LEIGH ON
MENDIP WI
SECRETARY’S
REPORT – MAY 2015 TO APRIL 2016
Looking back over 12 months I hope everyone has
found something that was fun, informative and interesting to do. We hope that we managed to find a good mix of
events for our members but it would help if a couple of new people joined the
Committee and come with some fresh ideas.
We are always sorry to say ‘Goodbye’, for various reasons, to some
ladies but it is lovely to welcome new members to our Institute.
At our AGM last year we discussed the
Resolution ‘This meeting calls on HM Government to remove the distinction
between nursing care and personal care in the assessment of the needs of
individuals, in order to advance health and wellbeing’. The feeling was one of some confusion as to
what was actually being proposed and although generally in favour we left the
final decision to vote to Mary, who was attending the AGM at the Albert Hall in
London. As the 100th
anniversary this was a very special AGM and Mary very much enjoyed her visit. For the rest of us we had the opportunity to
be in the Village Hall and to watch the proceedings via electronic link. Members from other Institutes attended and it
was a very interesting day – sadly the Resolution did cause confusion &
complications and no vote was taken. We
hope that there is no repeat of this in 2016!
June was also an exciting month for Caroline and Jane who attended the
Special WI Garden Party at Buckingham Palace.
A very memorable day for them and all the other ladies present. In September Leigh on Mendip hosted a
Centenary Birthday Party for the Group.
Some of our members acted as Stewards at the Special WI Anniversary Exhibition
held at Radstock Museum.
We supported the Village Fair held in June by
running a Cake & Produce Stall. We
are hoping to expand the variety of produce in 2016 as cakes don’t seem to be
as popular as they once were. However,
we did sell all that was on our Stall and made a good contribution to the total
raised on the day. The funds we receive
back are very important to enable us to balance our books and to fund some good
speakers.
Last year we had a wide variety of Speakers
including learning about the role of a volunteer in the RNLI who visits schools
to tell children about safety on the beach and in the sea. Dangers in a different part of the world
featured in the talk at our July meeting from a speaker who gave a presentation
on ‘Life in Palestine’, based on her experience as a Human Rights Observer. This was an Open Meeting. We feel that is good on occasions to open our
talks to a wider audience – in addition they may also find out a little more
about the WI and its role in the 21st century.
Summer was also the time for a Visit to
Frogmary Farm – a green farm where they grow
grass, cereals, maize and fodder beet to feed an AD (anaerobic digester) plant.
Along with these crops they also rear chickens indoors. An interesting visit (despite the rain!) and
a good learning experience. PDSA
organised a Day Event at Denman College where we learnt more about their work
and had a very entertaining and enjoyable time.
More recently a small group visited Wells Cathedral to see an amazing
display of ‘embroidered’ Panels, depicting scenes from the Book of
Revelations.
In August we met at Barbara’s
house for the President’s Evening. A
really good supper – everyone contributing their own dish of food for the
occasion. An opportunity to catch up and
have a good natter! The lunches at The
Bell on the first Friday of each month are also proving popular for members to
get together.
Members had the opportunity to
try their hands at various crafts. In
September everyone had a chance to have a go on the art of Decopatch and at the
end of the year we made lovely Christmas posies in a jam jar to take home. December was a busy month with our Christmas
meal at the Strode Arms at Cranmore, the Group Carol Service at Beckington,
Carols at Wells Cathedral and taking part in the first Christmas Tree Festival
at St Giles Church. We won the ‘Best
Traditional Tree’ – it was a lovely occasion.
This year we also donated the equivalent of our ‘Secret Santa’ gift to a
festive item for the Food Bank in Frome – this is supported on a regular basis
throughout the year. We also helped fill
shoeboxes earlier in the Autumn with items for young people who find themselves
staying at the YMCA.
Other speakers have included
John Craig who gave a very amusing talk on his career in the Fire Brigade and
our very own Colin Horn whose talk about the last 50 years of his experiences
was entitled ‘Going Round the Horn’. We
also heard from Michael Malaghan a local author of books for young people and
his experiences first as a journalist and then a writer. Animals featured in January with a visit from
Lynn of Happy Landings, accompanied by one of her dogs. Flowers are always popular and we were entertained
with a delightful slide show of photos taken at different gardens and all set
to music by David Moon. We had an
energetic evening of Bollywood Dancing in April which was great fun and attracted
members from Buckland Dinham. On the
exercise note we recently organised our own walk to support the ACWW Goat
Project and raised £51 at Shelagh’s house where we enjoyed tea and cakes.
We celebrated our birthday at
the end of January with a Skittles evening at The Bell. 2015 marked the next Scrapbook year (this
occurs every 10 years) and we are in the process of putting all the information
and photos together. Some members have
attended other WI events such as Group meetings, Roadshows and the County
organised Fashion Show held in Frome. Don’t
forget that there is a Bursary for anyone wishing to attend one of the courses
at Denman College. We also continue to
take part in and support various Village events such as organising the Annual
Litter Pick, entering a team for the local Quiz, as well as attending coffee
mornings, etc. etc. We hope you will
enjoy 2016 as much as last year. And
finally don’t forget to look at our Blog for the latest news.
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