WI News October 2016
LEDBURY
Ledbury Group Meeting held a very enjoyable meeting convened by Ledbury W.I. We were delightfully entertained by the Courtesie Dancers with their Elizabethan dancing and rules of etiquette. To finish the majority of members joined in with an "Elizabethan conga"!
COLWALL WINGS
The Difference a Dog Makes
On 21st September Colwall Wings WI held a fabulous evening at the Colwall Park Hotel. Wings Treasurer, Sarah Grout, has long been a supporter of Guide Dogs and she was able to secure the most amazing talk by Guide Dogs, Ledbury and Malvern Group.
Anne Dicks and her fellow volunteers (Guide Dogs could not exist without an amazing army of volunteers) talked about the charity, the work the volunteers do and of course the fabulous dogs. If you thought you knew about Guide Dogs ... there's bound to be some things you didn't know:
- It costs £50,000 to raise and keep one dog
- Guide Dogs are the biggest dog breeder in the world. Providing not only dogs for the blind and partially sighted, but dogs for search & rescue, buddy dogs, police dogs, dogs for the disabled. Even the pups who don't quite pass the rigorous test to become a fully fledged guide dog are given fabulous alternative careers
- That 'puppy walkers' do cry when they have to say goodbye to their pup when it moves on to work
But for all the facts and figures it was Shirley, with her beautiful dog Taylor, (both members of Upton Hot Peppers WI) who gave a most candid talk on the difference having a dog has made to her life. Everyone who listened to her felt in awe and humbled by the sheer brilliance, comfort and life-affirming ability her lovely dog gives her.
To help with fundraising please visit https://www.guidedogs.org.uk/aboutus/local-to-you/fundraising-groups/malvern-and-ledbury-fundraising-group.
Colwall Wings WI was established in June this year and has already gathered nearly 90 members. Members will enjoy a wine tasting evening in October with Elgar Wines – this is a members only event however new membership enquiries are always welcome – please contact us at colwallwings@gmail.com - or visit the website at www.colwallwings.co.uk
Shirley and Taylor, Richard and Yola
DINEDOR AND HOLME LACY
Dinedor and Holme Lacy read some interesting historical letters when Frank Bennet spoke about Hereford’s Postal History and watched Lewis Goldwater shaping some green wood for various items. Rayeesa tempted us with her demonstration of Indian cookery which was soon devoured and orders placed.
LEOMINSTER LASSES
Leominster Lasses have had a very busy September – a profitable cake stall in Corn Square on 23rd (see photograph) and at our regular meeting we were treated to a lively talk from Carol Dowding when she explained, with plenty of funny anecdotes; how she qualified as a helicopter pilot and then went on to marry her flying instructor! Very romantic! Carole’s descriptions of her early experiences of flying with her parents to Bristol for dinner and then back to Birmingham in one evening enthralled us all!
HOLMER
Holmer had a lovely talk by Pat Sleeman explaining how she had got into decorating candles by a chance remark of a friend. Pat brought with her a large selection of beautiful candles, so we were able to stock up on Christmas presents.
UPTON BISHOP
Tony Osman talked about glass and glass working. He explained that glass was actually 70% sand, 20% washing soda and 10% limestone furnaced to 1400C to produce molten simple glass. This is not good with sudden temperature changes so 1-2% Borax can be added to give a more heat resistant glass known as Pyrex. Glass being a clean, inert material is perfect for food storage, far better than plastic. Coloured glass is formed by adding chemical oxides, eg cobalt for blue, chromium oxide for dark green and gold oxide for cranberry. Lead carbonate is added to make lead crystal. Simple glass shapes have been found and dated back as far as 3500BC. He then gave a demonstration of glass work and blowing, showing the intense heat (oxygen added to a flame) required to mould the glass. He had brought along beautiful perfume bottles and candle holders which could be purchased and also donated a perfume bottle to the raffle which delighted the lucky winner!
SPARKLING WYE
Jan Matthews from "Made in Ross", an art co-operative based upstairs in the Market Hall in Ross, talked about Felting. She brought along many items she had made, including boots, hats, pictures, tea cosies and bags, all of which were stunning, plus some felted soap which was for sale. First, she talked about her interest in felting and its history and the different types of wool that could be used thus giving different textures, eg silk, merino, lambswool, and different types of felting, ie wet or needle felting. As well as selling her goods at Made in Ross, she teaches a class in Ross and also workshops. To finish, she demonstrated just how easy it was to make felt and members were encouraged to have a go for themselves! Everyone was amazed at the magical transformation from wool to felt.
SALTMARSHE & DISTRICT
Our October evening was ideal for those of us who long to travel and explore new places but because of one reason or another never get the chance to do so. It was marvellous to have our firm friend Mr. David Hill back for another of his interesting talks; this occasion on Cherry Blossom time in Japan.
His pictures captured a complete variety of scenes in Japan; the tree blossom was spectacular both by day and by night time illuminations. Elsie won our competition for the largest fir cone - so big it looked like a pineapple.
ASTON INGHAM
Liz Gwynn, our President, treated the members to a special baking demonstration.. Liz was a lecturer for 25 years at Gloscat so we could have had no better demonstrator. She started with Ukranian white rolls for which the mixture had been started overnight. She also made brown rolls and pizza.
To make chelsea buns, Liz rolled out the dough to a thin rectangle then brushed melted butter on the dough, put on lots of fruit, then rolled it up, sealed the edge and brushed it with melted butter. It was then cut into pieces and baked in a hot oven. Once baked, the buns were finished with boiled apricot jam and water icing - superb and the aroma coming from the kitchen was divine. Members, of course, enjoyed sampling the buns.
Liz, as we expected was very entertaining as well as being an expert baker.
BARTESTREE & LUGWARDINE
Bartestree and Lugwardine members welcomed John and Penny Platts at their October meeting, when Penny gave her illustrated talk entitled ‘Tracks of Africa’. From Port Elizabeth, we went along the coast through The Garden Route National Park to Capetown; then by Rovos Rail’s Pride of Africa train to Pretoria. After flying from Johannesburg to Livingstone we saw the wildlife in Chobe National Park and the talk finished with a visit to the Victoria Falls. This was an excellent talk with beautiful photography which enthralled everyone.
BRAMPTON BRYAN
Final arrangements have been made for our Famous Christmas Pudding Mix on the 19th November from 10.00 – 11.30 at Brampton Bryan Parish Hall. Orders to Doris Irving: 01547 540740 or Pauline Oliver 01568 770044. We mix, you cook. Coffee and Sales table with homemade treats.
The speaker was Diane Sawyer, a member of our WI and her subject was ‘Encaustic Art’. This ancient form of art goes back to the Ancient Greeks and Romans and some examples are still to be seen in museums. It involves beeswax, plus resin and pigments, and uses heat to melt the wax and make pictures. Using a travel iron covered in the wax Di created the most amazing landscapes, which could be altered by the stroke of the iron. Other equipment including a hairdryer and a heated tray can be used with watercolour paper to create pastel-like pictures. The designs can also be transferred to fabrics and embroidery can be added for another dimension. Di’s exquisite pictures contained much fine detail and were very thought-provoking. Di is a certified teacher of this medium.”
MUCH COWARNE
Much Cowarne WI’s meeting in September was a talk by Sarah Thomas of Bromyard, entitled "A Florist's Life". The floral arrangements demonstrated were donated to our evening raffle prizes.
In October Anthony Legge, a well-known local butcher, spoke on his career. One of the most interesting points was how much the internet had benefited the business in recent years. Popular television programmes have also stimulated specialist orders.
LEDBURY
The evening’s speaker was Andrew Offer - a farmer/butcher from Whyle House, Puddleston who produces, butchers and markets his own lambs. During his demonstration Andrew butchered a whole lamb, showing the many cuts and giving advice as to how they could best be cooked. It was fascinating and informative with a number of members taking the opportunity afterwards to buy meat.
BISHOPSWOOD
Bishopswood WI were joined by 30 members of Bishop’s Cleeve WI in Gloucestershire in October. The speaker was Nicola Bradbear from Bees for Development in Monmouth, who work in more than 60 countries around the world. She showed us photographs of beehives around the world.
The main objectives of the charity are to alleviate poverty and to protect bees and biodiversity. Biodiversity is under threat in many countries, including the UK which is ranked 189th of 218. The world’s poorest people are subsistence farmers, many are beekeepers or honey hunters. Pollination is worth far more than money – no bees equal no flowers and the consequences. Well pollinated coffee flowers, for example, produce 50% more coffee beans and the beans produce 50% more oil. Bill Turnbull, a Patron of Bees for Development, will be doing the Radio 4 Appeal for them on 11th December.
They are also the people to thank for the lovely wild flower displays around Monmouth and the A40, all of which are helping the bees.
BOSBURY
There was a fantastic display of entries in our Craft & Produce Show, ranging from decorated chocolate cakes to bonfire floral displays, advent calendars, cross stitch greetings cards, and basket of vegetables. The entries were judged by our twinned WI, Bromyard, who had a very difficult job. The overall winner with the most points was Rosemary, 2nd was Janet, and 3rd Fiona. The winner of the Sunflower Challenge was Rosemary with a height of 11 feet 4 inches.
Janet thanked us all for the beanie hats and blankets we had knitted for “Born on the Edge” which is a charity for premature babies in Uganda. These will be posted shortly.
The next meeting will be the AGM on Thursday, 10th November at 7.30 pm in the Parish Hall followed by a social evening. There will also be a bring and buy stall. The craft evenings are on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month in the Parish Hall. New members and visitors are always welcome. For further information please phone 01531 640029.
Colwall Wings WI Enjoyed an evening of WInetasting with Lovells Vineyard
On 19th October Colwall Wings WI enjoyed ‘Wine Making and Tasting Elgar Wines’ with Cathie Rolinson of Lovells Vineyard. We learnt about the history of Elgar wines, how a local vineyard produces its award winning wines. We tasted a selection of white and rosé wine and learnt some of the tricks when ordering wine in a restaurant.
It was a fun evening enjoyed by all.
Attached image Cathie Rolinson of Lovells Vineyard with members of the WINGS committee: L:R Diane Taylor, Karen Martin, Linda Hales, Cathie Rolinson, Jane Stratton, Sarah Grout, Dawn Harford, Liz Hallam.
MUCH BIRCH
In October, 12 Much Birch members went to Leominster to visit Grange Court. We were given a guided tour by volunteer guide Sue who told us the history of the building which was built in the 17thcentury by the King’s carpenter, John Abel, as a market hall serving a very successful and popular market. Sue’s fascinating description of the market included the penalties for sharp practice - not nice! When the market declined the building had a chequered history but is now an attractive resource centre with a café. We enjoyed delicious soups and cheese scones for lunch and admired the embroidered panels showing Leominster history.