Category Archives: Meeting

What has been happening at Papworth WI in February 2020

Event, Meeting, Uncategorized

We started February with our usual monthly lunch, this time at The Three Horseshoes in Graveley. Our lunches are a great way of getting together giving us a chance to chat, catch up and get to know each other more with many a laugh and joke!

Our speaker this month was Helen Tilley who is a bespoke self-taught milliner. Helen brought along an amazing selection of hats that she has made all by hand at her home. Helen explained how she started out after she purchased a hat from a store which started to fall apart! She decided to make her own and found she really enjoyed it. She went on to purchase the wooden hat makers moulds for the crown of the hat, she described the various materials that can be used to make the hats ranging from very expensive to a more reasonable price and how she goes about making and decorating the hats.   She has attended various courses both locally and in London and currently makes around 300 hats per year. Helen makes all the silk flowers by hand and also dyes feathers and fabric to decorate the hats. Helen also offers a service to update existing hats adding her own hand-made flowers, or home-dyed feathers and various ribbons and beads. No two hats made by Helen are the same.   Following such an interesting talk, Helen invited the ladies up to try on different hats – all shapes and sizes – there was a hat to suit everyone and lots of laughs to go with them.   Helen works closely with Cream Rose in Fenstanton who sell special occasion wear.

Here are some of the hats worn by our ladies and Helen of course:

 

Many of us are looking forward to a theatre trip on 7th March to the Milton Keynes Theatre to see The King and I preceded of course by a spot of lunch!

Our March meeting will be our Annual General Meeting for members.

 

 

 

Papworth Everard WI Activity Report for January 2020

Event, Meeting, Uncategorized

It was good to see all our friends again at our January meeting following the Christmas break.   Our speaker, Dr Andrew Bladon, gave an excellent, informative and enthusiastic talk on 5 Ways to Protect Wildlife in our gardens, and the community, from hedgehogs, birds and bees to plants and wildflowers.

Andrew who is a Postdoctoral Research Associate based in the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge is passionate about wildlife and encouraged all of us to do our best to protect it at a time when road building, and house building generally is seeing wildlife habitats destroyed at an alarming rate.  Andrew suggested a good way for us all to get involved is to join our local Wildlife Trust and support them in the work they do to preserve our native species of wildlife and who can bring pressure to bear on governing bodies to ensure everything possible is done to protect our wildlife.  Andrew went on to talk about ways forward in helping towards the rapidly increasing global warming by ways of recycling, eating more plant based foods etc.  He is also strongly opposed to the proposed HS2 project which will see an enormous amount of wildlife across the countryside lost. 

 

Our lunch this month was held at the ever popular Wheatsheaf at Perry – enjoyed by all as always.

We would love to see new faces and members at our meetings which are held every third Wednesday throughout the year at The Studio, apart from August.  Please do come along and give it a try – we are a great fun group of ladies and you can be assured of a very warm welcome.

 

Activity Report for Papworth Everard WI for December 2019

Event, Meeting

 

A great Christmas Party Night Dinner took place at the Slepe Hall Hotel in St Ives with around 24 members enjoying a great festive evening.

Once again this year our choir, Lyrical Voices, was privileged to sing at the Papworth Hospital Charity Carol Concert at Ely Cathedral.  Always a most moving and meaningful experience and certainly putting us all in the true Christmas spirit.

Our December meeting was a fun Members’ Social Evening. Tables were set with all the Christmas trimmings, cheese platters and wine were enjoyed by all as was the cracker pulling, music, followed by mince pies and coffee/tea.

 

During the evening we were proud to present four youth organisations in Papworth namely, Papworth Scouts, 2nd Papworth Guides, Papworth Tennis Club and the Blasters Football Club, with a cheque towards new equipment etc.  These funds were raised by Papworth WI at the RAF Marham open evening that was held at the Village Hall in October.    A cheque has also been sent to the RAF Benevolent Fund. 

To bring our meeting to a close Mother Christmas appeared and handed out secret santa presents to all and our very own choir, Lyrical Voices, performed two of their songs and then everyone joined in with traditional Christmas carols.

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Our last event in December took place at Meadow Farm Care Home in Toft when the choir performed to the residents who thoroughly enjoyed it and sang along to the well known carols.

Merrry Christmas to you all and very best wishes from Papworth Everard WI for a happy, healthy and peaceful 2020.

 

 

 

Papworth Everard WI Activity for November 2019

Event, Meeting

PAPWORTH EVERARD WI – WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING DURING NOVEMBER

 

Early in the month several of us went along to the Garden Centre at Roxton for a little early Christmas Shopping. There was a great variety of gifts for all from chocolates and biscuits to candles, ornaments, clothes and obviously plenty of beautiful indoor plants with the Poinsettias taking centre stage. After shopping refreshments were the order of the day including a most enjoyable lunch.

Our speaker this month was entitled ‘ Police Officer to Therapist’ when Sharon Herbert spoke of her work specialising in overcoming Anxiety, PTSD, Leaving Panic Attacks Behind and Managing Stress.

Having worked in the Emergency Services for the past 27 years and juggled a family and career with the challenges these bring there is not much of life that Sharon hasn’t seen or experienced. Through a complimentary mix of her Cognitive Hypnotherapy & Coaching methods she can help you make positive changes, identify and address the underlying factors that are contributing to where you are at. Whether you are in a place of overwhelm, burnout, experienced trauma or other significant emotional event, her trauma informed approach is really effective and can get you back on the road to living a more fulfilled and productive life. No longer just surviving BUT thriving!

Sharon works with clients both face to face and online using ZOOM – so Geographical location need not be a barrier. She runs a busy practice in Cambridge however she is also available for clients within the City of London.

Sharon kindly donated a ‘Stress Buster Session’ for our raffle which will be drawn at the December meeting.Roxton Garden Centre

 

 

Papworth Everard WI Activity for October 2019

Event, Meeting

We held a fundraising evening  at Papworth Village Hall on Friday 27th September in aid of the youth organisations of Papworth.   WARRANT OFFICER MO HOWARD MBE (Mo as he prefers to be known) a most distinguished speaker from RAF MARHAM gave a very informative  talk and slideshow giving an insight into the Past Present and Future buildings and aircraft capabilities based at RAF Marham throughout its entire history.The evening was a great success with a diverse range of people attending from not only Papworth but Huntingdon, Hilton and other surrounding villages.  Mo (as he prefers to be known) a most  gave a most impressive talk describing aircraft and their capabilities in the Past compared to now and to what they will be in the future.   WI homemade cakes and refreshments added to the evening as did the raffle where a great variety of prizes were donated by our members.  Thanks go to  our members for providing the wonderful cakes and raffle prizes, to the Courtyard Café and the Deli for selling tickets on our behalf and of course to everyone who came along to make the evening such a success.   A total of £600 plus was raised on the night and we will shortly be announcing how the money will be distributed..Our monthly lunch this month was held at Willingham Barns & Auction Rooms at Willingham where we enjoyed browsing around the antiques and collectables before  enjoying a delicious lunch.

Sarah Bellows from Care Network Cambridgeshire was our speaker this month and described the amazing services and support the organisation offers to people in the their own homes following a hospital stay, illness at home, loneliness etc and how they can help with arrangements to have volunteer support workers to help them get back in some way into the community.  Many of us were surprised at what is being done by Care Network Cambridgeshire and this maybe something our WI could contribute to in some way in the future.