We welcomed a number of visitors. It is always lovely to meet new ladies and
there is no pressure to join immediately.
Do come along and see if we are right for you!
We would like to take this opportunity to pay
tribute to our long time member, Marguerite Cockroft. We were saddened to learn of her recent death. She will be missed by us all, very much
indeed.
Our speaker in March was Richard Bruce. He is
now retired from designing for the Fashion Industry but still involved with
lecturing and mentoring to students. He talked through his phenomenal career,
from his early days designing for Couture Houses in Rome and Paris, on to
working for many years in Pret-a-Porter (Ready-to-Wear), in Milan, Munich and
Frankfurt. He spoke about his years in Milan, working also Freelance and
running his own Knitwear Brand - always keeping open to new ideas and trends.
Finally he returned to the UK to work at High Street level, taking up a job
with M&S where he designed across the Women's wear area, for Formal
jackets/suits, Autograph and latterly, Classics.
His main point throughout was to show the
difference between these levels and above all the way a designer, working for
an elevated brand in Europe has all the authority and responsibility. Whereas in
the UK, High Street brands are run through teams, with a buyer and merchandiser
at the helm, designer and technologist providing the aesthetics. Very
informative and enjoyed by all!
Looking at the unfolding disaster in Ukraine
and deciding what we can best do to help, we made a decision, for those who wish,
to donate directly to DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee). Caroline, our
President, will forward the funds on.
£60 was donated at our meeting.
At County Level, one of our crafting ladies
produced a length of beautiful Jubilee Bunting, which will be shown, along with
many others, at the County Celebrations and the Bath & West Show in
June. We had 4 members attend a Craft
Taster Day near Street recently. They had the opportunity to try crafts they hadn’t
attempted before. Some great results were shown. Well done all!
At National level, the wider WI organisation
gives us opportunities to have a voice in many women’s matters. The resolution
for this year, is "Women and Girls with ASD & ADHD – under-identified,
under-diagnosed, misdiagnosed, under-supported" - looking at the long
term, damaging effects in some Women and Girls. It is apparently extremely
common for females to be discounted in many studies and treatments. The aim is
to redress the balance and give women the focus needed. More information will be sent to members over
the coming months and we will have the opportunity to discuss this in greater
detail.
The WI, as with other Village groups and
committees, are in full swing making preparations for both the Platinum Jubilee
Celebrations and the upcoming Summer Fete (Saturday 16 July). We are running the tombola stand, (donations
gratefully accepted!).
We were very much involved in the Village
Litter Pick on Saturday 19 March. It was
great to see so many young and "not quite so young" people from the
village who had joined in this event either litter picking a few days earlier
or on the day. It was also very
encouraging to find less litter than on previous years. Either people really are getting the message
to take their litter home or I think we need to be grateful for those who on
their regular walks are helping to keep our lanes and footpaths clear.
It is so much nicer to see the snowdrops,
daffodils and primroses in the hedgerows rather than empty cans & bottles
and food containers. We then returned to
the Village Hall where welcome tea and cakes were available – again we asked
for donations for Ukraine and another £50 was raised and has been sent to the
DEC.
On Saturday 23 April, some of us will be
joining a charity walk for the ACWW, (Associated Country Women of the World) an
international organization that the WI has close links with. It helps fund
small-scale, women-led projects mainly in rural areas. This walk is open to non-WI friends as
well. Watch our Blog and the Village
Facebook for more details.
In April we will be polishing our Cowboy Boots
for a session of Line Dancing with Rosita. Looking forward to it! Save the date – Monday 11 April at 7.30pm.
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 7.30pm. Contact
Caroline on 812889
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