MAY

 

Welcome to the merry month of May. The month when, ‘All Things Seem Possible’. The month when we feel the full force of Spring in all its beauty and the prospect of the coming Summer. Here at the WI, we’re all looking forward to more seasonal, outdoor activities, especially resuming our picnic gatherings.

At the meeting in May we held our AGM.  Caroline was voted for and kindly agreed to continue as our President.  The rest of the Committee are also willing to stand for another year.  Thank you to Barbara for conducting the voting system.

We also discussed our yearly Resolution. We unanimously agreed to support the motion of Women & Girls with ASD & ADHD: Under-identified, Under-diagnosed, Misdiagnosed & Under-supported. A condition which, for many, has devastating life- long consequences when not detected early. Two of our members read out a very moving testimony about a young woman’s experiences, both before and after diagnoses. We all agreed that this is a very worthwhile motion and support the NFWI to call on the Government and Funding Bodies to fund research into the female presentation of this condition and for action to be taken to improve the diagnosis and to ensure that they are better equipped to manage their lives and do not suffer in silence.  Mary will be our delegate for the AGM to be held in Liverpool.  We will not be attending in person but have organised for our members to come to a virtual presentation in our Village Hall on Saturday 11 June.

We finished the meeting with a very jolly Photo Quiz. Childhood photographs to be matched with a list of our names. Lots of laughs and many mistakes. Out of the 21 entries, 8 was the highest score! Have we all changed that much?!

Our Sub-Groups are developing and growing. It’s a great opportunity for us all to socialize in different ways and pursue the things that interest us.  Our new Book Club started last month with a first meeting to discuss the book, again in The Bell. Great to hear other’s opinions. And finally our newest activity, Line Dancing with Rosita in the Hall. Great fun and happily tailored to suit all abilities!

Next month’s meeting together will be particularly pleasurable for us Art Lovers. We have art expert, Norton Asbury coming along to give us a ‘virtual’ tour of the National Gallery Collections – ‘Art for the Nation’.

 

APRIL

With the gentle month of April upon us, gardens, greenhouses, allotments, fields and woods, are all starting to look more green and hopeful.  It is also wonderful to have the extra daylight hour and be able to turn to more outdoor activities and recreations.

At our meeting this month we enjoyed an evening of learning to Line Dance.  A good number of us donned our Cowboy Boots and Check Shirts and took to the floor, accompanied by Dolly Parton. Great fun!  Huge thanks to Rosita, for her patience, encouragement and wonderful choice of music!

Each year The NFWI will vote on a Resolution. The aim being to get behind and fully support a cause for Women. This year, the vote was for Girls and Women who struggle with undiagnosed ASD & ADHD. Apparently, this is a very common occurrence, with long term, devastating results. We had the opportunity recently, to be part of a live discussion. Chaired by Nicky Amos (Somerset and National Trustee). The opportunity to understand and gain knowledge is very rewarding, especially for a very worthwhile cause. 

As an organization, we are affiliated with and support many charities.  One is the ACWW (Associated Country Women of the World) - https://acww.org.uk/.  We organised a local walk on Saturday 23 April.  Six members met up at the hall to walk in solidarity with other women world-wide. The weather was dull but dry and many had to remove a layer as the day suddenly brightened. It was agreed to split into 2 groups, those doing the Quarry bund and those doing a flatter walk in the village.  

Despite several stops to chat with villagers the flat group were back first to pop the kettle on and prepare the array of delicious homemade cakes on offer. Another lady joined us at the hall and we all enjoyed a lovely long chat remembering villagers from decades back and discovering connections between people.  All in all a lovely afternoon of fresh air, exercise and friendship and £29 was collected for ACWW projects.

A key aim and principle for us, is being part of a community. Promoting and organising events in order to enjoy time together. Finding educational and interesting pastimes that stretch us in many ways.  We will soon be starting a Book Club.  A great way to learn about each other's tastes and opinions.  Our twice monthly Craft Group is growing. So much so that we’re perhaps looking at hiring the Hall on a regular basis. We work on our own projects, everything from knitting, sewing, drawing, quilt making and embroidery. We can learn from each other and it’s been great to have some expert help and advice on hand!  There is too, our weekly Tai Chi class.  A wonderful way to pass an hour, losing oneself in slow, meditative breathing and movement.

The WI will be participating in the Village Celebrations for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.  A special project was launched for members to knit a "Winnie" corgi to hide in our local community for others to find, keep or donate.  Caroline (after a certain amount of unpicking and starting again!) has made this great little chap.

Now that Covid restrictions are all but lifted, we are resuming our Monthly Lunches in the Bell Inn. Open to all members. A chance to catch up and enjoy good food and company.

On 9 May we will hold our AGM and go through the final outcome of the chosen Resolution (Women and Girls with ASD & ADHD).  For levity, we are also holding a quiz with photos of us all as small children, to see who can spot who!

Denman Courses are still available on-line and are now offering some 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

 

 

 

 

 

LOM WI members answered the call “Ladies…… we need your support”

 

 

Members were asked to bring along any used or new bras they no longer needed to donate to this worthwhile charity, funding research in the UK and helping ladies in Africa.

https://www.againstbreastcancer.org.uk/recycling/bra-recycling 

This bra recycling scheme takes your unwanted or unloved bras and through our network of bra banks raises vital funds for pioneering breast cancer research.

The same bras also help to support small businesses in developing countries in Africa and around the world. Together with our recycling partners, our textile recovery project prevents these bras going into landfill before giving them a new lease of life in countries such as Togo, Ghana and Kenya, where bras remain expensive to produce locally.

Successful ventures like this provide an income for families in developing countries whilst providing employment for people living in the UK. For every tonne of bras collected, Against Breast Cancer receives £700 to fund our research. With over 30 million women in the UK you could really help make a difference!

A total of 41 bras were donated by us and our families creating a novel sort of WI logo!

Many thanks to everyone who donated.

 

MARCH

 

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