WI News March 2015

THE SUTTONS

At the February meeting of The Suttons WI, Robert Williams of Remote Control Elevated Photography gave us a very interesting talk entitled 'Getting High on Hereford'. He showed us photos, taken from a 100 foot mast mounted on a van, of Hereford and surrounding areas. His photos taken during works at the Cathedral were especially interesting, as was the opportunity to see what hides behind other buildings in the city centre. There is a whole world that most people don't know about! It was interesting to see how much Hereford has changed, even during the last few years. Robert also showed us views of the old and new cattle markets, and even a shot of Sutton St Nicholas taken a few years ago.

At our March meeting we will be trying Sequence Dancing – why not search out your dancing shoes and join us!

HOLMER

Our previously advertised talk for the March meeting ,'Undercover for 20 years', was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances-another top secret surveillance operation , perhaps?

At very short notice, George Thomas stepped in, a local man and former journalist, as well as being the devoted husband of Gwenda, one of our members.  Mr. Thomas spoke about 'The History of Theatre in Hereford'.

Following a very warm welcome, our ladies heard about some famous Hereford actors from the 1700s including David Garrick( born in the Angel Inn, now Neals Yard Apothecary), Sarah Siddons- known as the Queen of Tragedy on the London stage, Mr Kemble who had a Hereford theatre named after him and which was demolished in 1963 and Nell Gwynne, who sold oranges to theatregoers in London, went on the stage , became King Charles II mistress and whose great grandson became Bishop of Hereford.
George informed the ladies present of the old Alhambra theatre , which became the Crystal Rooms(now apartments) where the likes of Vera Lynn, Ken Dodd and Norman Wisdom performed. Tickets were one guinea.
Mr. Thomas also related the poignant and tragic tale involving the deaths of 8 children in a fire in Forresters Hall, now the site of the multi story car park. We also heard about the Palladium cinema ,later the County Theatre where Arthur Lowe, Captain Mainwaring of Dad's Army, made his debut.

The Newmarket tavern , now Zizzi's restaurant, had an extension known as the Theatre Royal ,the Odeon cinema is now on that site. George also took to the stage himself. In pantomime , he was savagely murdered, only for everyone to hear a small voice from the front row saying plaintively,"leave my daddy alone!"-George's youngster.

Mr. Thomas and a group of friends and family were very keen to continue the long tradition of live theatre in Hereford and jumped in at the deep end , converting the old public baths into the Nell Gwynne theatre, using fixtures and fittings from many local buildings that were being demolished. Aftere 25 years, the National Lottery offered a grant of £4 and a half million, provided the building was demolished and a new one built.  The Courtyard theatre was born...

Finally, George was given a huge round of applause, his talk and slideshow left us all with fascinating memories of aspects of life in our wonderful city of Hereford.

Holmer WI will meet again on Thursday April 2nd at 7.30pm in Holmer Parish Hall, next to the church. The speaker, Julia Orton Davis, will talk about the munitions factory at Rotherwas . Ladies, you are most welcome to join us.

PETERSTOW

This month's guest speaker Elizabeth Dobb gave an interesting and amusing anecdotal talk on life in England after living in Zimbabwe for 53 years. She recalled the night when she was visited by the secret police and given 3 days in which to leave the country. Her grandfather had been Scottish and was therefore entitled to a British passport.

Arriving with her husband at Heathrow without any particular destination in mind, she obtained a map and pinpointed an area outside London which happened to be Oxford. Elizabeth then told of her emotional and employment highs and lows when residing in this country. Our speaker concluded with information regarding the political state of Zimbabwe at the present time.

WELLINGTON

At the March meeting members and several visitors had a very informative presentation from three staff (all living in Wellington) from St Michael's Hospice about the new building, changes to nursing and respite care, and support for children and families.  The speakers illustrated their talks with images and videos.  Wendy Cummins gave the vote of thanks.  Our competitions were flower of the month, and a well being item.  We have a new, youngest member of our institute!

MUCH BIRCH

Much Birch WI's February speaker Gill Suttle entertained us with her journey with Kaan the amazing Turcoman horse. Taking us on a historical, geographical and social tour of the Silk Routes of Western Turkestan, the spectacular scenery, stunning architecture, the native flora and the generous friendly people they encountered along the way.

SALTMARSHE & DISTRICT

A group of ladies from our "twin" W.I. in Ledbury joined us for our 2pm start March meeting and we like to think we made them very welcome.
Our Speaker was a firm favourite : David Hill with his presentation of "Completely Lost in Herefordshire". Since last speaking to us, David explained he'd gone digital which was still a "work in progress" so that pictures were not necessarily appearing in the sequence he expected............

We began with a Sunrise over Bodenham fields and moved on to a sea of poppies in Tarrington.The delight of David's talks are that we're able to jump in and say where we think he took that picture, and sometimes we're right; even if it's a complete guess.There's always something to discover. Did you know that a Russian Princess, supposedly related to the Romanovs - Sophia Mickeladze - is buried in the churchyard of St. John's, Ivington? There was the wooden cross with the simple inscription of her name and dates1877 - 1943.
A round AA sign was interesting, showing London 122 miles distant. David told us that all such signs were measured from the same spot in Charing Cross, London and a plaque partially hidden away on a corner of Trafalgar Square commemorates this fact.
The largest house in Herefordshire - Holme Lacy House - charmed with its elephantine contoured hedge ! There's such a variety of items photographed that one second we're looking at a Russian tank on Frome's Hill, then a dovecote at King's Pyon, a mural of the boxer Tom Spring at Fownhope and then Herefordshire cricketers beating Middlesex at Lucton in June 2001.
Our picture ( attached ) shows us looking at the Poet's Stone, near Leysters which is engraved as a marker of William Wordsworth's visit in 1845; how appropriate that it shows daffodils in flower.

In April we revert to evening meetings, so at 7.30pm in Saltmarshe Village Hall on Wednesday April 8th we'll be enjoying a talk by Malcolm Penny on Lower Brockhampton Manor. You don't have to be a resident of Saltmarshe & District to be able to come to this W.I. We welcome everyone. Phone 01885 489342/488650/483072 for more details.

BALLINGHAM & DISTRICT

Ballingham and District had a treat when they invited chef, Mr Geoff Tookey, to demonstrate preparing dishes for a dinner party.  With mouths watering, they watched Geoff conjure up an elegant salmon and cream cheese starter, a gently-spiced vegetarian  main course, and a luscious upside-down fruit crumble for dessert.  Members learnt lots of useful tips but, best of all, ended the evening by sharing this delicious meal.

THE SPARKLING WYE

The March speaker had unfortunately cancelled so Chris and Lindsey demonstrated how to make a simple beeswax candle decorated with beads and ribbons and a colourful felt flower brooch with button centre. Over refreshments, members were able to chat while making their crafts which were very professional looking. There was quite a buzz in the room as people enjoyed a very sociable evening.

UPTON BISHOP

the March speaker was Sue Watkins, a community First Responder. Successful applicants are trained by the Ambulance Service and attain a "First Person on the Scene" nationally recognised qualification which must be renewed 3 yearly. There is also ongoing continued professional development training and a CRB check is carried out. The work is voluntary and self-funding, and no previous medical experience is necessary; the Ross area has raised sufficient money to fund a community 4x4 vehicle. She explained that ambulance service is extremely supportive of the CFR service which was initially set up because of cut backs in ambulance services. Sue then related a few amusing and unusual tales of her work which, she explained, can be extremely challenging but is also very rewarding.

ASTON INGHAM

We were fortunate at our March meeting in having one of our talented members to demonstrate the making of an Easter wreath.  Marion Martin is the president of Lydney floral art group.  Marion provided all the material at a small cost to members to try for ourselves - after some instruction.  The result was wreaths which were all different but all beautiful.

BISHOPSWOOD

The March meeting of the Bishopswood WI was held on 13^th March at 2.30 pm on a grey and gloomy day. Thirty members and one visitor attended.  We started as usual with Jerusalem, unaccompanied as the piano was displaying baskets made by our speaker.  After the business meeting and tea our speaker was introduced by Mrs Sue Jackson. 

Clyde from Wild Wicker began by judging the competition for an interesting or unusual basket.  He told us more about the baskets than even their owners knew.  The most interesting was an American braided corn husk basket about 120 years old belonging to Mrs Cynthia Hale.  Braiding corn husks was a technique developed by slaves as they had nothing else to use.  The other baskets included an Indian dyed grass coil snake basket, an English oval reed basket and an English willow basket which included several colours of willow.  The different colours are all different varieties, some of which are very rare.

Basket making is a very ancient craft, contemporary with flint knapping.  As an English basket maker, Clyde works mainly in willow of various shades, although he does use other hedgerow plants such as dogwood, spindle holly and brambles – after stripping off the thorns!  He demonstrated basic basket weaving techniques beginning a basket with 6 sticks forming a cross.  He showed us various techniques including whaling, a 3 piece weave which finishes and locks each stage and gives strength to the basket.  He always uses at least 2 colours of willow ranging from yellow, through greens, reds and dark brown.  There are no set rules, he takes a basic technique and varies it.

Clyde left us all eager to go on one of the day courses which he runs.  He has only 3 people on each course so there is plenty of individual attention.  His website is www.wildwicker.com

HUNTINGTON HEREFORD

Canon Sandy Elliot gave a very interesting talk on the Female Saints and Sinners, based on the Dean's of Hereford Cathedrals The very Reverend Michael Trainor's book "Saints and Sinners of the Marches" – for which Sandy had done the illustrations. She had brought along blow-up photographs of some of her drawings and explained their significance and then told the stories of some of the people to whom they applied. Herefords world famous Nell Gwynne was one of them, and Joyce Jefferies, a money lender and diarist in the early 1600's, was another. She also told us the sad story of Mary Morgan, of Presteigne, who killed her illegitimate baby.