We have held several ‘My Life ….’ Meetings over the years and they are always popular. This time we had 2 of our members talk about aspects of their lives. First was Jenny; for many years she helped run Forest Schools, an educational organisation that provides young children the opportunity of outdoor experiences. This could take the form of nature trails, den building, outdoor cooking etc. From her talk, it was clear how children benefit from this experience in a uniquely holistic way. Next Lesley told of her role as a guide dog breeder; with 3 generations of dogs (Bella, Holly & Kiki) this can be a hectic role. However, with only Kiki now on the guide dog breeding programme, puppy time comes around less often; but when it does, normal life is on hold. Although not able to see the pups ‘live’, plenty of pictures and videos provided lots of ‘ooohs & ahhhhs’!
We are very fortunate in our village to have two local active pubs. We support them throughout the year by alternating our monthly Coffee Mornings between the 2. At the end of December, our Coffee Morning at The Anchor was a special treat with mince pies and as we did not have a WI meeting in January, we expanded our Coffee Morning in January into a New Year lunch at The Bell.
Our last meeting of the year was our Christmas Party. With puddings provided by Committee, and an unusual and interesting game of Christmas Bingo, we ended our year with fun and friends.
So after our craft afternoon, we were ready to decorate the tree at the Church for their Christmas Tree Festival ….
In readiness for our Christmas Tree at the local Church Tree Festival, we spent an afternoon in November making fish & other related river decorations. Our tree was based on the 2023 NFWI Resolution of making rivers clean and safe. So we made fish from clay as well as origami fish plus some swans and dragon flies.
During the afternoon, we had a surprise visitor (he hadn’t come to see us especially but was visiting the school next door and popped in to give us a wave!) Picton Gardens hold the national collection of Michaelmas Daisies and with the Gardens just being over the other side of the Malvern Hills, we decided to have an autumn visit to see them. Although our visit was actually in October we had missed the best of the flowers but the gardens were a delight to walk round with lots of interest and different vistas. Followed by tea & cake at the local hotel, it was a pleasant afternoon pottering around.
In our original programme, we were due to have the Town Crier address our meeting in November. However, plans changed at the last minute and the speakers for November & October were swapped. Why are we telling you this? Well the President’s Challenge for November was based on the shape of the Town Crier’s hat, ie triangular. So the challenge was - bring something triangle in shape! So here we are ….
We were delighted to welcome 19 visitors to our November meeting. This included not just local villagers but also members of neighbouring WIs. They had come to hear the story of Alex Lunt’s journey into foraging and his adventures along the way. He also provided some delightful canapés from foraged foods; they were different but nevertheless very tasty! Together with his homemade mead, it was an exceptional evening. Our October meeting was a change to the previously advertised but that didn’t stop us enjoying an entertaining evening with the Pershore Town Crier. Together with the history of town criers and his own personal experiences, a lively talk.
Our president’s challenge for this month was ‘your favourite plate’. Following our successful pool night in January, we held another pool night for members at The Anchor. Again another entertaining night for our ladies….
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