Members Information – July 2022

WIs Celebrate the Jubilee

Bamburgh WI planted a Rowan tree on the Castle green to celebrate the Queen’s 70-year reign and her membership of the Women’s Institute. The Rowan has special significance in the Bamburgh tale of ‘THE LAIDLEY WORM’ of Bamburgh.

Catton WI enjoyed a fabulous walk and talk with George Doody in his impressive private arboretum. He gifted a beautiful oak tree which was planted by Vice President, Ann Potter to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee of Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II. We all agreed this was a very special evening in Catton.

Newbrough WI celebrated in style o n the Saturday of the Jubilee weekend we made teas for the village cricket match. Members had knitted Corgi dogs to hide for the village children to find. Our meeting included a lunch Celebration at the County in Hexham.

Members Information

Lesbury Centenary Celebration – Jan McMahon
On Tuesday 10 May Lesbury celebrated 100 years. We may be a small group, but we know how to celebrate in style! Twenty-four members and guests attended a celebratory lunch at The Cookie Jar in Alnwick where we were treated like royalty. The food was excellent, and the wine & conversation flowed.
We were greeted with a welcome drink and chatted in the lounge area until everyone had arrived. We then progressed to the superb dining room where Kathleen Turnbull had done a lovely flower arrangement. Our President, Veronica Merryweather gave a welcome speech drawing on some events & activities from our scrapbook’s history and then we ate – Lesbury WI’s favourite activity!
A bouquet of birthday flowers was presented to Ann Malloy and our Federation Chairman Marj Read gave an entertaining thank you speech.

Hedgeley’s Belated Happy 90th
All were delighted that Marj Read with Prudence Marks came to help celebrate Hedgeley WI’s 90th birthday in May.
Everyone had a great time and were entertained by Heads on the Block. Our longest serving members, Avril Wilbert and Jean Givens cut the cake.

Newbrough say thank you to President
Following the Annual Meeting in May, a new President was elected. After many years as President, Dorothy Sowerby decided to stand down. She has also served on the Board of Trustees and at one stage a Vice Chairman. We welcome Judith Kirby as our new President. Dorothy will remain a valuable member of our branch.

Whey Show the Love – Pauline Walker
We had a display at Wideopen Library which ran from February to Easter supporting the Show the Love campaign.
All the hearts were created by our members and the library kindly offered to display them. The library staff commented that the display had created a lot of interest and discussion and had achieved its intended objective of raising awareness amongst members of the public. I also sent a heart badge and postcard to Mary Glindon our local MP and received a very nice reply from her.
This is such an important issue, and it is essential that it remains in the minds of the public and government alike so we can all act to ensure that this amazing World is preserved for future generations.

Bamburgh on the Beach – Judy Cowan
Picture the iconic Bamburgh beach on a warm August day and you have the setting for the renown, annual Bamburgh Sandcastle and Sand Sculpture competitions. The date this year is Wednesday 17 August and the theme for this year’s sculpture competition is ‘A Dragon’
The Registration door is open from 10.30 – 12 .30 in Bamburgh Pavilion and free entry is open to all. Come along and join in this fun day bringing with you fellow WI members, family, or friends to make up your competition team.

These boots are made for walking! – Janine Heslop
May was National Walking Month and Cramlington WI have been recording their steps to see how far the group could walk then calculating the distance against a virtual map. Collectively the group walked 1742 miles across the month which meant the group walked the distance from Cramlington to Rome, Krakow, Madrid or Dubrovnik and very nearly reached Kyiv. Not only was it great fun to see where we could go virtually, but walking was a great way for members to stay fit. Walking is an easy and accessible way to improve physical and mental health. A 20-minute walk can reduce the risk of a number of preventable health conditions. It’s great for the environment too. If you can swap a short drive for a short walk, you can help reduce air pollution as well as easing congestion on the roads. Our members really enjoyed stepping out and aim to continue walking as much as they can.

Speaker’s Corner

Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Offer talks on a variety of themes which include:
• The CWGC – an introduction to the history and on-going work of the CWGC
• Gardening the Globe – learn more about the Horticulture of the CWGC.
• CWGC Architecture and its Conservation – discover the unique architecture and conservation work of the CWGC.
• Research and records using the CWGC Archives – explore some of the gems of our collection and discover more about their records.
The talks are free, but they suggest a donation of £30. More information can be found here: Book a Talk: Book a Talk: Commonwealth War Stories | CWGC
Speaker Recommendations:
North Gosforth WI had a brilliant talk from Kim Wilde from Wilde Farm. She talked about how she left teaching and her husband left his job as a gardener to start a small holding farm of about 12½ acres, about the rare breed animals they keep and how they sell specialised meat to restaurants. She even brought along a 3-week-old lamb which had been abandoned by its mother. It was a truly lovely evening, full of friendship and fun. Just the way a WI should be.

Wingrove WI would recommend Edward Graham. His talk was entitled “Finding My Father”. From the start to finish his talk was very interesting and we enjoyed it very much.