Monthly Archives: June 2015

June 2015

 

Quite a busy month for us. It started with the W.I. Centenary Garden party at Buckingham Palace, an exciting and memorable day for Helen Rossin and Angela Smith, then the Centenary AGM at the Royal Albert Hall attended by The Queen – you may have seen her cutting the celebration cake there on the TV News?

W.I. members queueing outside Buckingham Palace
W.I. members queueing outside Buckingham Palace ……….

 

 

 

 

 

 

.... and bring checked-in at the gate
…. and being checked-in at the gate
Time to go home .......
Time to go home …….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The end of a memorable day
The end of a memorable day

About twenty of us joined in the annual Group meeting of local W.Is. at Hardwick where we were keen to see just how such meetings are organised as, for the first time, it will be our turn to host the event next year. Being a relatively new W.I. we are still learning!

Then about two dozen of us were made very welcome at The Black Bull, Brampton for our monthly lunch, after which we moved on to relax outside in the sunshine at the nearby Frosts Garden Centre for teas, coffees and some retail therapy. For July one of our members will be hosting a Bring and Share lunch at her home.

Relaxing in the sun at Frosts, Brampton
Relaxing in the sun at Frosts, Brampton

At our June meeting, where we were joined by visitors from the village and by members of other local W.Is., we provided cheese and wine to accompany the fashion show that was staged by Bonmarché of St Neots. Seven of our members strutted their stuff along the catwalk showing off the Season’s fashions – they looked just great.

 

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The final call
The finale

 

 

 

 

We are running a cake stall at the Pendragon School Fete where we will be trying to live up to the general W.I. reputation that its members know how to bake a cake….?! At the end of term the W.I. Endeavour Cup and associated book vouchers will be presented to the winning pupils for their project work.


On July 15th, our 8th birthday, our Speaker will be Sue Baker, an Egyptian Belly Dancer, talking about the history of the dance and the costumes before inviting us to get on our feet to get a wiggle on or to try our hand at playing the finger cymbals. 

There is no monthly meeting in August, but as our meeting on September 16th will coincide with the actual date of the centenary of the founding of the first W.I., at Llanfairpwllgwyngyll (and the rest!) on Anglesey in 1915, plans are well underway for an appropriate celebration.

 

May 2015

What (unexpected) fun! The Speaker at our May meeting, ‘Sarah the Plumber’, managed to both inform us and entertain us as she worked her way round the multitude of ways that water is transported and utilised in and out of our homes. With a variety of hardware being passed around and her poster-sized illustrations, plus her obvious enthusiasm, she answered a multitude of questions and gave us all a much greater understanding of the less obvious aspects of what surrounds us every day. Who would have thought that such a topic would grab our attention so completely and be so useful too!

Also in May sixteen of us were made very welcome at Slepe Hall, St. Ives, for our monthly lunch where there was plenty of chat of course to accompany the really delicious food. Our June lunch will be at The Black Bull Brampton, then in July one of our members will be hosting a Bring and Share lunch at her home.

Lunch at Slepe Hall
Lunch at Slepe Hall

2015 is a very special year for all W.Is. as it marks the Centenary of the founding of the first ever W.I. in Anglesey in 1915. Celebrations got underway last year when the W.I. Centenary Baton started its journey around every part of the country (it was here in Papworth last October), with forthcoming key events being a special W.I. Garden Party at Buckingham Palace on 2nd June then the Annual Meeting of the National Federation of W.Is. (NFWI) in the Royal Albert Hall on 4th June which will be attended by The Queen. Two of our members are fortunate to be representing Papworth at the garden party, while Gaynor Mears of Cambridge City W.I. will be our delegate at the AGM. The events that day are being streamed live on the internet so that members across the country will be able to feel part of the proceedings.

Other local W.Is. are being invited to join us for our next meeting on the 17th of June which will be a Cheese & Wine evening with a Fashion Show staged by Bonmarché of St. Neots, then we should have the opportunity to get a wiggle on at our meeting on 15th July which will feature an Egyptian Belly Dancer!

Also on the 17th of June the NFWI is supporting a mass lobby of Parliament to highlight the issues of Climate Change prior to the associated World summit in Paris in December.

Our choir is busy rehearsing for their Music Director’s Wedding in July where they aim to help make this a really special day for her.  They will also be hosting a Festival of Choirs in the Village Hall in early October and singing at Ely Cathedral at the annual service for The Papworth Hospital Charity in December.

April 2015

At our AGM in March members were reminded of the variety

At our AGM in March members were reminded of the variety and breadth of activities that our W.I. had undertaken over the preceding year. These have been reported in our monthly contributions to News & Views where highlights included our previous President’s successful initiative to apply for a grant from the Community Chest scheme run by South Cambs District Council, which enabled us to buy a sound system and projector, then in October we welcomed the flying visit of the W.I. Centenary Baton. Outings, monthly lunches and afternoon teas had been organised in a variety of venues, while the Papworth and Elsworth WI Choir had another busy year that culminated in their representing Cambridgeshire in the regional heats of the W.I. Centenary Choir Competition in Cambridge.

The speakers at our April meeting were the lively double act of Angela Wyatt and Hilary Moulds who entertained us with tales about their early careers as a hairdresser and dental receptionist respectively. Their experiences made us realise how such jobs have changed (mostly) for the better in the ensuing years. It will be difficult to forget the mental image of a poodle’s pom-poms being regularly re-dyed to match its owner’s hair – blue, then pink, then ….?

Eighteen of us were made very welcome by the new proprietors of the White Swan in Conington for our April lunch. It was a sunny day, the daffodils were in bloom everywhere and the food was absolutely delicious. What’s not to like! Our May lunch, which as usual takes place on the first Thursday of the month, will be at Slepe Hall in St. Ives.

April Conington 1

April Conington 2

April Conington 3

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Lunch at the White Swan

Two members joined a WI Federation tour to Bruges and the First World War battlefields in the Ypres Salient. The guided tour of the battlefield sites included Passchendaele and the Tyne Cot Cemetery and Memorial to The Missing. They were fortunate to be present for the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate on ANZAC Day where they were enthralled with Maori Conch Shell blowing, some wonderful singing by ANZAC military personnel and the Last Post being played by eight buglers instead of the usual four. Altogether a very interesting, thought provoking and emotional trip.

Bruges
Bruges

 

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Tyne Cot
Tyne Cot
Menin Gate
Menin Gate

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Members attended the Annual Council Meeting of the Cambridge Federation of W.Is. at Comberton where the first guest speaker was David Whiteley from BBC Look East and the second was Prue Leith of cookery fame. The day ended with our Papworth & Elsworth W.I. choir entertaining everyone with their singing.

Our choir has several forthcoming public engagements which include singing in the Trinity Sunday service at Trinity Church, Elsworth and are especially excited to be performing at our Music Director’s Wedding in July where they aim to help make this a really special day for her.  They will also be hosting a Festival of Choirs in the Village Hall in early October and singing at Ely Cathedral at the annual service for The Papworth Hospital Charity in December.