Friday 24th May:  WI walk, leaving The Ridings at 9am.  Details from Diane Steele.

Saturday 1st June:  NFWI AGM in Cardiff.

Tuesday 4^th June: (1) Trip to Lowden Garden Centre, followed by 2pm Foxglove Tour at the botanic nursery at Atworth (National Foxglove Week).  Details from Sally Isom.
(2) Committee meeting at Jenny Hayne's.

Tuesday 11th June: WI meeting - Brenda Spenceley will give a talk entitled Olympic Games Maker. The competition is for Olympic memorabilia or photo.

Thursday 13th June:  Trip to Box Steam Brewery, 7pm.

W/C 24th June:  WI Walk lead by Viv Penney.

Tuesday 25^th June: Afternoon tea at Chavenage House, 2pm.  £13 to include admission, tour, tea/coffee and homemade cake. Guests welcome. Details from Sally Isom.

Tuesday 2nd July: (1) Trip to Hidcote near Chipping Campden. Details from Sally Isom.
(2) Committee meeting at Kay Sambell's.

Thursday 4th July:  Trip to Marshfield Farm Ice Cream, 2.30pm.

Tuesday 9th July: WI meeting - All Tied Up: Scarf Tying with Anne Fisher (please bring one long and one square scarf).  The competition is for an unusual scarf.

Sunday 14th July: Buffet lunch.

Saturday 3rd August: Annual flower and produce show.

Tuesday 13th August: Trip to Newton House near Yeovil, 12 noon.

Tuesday  10th September: WI meeting - How to make handcrafted chocolates with Deanna Deburgh.  The competition is for memories of childhood sweets.

Tuesday  24th September: Skittles Evening.

Tuesday  8th October: WI meeting - Keith Shepherd will give a talk entitled Old Houses in Wiltshire.  The competition is My Favourite House (photo/words).

Saturday 12th October:  Gallop & Gourmet Evening.

Monday 21st October:  WFWI Annual Council Meeting - Salisbury City Hall.

Wednesday 23rd October: John Aubrey Group meeting at St Peters Hall, Chippenham.

Tuesday 12th November:  WI meeting -  talk by Sam Stork entitled Clearing Rivers of Invasive Species.  The competition is for a list of river-related songs.

Sunday 8th December: Drinks and nibbles.

Tuesday 10th December:  WI meeting - How to Make a Miniature Christmas Tree, with David Taylor.  The competition is for a handmade Christmas tree.

Tuesday 14th January: WI meeting - "Location, Location, Location" with Lynda Warren.  The competition is "KSM could be a location for…".

Tuesday 11th February: WI meeting - Charlotte Popescu will talk on  keeping hens in the garden.  The competition is "With ½ dozen eggs I would..".

Tuesday 18th February: Video evening.

Tuesday 11th March: WI meeting - AGM with the election of President & Committee, annual report & financial statement.  The competition is for a spring cleaning tip.

Tuesday 8th April: WI meeting - Maureen Hinton talks on pots for the patio.  The competition is for a spring flower arrangement.

April (tbc):  John Aubrey Group meeting.

WI News 2013

May ~  The May meeting dealt with the resolution to be debated at the National Federation Annual General Meeting at Cardiff in June. The resolution, noting the continuing decline of our high streets and the damaging effect this has on local communities, was proposed by Sue Wilcock. It calls on members to make the high street their first choice for goods and services and on decision makers to work collectively to ensure the future prosperity of our town centres. The Chairman of Cherish Chippenham, Melody Thompson, joined us and explained how they are working to try to keep the centre of our town alive. After an unsuccessful application to the Mary Portas scheme, the local traders are joining together to enable Chippenham to become a Business Improvement District. She welcomed the support of the WI resolution. The meeting gave its support to the resolution with the added proviso of discretion for our delegate at the AGM. We then enjoyed light refreshments of cheese and pate whilst taxing our brains with an intriguing food quiz.

~ Daffodils!  Following an approach from KSM WI, Wales & West have donated £100 towards the purchase of new daffodil bulbs to reinstate the grass bank by The Ridings. They have been most helpful and, following discussions, cleared some of the large stones that had come to the surface, replaced the topsoil and reseeded the bank as well as giving the donation.

April ~  The speaker at our April meeting was Keith Conway, a serving prison officer at Erlstoke Prison. His subject “The Work of a Prison Officer” was very enlightening. He told us that he had joined the service in 1989 at Shepton Mallet prison but had moved on to Erlstoke in 1991. At present there are 132 prisons in England and Wales and 80,000 prisoners, with a further 2,000 tagged on Home Detention Curfew. We learnt about the four categories of prisoners, their work and pay, their food and their education. The most worrying statistic was the fact that in future the ratio for prison officers to prisoners will be 1 to 30, making the job even more difficult. Keith ended his talk by telling us about his work with prisoner’s families and his visits to schools in an effort to prevent an increase in the prison population.

March ~  WI Dinner:  This year the WI annual dinner was held on the 19^th March at Chippenham Golf Club. Thirty four members enjoyed an excellent three course dinner followed by tea and coffee in the brand new club house. It was a very pleasant evening with the added bonus of seeing the new golf club premises at first hand.

~  At the Annual Meeting of the WI various Bye Laws were adopted and a new committee was elected.  Those standing down were thanked for their hard work and new members were introduced to the meeting.  Jenny Hayne was re-elected as President.  The Committee’s Annual Report and Treasurer’s Report were both approved and, in the President’s address, we heard that, following another very successful year, membership had now risen to 61.  The Denman Bursary was won by Diane Steel and the Betty Wiggins Rose Bowl was awarded to Mary Humphreys for the most competition points over the past year.  Our chosen charity for 2013 is Village Link.

February ~  At last we could walk!! After three months of cancelled walks due to weather conditions, 20 walkers enjoyed the February walk. We started in Bradford-on-Avon, passing historic buildings and grand mansions and great views over the River Avon. A gentle incline brought us to the hamlet of Turleigh with large fine Bathstone houses and pretty quarrymen’s cottages, leading on to Winsley where an unusual curved stone squeeze stile lead us on to a path with stunning views over the valley towards Limpley Stoke and eventually dropping down to the Kennet & Avon Canal. A short walk took us to Avoncliff and the Cross Guns for our lunch. Then a brisk walk along the towpath where we were thrilled to see a kingfisher on the opposite side of the canal. We passed the 14th century tithe barn and returned to Bradford-on-Avon.

WI walk at Bradford-on-Avon, February 2013
(Photo courtesy of Jenny Hayne)

~ At February's meeting Veronica Shaw recounted how, feeling ready for a new challenge as her family grew up, she raised £25,000 and undertook a gruelling fitness campaign to enable her to take part in an attempt to complete the unfinished expedition to the South Pole started by explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton.  Along with a team of five she flew to South America on December 11th 2006.  The trip got off to a bad start when she and the other members of the team went down with food poisoning and their plane was delayed by bad weather, but on Christmas Eve they arrived on the Polar Plateau to start the journey.  Starting out in temperatures of below –35degC and wearing two layers of thermals, five pairs of gloves and two balaclavas as well as outer clothes, fur trimmed hoods, goggles and masks, Veronica was suffering with serious blisters on her feet by the time the team caught a glimpse of the South Pole on the horizon, but it was another eight hours before they eventually reached it on New Year’s Day.  Throughout the trek there was just a vast white space ahead, the only sounds were of wind and skis.  The team were fascinated to tour the Amundsen-Scott base, where 250 people live and work, before flying back to the Patriot Hills base for their return flight to Chile.  At first Veronica found it hard to adjust to normal life but now she has taken on a new challenge by starting up her own company Mums & Co. to support single mothers and their children.

January ~  We started the New Year with an entertaining talk by Michelle Harper entitled “Marilyn Monroe”. Michelle definitely looked the part with her blonde wig, white dress and white stilettos.  She shared her enthusiasm and wide knowledge of the film star, who had had a rather sad and difficult childhood.  During her career Marilyn took part in 30 films, had 44 affairs and 3 marriages, all of which ended in divorce.  She died in Los Angeles, in suspicious circumstances, in 1962, aged just 36.  Michelle also entertained us with part of her varied and extensive collection of Marilyn Monroe memorabilia ranging from photos and ornaments to a magnificent umbrella and a life-sized cardboard cut-out.

WI News 2012

December ~  We were delighted to welcome Peter Williams to our December meeting.  Known locally as “Piano Pete” he had stepped in at short notice when it was found that the choir we were expecting was double booked.  We were treated to a wonderful medley of music through the decades and this was followed by a very enjoyable session of carol singing.  As it was the 75^th anniversary of the Kington St Michael WI, we ended the evening with a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday”.  Our thanks go to Pete for making it such an enjoyable meeting. Finally, refreshments were served, including a delicious birthday cake and members received their “Secret Santa” gifts.

~ The WI had a stall at the village's Christmas Fayre on December 1st.

Sandra Grace, Margaret Pratley, Jenny Hayne & Louise Williams at the WI stall
at the Christmas Fayre on December 1st.

November ~  The subject of our November talk was “The Secret Lives of Garden Birds”.  Our speaker, John Cromarty, an ornithologist and biologist, had spent his whole life studying and working with birds in various parts of the world, including the Falkland Islands where he was engaged in the Skua Project.  With the aid of some outstanding photographs he entertained us with an insight into the lives of blue tits, great tits and the sparrow hawk.  We learnt that the territorial robin will fight an intruder to the death and that wrens roost together in large numbers in the winter to keep themselves warm.  We were also surprised to learn that both the swift and starling populations are in serious decline in this country as well as the house sparrow.  Finally, John encouraged us all to think about how best to help our native birds survive, particularly by feeding them during cold winters and putting up suitable nesting boxes ready for the spring.

October ~  WI Walk, 19.10.12: The day dawned misty with a hint that it might brighten up when 17 intrepid walkers left Willsbridge Mill car park. The path through the woods along Siston Brook was pleasant and we emerged to climb the steps up to the Bristol to Bath Railway path. No trains in sight but plenty of cyclists to run us over! We resisted the lure of Bitton Station and continued along the path until it met with the River Avon Trail. The river was very fast flowing but fortunately it hadn’t flooded the path so we were able to amble along the pathway past a former corn and brass mill, part of the Avon Wharf, to the marina where many narrow boats were moored for the winter. En route we met another group of walkers doing a similar route but in reverse! Just in time we chanced upon the Lockkeepers Inn where we recharged our batteries over lunch. We continued past the Lock and the Fry’s Chocolate Factory and across the fields back to Willsbridge Mill. It was a long walk but as it was flat everyone agreed it was a very pleasant way to spend a Friday.

~  At the October meeting, Kim Western, the Manager of Lakeland in Bath, regaled us with humorous anecdotes and gossip from her 17 years with the company, whilst demonstrating various kitchen gadgets. The business, which began in Windermere in the 1960s with a mail order catalogue and progressed to stands at agricultural shows, has now grown to 60 stores throughout the country and a head office employing 3,000 staff. Whilst telling us about the company, Kim managed to bake cupcakes in the new silicone bakeware range and demonstrate how easy it is to use a gadget for preparing a pineapple, right through to cutting it into small chunks and one for de-stoning a mango. It would seem that Lakeland has the right piece of equipment for every household task and much more too.

~ The WI's annual buffet lunch raised £625 for Wiltshire Air Ambulance, which was presented to the charity on September 11th.  The group also made £160 from the Flower & Produce show.

September ~ Twenty walkers and friends enjoyed a seven and a half mile walk starting at Corsham Church. A stroll across Corsham Park, with beautiful views of the lake on our right, brought us to a lane and then field tracks lead us into the hamlet of Easton. Old stone stiles and lanes lead us to Byde Mill and onto Gastard, passing old farm houses, quaint cottages and St John the Baptist Church, eventually reaching the Harp and Crown for lunch. A lane and track brought us back to Corsham Park, this time on the other side of the lake.

~  Villager, Malcolm Jago, gave us a fascinating talk on the History of Bath which he illustrated with a collection of slides. We learnt that Bath is the only World Heritage City in England and during the evening Malcolm proceeded to give us an insight into life in Bath from Anglo-Saxon times, to the coming of the Romans and then on to the Georgian and Victorian periods. The three key figures in the history of the city are Ralph Allen, the postmaster and mayor, who owned the bath stone quarry; Beau Nash, who was famous for organizing the entertainment for Bath society in the Georgian era and John Nash and his son, who were responsible for the magnificent architecture of Bath using the beautiful stone quarried on the hillside. At the end of the talk we all felt that we would see Bath through fresh eyes on our next visit.

August ~  Summer weather was not in our favour for the August walk; leaden skies and outbursts of rain were with us from the start at West Ashton.
The walk was very peaceful, with beautiful views of the Wiltshire Downs.  We followed flat paths around fields of wheat and along ancient tracks of the West Wilts Way, White Horse Trail and quiet lanes. We approached the old part of Steeple Ashton with its striking church, picturesque cottages and a lock-up on The Green.  Broad country tracks and footbridges over small streams eventually brought us back to West Ashton via the hamlet of East Town.

July ~ WI Walk – Great Bedwyn.  The weather on Friday was perfect; not too hot with a hint of a breeze. Eighteen of us met up in The Cross Keys (opened especially for us) in Great Bedwyn for coffee. We set a brisk pace along the canal path stopping to watch the heron and the kingfishers and admire the flowers on the narrow boats. A detour to Crofton Pumping Station allowed the engineers amongst us to indulge in thoughts of times gone past. Across the field to the beautiful village of Wilton and our lunch stop at The Swan. After lunch we stopped to pet the llamas in the field they shared with two horses and a cow before heading up the hill to the restored windmill. From here we took a detour across a farmer’s field when it was realised that we’d missed the proper path, but no problem as it picked up the path through Bedwyn Brail. Another detour followed allowing us to pass through a not so picturesque junk yard but the canal was just along the road and we all made in back to the cars after buying the weekend bread in the local bakery.

At Great Bedwyn, 27th July '12
(Photo courtesy of Jenny Hayne)

~ Jo Pocock from Hestercombe Gardens in Somerset was our speaker at the July meeting. The gardens are situated on the southern slopes of the Quantock Hills with wonderful views over the vale of Taunton. With the aid of slides, Jo told us about the history of the gardens and the reclamation of the Victorian terrace and shrubbery. However, the most interesting part of the lecture centred on the restoration of the Edwardian garden, designed by Sir Edward Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll between 1904 and 1908. Much of this had been made possible by the discovery of original plans found stuffed into a drawer in the potting shed, where they had lain undisturbed for 70 years. The pictures of the beautiful gardens whetted our appetites for a proper visit to see the restoration of Hestercombe at first hand.

June ~ WI Walk.  The weather was very unsettled for the time of year but nevertheless 21 members and friends met on Minchinhampton Common for coffee before setting out on our walk.  The route took us through the centre of Minchinhampton and on to the picturesque Cotswold village of Box.  The rain was fairly constant during the morning as we made our way down through the woodland and on to Nailsworth, where we spotted some beautiful wild orchids.  From here we walked along the valley and through the pretty village of Watledge, before a steep climb up to Amberley.  At The Black Horse we had a welcome break for an excellent lunch.  The stroll back across the common, via Tom Long’s Post, was breezy but dry.

WI walk at Amberley, 22nd June 2012

~  At June's meeting Eunice Allcock, a volunteer who has worked for the Sidmouth Donkey Sanctuary for 32 years, came to tell us about the wonderful success of this charity started in Ottery St. Mary by Dr. Elisabeth Svendsen in 1973.  At present they are responsible for 8,000 neglected donkeys, many coming from as far afield as Ireland.  The Charity aims to re-home as many donkeys as possible, always in pairs, and then continues to monitor their care with annual inspections.  Donkeys are particularly good with children and there are several sanctuaries around the country where they are particularly proud of their work with disabled children.

May ~  The May walk circled from the Dundas Aqueduct and gave us varied scenery along the Midford and Avon Valleys, then through three pretty villages. After a delicious lunch at the Hop Pole at Limpley Stoke we walked along the Kennett & Avon Canal and Somerset Coal Canal back to the Canal Visitor Centre.

WI walk at the Dundas Aquaduct, 18th May 2012

~  The May meeting dealt with the resolution to be debated at the WI Annual Meeting at the Royal Albert Hall at the end of the month.  The resolution, calling for the employment of more midwives, was proposed by Pat Hunt.  It was felt that, in the present climate, it was not a very good resolution but after some discussion a majority decided to give it support, with the added proviso of discretion for our delegate at the AGM.  We then enjoyed light refreshments of cheese and pate whilst taxing our brains with a Diamond Jubilee quiz based on the 1950s.

April ~ WI walk, Monday 16th April: After coffee in the very busy Gordano Service Station, walkers and friends enjoyed a ramble through the Gordano Valley. Glorious bluebell and wild garlic carpeted woodland, then a steep climb brought us to Cadbury Camp Lane, with magnificent houses and gardens. A path between woodland and the M5 lead us on to the footbridge over the motorway. A picnic was enjoyed in the churchyard at St.Michael's Church, Clapton in Gordano, with great views across to Wales. Stiles, kissing gates, wild flowers and woodland eventually brought us to Towerhouse Lane which lead down to our start near Nailsea.

Walk in the Gordano Valley, 16th April 2012
(Photo courtesy of Jenny Hayne)

~  Our April speaker was Kathleen Danswan, an extremely talented needlewoman, who had been taught to embroider by her grandmother and then went on to learn dressmaking and tailoring at school.  Her enthusiasm for sewing was so great that, when her children had grown up, she embarked on a number of college courses ranging from embroidery to highly advanced textile work where she also learnt her remarkable design skills.  She brought a wonderful array of examples of her work with her, including the wedding dress made for her daughter, on which she had embroidered over 2000 beads and sequins, beautiful felt work inspired by her visits to Australia and North Africa, and the most exquisitely embroidered fish bowls.  She is now an expert in her field, a member of the Guild of Embroiders and gives lectures and talks as far afield as the USA.  Kathleen’s enthusiasm for her subject was infectious and we all thoroughly enjoyed looking at her beautiful work.

March ~  It was a rather cloudy day for our March ramble in the Cotswolds, when 17 members and friends met at the Lechlade Garden Centre for coffee before driving to Southrop to begin our walk.  We left the village across the fields and followed the River Leach for a while, where we spotted some clumps of bright yellow marsh marigolds.  We left the river and walked across fields and through woodland until we rejoined the stream on the Hatherop Estate.  After crossing a wonderful old slab footbridge we headed for the villages of Eastleach Turville and Eastleach Martin where the daffodils were in full bloom.  After visiting both the local churches we enjoyed an excellent lunch at The Victoria Inn before making our way back to our cars in beautiful sunshine.

Cotswold walk, March 2012
(Photo courtesy of Jenny Hayne)

~ The Annual Meeting of the WI was held on March 13th, when the officers for the coming year were elected.  Viv Penney was thanked for all her hard work as President over the past three years and Jenny Hayne was elected to take her place.  Those committee members standing down were thanked and the new members welcomed.  The Denman Bursary was won by Christine Jago and the Betty Wiggins Rose Bowl was awarded to Jenny Hayne for the most competition points over the past year.  Various Bye Laws were adopted and the Treasurer’s Report and the Committee’s Annual Report were both approved by the meeting.

 February: ~ The coffee morning on Tuesday 28th February raised £161 in aid of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations .

~  Daffodils, primroses and an abundance of snowdrops were admired by the walkers during our Box walk.  We climbed gently out of Box to the high plateau, where we stopped to view the area where "Larkrise to Candleford" was filmed; this was the subject of the talk given by Michael Pope at our February meeting.  Lanes then brought us to a beautiful avenue of trees leading to Monkton Farleigh Manor, on through Monkton Farleigh village passing mellow stone cottages.  Several field tracks brought us out on a lane and The Swan for our delicious lunch.  Another hour’s walk followed, overlooking Box and the famous Box Tunnel, along the A4 and eventually to Devizes Road, the start of our walk. 

A view from the WI walk on 24th February '12
(Photo coutesy of Denise Skipp)

~  Local farmer, Mike Pope, gave an interesting insight into the making of the television series Lark Rise to Candleford, much of which took place on location at his farm. With the aid of slides we were able to follow the building of the village of Lark Rise, from scaffolding frames to completed ancient cottages. It took approximately six weeks, as every detail was carefully planned, even down to the importing of 100 tons of top soil and large trees to develop the gardens. The farmhouse was pressed into use as the vicarage and when filming eventually began, crews were on site from eight in the morning until seven at night. The indoor sets were filmed at studios in Yate and the area around nearby Neston House was transformed into Candleford. For approximately three years it was like having a large, happy family living alongside the farmhouse and when the site was eventually cleared in 2011 the only thing kept to remind them of the popular television drama was the village well.

January: ~  At January's meeting there were truly harrowing “Memories of Internment by the Japanese”.  Our speaker, Barbara Sowerby had been born in Hong Kong in 1935 and had enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle with her parents and siblings until Christmas 1941, when the Second World War arrived in the Far East.  As the Japanese began bombing Hong Kong, the family fled from their home and hid in various hotels until they were ultimately captured.  As her father and brothers became prisoners of war in Japan, Barbara and her mother were sent to Stanley internment camp, losing each other several times on the terrifying journey.  Thus began a harrowing 4 years of captivity with thousands of others.  From the age of 6 Barbara experienced extreme hunger, hardship, very limited schooling and the unending daily roll call to check for escapees.

Life eventually changed on August 15^th 1945 when the guards disappeared, the camp fell silent and the remaining internees were able to welcome the arrival of the liberating British soldiers.  Barbara aged 10 and weighing only 2½stone, set sail for England with her mother and was met at Liverpool by a kindly uncle from Somerset.  The family was eventually re-united several months later and began to establish a new home in the West Country.  Finally Barbara told us of her tireless, but successful work over the last twenty years campaigning for compensation for those who suffered so brutally at the hands of the Japanese.

~ WI Walk, Monday 16th January.   A bright, crisp January morning was perfect for the Sapperton Walk.  The walk started high up on the Cotswolds and dropped gently down the side of the valley with wonderful views.  Then we walked onto the old Thames and Severn Canal towpath, which lead us to the entrance of the two mile long Sapperton Tunnel.  A steep climb brought us into Sapperton and eventually to a wide, flat grassy "avenue" between trees on the Bathhurst Estate.  The main road lead us to a delicious lunch at The Crown at Frampton Mansell.  Another half an hour walking high on the Cotswolds and our delightful and invigorating walk was complete.

 
Walkers at the entrance to Sapperton Tunnel, 16th January 2012
(Photo courtesy of Jenny Hayne)

WI News 2011
To view the news events and photos from 2011 please click here

WI News 2010
To view the news events and photos from 2010 please click here

WI News 2009
To view the news, events and photos from 2009 please click here

WI News 2008
To view the news, events and photos from 2008 please click here

~*~*~*~

A BRIEF HISTORY

(Illustration by the late Kathy Kirby & photo by Linda Durno. 
Thank you to Jenny Hayne for providing the above booklets.)

Presidents from 1937 to date (some serving several times)

1937 - 1987
Mrs Thompson
Mrs Rawlings
Mrs Evans
Mrs Adams
Mrs Lee
Mrs Summers
Mrs Vincent
Mrs Kathy Kirby
Mrs Higgins
Mrs Taylor
Mrs Lyn Vaughan
Mrs Barbara Fenner
Mrs Humphrys
Mrs Jenny Hayne
Mrs Janet Elms
Mrs Margaretta Strickland

1987 to date (with thanks to Janet Elms)

1988/89: Mrs Margaretta Strickland
1989/90: Mrs Mary Humphreys
1990/1 Mrs Mary Humphries
1991/2: Mrs Kay Sambell
1992/3: Mrs Kay Sambell
1993/4: Mrs Joan Jackson
1994/5: Mrs Joan Jackson
1995/6: Mrs Joan Jackson
1996/7: Mrs Barbara Fenner
1997/8: Mrs Barbara Fenner
1998/9: Mrs Barbara Fenner
2001/02: Mrs Kay Sambell
2002/03: Mrs Mary Humphreys & Mrs Janet Elms
2003/04: Mrs Janet Elms
2005/06: Mrs Janet Elms
2006/07: Mrs Kay Sambell
2008/09: Mrs Kay Sambell
2009/10: Mrs Viv Penney
2010/11: Mrs Viv Penney
2011/12: Mrs Viv Penney
2012/13: Mrs Jenny Hayne
2013/14: Mrs Jenny Hayne

The first Flower & Produce Show was staged in 1974.