The W.I. has now got a new logo, which looks something like this:

This is a clever title as it both reflects what the institute aims to do and also describes the character of its members, hopefully! Well our members have certainly been inspired this Autumn. We are going to learn new crafts: felting and beading and we will be knitting useful garments for the competition for the Barbara Reynolds Plate. We will be filling the winter months by going out and about. Some members will visit the Magistrates’ Court, the Ballet in Birmingham, The Sound of Music in Hanley, or even a weekend away in Cardiff. We have also been inspired to make puddings and cakes for many village activities including ‘Anne Hathaway’ and the Macmillan coffee morning. As Christmas approaches, we would like to invite you to our annual Fair, which will take place on Saturday 13th November at 2p.m. in the Club. We hope to see Santa there and you may find a few useful presents.

We would also like to invite you to a coffee morning sometime in January. All profits will be donated to the charity ACWW, for a project based in Uganda. The charity aims to provide equipment for villages to produce their own biogas. This will enable widow headed families to cook and have light and reduce the dangerous workload of collecting firewood from the bushes. Please come and support this worthy cause. We do have some inspiring speakers lined up for the next few meetings. Dr. Wendy Freer will whisk us away to Downton Abbey and we will discover what goes on below stairs. We will be learning about the benefits of reflexology and other treatments and discovering which colours suit us best. We meet on the first Monday of the month at 7.15p.m. Visitors are always welcome. Please look at the village notice board for more details or ring the secretary on 813833.

What a great summer! The W.I. may have peaked too early this year as our annual evening out with refreshments took place on a cool evening in May. We had a personal tour of the Staffordshire Wildlife Centre at Wolseley Bridge where we saw lots of trees and shrubs and a variety of birds coming to use the feeders. Undaunted, we planned our garden visit to take place in June at Lightbounds, Uttoxeter. We were warmly welcomed by the owners, who gave us personal tours of the garden with the history of each plant. Some of us got lost among the huge gunneras and bamboos. Later on we enjoyed our drinks in the warm sunshine, sitting below the herbaceous border with views overlooking the racecourse. A visit to the famous garden at Highgrove was next on the agenda. Prince Charles seems to have done a wonderful job of growing organic vegetables whilst providing a peaceful retreat. Our W.I. members were so well behaved, they were invited back!

Our speakers this season have all been interesting and varied. Nigel Holling’s talk was popular, especially when the samples of chocolate were passed round, and many of us bought treats to take home. Sally Hibbert was an energetic and lively speaker who told us all about her move from rural Wales to becoming the wife of a farmer in Hilton. Sally runs her own business, which is called The Lavender Patch, where she grows a wide variety of lavenders and runs a tearoom. Afterwards we all enjoyed our strawberries and cream accompanied by the heady scent of lavender.

Our members have been busy helping with village events and making our scarecrow “Lady Bee Good”, who reflected the “modern” outlook of the WI! The summer break brings visits to Carnfield Hall and Nostell Priory.

In the autumn we have speakers on contemporary jewellery, travelling in India and the unknown lives of a pharmacist and a domestic servant. We will be learning new crafts such as felting and beading.

Our Christmas Fair is a week earlier this year, 13th November, so we hope to see some of you there at the club. No time to waste! We must start making and baking!

If you would like to come along to a meeting as a visitor you will be very welcome. Please look at the village notice board for details or ring the secretary on 813833.

Jenny Phillips

The association of good food and the WI automatically comes to mind and it is certainly the case with Rolleston WI. That is to say we enjoy making food, sharing it and eating it ourselves! We made cakes to help St. Giles Hospice and the Fountains School. We will be competing for the Burton Bowl at our May meeting and entries are invited for chutney, fairy cakes and shortbread. During the evening we will discuss this year’s proposed resolution that “The clear labelling of food with the true country of origin should be mandatory.” Our summer activities begin with an evening out with homemade refreshments at the Staffordshire Wild Life Centre, Wolseley Bridge. Our gardens visit in June will be to Lightbounds, Uttoxeter, where we might sneak a cup of coffee and then in July we treat ourselves to a Summer Party here in Rolleston.

Putting food aside, we have been out and about in Burton. We had a very interesting visit to the Magistrates’ Court, guided by a gentleman who loved his job there. We got close to the dock but not actually in it! We revisited Sinai House on a beautiful afternoon in April and enjoyed an informative tour by the owners who even showed us the restored part of the house that they live in. We had a well attended Group Meeting in March and the speaker was Rosemary Hughes who makes the Maundy Thursday nosegays for the Queen and her entourage. We listened to her anecdotes and reminiscences as she made a replica posy as she spoke. We enjoyed a Group Quiz Night organized by Helen Barnett. Verity Conner has arranged a performance of “TEN DAYS… that shook the Kitchen” by Ginny Davis.

We will be visiting Highgrove Gardens in June, as long as we pass security! Our AGM was held in March. Sue Fraser was elected President again and a new committee was formed. They have arranged an interesting and varied programme for the coming year. What is that-----a speaker on chocolate with samples! If you would like to come along to a meeting please look at the village notice board for details or ring the Secretary on 530824.

Jenny Phillips

75 Years Old !

Our W.I. Meetings are often full of surprises and November’s meeting was no exception. Our speaker, Stephen Deans, changed his plans and gave us a fantastic talk on The Staffordshire Hoard, together with personal slides of the treasure. We believe that The Hoard should be kept within this area and at question time we made our views clear. We have celebrated the build up to Christmas in good style including visits to Chatsworth, the Nutcracker Ballet and Lichfield Cathedral. Our Christmas Fair was enjoyed by everyone who came, thank you for your support.

January brought ice and snow but despite this many people attended the first meeting of 2010 to hear Sylvia Martin’s interesting talk on the life of Beatrix Potter. By the time you read this we will have celebrated our 75th Anniversary of the founding of Rolleston W.I. Sue Fraser read from the Minutes Book, which recorded the events of the very first meeting of Rolleston W.I. on 5th February 1935 in the Clubroom. This February we are planning an Anniversary Meeting with a speaker, a knitting competition for the Barbara Reynolds Plate, a buffet, cake and a toast. The celebrations continue with a meal at the Hilton House Hotel, a guest speaker and time to socialize. We certainly know how to enjoy ourselves! The coming weeks will be busy with a weekend away in Norwich, a visit to the Magistrates Court in March, Sinai House in April and later a chance to learn new skills. We are welcoming Ginny Davis back to our village with a performance of Ten Days..that shook the kitchen! on 20th May which should prove very popular.

If you would like to visit our W.I. and join in with the fun, please come along to any meeting on the first Monday of the month at the J. of R. School, Chapel Lane at 7.15p.m. where you will be made most welcome or ring Lesley Harding on 01283 530824.

Jenny Phillips

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Last updated: 29 December 2010