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Rolleston W.I. took a break over August but some ladies met up for Tea on the River Trent. We also had a trip to see the musical “Cats” at the Regent Theatre. We would like to thank all the members who helped with the Gala and everyone who took time to enter various classes. Congratulations to those who were successful. On the first Monday in September we gathered in the John of Rolleston school hall to renew friendships and exchange news. On a hot and humid evening, breaking with the traditional speaker, we listened to an informal guitar recital by Ron Thomas. This month we were so inspired by a talk by David Slade on the architect Pugin that we intend to visit St. Giles, the Catholic Church in Cheadle, to see his marvellous work for ourselves.
Although Christmas is still a good way off we have already started planning.
W I Christmas Fair
Rolleston Club
Saturday 19th November 2 to 4pm.
Please come along and bring your friends. You may find a seasonal present or a decoration. The tea and cakes are always delicious and if you are lucky you may also catch a glimpse of Father Christmas.
Our members have a chance to go to Cheshire Oaks for Christmas shopping, experience an aura of seasonal mystery at Tissington Hall or enjoy the traditional Nutcracker Ballet in Birmingham. We are a friendly crowd and there is something for every taste. Talking of TASTE we have not neglected to book a seasonal meal and plan a party for our members to enjoy.
Coffee Morning
Rolleston Club
Saturday morning the 21st January.
We need to raise money for Denman, our own W.I. Residential College, which is in need of some TLC. Everyone is welcome.
Several of us went to the Autumn Council Meeting in October where we heard two excellent speakers: John Kettley, former weather man and Becci Bryant, Staffordshire’s new Chief Fire Officer who was truly inspirational. It was a shock to hear that our SFWI chairman, Sheila Moulton, was standing down due to personal circumstances. She will be a hard act to follow.
If you are interested in what we do, please come along to one of our meeting as a visitor at 7.15pm on the first Monday of the month. Ring our secretary on 813833 for details. You will be most welcome.
J. Phillips
When I wrote for the Rollestonian the last time, the sun was shining and I was full of optimism for a lovely summer ahead. So far those idyllic summer days have been outnumbered by the cloudy, damp and humid ones. Still, the members of Rolleston W.I. are very stoical and enjoy each outing as it comes along. We visited The Secret Garden at Little Hayward and enjoyed the venue and the tea and cake. Members have also visited Repton for a walk and more cake! We are looking forward to an evening at the Cascades Garden near Bonsall where we will take our own delicious WI supper (all homemade). In August a group of us will go on a cruise on the R. Trent; beat that for convenience!
Congratulations go to Barbara Michael who won the Scrabble Trophy and Verity Conner who was awarded the Ann Burston Bowl for her baking. We have had some interesting speakers recently. Ann Stewart brought along her Tango costumes which she had made for her final exhibition at Derby University. She told us all about the history of the Argentinian Tango and even brought her husband along to demonstrate the steps. Last month we welcomed the Chocolate Tailor who tempered chocolate in her own kitchen and brought lots of samples to taste. During social time we have had amusing reports, quizzes, anagrams, competitions and discussions.
Many of us had strong views about the two AGM Resolutions this year: appropriate care in hospitals for Dementia Patients and avoiding food waste. In July we had our summer party. Our last meeting concluded with strawberries and cream, a glass of wine and a display of art work from our resident artists. September brings new speakers, a visit to see Cats and a shopping trip to Cheshire Oaks. Our Christmas Fair will be on Saturday 19th November at Rolleston Club. We would like you to come along and enjoy the afternoon.
Our members are very loyal to the W.I. and can be relied on to support many village events. Thank you to all those ladies who have baked cakes, served teas, washed up and sold raffle tickets to raise money for many worthwhile causes. We are a friendly lot and enjoy each other’s company. If you would like to come to our next meeting to see what we are like join us on Monday 5th September 7.15pm at the John of Rolleston Primary School. Please ring the secretary on 813833 for more information.
This time of year always feels like a new beginning to me rather than the cold dark days of January. Our new W.I. year also began in March with the election of the President, Sue Fraser, the new committee and a new season of speakers. We have already welcomed Richard Winterton of Lichfield Auctioneers to our meeting and found out which heirlooms are selling well (or are totally out of fashion). Bob Phillip gave us a fascinating talk on whisky but only the chosen few got to sample them. We enjoyed a fish and chip supper in February. There were some beautiful scarves entered for the Barbara Reynolds Plate. This year it was won by Heather Riley. We do enjoy the odd quiz at our meetings and something good must have rubbed off on us. We entered two teams for the County Quiz and both did well. After careful checking of the papers, our Rolleston A team were joint winners of the Knighton Shield. This year several of us went to the Spring Council Meeting at the Showground. The afternoon speaker was Dave Heeley, who was totally inspiring, and we gave Barbara Michael a big cheer as she received her certificate for 50 years of WI membership.
Manchester was our venue for our weekend away in February. There was a wide variety of places to visit, we had a meal together and our Swiftsure driver took us to Salford Quays on Sunday to finish off a lovely weekend. We enjoyed it so much we are already planning the next one. The summer months give us a chance to do a Garden Visit, an evening out with refreshments, a theatre visit to see Hairspray and our ever popular summer party. We are a creative lot; our art group meets weekly and we are busy baking cakes for St Giles and other village events. Our competition in May for the Ann Burston Bowl is on a cooking theme so we are hoping for some tasty flapjacks, chocolate brownies and cheese scones mmh!
Our new programme looks so interesting with a variety of talks from the Argentine Tango to Pugin. If you would like to find out more, come along as a visitor on the first Monday of the Month and you will be very welcome. Otherwise give our secretary a ring on 813833 or look on the village noticeboard for details.
Jenny Phillips
The W.I. movement has had a wonderful year celebrating its Centenary. Nationally we had a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace, the AGM was streamed live from the Albert Hall and Calendar Girls was performed over Christmas on “The Archers”. Here in Rolleston we did our bit. We marked our 80th birthday in February and then set off to achieve our personal and institute challenges, all based around one hundred. Between our members we have, so far, visited over a hundred tea rooms, walked a hundred miles and collected a hundred bras for charity. For our Federation Trustees Challenge we held a coffee morning in October and presented The John of Rolleston School with a cheque to purchase a school bench. Apart from all this activity we have been meeting every month, listened to interesting speakers and enjoyed a visit to Tissington Hall where we were shown round by Sir Richard FitzHerbert himself. Thank you to everyone who supported our Christmas Fair. We hope you enjoyed it. Chris Knight entertained us at the last meeting of the year and we had mince pies and wine and then sang carols a cappella whilst collecting money for St Giles. The Party went with a swing. This year we awarded extra team points for wearing seasonal hats and ear-rings. The food was “in house” and delicious. Lorna Thompson involved everyone in “It’s a Knockout” which was great fun.
Our first meeting of the New Year was busy and Inga Brendsteun showed us her beautiful traditional costumes from Norway and explained their meanings. Luckily Diane Johns was small enough to model them for us.
We will be defending our County Quiz title in February and some members will be off to Manchester for a weekend break. Later on we will be going to see Hairspray at the Regent Theatre. Our new season of speakers begins in April after our Annual Meeting and we have quite a varied programme. If you would like to come along as a visitor you will be very welcome.
We meet at 7.15pm on the first Monday of the month at the John of Rolleston School, Chapel Lane. Please ring the secretary on 530824 if you would like to know more.
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Last updated: 1 December 2016