WI News Nov 14
HOLMER
Holmer's Annual Meeting was an enjoyable evening hearing about all the various activities of the past year and the interesting talks we had received and some not so! Following a lovely supper supplied by the committee we played our favourite game "Beetle" so after much laughter and excitement the meeting closed on a high.
SALTMARSHE & DISTRICT
Our November get together is always our Annual meeting; the business section was in the very safe pair of hands of Wendy, an experienced member of many years standing ! It's our opportunity to say a proper "thank you " for everything the Committee and Members do to make sure we have interesting gatherings, which are informative as well as very social.
Once the formal part of the evening had been carried out, we began to explore each of the quirky items laid out on the table; what was each thing ? what could it be used for? There was much hilarity with some of the guesses which ranged from "Is it something for cutting balls off sheep ? " to " Is it a sperm catcher ? " ( You have to be assured we hadn't been drinking anything stronger than tea or coffee ).
Twenty two items had been brought for close examination, ranging from objects to do with food ( a cucumber cutter ) eggs ( boiling, poaching, removing the shell of, separating the yolk from the white) through various carpentry functions, a holder for glasses - of the optical kind - in your car to putting covers on your settee or chairs.
The time came for the answers: "No, it's not a sheep castrater, it's a metal clip remover " and " It's nothing to do with bodily fluids, it's for fixing to a tap being descaled ".
We decided the most fascinating object was an antique Victorian brass goffering iron on a tripod. A glove warmer was the closest guess for this, but no, it was used to take the creases out of lace edges and collars. Really ingenious. So, we stood this in pride of place, and took a picture showing our President for the evening, Wendy, standing between Evelyn - a cherished member of long standing - and Tynna, one of our two recent newcomers.
Next month is our Christmas lunch, which this year will be at Upper Sapey Golf Club. In January, we have our "rest" month, in case the weather's bad, and then all look forward to February, when we start once more on what we hope will be another enjoyable programme.
New members are always welcome; for more details phone Wendy on 489342, Janet on 488650 or Linda on 483072 ( all with a Bromyard phone code )
UPTON BISHOP
The November speaker was John Goldswain, from the Elgar Museum, gave an interesting talk entitled "Edward Elgar: the Man and his Music". He told of Elgar's family background and career which was interspersed with excerpts from Elgar's music, including "Land of Hope and Glory" and "The Enigma Variations", he commented that though many people know the music they do not always recognise Elgar as the composer. During his career, he socialised with kings and queens and was very highly regarded, being knighted in 1904.
THE SPARKLING WYE
After the AM in November, Jon Hurley, a local wine expert, gave an informative and interesting talk about his career in wine, with useful tips on different types of grapes, wine tasting and how to appreciate a good wine. In total, three whites and three reds were tasted, from South Africa, Chile, Italy and France, all of which were fairly reasonably priced and available locally. Everyone enjoyed sniffing and rolling the wine around the glass to check its legs before finally tasting. Most glasses were drained so not much reached the spittoon! Finally, Jon opened a bottle of champagne and glasses were raised to Sparkling Wye WI and its future.
LINTON
Linton's speaker in October was Wendy Tarplee-Morris who spoke on the work of The Little Princess Trust. The Trust was set up in 2005 following the death of their young daughter and its aim is provide wigs of real hair made especially for children, boys and girls alike, who have lost their hair as a result of cancer treatment or other illnesses. We had not known of the charity before which, based in Herefordshire, supports children nationwide but we were moved by her account of their work and all agreed it was a very worthwhile cause.
BISHOPSWOOD
There were 28 members at the November meeting of the Bishopswood WI. We opened the meeting as usual with 'Jerusalem', and this was then followed by our AM. Our President, Mrs Ann Jones introduced our treasurer, Irene Mapp to present the financial report for the year. She was then followed by our secretary Cicely Symonds, and then Ann gave her report as President. It has been a successful year, with a small loss, which given the various extra expenditures we had, such as new tablecloths for functions etc. was quite acceptable. Our overall financial status is still very good. We have maintained a membership of 40 in total, which given that our area is so small is also very good. We had had some very good speakers over the course of the year, and some very successful events, not least of which was the French Evening on November 6th which was very well attended and much enjoyed by all, this was a joint fundraiser between the Village Hall and WI. All the present committee members were thanked for their efforts and support, and there then was the task of electing, or re-electing committee members. Two of the present committee had announced their intention to step down, having both served several years. We had two new volunteers both of whom were duly elected, and the rest of the committee were re-elected on block. Ann announced that having been the President for the last 11 years, it was her intention to step down next year, and would we please consider who might replace her, as in order for us to continue as an institute we must have a full committee. She then presented the 'Joan Joseph Memorial Cup' which is for the winner of the most competitions over the year. This was won by Mrs Cynthia Hale. The competition was won by Julie Eglinton, second was Sheila Trezona, followed by Su Jackson.
We then broke for tea, followed by a short business meeting. It being the AM there was no speaker this month but the Drama group had devised a 'silly' quiz, which entertained us for the rest of the meeting, and provided much amusement as some of the correct answers were unbelievable.
The next meeting is on December 12th at 2.30pm. The speaker is Lena Dyche and the subject is 'A Scandinavian Christmas' all are welcome to attend. The meeting closed at 4.30pm.
LEDBURY
The President Margaret Coulson welcomed 25 members and three visitors to our November meeting.
Business matters started the meeting with the minutes of the last meeting available for members to read. The HFWI Christmas concert on 8 December was mentioned as two members sing in the choir.
The AGM then proceeded with the Treasurer's Report and the combined President/Committee report highlighting the activities in the past year. Margaret Coulson was nominated and elected President again and all other members of the committee are willing to stand for a further year.
The AGM over Margaret introduced Ann from Bodkins, a local shop in Ledbury to talk about pillowcases dresses for children in need in disaster areas. A workshop had been held in Colwall to 'Dress a girl around the world' with sewing machines and materials provided. After a demonstration over a 100 dresses were made during an enjoyable day. Sample dresses were shown for members to see how simple the idea is – boys are not forgotten as shorts can be made for them too. Ann and colleagues wish to hold a similar workshop in Ledbury and are seeking donations of serviceable pillowcase trimmings and cottons which can be handed into Bodkins. Small items to keep in the pockets of these dresses i.e. knitted toys were also shown. Members showed great interest in this project.
After refreshments, birthday posies were given out and details of the various groups (Writers/Craft & Luncheon) were announced.
The next meeting on Wednesday 10 December at 7.30pm will be our Christmas meeting and 'Sounds Familiar' will be entertaining us again and we look forward to as many members as possible attending.
Meetings are held at the Parish Room, Catholic Church, New Street, in Ledbury. Visitors and new members are always welcome.
KINGTON
Our November meeting was our AM. Lynn our president welcomed members
After annual reports we voted that our officers and committee be returned en bloc.
One of our members Bronwyn, gave us a demonstration of making Christmas tree decorations out of cones, small boxes, baubles and mini eggs(not real ones), then members had a go at making some and they turned out very well.