Meeting 11 December

LEIGH ON MENDIP WI

We were already getting ready for the coming year at the December meeting with the tea rota to check to make sure we were free on our allotted day and volunteers needed to sign up for thanking the speakers.  Names and money were being taken for the visit to Shepton prison on January 13^th, we had a reminder about the WI birthday lunch at Barbara Turner’s house on Sat February 3^rd and were given advance warning of the annual village clean up which would be on Sat 3^rd March.

Two WI issues to address in January. The suggestions for the Resolutions were in the current WI Life and we were asked to fill in our choice on the slip there to bring to the January meeting. Also at that meeting we should bring our subs for the coming year which have gone up slightly to £41.

The talk called “Girl Cop” was given by Sandy Osborne, the author of a fiction book of the same name and its follow up. Sandy was still a serving police officer in Bath and had based her stories on the area including her own real life experiences. She told us how her writing career started and how difficult it had been to get published and read us extracts from both the book and some of her writing for magazines.

The next meeting will be on Monday January 8^th at 7.30pm

Christmas is Coming!!

At our November meeting we had fun making some simple Christmas 
decorations!

Meeting 13 November

At the last but one meeting of the year in November we were told the 2018 programme is almost complete and would include a good variety of speakers for us to enjoy. Two of the group meetings would be in Leigh next year, the business one on 25^th July and the ordinary meeting on 26^th September, two dates for your new diary! Before these another diary date planned was a lunch to celebrate our 69^th birthday which would be held at Barbara Turner’s house on Saturday 3^rd February. In addition final arrangements for several forthcoming events were made. These included making choices and payments for the Christmas meal on Tuesday 5^th December and a suggestion to consider two first Friday lunches in December on the 1st, one in Buckland Dinham after the carol service and for those not attending this one in Leigh as usual. Sue Rodford would check numbers for the concert and book a table in the Bell at Buckland if relevant. Tickets were given out for the theatre outing to the Merlin and the carol concert in Wells.

Following the business matters we had a simple craft session led by the owners of the Hive business in Shepton. They started as a shoe repairers but these days hold a variety of stock such as fabrics, wool and other craft items, have a catering side and also run courses such as flower arranging and cake decorating. For our WI they had cut out felt shapes of angels and Christmas stockings for us to put together and decorate and add to the cracker supplied if we wished. The winner of the best effort received a voucher for a free afternoon tea.

At the meeting on Monday 11^th December at 7.30pm we will have a talk entitled “Girl Cop”

October Monthly Meeting

In October recent events included an enjoyable group meeting which had included an ukulele band, the usual coffee morning in the Hall and first Friday lunch in the Bell and just a few days earlier the jumble sale, which was to raise funds for Denman. This was very successful, making a total of £291 which meant we had reached our target for them plus had a little left over for ourselves. 

Some of the forthcoming events were Christmas related such as the carol service in Wells on Wed 13^th December, the group carols on Friday 1^st December at 11am, meaning a late lunch in the Bell and the Christmas meal on Tuesday 5^th December. The latter would be at Peppers in Shepton and there were lists to sign up to with our choice of food. Cost of this would be £16.50 for 2 courses and £21 for 3 which Mary Mears explained was a lot less than many others.

Donations are still being accepted for the shoe box appeal, mainly for small items suitable for a young man. It had also been decided to again forgo our Secret Santa at the Christmas meal and instead make donations to the food bank. Sue Rodford said this should be in the form of Christmas treats and June Brewster is also to check if specific items are needed.

Then Head of Shows, Alan Lyons gave us a detailed and interesting talk about the Bath and West. This show has a history of over 150 years and since 1965 has been held in its current location in Shepton Mallet. It is a massive undertaking with 27 different committees covering the various sections. Alan tries to involve the surrounding community where possible from insisting on West Country food being served to employing local organisations in both paid and volunteer positions.

At the meeting on Monday 13^th November at 7.30pm we will have a craft session to make a Christmas decoration.

Frome Group Meeting

Five members from Leigh on Mendip attended the Frome Group Meeting.

It was a great evening with entertainment provided by Frukes - a local ukulele band.

Members were asked if they were interested in forming a skittles team for local matches.

Jumble Sale

On Saturday 7 October we held a Jumble Sale as a Fund Raiser for Denman College.  Lots of items were donated and members were busy sorting and arranging during the morning.

Doors opened at 1.30pm.  Thank you to everyone who came to buy and those who worked hard before and on the day.  Refreshments were available during the afternoon - cups of tea much needed!



In total we raised £291.  We achieved our target of £200 for Denman (this is in addition to the funds raised earlier in the year with a Breakfast morning) and the rest will be used for our WI.

September Monthly Meeting

A slightly different format to our September meeting as we were given a printed out agenda to refer to, although all the sections were covered out loud as usual. One of the many items addressed was to make arrangements for our jumble sale which will be on Saturday October 7^th. Names were taken for helpers in various slots and we were asked to bring our jumble along by 12 noon on the day and not to include any electrical items or large pieces of furniture.

Two other appeals for donations were for toothbrushes and small tubes of toothpaste which the Mendip Country Practice aim to take to Africa and for items for the usual shoe box scheme. These should be suitable for a teenage boy and could include things such as toiletries, sweets etc. smaller sizes meaning a bigger variety.

Tricia Rawlingson-Plant was an erudite and interesting speaker who told us a lot about the children’s outdoor activity centre she runs at Bruton, The Mill on the Brue. This was started in 1982, initially in conjunction with Gants Mill and has grown enormously over the years, now employing many staff and providing opportunities for children and teenagers to both enjoy themselves and develop as people, often giving them a lasting new confidence.

The meeting on Monday 9^th October at 7.30pm will include a talk about the Bath and West Show.