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We took a break in August and treated ourselves to a day in London. As you might expect, it poured with rain but we had an interesting visit to Buckingham Palace for a tour of the State Rooms (beautiful carpets) and “A Jubilee Celebration”, a close up view of The Queen’s personal diamond jewellery.
We have had interesting speakers at our monthly meetings, including a collector of Enid Blyton books and Christine Marbrow from the Scropton Riding School for the Disabled, who used five ladies to be horse, rider and helpers in her demonstration. We also had an interesting talk by Graham White, whose NGS garden was visited by some of us last year. His pictures of “before and after” were amazing. In October we hosted the Forest and Vale Group Meeting at de Ferrers Academy, where our speaker, Louise Page, told us about her career as a playwright and how she adapted the works of Agatha Christie and Georgette Heyer for the stage as well as writing for The Archers. Of course, there were lots of tea and cakes!
We have been busy learning new crafts. We are trying our hand at drama and our art group is getting quite creative. We hope to sell some of our craft work at the Christmas Fair on November 24th.
Members enjoy helping at village events and I hear the apple pies at the Civic Trust Barn Dance went down well. Graham Jacks came to one of our meetings and spoke about his involvement with local scouts to build a new orphanage for deprived children in Kenya. The scouts have had to raise money themselves to pay for their trip as well as training in new skills. We will be holding a charity coffee morning at Rolleston Club on Saturday 26th January between 10 and 12 a.m. and would like to see you there. The proceeds will be donated towards this project.
We have a good variety of speakers in the New Year as well as a visit to see The Mousetrap in Stoke and a weekend break in York. Visitors to our meetings are always welcome. Please ring the Secretary on 813833 for details or look at the village notice board.
Jenny Phillips
The summer of 2012 has been dominated by two Rs, Reign and Rain. Rolleston-on-Dove W.I. has celebrated in style, despite the weather. Our members supported Rolleston’s Jubilation by stewarding, cooking and well dressing. We added our own celebration by arranging an evening of entertainment with Colin Alderson, a former pastry chef to the royal household, on 24th June at the Club. Colin was an excellent speaker who kept us entertained with stories of the Palace. We now know what the Queen likes for breakfast, her delight in multi-layered sweets and her insistence on correct spelling. He stayed for the buffet and tried several of our puddings. Thankfully his comments were complimentary. Our meeting in July ended with strawberries and cream, a sing along and a royal toast to the Queen and to the London Olympics.
In the autumn we have a wide and varied programme of speakers on topics such as Enid Blyton, the Scropton Riding School and how to create an NGS Garden. We will be sponsoring the cookery section at the Village Gala so we need lots of entries. It is our turn to host the W.I.Group Meeting on 2nd October at de Ferrers Academy and our speaker will be a dramatist who has written scripts for the Archers. Afterwards we will be enjoying drinks and cakes and some home grown entertainment.
We have a visit to Bletchley Park and to Buckingham Palace this summer to see the special Diamonds Exhibition.
Our Christmas Fair is planned for Saturday 24th November at 2pm and we hope to see you there at Rolleston Club. We are always grateful for your support. There will be chance to buy extra Christmas Presents so come along and enjoy the festive spirit.
The W.I. is more than Jam and Jerusalem. If you would like to come to one of our meetings as a visitor you will be made most welcome. Details are on the village noticeboard or ring the secretary on 813833.
What a variety of experiences we have packed into a year of WI! I have recently been writing the Annual Report and sorting through the many photographs, articles and souvenirs which go into our archive. It is lovely to look back on the fun things we have done. Our committee and volunteer helpers put in a lot of work and our members support and enjoy the events.
2012 promises to be an even busier year. We got off to a good start with a really enjoyable weekend in Oxford. The company was great, the hotel superb and the weather was brilliant and we had an excellent tour of the Bodleian Library. Our Annual Meeting in March saw Verity Conner re-elected as President and a committee of eight voted in. The Programme of Speakers is in place and promises a wide variety of subjects and interests. I am looking forward to learning about spinning, coppicing and the work of a store detective.
Our next meeting will be on 14th May when we will be holding a competition for the Burston Bowl, given in memory of Ann. This year we will be painting a still life, making a table decoration on a Jubilee theme and decorating cupcakes for a street party. We try to be topical!
We are going to Tissington for our picnic supper in May. We will be walking round the Well Dressings and getting inspiration for our own village one in June. We shall be supporting the local events over the Jubilee Celebrations and later in the month, 24th June, we will be hosting an evening with Colin Alderson who was once chef to the Royal Household. This will be at the Club and tickets for the talk and buffet will soon be on sale in the village. This year we will be visiting the Secret Garden in Little Haywood, owned by one of our speakers, Derek Higgott. I wonder if he will have any scarecrows!
We have been learning new skills, often inspired by our own members, and have enjoyed the hospitality of Kate Arnold’s monthly craft group. Some of us have had a go at watercolour painting, encouraged by our teacher, Diane Gharrie. If you would like to make new friends or learn a new skill, why not come along to one of our meetings as a visitor. You will be most welcome. Details of each meeting are on the noticeboard outside Starbuck’s or ring the secretary on 813833.
Spring is on its way and Rolleston WI has made lots of plans for an exciting 2012. In early March we have a cheese and wine evening, and later in the month we will be hosting the Guest Editors from WI Life; four ladies from Sandon WI. April brings a special Jubilee Dinner and Cabaret at Hanbury, where we will join with other WIs in our group to celebrate this special anniversary. In May we will be travelling to Tissington to look at the well dressings and hopefully get some tips for the one in our own village. During the summer we plan to visit the Secret Garden of Derek Higgott, who was one of our speakers last April. Colin Alderson, a former Chef to the Royal Households, will be our guest speaker on 24th June at Rolleston Club. Our visitor will tell us about his work in the kitchens of Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle. Tickets will be on sale in the village. Following this Royal theme, our September outing will be to Buckingham Palace to see a special exhibition of the Queen’s jewels.
Since the last Rollestonian was published, we have been busy with village events and our own meetings. We would like to thank everyone who supported our Christmas Fair in November. It was a lovely atmosphere and we raised over £1000 towards our funds. Some members went to see Matthew Bourne’s production of The Nutcracker Ballet in Stoke. It was certainly different but very entertaining. Some of us have learned new crafts, knitted hand puppets for the Barbara Reynolds Plate Competition and spent a weekend away in Oxford.
Our Committee has planned an interesting and well balanced programme for the new season to suit a variety of interests. Why not come along to one of our meetings as a visitor and make some new friends? We meet at 7.15pm on the first Monday of the month at the John of Rolleston Primary School. Look at the village notice board for details or ring the secretary on 813833.
J.Phillips
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Last updated: 27 December 2012