Members of Doveside WI were busy during their August break preparing for their contribution to the village’s Millennium activities. The Victorian Market was scheduled for Saturday 15th September and plant, preserve, flower, card, sweet, bread and cake, and bric-a-brac stalls all had to be stocked as well as the Bran Tub filled and the tea-room supplied. Even husbands were enlisted with one making a roll-a-penny board which proved popular with young and not so young alike. We had music inside and outside, a jester and dance display, all of which went down well with those who supported the event. £400 was raised for WaterAid and all who helped agreed that they had thoroughly enjoyed themselves and hoped that the visitors had also.

The Autumn programme began with a hitch in that the speaker for the September meeting had some distance to travel and due to the petrol supply problems was unable to fulfil her commitment. Luckily Sylvia Martin stepped in at very short notice to talk about “Putting National Trust Houses to Bed”. This illustrated talk talk together with the slides was not only entertaining but also informed the audience of another aspect of the work of the National Trust.

The intriguing title of “A few vouchers short of a pop-up toaster” should have been an indication of the treat in store at the October meeting. Miss Sheila Divine had everyone laughing with her examples of literalism and anecdotes of her experiences.

The next meeting will be on Friday 17th November when the speaker will be Mrs M. Hargreaves on “Sugarcraft”

Meetings are held in the Scout Headquarters, Station Road, on 3rd Friday of the month at 9.45am.. All are welcome.

What a busy year this has been for all our village organisations making special efforts to mark the Millennium, a great event and worthy of special celebrations. Our Doveside contribution will be on September 16th when we are to hold a Victorian Market and we hope that the stall-holders will be wearing the costumes of the era.

We have had some very interesting meetings over the past few months with speakers who provide us with information about subjects not known to many of us.

Our May meeting is always dominated by a discussion on "Resolutions" when topics which are to be presented at the Triennial General meeting are debated and voted on. It is the voice of the WI and as we have seen from recent events it carries some weight. One very important resolution which affects village communities is the change in the role of the local Post Offices which could lead to the closure of this valuable service. This should be resisted vigorously.

In June we were let into the mysteries of Toponomy, a subject unknown to most, but in fact it is the study of place names and their roots from the mists of time until their evolution in the present. This talk was given by Mr John Richie, a Scot from Lancashire - yes, he actually is!

In July we were treated to a most fascinating talk on the life of our guest speaker, Mrs Brough who went from being a coal-merchant - she really was a "hands-on" coal supplier, through running a restaurant before ending up as a founder member of the Jessie Brough Aluminium Recycling Company, Hixon. Their work in recycling this metal so that every scrap is used in industry instead of being dumped in a landfill site has earned them several awards including the Queen's Award for Industry, with a trip to Buckingham Palace to receive the Award from the Queen - a very proud day for this lovely lady and her family.

The July meeting being the last before the summer break always ends with a delightful lunch laid on by our hard working committee, a most enjoyable buffet and we thank them for their efforts.

We commence our meetings again on Friday September 15th at 9.45am at the Scout HQ when we have an interesting programme of speakers to entertain us in the future.

May Anderson

Our membership is growing apace which is very satisfying because we feel that we our reputation as a friendly, welcoming organisation is spreading and new members are keen to join us. There’s always room for lots more!

We always have interesting speakers and have gathered all sorts of new information about subjects of which we were unaware. Our outings, too, are well worth joining in and we have visited the most enjoyable and interesting places from stately homes to factory shops, even some on our own doorstep which were surprisingly fascinating. For instance, at our February meeting, our speaker, Mr Ball, enlightened us on "Staffordshire Ghosts and Legends", a most interesting topic, and who would have thought that Alton Towers has a resident spirit – perhaps even the inhabitants of the spirit world would like to rave it up amid the bright lights occasionally! It was really surprising to learn just how many of these manifestations have occurred in the county.

The March meeting is always the AGM – yes, we really do have them, but it is not boring by any means, and Mrs Richards the V.C.O. who conducted it kept it moving along at a cracking pace. She spoke about the workings of the W.I. County Office in Stafford and there’s a lot more to it than one would imagine.

I wonder how many people have heard of Encaustic Art? Not many I imagine, but what a fascinating medium this is and apparently so simple – all that is required is a small travel type electric iron and a copious supply of coloured beeswax to produce some very attractive landscapes can be produced on card by the judicious use of the iron in strategic places. The word "encaustic" means "burning" so watch out for finger ends!

We have the opportunity to take part in craft and flower arranging competitions, where we usually do very well, due too the wealth of talent among our members. We also have activities such as Scrabble sessions, Belle-plate ringing, Bowls and our charity efforts support St Giles’ Hospice and knitting blankets for the needy.

We meet on the third Friday of each month except August at 9.45am at the Scout HQ and we are always delighted to welcome new members.

May Anderson (Press Secretary)

Now that we are entering our second decade we are well established with an ever increasing membership and an interesting programme of speakers, and our "outings organisers" have some exciting visits in the pipeline for us. Mrs Burman has arranged the competitions for the coming year and these are always well supported.. We shall be continuing our charity efforts, collecting pennies and used stamps for St Giles’ hospice and knitting squares to be made into blankets for third world countries. Our leisure activities such as indoor bowls, Scrabble sessions and Belle-Plate ringing are still going strong. We meet at the Scout Headquarters on the third Friday of every month except August and are always pleased to welcome new visitors and members.

(May Anderson)

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Last updated: 8 December 2001