year the monies raised at the Almeley Parish weekend were shared between Almeley Church and Almeley Village Hall. Our outing is usually held in June and in December we have a tea party where the annual award of the Goodwin cup is given to the winner of the monthly competitions.
We aim to have at least two open meetings a year and visitors are always welcome and warmly received at our monthly meetings.
NAME OF WI: ASTON INGHAM WI
MEETING TIME: 2ND Tuesday at 2.00 pm
VENUE: Aston Ingham Village Hall
We celebrated our 90th birthday in 2011 & have continued celebrations with our Diamond Jubilee events (1950's themed tea party & tree planting at Ascot ladies Day lunch) & the Olympics. We have 30 members and have a varied programme for the meetings. We also run a parallel programme of events, many open to all the village:- flower arranging & craft workshops, pamper days, pottery painting, outings, croquet & community lunches. There is an able catering team & we are well known for our good food.
We are a friendly & welcoming group who provide fun, opportunities to learn new skills, friendship & mutual support as well as a service to the community.
NAME OF WI: BARTESTREE & LUGWARDINE
MEETING TIME: 2ND THURSDAY, 7.15 PM
VENUE: BARTESTREE VILLAGE HALL
Our current WI was formed in 1980 and is the second one to be held in the villages of Bartestree and Lugwardine. There was a WI here before and during the Second World War which closed in 1950. Our membership now is 25 and we are an informal and friendly group, pleased to welcome visitors and new members. We include in our programme each year some talks or demonstrations by various members. This has opened up a whole new range of expertise and hobbies within our membership that we weren't aware of before. In between the monthly meetings we go out for lunch, and have fund-raising coffee mornings or afternoon teas at members' homes. We also have a patchwork group which meets during the winter to make quilts for the Linus project. Linus then donate the handmade quilts to children of all ages, within our area, who are in need of comfort and security.
NAME OF WI: Bishopswood
MEETING TIME: 2nd Friday Apr-Sept 18.30; Oct-Mar 14.30
VENUE: Bishopswood Village Hall
Bishopswood WI was formed in April 1919, before the Herefordshire Federation came into being. The 41 members, including the granddaughter and great granddaughter of a founding member, meet in the very well appointed Millennium Hall in the hamlet of Bishopswood on the banks of the River Wye close to the Forest of Dean. The friendly, welcoming and active membership work closely with the two other major village organisations, the Parish Church and the Village Hall Committee. The monthly meetings are addressed by interesting and informative speakers and include one members' evening and one open meeting per annum.
Annual events include a Pimms Evening, a quiz night, the WI Birthday Party and a joint fundraiser with the Village Hall. A Craft Group meets monthly and has produced, among other items, a banner for the Parish Church and knitted articles for St. Michael's Hospice and Water Aid. Members have created an attractive garden on rough ground at the rear of the Village Hall with a grant from NFWI.
Bishopswood WI is proud of its long standing twinning links with Bishops Cleeve WI in Gloucestershire and Murrambeena Country Women's Association on the outskirts of Melbourne, Victoria. Exchange visits are made annually with the former and several members have visited Murrambeena.
NAME OF WI: BOSBURY WI
MEETING TIME: 2ND THURSDAY 7.30 PM
VENUE: BOSBURY PARISH HALL
Bosbury WI was founded in 1924 and we are looking forward to celebrating our 90th anniversary next year.
At the moment we have 24 members, some of whom have been with us over 40 years and some are entirely new to the WI. We consider ourselves to be a lively, informed and friendly institute and offer a varied and interesting programme. Apart from the booked speakers, we shall be visiting an art gallery, going on walks and socialising with teas, suppers and a BBQ this year. Last year we participated in the Queen's Jubilee celebrations in the village and a ely, informed and friendly institute and offer a varied and interesting programme. Apart from the booked speakers, we shall be visiting an art gallery, going on walks and socialising with teas, suppers and a BBQ this year. Last year we participated in the Queen's Jubilee celebrations in the village and a couple of years ago planted a bee friendly flower bed at the Parish Hall. There is also a thriving craft group.We try to do our fund raising in one big event and that is our annual May Fayre, this year being held on 11 May, to which everyone is invited. Please come and visit this lovely part of the county.
NAME OF WI: BRAMPTON BRYAN WI
MEETING TIME: 2ND THURSDAY 7.00 PM
VENUE: BRAMPTON BRYAN PARISH HALL
Brampton Bryan WI is a very lively group, in its 95th year. The current membership is 22, encompassing several surrounding villages in addition to Brampton Bryan. In August, instead of an external speaker, we are having a Magazine Evening, when our very talented members speak on a subject of their choice – varied, entertaining and amusing. Well known throughout the area is our annual Christmas Pudding mix, which this year will be held on the 23rd November. It is a very happy and sociable event, which involves a great deal of hard work! Come along and see for yourselves (you can never plan too early for Christmas!).
Supporting the Community is important to us. Amongst other things we take part in the annual Scarecrow Festival, enjoying the challenge of adapting our Scarecrow "Miss Purity", to fit the appropriate theme.
Our nearest WI is Bucknell in Shropshire and we enjoy exchange visits with them. We are part of the Kingsland Group and always enter the Group Show. Recently, several of our members designed and made a new WI banner, the previous one being well part its sell by date. This year we have held 2 fund raising events to support the ACWW.
Visitors and new members are very welcome.
NAME OF WI: BRIMFIELD
MEETING TIME: 3rd MONDAY 7.30 pm
VENUE: BRIMFIELD VILLAGE HALL
The first Brimfield WI was founded in December 1928 and closed in March 1994. Our present group opened in November 2009 and we have a consistent roll of over thirty members covering a broad range of ages.
We have a varied and interesting programme and evenings where members can actively participate are particularly popular. For example, in past months members contributed to the creation of a large pottery bowl, made small panels of fused glass and embroidered maps of the village. Two of our members designed and created the beautiful tablecloth which we use at every meeting, combining patchwork, appliqué and embroidery. A monthly book group, supported by Shropshire Libraries, is flourishing. We have enjoyed outings to EnviroSort (our recycling centre in Worcester), Monkton Cheese, Kinnersley Castle and a winter visit to Abbey Cwm Hir to marvel at the Christmas decorations in its fifty two rooms. Exchange visits with our paired WIs - Brampton Bryan and currently Staunton on Arrow - have been popular.
Each November we hold a Social/Craft Day which is gaining in popularity each time it is held. Visitors from the village and further afield include other WI's from Herefordshire and Shropshire. Members sell a range of their handmade items which display their varied talents and crafts and many support local and national charities through sales of their work. At last year's event we provided home made soup and rolls, as well as the usual tea, coffee and cake and this proved immensely popular. We offer a warm welcome to visitors and prospective new members.
NAME OF WI: BROMYARD
MEETING TIME: 2nd MONDAY 7.30 PM
VENUE: CONQUEST THEATRE, BROMYARD
Our first WI in Bromyard closed in 1999. Then one of our former members was approached by HFWI to see if it was possible to restart a Bromyard Group. This was reformed in 2006. We are now 39 members and enjoy meeting at The Conquest Theatre.
We started singing Jerusalem in 2010. We always have a very varied programme and try to include local speakers:- crafts, recently a hands on session making felt animals!!! We also have people's personal endeavours, we have been on a bike to Beijing, had a fashion parade, beetle drive, cooking demonstration, had a fascinating talk on Bras and the correct measuring off!! - and always have an open meeting to invite others in our group to join us and usually Alfrick WI which is in the Worcester Federation.
We have visited the National Memorial Arboretum, the Staffordshire hoard in Birmingham and Evesham Country Park. We try to have a monthly lunch out to places like Blue Ginger at Stiffords Bridge and occasionally we have a Saturday lunch for those who work in the week.
We also enjoy a yearly Pig Roast, this year we had an Old Fashioned Tea Party. Enjoyed a dress rehearsal at the Conquest of Beauty and the Beast . We have recently introduced a Monthly Newsletter. We also offered 3 of our members a bursary of £100 towards a course at Denman this year and look forward to them reporting back.
We had great pleasure in preparing and serving the teas for the Queen's Jubilee, for the over 60's and the under 12's. It was a very busy and hectic day, making sandwiches, making and cutting cakes, and pouring and pouring and pouring lots of cups of tea, then of course the clearing up.
NAME OF WI: BURGHILL AND TILLINGTON
MEETING TIME: 3rd Tuesday, 7.30 pm
VENUE: The Simpson Hall, Burghill
Burghill and Tillington WI celebrated its 80th Birthday this year with an evening that tried to recreate something of our earliest years, when wearing suitable (or unsuitable) hats, we tried out some activities from 'NFWI Games' (price 6d). We left out the noisier ones such as Paper-Bag Bursting…
We currently have 28 members, drawn not only from our wide-ranging parish, but also from neighbouring Credenhill. We think that fun and friendship should be key features of the WI at institute level, and aim to provide members and visitors with a warm welcome and a stimulating programme. In September we have for several years now had a special open meeting to which we give out invitations to as many women in our local community as we can. These have been well-attended and have proved to be a really good way of removing some misconceptions about the WI!
We may be only 4 miles from the centre of Hereford but we are a rural institute at heart. We like to keep alive WI traditions such as cookery and crafts and have started a 'Knit One, Pass it On' group that now meets regularly. But we like to feel we are also forward-looking and concerned about the issues facing our changing society. We've already signed up for using the internet for one of our meetings next year. Some years ago we started a Book Group which continues to flourish. Lilke the knitting group it is not exclusively for WI members, as we feel that both activities are an opportunity to engage with the wider community.
Burghill & Tillington WI has suspended
NAME OF WI: COLWALL
MEETING TIME: 2nd Monday, 7.00 pm
VENUE: COLWALL VILLAGE HALL
Colwall WI was founded in 1930 with approximately 90 members. Numbers have diminished over the years but the enthusiasm has not. Our members are mostly in the "senior" age group but with this comes lots of experience.
Our members were responsible for establishing the Colwall Railway Station garden which included cleaning and painting the platform shelter until 2008. A memorial garden at the church was also another labour of love by the members of our WI.
Our evening meetings with speakers have taken us to far flung places such as Darjeeling; Kenya and Zimbabwe as well as more local topics from an Auctioneer and the Air Ambulance. Our annual functions include a garden party and cake stalls as well as taking part in the village scarecrow competition. The Friends of Dymock Poets look to us for refreshments during the day at their annual get together. We held a village tea party in 2011 for the Royal Wedding and our tea and cup cakes were a great success as part of our village celebration of the Diamond Jubilee. Our members also provide help at the Malvern Three Counties Show be it making "bacon butties" or serving teas.
In the winter months our members hold a monthly scrabble meeting and our December meetings have provided members with the option of donating items for "help for Heroes" and has been very successful. Visitors and prospective new members will always find a warm welcome.
Colwall WI is now suspended.
NAME OF WI: CRADLEY
MEETING TIME: 1st Thursday, 7.30 pm
VENUE: Cradley Village Hall
We are an active group of ladies from Cradley and surrounding villages and currently have 37 members. We were founded in 1938 and are going to celebrate our seventy-sixth birthday in February. We meet in our beautiful sixteenth century Village Hall, and our WI actively joins in activities organised to support the Village Hall committee and Parish Council.
We have an interesting range of speakers on topics of general and local interest. We recently focused on the life story of Elgar, and organised a visit to his birthplace museum. We have a very popular Book Club that meets every other month. This year we organised a guided walk and afternoon tea and invited members and guests to enjoy the beauty of our local Malvern Hills. Many of our members enjoy our Lunch Club. We meet sometimes in members' houses for an informal lunch, which gives us a chance to meet and chat. We also organise meals out, often to local places of interest. After a recent speaker's visit we have organised a coach trip to Bletchley Park.
We are twinned with Woolhope WI who kindly judged our informal flower and produce show last year. We join local WI's in Mathon, Colwall and Bosbury to take turns to host a soup and pancake lunch on Shrove Tuesday. Our annual skittles match with Mathon WI is hotly contested.
NAME OF WI: DILWYN
MEETING TIME: 2nd Thursday 7.30pm
VENUE: The Cedar Hall, Dilwyn
For the more romantically inclined, Dilwyn may well be an Anglo Saxon word meaning "hidden place". It's more likely though that its name is derived from its Celtic origins. Dilwyn's history probably predates the Normans and may well extend back as far as the late 6th century. Dilwyn is a popular tourist area in northwest Herefordshire and is one of the 'must visit' places on the black & white village trail. We are proud that we have the first community owned pub in the county and that our children are being educated at one of the few free schools in the West Midlands.
The Dilwyn WI was first formed in 1933 – we celebrated our 80th birthday with a garden party in June last year. We currently have sixteen members and try to plan our annual programme to suit our mixed tastes and interests. We tend to focus our evenings around the seasons and significant dates in the calendar. For instance, we'll be making / decorating Easter Bonnets in April and enjoying a late evening Strawberry Tea in June. We also like to have two or three speakers during the year to stimulate our interest in various subjects as well as demonstrations to improve or rekindle our practical skills, for example "Finding My Secret Garden" in March and "Very Dior" in July. We enjoy visits to places of interest too, such as the Hereford Costume Museum in August. Our year always culminates with Cheese'n'Wine following our Annual Meeting in November and a scrumptious Christmas Dinner in December.
NAME OF WI: DINEDOR & HOLME LACY
MEETING TIME: 2nd TUESDAY, 7.30 pm
VENUE: DINEDOR VILLAGE HALL
Dinedor and Holme Lacy are situated to the South East of Hereford. Dinedor drapes around Dinedor Camp, an Iron Age hill fort and stretches down to the banks of the Wye with a Holy Well or sacred spring. St Andrew's Church was rebuilt in 1867 onto a 13th Century tower housing a 15th Century font.
Holme Lacy has one of the largest houses in Herefordshire with exceptional plaster ceilings and ornate carvings, belonging to the Laceys and passed on to the Scudamores, it is now a Warners Hotel. The ghost of the grey lady is said to haunt and a mystery tunnel links to St Cuthbert's Church, a fine 14th Century building containing some impressive monuments to the Scudamore-Stanhopes and Lucas Toothe, now cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust.
Holme Lacy College Campus, part of Ludlow College, offers a wide range of rural crafts and an equestrian centre. The railway station was closed in1964 by Dr Beeching and the post office fairly recently but the former Primary School still remains.
Dinedor and Holme Lacy Women's Institute were formed in 1953 with a strong membership of local ladies. The present WI comprises of a close-knit group lending support to the church, Parish Council and Help the Aged. Having the use of two village halls, members have joined shortmat bowls and given help with the annual sports day run since 1936.
Dinedor and Holme Lacy WI are part of the City Group and act as host to the Federation quiz preliminarys. We enjoy visiting and entertaining our paired WI and looking forward to our exchange with Bosbury again.
NAME OF WI: DORSTONE
MEETING TIME: 1ST THURSDAY 2.30PM WINTER, 7.30PM SUMMER
VENUE: PETERCHURCH (Winter) DORSTONE VILLAGE HALL (Summer)
Dorstone WI held its first meeting in January, 1923. We are therefore 91 years old and still going strong. We celebrated our 90th birthday by having a 1920`s style lunch party, dressing as near as possible in the clothes of that time. At present we have 30 members and are hoping for more.
As we are a rural WI set in the heart of the beautiful Golden Valley, our members come from the surrounding villages of Peterchurch and Vowchurch as well as Dorstone. Despite covering a large area, we all know each other quite well and make new members feel very welcome. We are delighted that five more have recently joined us.
Each year we try to arrange an interesting mix of speakers to appeal to everyone. Cookery demonstrations, travel talks, life stories or an interesting hobby are just a few. Occasionally we will have a quiz or a social evening. We also have our own lunch group, which any member is welcome to arrange, plus afternoon tea trips, visits to gardens of interest, a craft group (good for a natter) and a book group.
Dorstone WI has connections with Glenavy WI in Northern Ireland. In the spring eight of our members spent a week in Ireland meeting with the Glenavy ladies and members from other federations. They fitted in sightseeing and were made very welcome. We hope they can visit Dorstone sometime.
We were busy during the Jubilee celebration year as we enjoyed a 1953 style Coronation Tea with food and decorations of that era. We also held a very successful charity fashion show - well attended by members of the public, and finished the year by providing gifts to fill the Christmas child shoebox appeal.
Our oldest member is 92 years young and very lively she is too!
Dorstone WI is now known as Dorstone & District WI (November 2017)