WI News July/August 2015

BISHOPSWOOD

The weather was beautiful for our meeting on 12th July.  Twenty three members and two guests were present, a smaller number than usual as many were on holiday.  The meeting began with Jerusalem as usual, and a short business meeting taken by Mrs Ann Jones.  She welcomed everyone and outlined the forthcoming local and county events. Three members have birthdays in July; they were given cards and a small plant each.  Ann thanked all members who had helped at the recent, very successful Strawberry Tea.
Traditionally we do not have a speaker at the July meeting; instead there was a social evening with Pimms and nibbles provided by the committee.  This gives us the time to mingle with our friends and chat, a very convivial evening which was enjoyed by all.   The meeting closed at 8.30.

The next meeting is on Friday, 14th August at 6.30 pm.  The speaker is Andrew Offer who will give a demonstration showing how lamb is butchered and showing the different cuts.  The competition  is for a favourite recipe using lamb.

HUNTINGTON-HEREFORD

Huntington-Hereford W.I. had an eventful month in June when they visited their old friends at Huntington-Kington where they had a lovely evening and the usual delicious supper, had enjoyed the talk given by the Speaker and later modelling the beautiful hats and fascinators the speaker Colette Gray had brought along.

At their own meeting they were given a talk by 2 of their members on 'How the Girl Guides won the War. Brenda Drake and Marian Phillips both Trefoil Guild members gave an interesting account of how the Guides and Brownies helped to win WW 2 by helping to pick fruit , make jam, collect rags to make bandages and keeping people cheerful in the air-raid shelters. The story of a Mission School in Western China, which had Guides and Brownies, who during the war in the Far East were removed with their Teachers to a Prison Camp and then to a Concentration Camp. They had managed to retain their 'Buck  House' manners and the usual activities were replaced by prison games such as a bed bug battle, Kathleen is reported to have caught 58! in one day, and the School came first in the rat catchers competition with 68!.

Later in the month the W.I. provided afternoon tea for nearly 40 members of the West Midland Federation who had paid a visit to the city for the day, visiting the Cathedral and the Mappa Mundi, along with other interesting places of interest and of course doing a little bit of retail shopping as we women like to do. It is part of their 40th Anniversary celebrations and they had brought a lovely iced cake with them. Kathryn Bandfield came along and joined the West Midland Chairman Jackie Gregory to cut the cake. Their Chairman later sent a thank you card to her friend, Secretary Brenda Drake and the members and remarked what a lovely city Hereford is.

In July another member graced the stage as a Speaker this month. Brenda Philipps recounted her experiences of a Student Nurse in a Isolation Hospital not far from Newport. Only 16 3/4 at the time it was quite scary for a young welsh girl to leave home, even if it was only about half an hour away from village. She said she had been driven by a family member who had dropped her off at the front door with her suitcase at a large imposing house, how she had stood outside worried that if she didn't like it how on earth she would get back home. She was told to she had to see the Matron after a maid had shown her to her room with whom she was to share with another student (who she did not like from day one!!)  A very bare room with a chest of drawers, with 4 drawers, 2 each, a single iron bed each, a washstand and wardrobe and 2 green uniforms and caps laid out on her bed. The maid later collected her for tea, of bread and butter and cake. Next morning she reported to her first ward , the Dysentery ward with mostly babies .Later an Isolation ward for children with Measles, Typhoid, Diphtheria, Scarlet Fever and other diseases, which looked out on to a veranda that families could sit on and see their children through a large glass window, no one was allowed inside. Any toys brought in were never taken back home  because of passing on the germs. At Christmas, Brenda, her mother, grandmother, aunts and cousins set to knitting soft toys for all the children, instead of the staff having to recycle some of the old toys that were left behind by patients and were dished out each year. Rules were very strict and curfew time the worst when going out at night, but as usual the Nurses always found a convenient window that was never locked. When she left she was still not old enough to train as a Nurse, her dream from the age of 12 and had to work in a shop which she hated. She later came to Hereford where she eventually got married and has now got lots of grandchildren who she knits soft toys for now.

Members were informed the W.I. fund raising Fashion Show by Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Cotton Traders from the Wyevale Outlet, to record the date in their diaries is to take place on October 5th in St. Johns Church, is in the planning stage and tickets and posters would be ready for the September Meeting. The day trips to Aberystwyth to see Legally Blonde on July30th, members were reminded the coach leaves the Town Hall at 9am.  With no meeting in August members were also reminded that the Centenary Tea party in September is being held in St. Johns Church Hall , not at The Herdsman Pub venue;  with visitors coming from Huntington-Kington and City Group more room is required. 

SALTMARSHE & DISTRICT

It was lovely at our July meeting to welcome the return of a previous long term member and say "Hello " to a newcomer.

We settled down to listen to Old Ned, dressed in keeping with his role as Gardener to Lady Martha in the year 1897; that of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. ( It seems appropriate here to mention that our present Queen Elizabeth 11,  will break the record, currently held by Queen Victoria, as our longest reigning monarch on September 9th this year ) Old Ned regaled us with his "Tales from the Potting Shed ", referring often to Mrs. Beeton's Shilling Guide to Garden Management, which was THE book to consult at that time.It had advice on soil,planting, siting,seasons,tools,avoiding garden pests and generally anything at all you might need help with.

"Why not eat insects ? " was an invitation posed by another book's title, with recipes written in the French language so as to make them sound more appealing;certainly they sounded better than Slug Soup, Boiled Cod with Snail Sauce or simple Stag Beetle on toast.

Philip Carr (aka Old Ned) cleverly managed to weave into his tales mention of one of our Member's birthday on St. Swithin's Day, July 15th.

Our competition for the evening shrewdly complemented the subject matter, being Wild Flowers in a Jam Jar.

On Wednesday August 12th, Dr. David Barrie will be telling us " Feel Good - Stay on Top " and we must point out that's HIS preferred title......... apparently it's on nutrition and health, though one or two of us felt it might have been on another topic altogether!  Enough said. Once again we'll be in Saltmarshe Village Hall.

LEDBURY

The members and guests were welcomed to the July meeting by the President Margaret Coulson.  Minutes of the previous meeting were placed on the table for members to read together with boards for forth coming events, the County Picnic 16th August, trip to Shrewsbury 8th Sept. and the Group Meeting celebrating 100 years of WI at 2pm on 16th Sept. in the Community Hall, Lawnside, Ledbury.

Our speaker for the evening was Bronwen Owens from The Wool Garden in Newent aptly Spinning a Yarn.  We were surprised to hear Nal Binding was the predecessor of knitting but this was very slow and is written of in Egypt 1000AD.  After came Fulling which produced many famous items including the Monmouth Cap.  The first Master Guild of Knitting was all men as women were not allowed to make money in those days.  The first knitting machine was invented in the reign of Elizabeth 1st but she would not grant a patent as it may be detrimental for the owners of large weaving mills.  Moving forward Frank Fassetts' amazing creations really had a new generation interested and now the craze is Yarn  Bombing were a group of people decorate a public space in knitting to liven it up.  Bronwen explained there are 3 types of knitting today left hand, right hand and using both left and right hands together which is the best method when doing Fair Isle or Scandinavian Stranded.  Examples of these were passed around, Bronwen then passed around various types of yarn one came from milk another from banana then soya and different animals but she explained that wool only comes from sheep.  Yarn comes in many ply's today so needles have to come in so many thicknesses and the manufacturers are clever that you can only use their yarn with their patterns.  It was suggested we knit it the round as it is so much easier then backwards & forwards as it is all plain knitting without the need to sew together after.  Bronwen then took questions from the floor and a vote of thanks was given.

Please note the next meeting on 12th August is our Summer Celebrations and we meet in the afternoon at 2pm.  Please wear a long dress or skirt preferably with a decorated hat for the competition.

BOSBURY

VISIT TO MADRESFIELD COURT

In July we visited Madresfield Court home of the Lygon family since the 12th century and spent a fascinating afternoon touring the house.  Madresfield has a very homely feel although it contains a rich collection of furniture, paintings and porcelain.  It has it's own private chapel decorated in the Arts and Crafts style with other examples of Arts and Crafts furnishings and wood carving in the library. 

It is thought that Evelyn Waugh, who visited  Madresfield, based his book "Brideshead Revisited" on the house.  We then travelled on to The Swan at Newlands for a welcome afternoon tea.

BURGHILL AND TILLINGTON

Our July meeting was held on July 21st when our President, Mrs Joanna Helme gave an illustrated talk on her holiday in Laos and Cambodia. Using beautiful photos taken during the trip, Joanna described in detail the places she and her husband visited starting in Laos and its capital city, Vientiane. The country is relatively unspoilt and to an extent unmarred by tourism. They experienced exotic temples with intricate carvings, beautiful scenery and an unforgettable trip along the Mekong River on an hotel boat. Cambodia was also very interesting but its ancient temple complexes were much busier and tourist orientated. They also visited the infamous secret police headquarters in Phnom Penh so feared during the Pol Pot regime and the "Killing Fields" nearby. A sobering reminder of Cambodia's recent dark history.

On a more cheerful note we were delighted to see Joanna's "Living:Craft" feature in the July issue of W.I. Life where she describes how to knit a simple beaded necklace in easy steps. Our congratulations to Joanna –we are very proud to have this "award-winning crafter" as our President.

TUPSLEY

Members have had a splendid Summer. Four of us were invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace, hosted by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, along with 8,000 other WI members from all over the UK. We caused a real stir in London on the day. Some members went to Bromyard Theatre two days later to watch proceedings at the National AGM, where the Queen opened the meeting on the day of our hundredth birthday. At lunch these members went up to Bromyard Downs and toasted Her Majesty and the centenary with a glass of champagne followed by a picnic.

Our mascot, Magna the Bull has continued his tour of the county with the intention of visiting 100 attractions this year.

Bromyard Scarecrow Festival, any Tom, Dick, or Harry

Picnic on Bromyard Downs

Broomy Hill Railway, Magna, sitting on a 7.5 gauge engine

Wilton Castle, Magna in the garden of the castle ruins.

Members are also playing skittles fortnightly on Mondays, and we look forward to our meeting at Wilton Castle in Ross, on 10th. August. On 14th. September our speaker will enlighten us on "Looking Your Best". Later, on 12th. October we have a talk on the background of Morris Dancing.
Meetings are at St. John's Church Hall. on the second Monday of the month, at 2pm.
President is Barbara Glasspoole, at [01432]-274652.

PETERSTOW

July's meeting took place in the home and garden of our Vice President Christine Bushell. We were celebrating our own WI Centenary garden party, with a generous tea, after enjoying a toast to the WI with a glass of bubbly. A quiz and raffle were part of the afternoon's entertainment.

Finally, 4 or our committee members took a plunge in the swimming pool to mark the occasion in style.

 July 15th marked the evening of our annual group quiz. Ten teams of 4 took part with Bishopswood A winning the cup once again. A lively evening was enjoyed by all.

Our guest speaker for August, Alan Wells gave us an illuminating talk together with slides on "How clever is the Honey Bee". He explained in great detail the life cycle of the honey bee, informing us of the different jobs the bees perform in the hive from the Queen to the workers. There could be as many 50,000 bees in one hive. Alan concluded an outline of honey production.

MATHON

.Mathon had a day out in the Cotswolds, visiting Hidcote Manor, Chipping Camden and Broadway.

HOLMER

Holmer were entertained with slides and talk from Frank Clarke about the wonderful wild life on the Falkland Islands.

LEDBURY

The President Margaret Coulson welcomed members and 10 guests to our Summer Celebrations on a hot sunny August afternoon.  For this occasion we all wore long dresses and the majority had completed their ensemble with a decorated hat.  Our guest were some past members also members from our twin institute Saltmarshe & District WI and our WI Advisor June Stephens.

Robin Coulson called in before the meeting commenced to take some commemorative photographs in the garden.

We all stood to sing Jerusalem before commencing a small amount of business.  Each table was decorated and laid for four ladies.   Mary Stewart had bought along 15 objects from the past for us to identify their use and name them, this proved quite thought provoking with much hilarity as to what some items might have been used for.  Some objects were a surprise when Mary gave us the answers and many of us found the educational quiz both funny and difficult, the winning table scored 10 so they were surprised to be the winners.

Afternoon tea was then served, Jo and her helpers had excelled again with a selection of mouth sized savouries and cakes all enjoyed with a nice cup or two of refreshing tea.  June Stephens was then invited to cut the cake which was to celebrate a 100 years of WI, everyone received a slice which we all enjoyed.  A vote of thanks was given to Jo & her helpers.

The winner of the decorated hat competition was our member Liz Whattler.

The meeting was then closed, after an enjoyable afternoon.

The next meeting will be at our normal time of 7.30pm on September 9th  when our speaker is Canon Christopher Pullen who will be speaking to us on The Magna Carta.  Why not come and join us at the Parish Room, Catholic Church, New St; Ledbury, HR8 2EE.

The photo by the cake shows the memorial to Adelaide Hoodless in Canada, who founded the WI.

SALTMARSHE & DISTRICT

Well now, since our last meeting Members have been out and about here and there. This led to a lively "business" section in August with Reports on
1. our visit to Alison Lord ( Digital Champion ) who very generously gave of her time to explain the basics of websites and facebook pages to 4 of us ( all we have to do now is find the time to practice and get on with it ! )
2. two of us on an Older Driver Refresher Day at Leominster where we learned that the first Highway Code was published in 1935
3. visiting Pencombe W.I. on an Evening of Medieval and Tudor Costume and Dancing. The description of the only man amongst six women in costume of hosiery of white and gold, which fitted to the contours of the lower body ( really, no further details can be added for an article appearing in a magazine for all ages !!!! ) along with a waist belt from which dangled various items ( I hope by now you've got the picture ! ) caused great hilarity     and
4. attending Summer Celebrations at the invitation of our twin W.I. in Ledbury. Four of us were dressed in our finery, complete with hats ( see picture )

After this we settled to listen intently to our speaker, David Barrie, as he led us through " What Nutrition can do for you " ( See www.natures-own.co.uk )

David's passion and sincerity in his subject was apparent from the start, as he led us through the changes in our food and diet right from the time of the hunter-gatherers to the modern era, where mineral depletion in the soil has increased extensively. Our body is ours for life, so it pays to look after it by eating good food and enabling the immune system to stay strong. The coloured Food Guide Pyramid was a powerful visual explanation of which foods are better than others. It was interesting, for example, to hear that although we in the UK are advised to eat our "5 a day " ( of fruit and veg ) in Japan they're encouraged to have "16 a day".................. so we've plenty of room for improvement.

David had brought along lots of free samples of vitamins and reading matter, so, after he had been thanked for his most enlightening talk, we congregated around the table to explore. Several Members had questions of their own, which David answered patiently, and in some cases is following up further. His advice had instantly hit home with one Member with a sweet tooth.......... no more sweeteners for her, ordinary sugar instead is better. We all left for home having enjoyed a really good evening.

Next month on Weds 9th September @ 7.30 in Saltmarshe Village Hall it's the turn of John Turrell to tell us all about Childrens' Games, songs and rhymes: a chance to relive our childhood.

( We have to end here with a HUGE THANK YOU to the team of "Off the Record " who so magnificently over these past years have always found space for Saltmarshe & District W.I. to share their activities with others. Thank You.)

BRAMPTON BRYAN

At our meeting held on 13th August at Brampton Bryan village hall our Treasurer reported that our 'green and white' theme stall at the Brampton Bryan scarecrow Sunday raised £176.65 for our funds.  This year's event was all about 'Scarecrows on the Move' and our scarecrow, affectionately known as Miss Purity, was transformed by Gill Harnett, Gill Clement and Pauline Oliver into a 'Meals on Wheels' trolley dolly.

The outing in July to Ginger's Millinery at Felindre, Knighton was enjoyed by all who went.  Marion Edwards gave an interesting talk and demonstration on how the hats were made.

Our speaker at the meeting was Derek Ball who gave a talk on his 40 years as a Relate counsellor.   He gave us an insight into what the role entails from youth counselling, family therapy, marriage guidance, psychosexual therapy to abuse and domestic violence.

PARKWAY

Parkway WI have had two interesting speakers recently.

Brian Robbins spoke about Woodredding Cider in July and it was good to hear that apple orchards in the county are being replanted and invested in for future generations. Members particularly enjoyed the cider tasting at the end of the talk.

Roger Smith spoke about Links Nurseries, an horticultural therapy centre n August. The centre supports and trains people as they seek to return to work. Part of their remit is a commitment to help with the care of the National Perry Pear Collection. Various open days take place at the centre and it is possible to visit.

LEOMINSTER

Leominster WI had a very interesting talk from Bernard Ray on 'My Grandfather's Shed' and for their competition had to identify old tools.