 |
|
As we change the clocks and look forward to the season of spring, our WI begins its own seasonal renewal. We held the Annual Meeting in March and elected a committee of twelve members. Verity Conner was re-elected as President. The new programme of speakers has been planned and we have lots of ideas for outings and theatre visits.
Much has already happened in 2018.We have been inspired by the scouts of Rolleston to keep our skills up to date on our iPads and phones. Two Teams travelled to Stafford for the County Quiz. Both teams did well but we must congratulate Team A for getting top marks and winning the Knighton Shield again. We even appeared in WI Life! The Art Group continues to meet every Thursday and some of us have been busy knitting premature baby clothes which will be sent to Malawi or give to local hospitals. This year the Barbara Reynolds Plate for knitting was won by Helen Barnett. Helen is our Group co-ordinator and she has been especially busy organizing a Celebration Dinner at The Pavilion, Branston. About a hundred WI ladies came together to celebrate 70 years of the Forest and Vale Group with a lovely meal and after dinner speaker Joanne Golby.We even had transport laid on. We have enjoyed good speakers at our monthly meetings and learned about being dementia friendly, the donna louise and Calke Abbey. We held an enjoyable Scrabble Evening with the winner receiving the Helen Howard Trophy. Congratulations to Barbara Evans who won it this year.
Coffee Mornings are popular and we were very pleased to see so many people at our charity event to support the “Time for Cake” WI. Thank you for your support and for buying our cakes. We were honoured to be asked by the County to provide the flowers for the Speaker’s Table at the Spring Council Meeting. Congratulations to Jilly, Elaine and Avril for the lovely arrangements for the Group meal and the showground. Our season of outings is already underway with a tour of Casterne Hall and tea. It was an interesting visit and quite a testing drive. We are about to go to Leeds for a weekend away and are planning visits to a garden, the theatre and an outing with refreshments. Of course, we would like better weather but the spring flowers are making a great display in the school waiting area, thanks to our keen gardeners, and there is always hope.
If you like the sound of our WI and would like to find out more, please come along as a visitor and you will be made welcome. We meet on the first Monday of the month at 7.15pm at the John of Rolleston School, Chapel Lane. Otherwise ring the secretary on 813833 for details or ask a member.
Jenny Phillips
The WI movement had its roots in Canada but began here in 1915, becoming the largest women’s voluntary organisation in the country. It has developed and modernised over the years but has kept to its original mission of education and sharing of skills. We are carrying on in the true WI tradition as best we can. Our evening with Churchill featuring Derek Herbert was both informative and enjoyable, especially with the bar and buffet. Thank you to everyone who helped with the Christmas Fair at the Club or came along to support us. It always makes a good start to the season. Some of us used our crafting skills to make decorations for the WI Christmas tree for the Advent festival. The knitted fruit was amazing.The weeks before Christmas were busy in many ways, including a visit to Tissington Hall to see the decorations followed by lunch. We had our Christmas dinner at the Boar’s Head this year. We always design our own Christmas party. The weather was cold but the school was warm, the food was excellent and the entertainment kept us amused. Our December meeting followed the usual pattern of good speaker, drinks and mince pies. We sang carols and passed round the tin for St Giles.
We have had a good variety of speakers recently with talks on Weleda and Laura Ashley and making silver jewellery.Thank you to the WI ladies who used their gardening skills, planting up the small bed at the front of the junior school next to the bench. We look forward to admiring it in the spring.We also enjoyed a technology evening with some of the scouts. It was good to see the different generations getting on so well. Our thoughts turn to spring 2018. In March we are hosting a dinner and speaker at Branston Golf Club to mark the 70th year of our WI Group. Two teams are entering the annual quiz in Stafford. We will be knitting items for premature babies and exercising our brains with a scrabble competition. After all this effort we can enjoy a weekend away in Leeds in April with plenty of free time to look around. We invite you to:
Soroptimist’s Coffee Morning 27th January in Rolleston Club for the Student
Award Fund, tickets £1, 10am to 12 noon
W.I. Coffee Morning at Scouts HQ 26th February 10am to 12 noon
If you would like to try our WI, we meet at 7.15pm on the first Monday of the month at John of Rolleston School, Chapel lane. Please ring the secretary on 813833 for more information or just come along. You will be most welcome.
Return to WI Home Page
Last updated: 20 May 2018