JUNE

 

The start of June was, of course, marked for us all in the Country with the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.  All WI Institutes had been asked if they would like to make a card which would be collected and sent together to the Queen.  

Our very own talented Eddie made a beautiful card.  And Karen, one of our gifted craft ladies, made two adorable Rabbits which were part of our 'Games Table' for the Village Picnic on the Sunday of the celebrations.  

It was "Guess the Name" of the Royal!  We also did a Treasure Hunt with a plan of Buckingham Palace as to where the treasure was buried. 

Village organisations had been asked to give an item to be put into the Time Capsule, now buried on the Rec.  Eddie made a beautiful green heart, which is a symbol for "Show The Love" for everything we want to protect from the worst impacts of climate change.  We want to see a safer, greener future for generations to come.  Fortunately, the weather held and the rain came just as everything had been packed away.  

But we had sunshine for other village events that weekend.  Some of us joined in the planting of the Jubilee tree and the unveiling of the bench by Shelagh.  A lovely community atmosphere.  Thank you to all those in the village who had worked hard to make the weekend a success.

Later in the month some of us gathered in the Memorial Hall to watch the live-streamed NFWI AGM, from Liverpool.  The Resolution (Women and Girls with ASD & ADHD - under-identified, under-diagnosed, misdiagnosed, under-supported) was discussed and the case put forward to consider the pros and cons.  The result was a nearly unanimous vote in favour of the resolution being taken forward.  It was also wonderful to witness the wide variety of amazing women, speaking on the charities and topics that drive them. Very uplifting too, to acknowledge the solid charity work and campaigning that forms the base of the WI organization. We learnt that not all members are talented in cookery and craft skills but this does not matter.  We are all unique and offer our own talents.  The session finished with a truly engaging and heartwarming talk from Sarah Clarke. Lady Usher of The Black Rod and ex chief of Wimbledon Lawn tennis Club. Quite a character and CV!

This month our speaker was Norton Asbury, brother to one of our members. He is an Art Expert, educated at The Courtauld Institute and now affiliated with The National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. His talk was entitled ‘Art for the Nation’ and took us through a span of some of the Gallery’s key works of Art.  It was a glorious, behind the scenes, telling of the significant social periods and how the major artists were tied into them.  He took us from the 13th Century, with an exquisite miniature icon, through the best of the Italian Masters to the European Court Painters, English and Dutch Rural Society Painters and up to the end of the 19th Century with the Key French Impressionists. All brought to life with compelling back stories and told with great warmth and humor!  Enjoyed by All!

Our Sub-Groups are going strong.  We had our first outdoor T’ai Chi session of the year. Even better surrounded by nature.  We are also adding a monthly Walking Group, a good way to be outdoors in good company!

Next Month, our guest will be Miriam Cheal, speaking about Medical Detection Dogs, giving us an insight as to how these marvellous dogs are trained and what they are able to do. Should be fascinating.

The Village Fair is being held on Saturday 16 July.  The WI are running the Tombola Stall and as such are currently gathering as many prizes as possible. Donations from all Villagers will be gratefully received.  If you have anything you’d like to donate, please let us know. You can deliver to: 3, The Old Sawmills or 7, Apple Meadow View or phone Mary on 812415 - Ideally by Wednesday 13th July. Many thanks.

Finally, just to mention that our president, Caroline, successfully completed an abseil down the side of Wells Cathedral last Month. 

Very brave indeed! She is collecting for her charity S.O.S Africa, specifically Education for Children living in the Townships in South Africa. Extremely worthy!  Well done Caroline!

Denman Courses are still available on-line and are now offering pre-recorded sessions for those who can’t attend at the time. They are open to all at just £5 per session and offer a huge variety of creative and educational subjects. Well worth taking a look.

https://www.denman.org.uk/whats-on

If there are any ladies in the Village who would like to join in, get to know others and meet us, you are very welcome to come along to our monthly meetings. Second Monday of each month, in the Memorial Hall from 8pm. No commitment! Contact Caroline on 812889.