WI News March 16
THE SUTTONS
In February, Geoff Tookey demonstrated 'Dishes with a Difference', that could be prepared the day before we entertain guests, to save stress on the day. His salmon starter, and upside down crumble were delicious! We completed the evening with a photo quiz of buildings in Hereford, which made us realise that we don't take enough notice of what is around us!
In March, Dick Alford, a retired police officer, will be telling tales of his 30 years in the Herefordshire police force.
On 19th March we are having a Jumble Sale from 10.00 -12.00, at Sutton St Nicholas Village Hall.
PETERSTOW
"A Life in Dresses" by Christian Dior was the subject of our guest speaker Carole Dowding.
Carole has many strings to her bow but this talk was her time spent working for the House of Dior. She displayed slides of Dior fashion through the years. Christian Dior commenced designing 1947and this lasted for a decade.
He only visited the UK once with shows at Blenheim Palace and the store Marshall and Snelgrove Birmingham. All his garments were embroidered with the emblem of the lily of the valley as a good luck sign.
The House of Dior fashion carried on after his death firstly designed by Yves St Laurent and then John Galliano, before these designers left to go it alone.
Carole also mentioned that the perfume Miss Dior was first promoted in 1947 at the start of his fashion enterprise.
The meeting ended with another delicious tea provided by 2 members.
WYE WOMEN
Wye Women enjoyed a day trip to Cardiff. So, 20 ladies began the day with Bucks Fizz on the train, then a meander around the Welsh capital before lunch. Then it was off to the theatre to see, Footloose, a lively fun musical. A good time was had by all !
STOKE PRIOR & DISTRICT
The 87th Birthday Tea for Stoke Prior and District WI was a traditional affair, with gorgeous cakes, quiches and sandwiches swilled down with plenty of tea and coffee. After singing Happy Birthday, the special cake was quickly devoured!!
SALTMARSHE & DISTRICT
It was a delight to have the company of several ladies from Ledbury W.I. at our March meeting. The weather was wet, wet and wet..... meaning various places along the road had standing water but that hadn't put our visitors off and all arrived safely.
Our Speaker was Mrs. Pene Seabrook who kept us very diverted with her talk "Almost fifty years as a Vicar's wife ", sub titled "From the Krays to the Ripper". Pene, short for Penelope, created a vivid picture of what life was like in the East end of London then on to Telford, when it really was a "new" town, right through to Bradford.
The two poems she included - " I married a Whatsit" and "The Vicaress" - really encapsulated the life she has lived. Tales of eating jellied eels - once is more than enough ! - and a bride in a white crocheted trouser suit marrying the groom who'd had his hair dyed orange to match the colour he was wearing are just two of many similarly comic stories.
Everyone was wished a safe journey home and reminded that April 13th will be the celebrations for our 70th Anniversary with entertainment by Lofty Magic.We will be meeting in the evening at 7.30pm when the competition will be any miniature item. A plate of food for sharing will be most acceptable.
ASTON INGHAM
Lisa Fisher from House of Colour, Ledbury came to talk and demonstrate to Aston Ingham's members how, with the use of the right colours, we can transform the way we look - the trick is to find the colours which ' light up our faces.' Lisa also gave us some helpful tips on the wearing and use of jewellery, to bring the clothes we wear to life. We all thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon.
THE SPARKLING WYE
The March meeting of Sparkling Wye WI was opened by president, Chris, it was great to see a full room of members and visitors once again. After the business was completed, Lindsay introduced the evening's speaker, Alexis, a holistic therapist who is based in the Ross area.
Alexis runs her business, Zenmindbody, doing a range of holistic therapies primarily for ladies, she also does Tai Chi and stress management. She concentrated on just a few of the therapies she offers: reflexology, Indian Head Massage and holistic massage. Next was a little of the history of reflexology followed by a look at some foot maps while she explained how reflexology works, with different areas of the foot relating to different parts of the body and these areas being massaged by thumb walking the soles of the feet. Medical history and the concerns of the client are taken into account thus providing a holistic approach. She then spoke about the history and benefits of body massage and Indian Head Massage, finishing with a short demonstration of Indian Head Massage on volunteer, Annie. There were quizzes to test how well members had been listening during the evening and a prize draw to win a free treatment. Alexis was very enthusiastic about her therapies and there may be a queue of WI ladies wanting to book appointments. Claire thanked her for a very interesting talk.
The evening closed with refreshments and the raffle.
SWWI meets on the 2nd Wednesday of the month in Ross Conservative Club at 8pm.
UPTON BISHOP
President Pat welcomed everyone, including a few visitors, to the March meeting of Upton Bishop WI. The committee ran through the business and then the speaker, Erica Grant, was introduced, with her talk and demonstration of Laughter Yoga.
Erica explained that laughter yoga had been established about 21 years ago in India. She then outlined the physiological benefits of laughing, which are true even if it is faked laughter - laughter therapy had actually been used for pain relief in the 1950s. When we laugh the body is supplied with oxygen as one actually has to breathe properly, there is an endorphin and oxytocin boost, cortisol levels are lowered resulting in some stress relief, the immune system is boosted, the flow of lymph around the body improves and the internal organs also receive a massage.
With these benefits in mind she guided members through the different stages of laughter and various exercises were performed with members walking round the room and exchanging laughter with others, followed by a period of relaxation. Some seemed to take to this therapy and enjoy it but others were rather less keen. Erica certainly had masses of energy and enthused about the benefits of practicing laughter yoga. The vote of thanks was given by Sylvia Greer.
The competition for 3 Easter biscuits was then judged, the winner was Jane Fray, with Anne Crocker and Jane Pendlebury taking 2nd and 3rd places respectively. The evening closed with refreshments and the raffle.
UBWI meets on the 2nd Tuesday of the month in the Millennium Hall, Upton Bishop at 7.30.
PARKWAY
The President Val Graham welcomed Members and Guests to the March meeting, which began with everyone singing Jerusalem.
Our speaker was Griff Halliday from The Ledbury Food Group. Griff explained to us the group was formed around 8 years ago when they were invited to write a report on the distanced our food travelled, this report was entitled Field to Fork. Since then the group have organised the annual Big Breakfast and Ledbury Community Day. The group have also been busy compiling a comprehensive list of Local (being within 30 miles of Ledbury) Food Producers; from time to time producers are invited to give talks to the group and anyone else interested. This is run in conjunction with the Ledbury Library Development Group and often held in The Masters House. Griff then invited questions from the floor, after a vote of thanks was given.
Refreshments were enjoyed by everyone followed by WI business and social time.
The next meeting is 12th April at 2pm - Baptist Church Hall, Homend, Ledbury. The topic is Back Care by Linda Marden
New Members Always Welcome.
ALMELEY
At the March meeting we had a wonderful talk from Dick Allford entitled 30 years as a Country Copper. As our local policeman for over 30 years he regaled us with lots of lovely stories giving us an insight into his time spent in and around Kington. He also gave us some very useful tips to help keep our homes and property safe.
MUCH COWARNE
The speaker for Much Cowarne's March meeting was Zoe White who presented a talk on the work carried out by Megan Baker House. Megan Baker House is a charity providing free Conductive Education Services at its centre in Herefordshire for children, teenagers and adults with special educational needs and physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy, head injury, stroke, dyspraxia and early on-set Parkinson's disease. Zoe spoke about the progress of patients, many having to learn to walk again and gain confidence in carrying out every day activities so that they can reach their full potential and lead more independent lives. The talk included slide's and short video clips of the programmes used to achieve the ultimate targets.
LEDBURY
The President Margaret Coulson welcomed members to the March meeting.
The evening's speaker was introduced: Geoff Tookey with the title of 'Cookery with a Difference'.
In his entertaining talk, Geoff first spoke about his years as a chef, when he rose to the position of Executive Head Chef, catering for the Queen, other heads of state and many celebrities. His career also included catering management. He is now a leading training provider in the field of food safety and health and safety trainers in South Wales.
A demonstration of two delicious recipes followed – Salmon Tartare and Upside Down Fruity Crumble. Members were delighted to sample both dishes which were as good as they looked.
The competition - a 'must keep' kitchen item – followed the evening's theme and attracted many entries. A rolling pin was the popular winner.
The next meeting is 7.30 pm Wednesday 13th April at the Parish Room of the Catholic Church New Street Ledbury HR8 2EE when the speaker will be Caroline Bellhouse with the intriguing title of 'Orange Hairies and other Friends'.
Visitors will be given a warm WI welcome.
BRAMPTON BRYAN
Brampton Bryan's March meeting began with memories of our very enjoyable and successful party at the Riverside Inn at Aymestrey, which took the place of our regular meeting in February.
Two Brampton Bryan members will attend the HFWI Council meeting and we are sending a delegate to the Annual Meeting in Brighton; we are taking part in the Federation quiz, participating actively in the Three Counties show, and we hope to send in a photograph for next year's Federation calendar. Visits to other WIs in our Group are also in the offing, and our scrap book is in circulation.
Our speaker last Thursday was local artist Ivan Jones who brought many beautiful examples of his very talented artworks in pastels; he is a self-taught artist and told us something of the history, materials and techniques of this art form, of which he is an obvious master. The examples he brought to show us ranged from portraits of people to animals, landscapes, flowers and seascapes, and were truly beautiful.