Somerset Centenary Celebrations

Think back a little while to the Jubilee celebrations, when lots of us helped in various ways with the beautiful flower festival? It was a great time and a good feeling to be enjoying those celebrations altogether. Well, our National WI centenary will be next year and there are plans for us to participate and have a lot of fun in the Somerset Federation Extravaganza - shall we join in?

Alice in WI land 

Janet Cooke, President of Nunney and District WI, along with Lizzie Brown, President of Walton WI, and Pat White of Walton WI, are a steering committee set up to organise the East Somerset part of the 2015 Celebration Extravaganza, which is to be held in March 2015, in Yeovil and Taunton.

The first meeting is on the 17th February, to get themselves organised re: meeting halls, rehearsal programme, costumes etc...., and Janet will circulate notes from that meeting to us  all.

so are we interested and would we like to get involved  - it can be as tea makers, make up artists, costume makers, singers, actors, back room people, musicians,  in fact anything to help.....

We will talk about it at our February meeting, so think carefully to see if you want to be a part of it!

Exhibition of Quilts at Radstock museum

Is anyone interested in visiting  Radstock  museum to see the exhibition of patchwork and quilting?
It begins on 1 February and ends on 31 May.  Please let me know!

Opening Times (February to November):
Monday: closed except for Bank Holidays
Tuesday to Friday: 2pm to 5pm
Saturday: 11am to 5pm
Sunday: 2pm to 5pm
Bank Holiday Mondays: 2pm to 5pm
Closed December and January

Admission Charges

Adults: £5.00
Children 6 - 15: £2.50

Senior Citizens/Students 16+: £3.50
Free admission for children aged 5 and under

Family Ticket: £12.00 (2 adults and 2 children)
Groups: £4.00 per head - minimum number 15

Preparations for the party!

We should also record our heartfelt thanks to the East  India Tea Company, Anna, Duchess of Bedford and Queen Victoria, without whom none of this would have been possible! 

Happy Birthday to Us! Our party was great!

Happy 65th Birthday Leigh on Mendip WI!

The afternoon began with the 'Frukes' (Frome Ukelele band) playing 'Jerusalem', so we all joined in, of course! They continued to play a very lively range of songs, which had us singing, tapping our feet and generally enjoying every minute! They even sang Happy Birthday to us!

Next we all posed for a group photo and then we settled down to a very refined and delightful afternoon tea. Beautifully dainty sandwiches and cakes served on very pretty china tiered plates, everyone was very impressed indeed. The tables were adorned with lovely flowers and the hall decked with gold  balloons! It was all perfect!
Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to organise and make it and to everyone who came along to enjoy it.

Somerset Federation visit to Denman College

Are you interested in joining the County visit? We have 2 members already on our list!
Dates: Friday 31 October - Sunday 2 November
Application closing date: 31 March, to include a £50 deposit
Please let me know if you would like a copy of the application form. We have a bursary which we can share between all those attending. There are 10 places per course - so you may want to apply sooner rather than later!

A special date to remember!

Hooray! 

Happy 65th Birthday Leigh on Mendip WI!

First Meeting of 2014

What a great way to start 2014! Our 'We've Been Framed!' evening was a real treat! Some members had provided photos for us to view on the big screen. Caroline had prepared them all in advance so that we could sit back, enjoy the film show and listen to the descriptions by each contributor. Pictures ranged from 'Bathing Belles', family pictures, latest additions to a family (great nephews and nieces), earliest photos of a family (great grandparents...), gorgeous holiday views and experiences, glimpses of caves which are right on our doorstep (well, right under our doorstep!) and then some WI activities from recent years. It was very entertaining, interesting and I think we might do it again!

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the evening, by supplying and presenting the photos, organising the refreshments and providing the appreciative audience!

More news from Jeni

Dear All

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and new year and hat you are not all too wet and cold. Just an update and apologies to those of you who already know some of it. No photos I have run out of memory on my ipad!

Have arrived at kamalaya wellness clinic on koh samui. My villa overlooks the sea, I have an outside bathroom and the place is perfect,peaceful and calm. I started my detox this morning, lots of veg for breakfast, a lot of supplements and wheat grass and some brain food!

I spent Christmas Day in Vientiane the capital of Laos, more temples and lots of war stuff, including the Americans secret cluster bombing, which they are still trying to find and defuse. Then on to Luang Prabang, my favourite place. It was very real and they really aren't interested in the tourists and making money, but they are happy that you are there. Lots of monks, watched them take alms outside my hotel bedroom door, spoke to one through my guide, 7 years as a monk and thinks he would like to leave to get married! Watched them at prayer which was very spiritual. Released two birds for good luck off the top of a temple, saw the moon bears, who were fab and the most amazing waterfall. Ate at a roadside cafe, watched a woman cooking a rat for her dinner and learnt how to spin cotton grown in the field
Then on to the shampoo boat for two long and very cold days on the Mekong river with a night in the most wonderful wooden stilted lodges on the river bank, a couple of stops to see a Buddha cave, a village where they make whiskey out of the sticky rice and one where they live in bamboo houses.

Transferred into North Thailand which I did not like! the golden triangle was a disappointment, as were the other few bits the tour guide took me to. Thankfully only there for one complete day. Moved south to chaing Mai and spent new year in a hotel with six guest houses and a pool in the middle of nowhere, which was wonderful and the most amazing visit to the elephant safari. I fed them bananas and palm sugar, watched them painting, playing football and lots more. Rode one and a buffalo cart and river rafting. It was of course aimed at the tourists, but still it was wonderful.

Tour over and another flight to Bangkok, which is madness, millions of people, cars scooters and tuk-tuks. Saw the Emerald Buddha, the palace, wat pho which houses the largest reclining Buddha. Went to china town which is an experience in itself, got lost in the maze of alleyways and bought nothing because it was all tat ! Went on the river taxis and the sky train, did a bit of shopping, it's so cheap I had to!

Finally went to the tiger temple, where the monks look after 120 tigers , most of them that they have bred. It was an early start 4.30am pick up, a stop at the bridge over the river kwong, which has an atmosphere about it that I cannot describe. A train went over it while I was there and I have a lovely photo of a monk stood on the track taking his own photo- I asked the guide about the camera because they shouldn't have any material trappings- her reply was that he was a tourist monk! The tigers were fantastic, I was near to tears through the whole experience. I fed an 8 month old with a bottle of milk, cuddled a 4 week old one , bathed one, fed them chicken, walked a huge one on a lead - he walked me! Played with them  and had a huge one with his head in my lap, they have the most enormous teeth!  One of those experiences you will never forget and some amazing photographs to bore you all with.

Just to balance out all the fab times and to counteract Junes green envy, there has been a lot of traveling and many different hotels! which disorientates me! some of the hotels have been really bad! particularly the one in chaing rai with no hot water. The food has not agreed with me, far too spicy, they cook in something that makes me swell like a puffer fish! I have met some lovely people but have also been lonely, the Japanese tourists are seriously annoying, I brought the wrong clothes for the tour, frozen on the river, sweltered in Bangkok, got a lot of things wrong and had to be very brave to do some things . I have also learnt an awful lot about me.

I am definately going back to Laos and have added Myanmar to my list as well.

Lots of love to you all

Jeni xxx

Starting as we mean to go on!

The Friday lunch club 2014 began in The Bell in a very warm and cosy corner right next to the fire! Six of us enjoyed catching up - it seems like much more than one month ago we went to Beckington for the lunch and Carol service!
The next one will be 7 February - venue to be dictated by the weather!

News from Jeni

I'm in Laung Prabang in Laos. I have had the most amazing day. This morning I spent time with the monks, had my fortune told, which was uncannily true considering all I did was pick a stick with a number on it. I am going to be wealthy, have untold happiness with servants and famous, going to have a daughter if I marry and win in court! I released two birds for good luck from the Stupa on top of a mountain. I spent time in a village in the hills learning about how they make cotton and watching them carving elephants. I watched the woman in the photo cooking a rat she had caught in the rice field- thankfully she didn't offer me any! I saw the most spectacular waterfall which my photo does not do justice to. There were some mad people swimming and I have to tell you the water was freezing! And the bear is a moon bear, it is a rescue centre called Free the bears and when I come back I am going to volunteer with them. I watched them being fed and then take their siesta.

Hi all

Spent the day at the elephant safari. Very touristy but excellent. Fed the elephants with lots of bananas and palm sugar cane and boy are they greedy! They did a show, played football and painted pictures which was amazing, I bought this actual painting! Then went for a ride through the jungle and the river. These are the only photos of me that there are going to be! 

All my love 

Jeni