January 2017
BROMYARD
As well as enjoying festive fare, Santa’s Sock Exchange, a baby photo quiz and carol singing at their Christmas party BROMYARD WI’s members had reason to celebrate. Their “Calendar Girls” inspired tree was voted the “Best Dressed 2ft Tree” by visitors to the town’s annual Christmas Tree Festival held in aid of local charities.
HOLMER
At our first meeting of 2017 Jean O'Donnell MBE and Sally Robertson , trustee and secretary respectively of the Hereford Society for Aiding the Industrious ,told members present about the life and work of John Venn, a remarkable man who came as a rector to Hereford and set about improving the lives of it's impoverished inhabitants in the 1800s. His father was rector of the church on Clapham Common London .He was of an evangelical pursuit, being a contemporary of William Wilberforce and other people prominent in seeking the abolition of slavery as well as a new sort of Christianity which sought to help the very poorest people in society generally . John, the youngest of seven children, was clearly influenced by these early experiences and, having been educated as a day boy at Harrow school and having visited India with a view to becoming a civil servant, he eventually chose to enter the Church. In 1833 ,John came to Hereford with some radical ideas for the time. He became rector of St. Peter's , Hereford and established St. Peter's School in what was then a parish with many inhabitants living in poverty, many of whom were faced with the workhouse. Over the next few years, John and a gentleman called Mr. Baxter held a meeting to investigate ways in which the poor could be helped, subsequently forming The Society for Aiding the Industrious. A soup kitchen was set up , it was developed and modernised over the next forty years. A steam corn mill was opened and served the poor first. All the money from the mill went to help the poor, there were allotments , loans , savings banks , sanitary baths heated by steam from the mill and a further soup kitchen. John established several cottages and a farm to help the poor who were also encouraged to help themselves by selling things such as firewood. His endeavours were characterised by humanity, kindness and a determination to achieve social reform. There are many reminders of his life and work in Hereford, in street names, almshouses and in the memorial arch in Commercial Road, attached to which is a plaque briefly describing his life and work. He is buried in the cemetery nearby together with his sister and Aunt. The Society continues its invaluable work today and gives grants to the industrious and local charities , also providing housing for ladies in several places throughout the city.
Mary Burgess gave a vote of thanks, and members showed their appreciation with a hearty round of applause.
Our next meeting will be in St. Mary's Church, Grandstand Road on Wednesday 1st February at 7.30pm. Collette Gray will be informing us about Art Deco. Although our membership continues to rise, we still have a little room left! Put the date in your diary and come along and join us. You will be made most welcome! A happy, healthy 2017 to you all.
PETERSTOW
The meeting in December commenced with our President Christine Bushell welcoming members together with one visitor. Christine advised us also of 2 new committee ladies.
Richard Jordan was our speaker, he talked about Route 66, the Historic route, in the USA. He explained that it was built between 1920 and 1930, extending for 2400 miles, passing through 8 states and 3 time zones. The road began in Chicago finishing in Los Angeles. Only one third of the original route is now in situ, having made way for Interstate Highways.
Richard told stories of events which took place in bygone days along the road, these were accompanied by recorded songs and music.
The meeting closed with tea and mince pies and many members looking forward to the Christmas lunch at Penyard House in Weston under Penyard.
Matthew Stead, our speaker for January, gave us a lively and entertaining talk on his love of the Ukulele. As a performer and teacher of this instrument, he shared his knowledge with us.He described how it originated in Madeira and then taken to Hawaii by furniture makers, from there its popularity spread to mainland USA. During the Second World War, the manufacture of Ukuleles in Britain was highly lucrative.
Our speaker played several Hawaiian songs with our members joining him. Although Matthew plays a wooden instrument he also spoke about George Formby’s music, which he played on the Banjo variant of the Ukulele.
Our members left the meeting happily forgetting any January blues they might have experienced.
BRAMPTON BRYAN
Our December speaker was Graham Trew, a professional singer, who talked about his varied career from the age of 7 to the present day, encompassing TV, radio, pantomime, tap dancing and performing at State Occasions. He interspersed his talk with songs, accompanied by Richard Lewis. The enthusiastic audience joined in with Christmas carols. The evening was a perfect start to our Christmas Celebrations.
LEDBURY
The evening’s speaker was Chris Johnson, whose intriguing title ‘From Desert to Ice ‘ was the story of his adventure travelling across the Taklamakan desert through China along the southern Silk Route. They passed through the Krakorum range of mountains and near the base of K2 – the second highest mountain on earth as well as one of the most dangerous. For part of the journey camels and mules were used as pack animals. The party was following the route of the first explorers and mappers of the area – Francis Younghusband 125 years before the trip and Eric Shipton 50 years later. Chris’ photography was stunning and his commentary informative as well as amusing.
During the meeting members voted on their choice of resolution for the AGM.
Bouquets were presented to members with birthdays during the month.
And the competition for a cup and saucer, which produced some exquisite entries, was won by Jo Butcher.
Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday 8 February at 7.30 p m at the Parish Room of the Catholic Church New Street Ledbury HR8 2EE.
We look forward to welcoming our speaker Adrian James with his presentation ‘Courtyard Gardens’ tracing their history, design and influence.
Visitors are always very welcome to join us.
UPTON BISHOP
The speaker for our January evening meeting was Allan Wells - beekeeper, whose talk was "How Clever is the Honey Bee" Allan's talk was very humorous and informative and thoroughly enjoyed by all present. Barbara Church gave the vote of thanks.
The competition for January was - An item made with Honey. Competition winner was Di Buckley with "Bees Knees Cocktail”, second prize was Sue Smith with Honey Cake, third prize Ann Crocker with Honey Glazed Goats Cheese and Beetroot Salad.
The overall Competition Winner for competitions held during 2016 was Jane Fray, who was presented with a cup by the President. Jane will keep this cup for one year.
The evening ended with a raffle, followed by refreshments.
MUCH COWARNE
Much Cowarne's Annual Meeting was held in November, which resulted in a change of President. Jenny Maund was elected to take over the role from Kathryn Bandfield. Members wished Jenny all good wishes for the coming year and thanked Kathryn for her past support. On December 9th we held our usual Christmas party with all members contributing to the festive food and the evening came to a close with a good old rendering of Christmas carols.
BARTESTREE & LUGWARDINE
For their Christmas meeting, Bartestree & Lugwardine were visited by members of their paired WI, Dorstone; everyone enjoyed the entertainment which was provided by Matt Stead, the ukulele man, followed by a Christmas buffet tea prepared by the committee. At the first meeting of 2017 Charles Naylor, the Design Out Crime Officer based at Hereford Police Station, came to discuss crime prevention with members. Members and visitors who turned out on that bleak cold and wet afternoon agreed they were pleased they’d come along!
THE SPARKLING WYE
The speaker for January was Close Up Magician, Kerry Scorah. In a very entertaining and amusing talk, she explained that she had been interested in magic since she was a child in Hull; she joined a club there where she learned a few tricks and then became hooked! Kerry has been a professional magician for many years and is one of the few female members of the Magic Circle. She talked about her successes and failures, venues she has worked in, a TV programme she took part in and magicians she has met. Her talk was illustrated with some fabulous tricks using members to help her which included a magic rope, 'mind reading' to correctly guess words people had picked from a book, finding the playing card and more. Kerry is a lovely bubbly person; everyone was amazed by her tricks and enjoyed a truly magical evening.
BOSBURY
At the January meeting President Isabel wished everyone a Happy New Year. She reported that the stall at the Christmas Fair made £67. The next event will be the Soup and Pancake lunch on Shrove Tuesday, 28th February at 12.30 pm in the Parish Hall. Tickets are £7 and husbands and friends are welcome to join us. The first round of the County Quiz takes place on 17th March in Ledbury when we will be sending a team. Members were asked to get planting and taking cuttings for a plant and garden stall at the May Farmers’ Market.
Matthew Stead, who is a professional ukulele player from Ross-on-Wye, then gave an entertaining history of the instrument, interspersed with music and songs. The ukulele’s origins were in the island of Madeira and when a boatload of residents arrived in Hawaii seeking work they took their instruments with them. The ukulele was adapted and became the instrument we know today and was extremely popular. Its heyday was in the 1920’s and 1930’s in the USA, but went out of fashion in the 1060’s, when electric guitars came in. More interest is being shown now helped by the internet.
The next meeting is on Thursday, 9th February in the Parish Hall at 7.30 pm. This is an open meeting when Frank Seabright will be giving a “Bellringing Taster Session”. The handicraft meetings continue on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays in the Parish Hall at 7.30 pm. New members and visitors are very welcome and for further information phone Sue Sharples on 01531 640029.
THE SUTTONS
The Suttons had a visit from Bill Jackson, the High Sheriff of Herefordshire, complete with his velvet breeches & ceremonial sword! He told us about the history of the post – High Sheriffs have been in existence for over 1000 years, and Herefordshire is one of the oldest. They used to be responsible for collecting taxes (like the Sheriff of Nottingham!) and are now responsible for law & order in the County. The post isn’t all ceremonial – Bill is heavily involved with many local charities, the new university, and local businesses. A new High Sheriff is chosen each year, and Bill is coming to the end of his year in April. It was very interesting to hear how such an old post is still important today.
At our February meeting, Mary Johns will tell us about ‘Five dogs, 2 cats and a couple of mugs!’
DILWYN
Our January meeting was a really interesting and informative talk from Duncan Fox about the Haven Distillery. He and his wife Alex set up a gin making business in the last 18 months. He explained to us the history of alcohol production and the making of gin. This was absolutely fascinating, especially when he explained how adding various herbs is part of the process for their gin, this is where the expertise of Alex comes in and then we all had the chance to taste their specialised drink, A great evening was had by all and a big thank you goes to Duncan and Alex (well she did pour out the tasters!!)
LEOMINSTER LASSES
December saw The Lasses wowed by the dexterity, skill and speed with which Liz Hicks of Bluebells produced a number of fabulous Christmas wreaths. Our joint President Helen was lucky enough to win one, donated by Liz, in our raffle. Lots of laughter, courtesy of Barb and her games, and a delicious shared spread followed. Those edible goodies were splendid and only to be expected from the WI.
In January, the talented Ginn Downes, having told us a little of the history and uses of block printing, let us loose to print our own cards. And what an artistic bunch of ladies we proved to be. Some of us surprised themselves with their creations, both in colour mixing and imaginative use of the blocks. We all took our cards home having enjoyed a welcome cup of tea.
