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Planning ahead seems to be a good idea, especially for the easy flow of events from season to season. Autumn and winter bring traditional days which are both familiar but hopefully not too predictable. We enjoyed our summer break but managed to meet up for lunch at the Boar’s Head. Also, thank you to the ladies who supported the Village Gala, entered the classes or helped on the day. We always learn from our experienced judges. September began well with an outing to the Bluebell Ice Cream farm, where we had a very interesting talk, tea and cake and lots of samples. The award winning Liquorice ice-cream was delicious! Avril invited members to her house where they made bouquets of flowers and foliage which were given out round the village with the hope of brightening someone’s day. This was a lovely idea which was well received. “Anyone for Scrabble?” This game gets the old grey cells working as well as being a lot of fun. Our group met for a social evening of scrabble before going on to compete for the trophy. We have booked theatre visits to see Joseph in Stoke and Around the World in 80 days in Derby. There will be days out at County Events like Markets Day, the Group meeting and the Carol Service in Lichfield. We sometimes go by coach but are very grateful to our members who drive and give lifts to others. We couldn’t do so much without them.
Our seasonal events begin with an evening at the Rolleston Scout HQ on 28th October where you can meet Derek Herbert portraying Winston Churchill. Tickets cost £8 each including supper and there will be a bar. Ring Verity on 813414 for tickets.
Our traditional Christmas Fair is earlier this year on 11th November in the Club, opening at 2pm. There will be lots of stalls and games so please come along and get into the festive mood.
Continuing with this theme, we will be having our own party, an outing to Tissington Hall to experience Beauty and the Beast and our Christmas dinner at the Boar’s Head in December.
If you like the sound of our W.I. and what is on offer, please come along to one of our meetings where you will be most welcome. We meet at 7.15pm on the first Monday of the month at The John of Rolleston School, Chapel Lane. You can ring the secretary for details on 813833.
Jenny Phillips, Secretary
We have enjoyed our meetings this summer and done our best to reflect the season. In May we had a coach outing to see Sister Act in Stoke then in June a group visit to Leicester and went to the Richard III visitor centre. Some members spent money in the Fair Trade shop during a trip to Ashby and others enjoyed the beautiful NGS Garden in Swadlincote on a lovely sunny evening. You may have seen our entry in the flowerpot competition on Gardens Sunday “The Trumps Take Tea with Rolleston W.I.” Later in July we enjoyed strawberries and cream at our meeting followed by the legendary Summer Party on the 9th and then an outing by coach to see the cascade of poppies at the Silk Mill in Derby and a homemade supper in Markeaton Park. August promises to be rather quiet although we may manage a quick lunch before we go to the Bluebell icecream farm in September.
Our summer speakers have entertained us with hand crafted bags, well known superstitions and the use and misuse of language. The W.I. is still upholding the traditional skills and we held our competition for the Cath Gamble Plate. There were several entries of coasters, needle cases and watercolours and the winner this year was Liz Murphy. Liz was also our group representative at the AGM in Liverpool. We debated issues about this year’s resolutions; alleviating loneliness and the problem of plastic microfibers in the food chain, and hope to promote these issues in the media. Looking towards the next season we have an interesting programme of speakers and events starting on September 4th with the history of perfume.
We will be welcoming Derek Hibbert to Rolleston in the guise of Sir Winston Churchill. This will be an interesting evening with a bar and refreshments at the Scout HQ on 28th October. Look out for tickets on sale in September. We also have our Christmas Fair on 11th November in the Club between 2 and 4pm.There will be plenty of Christmas bargains as well as games and refreshments so please come along and enjoy the afternoon.
We would like to congratulate our President, Verity Conner, on her success in completing her training and becoming an official W.I. Adviser. Well done Verity!
We are a friendly group of ladies who enjoy our monthly meetings and outings. If you would like to come along as a visitor, we meet on the first Monday of the month at the John of Rolleston Primary School, Chapel Lane at 7.15pm Just come along or ring the secretary for details on 813833.
As I was reading through the Spring Rollestonian, it only seems five minutes since we were in the New Year, planning for 2017. Our speakers, competitions and visits were all in place and I am delighted to say we are enjoying them all. We held our Annual Meeting in March. It was all change as our President, Sue Fraser, and most of the committee were due to stand down and the future looked uncertain. We now have a new but experienced President, Verity Conner, and a different committee and the future of our W.I. is in safe hands. This year we have already enjoyed interesting speakers. We have been reminded about the importance of making and reviewing our wills and we had a very informative talk about Help for Heroes, whilst squeezing in a fish and chip supper in February. Lorna has planned our programme with great care, ensuring we have something for everybody and we will be very pleased to welcome Sue Willmot to our next meeting but the title of her talk remains an enigma.
Our ladies are very talented and like to keep busy. The Art Group continues to flourish and we have made cakes for St. Giles. The Barbara Reynolds plate for a knitted bobble hat was won by Ruth Parker. We have the Cath Gamble Plate for different crafts coming up soon so we need lots of entries ladies! Last month two Quiz Teams travelled to Stafford for the County Quiz. Both teams did well and we were delighted to find that our A Team had won the Knighton Shield again! In April we had a coach visit to Bath and Bristol, staying in a lovely hotel near the city centre. The weather was perfect and we had a super weekend with lots to see. The summer months will give us the opportunity to get out and about. There will be a Group visit to Leicester in June. Rolleston W.I. will be enjoying a beautiful garden, having an evening out with refreshments, visiting the theatre to see Sister Act and catering for our Summer Party.
If you would like to find out more, come along as a visitor on the first Monday of the month. We meet at 7.15pm at the John of Rolleston School, Chapel Lane. Otherwise ring the secretary on 813833 for details or look on the village noticeboard.
Jenny Phillips
The year 2017 has heralded great political changes in the world. Our W.I. members are also facing change with a new Staffordshire Chairman, Helen Newman, who is a member of Alrewas and Shenstone W.I. It would be good to see more of her in this part of the County. We are also looking for volunteers to join our Committee as the majority of the ladies are standing down after three years’ service. We would like to thank them for making our meetings and social times so enjoyable. Looking back over the last three months, we have visited Tissington Hall to experience Tales of Enchantment, shopped in Cheshire Oaks and had a tour of St. Giles Catholic Church in Cheadle, sung carols in Lichfield Cathedral and watched the magical Nutcracker Ballet in Birmingham: certainly something for everyone! It was lovely to see so many children at our Christmas Fair and the beautiful decorations and Father Christmas made it more exciting. Thank you for your interest and support. We raised money for a bench at the John of Rolleston School and it is now in place at the front of the Alderbrook site with a plaque to mark our W.I. centenary gift. Please make use of it if you are waiting for children. Our programme for the year is already in place with lots of interesting speakers. The quiz teams are ready to compete in Stafford and there will be a weekend away in Bath and Bristol in April. Our artists will be back to their painting and others are knitting hats for a charity. The National Federation are running the Climate Change Campaign and all Staffordshire W.I.s will support it. We have really good ideas to raise awareness publically to the threat of climate change and there are lots of actions which we can think about at home. The WI is known for its campaigning on issues which affect our daily lives.
If you would like to come along to one of our meetings you will be very welcome.
We meet at 7.15pm on the first Monday of the month at the John of Rolleston School in Chapel Lane. Our Annual meeting will be on 6th March and we will have a speaker.
Please ring the Secretary on 813833 for more details.
Jenny Phillips
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Last updated: 14 November 2017