Birthday Social at the Bell Inn

We celebrated our birthday again with a social evening of Skittles, food and drink on Friday 18th January. Twenty four members/partners enjoyed a fun evening of Skittles in the Bell Inn, with Martin winning the overall score and Daggs winning the game of "Killer".

Many of us also enjoyed a meal beforehand and there was plenty of time to catch up with friends and for our newer members to get to know others and their partners too.

Thanks to Denis for doing the scoring and for the two young ladies doing the  "sticking up".

A very successful and sociable evening all round!

70 YEARS YOUNG!!

The WI started in Leigh on Mendip in 1949 and we will very soon be celebrating our 70th Birthday!

We had refreshments and cake at our Monday meeting.  As a reminder to members we will be holding a Fun Event in the Skittles Alley at The Bell this coming Friday evening (18 January).  Come along and bring your family & friends.

Meeting 14 January 2019

In January we were celebrating our Institute’s 70^th birthday with cake at the monthly meeting and a skittles social evening planned for Friday 18^th. There were positive reports of the recent coffee morning in the Hall and First Friday lunch in the Bell and we heard from one of our members how much she had enjoyed the WI carol service in Wells Cathedral. The new programme cards were given out and it was pointed out no outings were listed but any ideas through the year for these would be very welcome. The voting slips for the Resolutions were collected plus the yearly subscriptions and we were reminded to bring along a raffle prize if we had not already done so. Jo reported from the fete committee that the Saturday would go ahead with stalls etc much as in previous years and there would also be barn dance on the Friday before. There was a suggestion that the WI sell strawberries and cream rather than Pimms/Mocktails as part of our contribution which was agreed by members.

We then had a very interesting and detailed talk on climate change and global warming from Phil Gulvin. He studied earth science many years ago and reverted to this in recent times to give lectures to OU students after many years as a vicar. It became clear how difficult the science of predicting climate change is as so many factors can affect it although it seems generally agreed that one, global warming, needs addressing and we can all do a little to help with this.

Our meeting on 11^th February at 7.30pm will include a talk called “My Life as a Gardener” from Fiona Blackmore who works in a local plant nursery.

Happy New Year

Wishing all of our current and prospective members, friends and followers a very Happy New Year.

We look forward to seeing you at our meetings and events over the coming year.

Take a look at the Programme and Information link to the right to find our 2019 Programme and Committee List.

See below for a summary of our recent events and many photographs.

If you are new to the area, or just never been to WI before, please do come along to a meeting as a visitor and meet us before you decide if you would like to join. Details are posted here and on the Village Website What's On page.

We are here to offer friendship, share skills and new experiences and have fun together.

We hope to see you soon.

Mary Mears and the Committee

Meeting 10 December 2018

At our December meeting we heard how much our donations to  the shoe box appeal and the food bank had meant to the organisations that run them, both being delighted at the amount sent. The Christmas meal at the Mendip Inn and the Christmas Tree festival in the church had been very successful with our tree based around loneliness winning the best themed entry prize.

Reminders of forthcoming events included the usual first Friday lunch on January the 4^th in the Bell and also in the Bell our 70^th birthday celebration skittles evening on Friday 18^th. Mary asked us to have a look at the information about the Resolutions both in the County News and the WI Life and if possible bring a voting slip from the latter, with our choice on, to the January meeting, spare slips will also be available on the night. Mary also asked us to look out for her e mail with a short survey about food banks etc.

Our subs for next year will be £42, due in January and can either be paid by cheque or online, details for the latter to follow. Finally it was announced that mainly due to the larger numbers of members now, fund raising with the raffle is not essential but members voted to continue with it just for fun so please bring a small prize to the January meeting for the draws throughout the year.

In an entertaining, partly acting style and using letters sent to Emily Davis, our speaker, Sue Jennings, told us all about England’s first female physician, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson. After much difficulty but with the support of her father, Elizabeth was finally admitted to the Society of Apothecaries although she had to go to Paris to study for her MD. She went on to set up the first medical college for women in the UK.

Our meeting on 14^th January will include a talk on climate change.

The Loneliness Tree

Our entry of "The Loneliness Tree" won the Best Themed Christmas Tree at the Christmas Tree Festival at St Giles Church last weekend. This ties in with the WI's Resolution on Alleviating Loneliness.

Red hands joined in friendship and baubles denoting a wide range of village and local activities adorned the tree. A leaflet was available to take away giving more details of the activities locally that people could come along to in order to meet others. Everything from joining a Rock Choir, doing some volunteering or just talking to your neighbour was suggested.

Many thanks to all those involved in designing and creating the decorations.  Our prize of a tin of chocolates will be shared at our January meeting.

Christmas Coffee Morning

Christmas Treats for all who come to the regular monthly Coffee mornings in the Village Hall.
Next event will be on Monday 7 January, 9.45 to 10.45am.
Do come along if you are free.