Meeting 13 January 2020

A very different WI meeting in January. When we arrived instead of the usual rows of chairs there were tables set out at intervals in the Hall with a few chairs at each. One had a questionnaire to find out what we would like from our WI going forward, another had sheets in quiz format where we had to find out who fitted the various questions such as who had been a hairdresser, who was in a choir etc., all designed to get us talking to ladies we may not usually socialise with and get to know each other a little better. This worked brilliantly and members had some really interesting conversations.  The other tables had the makings of name badges which we are going to wear at future meetings, some of the photo albums to look at and facilities to pay various dues such as money for the snowdrop outing and our annual subs.

Then after refreshments we turned to the business matters. Ideas are needed for the format of the Group Social which we are hosting on Monday 29^th of June. Various items were pointed out in the County News with events such as a Broadway songs revue and supper, a crime mystery dinner and a WW1 Social History lunch, see your copy for details. Nearer to home early notice was given for the Hall quiz on Saturday 21^st March which Mary hoped we could raise at least one team for. Also local was the suggestion of a WI book group so if anyone is interested in any of these do let a committee member know either before or at the next meeting. Finally it looks as if there may be a small change to Leigh on Mendip WI. Evidently many institutes have changed their name to try and give a more modern and representative impression of who they are and members voted in favour of taking this idea further.

Happy New Year

We wish 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 2020 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 9 December 2019

We had enjoyed our Christmas meal in early December at the Mendip Inn and Christmas was still on our minds with reports of 8 YMCA shoe boxes having been delivered to the ACM in Taunton and still more donations arriving for the Food Bank at the December meeting. However we were looking at social occasions ahead too with bookings being taken for a morning outing on Monday 17^th February to Camerton Hall Gardens to see the snowdrops. This would cost £8.50, tea and cake available for an extra £1.50.

We are also working towards the choice of next year’s Resolutions. The list to make our initial choices from is available in the current copy of WI Life and Mary asked members to have a look at this with a view to discussing our preferences at the January meeting when there would be a few other things to remember. Our subs for the year will be due, £43 this time and Caroline mentioned we can pay by bank transfer if we prefer, details will be sent to members. We need to bring a small prize for the raffle and finally for January don’t forget we have the Leigh WI birthday party on Saturday 18th in the Memorial Hall from 12.30, bring a plate of food to share and come and enjoy a chat and a film, which members voted they would like for the entertainment.

Our entertainment for the meeting was in two sections. Firstly the stage was set up with a table full of cake ingredients and Caroline and Jo proceeded to make a cake pantomime style. Mary read out the recipe which included several instructions to “test the vodka to make sure it was all right” with the predictable results! Very funny, maybe they should join an amateur pantomime group next year.

The main entertainment was a talk from author Barbara Spencer. She had led a very interesting life living in many different places, initially sparked off by following the West Indian cricket team. She had written many books for children and given talks in schools on them but now in semi-retirement had started writing for adults.

Christmas Shoe Box Appeal

8 Shoeboxes ready packed to be given to young people staying in the local YMCAs over Christmas.  Thanks for all the fabulous contributions from our members.

Meeting 11 November 2019

Seasonal final arrangements were being made in November for the Christmas meal on the 2^nd Dec with a record 30 members signed up and there was still just time to bring some shoe box items for the YMCA. The business items also included information about the Frome Group Social at 7.30 in Frome on Monday 16^th December and two lunches, one at Wells golf club with author Nicola Pryce on 29th November and a Social History lunch on 11^th February in Trull near Taunton.

We are collecting Christmas items for the Frome Food Bank – members who haven’t already donated may like to bring items to our December meeting.

Members then spent the rest of the evening making ribbon trees under the tuition of Karen, one of our members and her helpers. The pieces of ribbon had all been pre-cut for us and counted into small packs with the right numbers needed for each stage. They had to be atttached to a polystyrene cone with the tiny pins provided in several layers with a star available to put on the top to finish it off. The ribbon had come in different shades and patterns, mainly red, green and silver so there was a great variety of finished trees. The room was fairly quiet while everyone concentrated on what they were doing and all who took part went home with an attractive table decoration.

Meeting 14 October 2019

A fairly brief session of business matters in October which included taking deposits for the Christmas meal at the Mendip Inn on Mon 2^nd Dec and reminders about the Wells Carol service and the shoe box appeal. There was information about the county meeting in Taunton on the 23^rd Nov which would include an autumn wreath competition, a Denman Dip and the issuing of sheets for the annual Christmas quiz.

Members had brought a lot of items for the “bring and buy” and we were encouraged to buy what we could, although Mary would take anything left to a charity shop.

We then got on to the main theme of the evening which was “Back to School” Several tables had been set out with school related activities on such as colouring in, indoor games and even an exam. We went round in groups of 4 or 5 taking a turn with everything. Many of us found things like balancing a book on our head or answering mathematical problems pretty tricky. Thankfully it was all just for fun! When everyone had tried them all there was a “show and tell” session where many members had brought photos of their school days and some old items of uniform and entertained us with the memories they triggered..

Meeting 9 September 2019

Members had been enjoying several social occasions during the summer. These included the ACWW walk followed by tea and cake at a member’s house, the County Quiz in Frome where one of our teams actually won and the President’s Evening social with the golf croquet and supper. Looking ahead, Christmas loomed into the picture with a mention of the Christmas Meal possibly being at the Mendip Inn as last year, a request for items for the shoe box appeal and the agreement to once again bring some food treats for the food bank in lieu of a Secret Santa arrangement.

For the October meeting we were asked to bring items for a Bring and Buy and also anything to help us take part in a “Back to School” session. This could be a piece of an old uniform, a photograph or simply your memories of the time, your triumphs or misdemeanours.

We then had a fascinating and encouraging talk from Craig Shaw, the founder of local company Advetec. We heard about his career path from the steel industry to diving and finally his present undertaking. Working closely with biologists, Advetec manufactures machines which use specific molecules to digest waste leaving harmless and actually useful by-products suitable for compost or fuel. The company has contracts to deal with waste all over the world including big organisations such as Apple in the US and the whole of Hawaii. They are confident that in a relatively short time they will be able to provide machines we could have in our own back gardens to dispose of rubbish on the spot. This is partly dependant on manufacturers changing the composition slightly of their plastic to include an element susceptible to the microbes. There is even the possibility they will be able to clean up large areas of the sea. It was wonderful to hear some good news on the ecology front for once.