Members had been totally engrossed in this talk and it was with some surprise we realised how quickly the time had passed. Ann departed following a vote of thanks given by Debbie Weaver and rather later than usual we commenced our business meeting.
On this occasion the Business Meeting was preceded by our guest speaker, Ann Cummings. Ann is an experienced and highly qualified graphologist having spent many years studying her subject. She talked to us for some while about the history of graphology, what it involves and how much information could be gleaned from an individual’s handwriting. Following this she took samples of handwriting from some members whose identity was initially not revealed. After interpretations several members owned to their writing and invariably Ann’s interpretation, (always positive of course!) appeared to be correct.
Members had been totally engrossed in this talk and it was with some surprise we realised how quickly the time had passed. Ann departed following a vote of thanks given by Debbie Weaver and rather later than usual we commenced our business meeting. A beautiful evening in the garden at Old Court was the setting for the June meeting, Jubilee party and the 75th anniversary of our WI. Thank you everyone who organised the great event and who attended.
.Staunton on Arrow WI shimmied to Shakira with Alanya Bellydance. Alanya was very gentle and patient with us, taking us through some basic moves. Our members thoroughly enjoyed the evening.
Third time lucky we were able to have our member Debbie Weaver demonstrate the techniques of dotty tool folk art. Everyone was able to decorate their heart with roses, hearts and dots and take away a piece of creative art. Debbie Stokes in her first meeting as President gave the vote of thanks. It was also the first meeting for the new secretary Wendy and the new treasurer Claire.
As this was the Annual Meeting of our WI the main business was the election of the new committee and the President. Therefore the new committee for the upcoming year will be:
President: Debbie Stokes Treasurer: Claire Brown Correspondence Secretary: Wendy Williams Minutes Secretary: Vanessa Woodward Alison Lord Gill Busby Annette Gardiner Non-Committee Roles: Raffle – Sharon Morris and Ann Fairbrother Programme Planners: Debbie Stokes and Annette Gardiner Lunch/Supper club organiser: Becky Bissell The original plan for the evening’s entertainment had been a demonstration of Folk Art by Debbie Weaver. Unfortunately, however, Debbie had tested positive for COVID and could not therefore attend. Once again, Debbie Stokes in her capacity as “mistress of innovation”, had managed to fill the gap, first with a list of quotes by influential women who members were asked to identify. Secondly, a “getting to know you” session. With several new members this proved both useful for those of us who have problems remembering names and interesting to learn a little of the views, lifestyle and interests of those we enjoy spending our monthly meetings with but often know so little about. The chat became quite animated and eventually Debbie had to bring this part of the evening to a close by reminding everyone of our bring and share supper First meeting of 2022 as the January meeting was cancelled due the resurgence of Covid.
The original plan for the evening had been a demonstration by Debbie Weaver. It was therefore rather unfortunate that Debbie, having been in close contact with someone who had tested positive for COVID had to cancel. Debbie Stokes however, flew to the rescue at very short notice and organised a tasting evening – a quiz that involved members, in teams of two or three, tasting three samples of a variety of snacks etc (and toilet paper) and deciding which one was the most expensive. Thanks to Debbie for all her hard work. She, with the help of Annette, undoubtedly spent a lot of time arranging this quiz. Thank you Debbie. Our Bring & Share supper followed. As a result of the time spent tasting members did not have th usual appetite for this but vast quantities of tea were drunk and time to catch up on the latest news was appreciated. Members had been quite liberally supplied with mulled wine prior to this meeting and were
therefore in good spirits for the talk and demonstration of willow weaving by Alisha Davidson that followed. It was interesting to learn about the different colours and types of willow used and to see examples of some really beautiful woven baskets that will have inspired some of the craftswomen amongst us. Everyone managed to make their own reasonably successful woven Christmasdecoration – a small Christmas Tree which might well take pride of place within the table decoration. A vote of thanks was given following this demonstration. Members were then able to enjoy a very convivial Christmas themed supper. Di Sawyer demonstration of Encaustic Art
Di Sawyer, a member, gave us a most interesting and inspiring talk about the ancient of Encaustic art. This uses solid beeswax blocks that have been dyed with strong natural pigments and when melted (with a travel iron or an encaustic art iron) can be used to create the most amazing and beautiful pictures. Di uses photo paper mainly as the shiny surface is most appropriate for the beeswax. Di’s ability to create beautiful pictures so quickly was stunning. Di started the art form after seeing a demonstration at her former WI and she attended a Federation workshop and a Denman course. She has developed her skills over many years and regularly gives demonstrations to WIs. It was a most fascinating talk. Cerian Stokes gave the vote of thanks. After a very short business meeting Sarah welcomed three long retired members of the SAS. There followed an excellent presentation and talk on the history of the regiment, its operations as far back as WW2 in North Africa, then during the Malayan Emergency, the Dhofar/Oman war, Aden, Mogadishu, the Iranian Embassy siege, Falklands War, and Northern Ireland. No-one could fail to be impressed by the those involved in these actions, all of whom accept terrifying situations as a way of life. Our speakers were unassuming and seemed unaware that they had lived a rather exceptional life. Nonetheless perhaps they still missed the excitement. After such an extraordinary life it seemed just a little strange to see them enjoying our bring and share supper, totally at ease and in no hurry to dash away.
After our business meeting there followed an interesting talk on the history of the RNLI by Patrick Edwards. Patrick has served in an educational capacity for the organisation for many years and was very informative, taking us back to the days of Grace Darling. He showed videos of various rescues. To say these were alarming is an understatement and left some of us feeling decidedly seasick. Those that volunteer for this service deserve the respect and support of us all.
Sarah thanked Patrick for a very informative talk. Members quickly recovered from any seasickness and were able to enjoy the usual bring and share supper with a chance to catch up on news. |
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