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.

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