I never imagined as I wrote my original message for the October Newsletter that only one day later I would hear the deeply upsetting news of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second. A truly special lady who, for many of our members, is the only reigning monarch they have ever known. She has been a constant for so many years and has shown kindness, compassion, empathy and dignity in everything that she has done through good times and bad times both nationally and personally, and we have had the pleasure of knowing that she was a WI member like ourselves. I am sure that our new monarch King Charles the Third will reign with the same attributes that he has learnt over the years from his beloved mother and we wish him well for the future. A message of condolence has been sent on behalf of all the members of Northumberland Federation.
Members who attended the final Roadshow were delighted and impressed by the pennants made to celebrate the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and they are on display at Cresswell House in the main room upstairs until the end of the year. If you want to come along and see them then please contact Nancy just to make sure that the room is not in use and to avoid anyone having a wasted journey.
Now to the Roadshows and a huge thank you to everyone involved in making them so very successful in raising funds for the Federation. Whether you were helping at one of the venues or just attending, I am so very grateful to you all and I hope that you enjoyed them as much as I did and perhaps learnt something new about Northumberland Federation.
Our second Competition Day and our Annual Council Meeting will have taken place by the time you read this Newsletter and I hope that those of you involved in any way will have enjoyed the events. As always my grateful thanks go to you all in whatever role you played.
October will see our Literary Lunch take place at Hexham Mart’s Banqueting Suite and I am sure that those of you who have already secured your place will be looking forward to hearing local crime writer Mari Hannah tell us all about her life as an author. Looking further forward to November, in fact the 17th to be precise, in with your Secretary’s mailing there is an application form to come to Cresswell House and enjoy a very classy affair. We shall be having a lunch followed by a display of exact replicas of some of the most famous tiaras in the Royal Collection and you can learn all about them and then try them on for size and be a Princess, a Duchess or a Countess for a few minutes. So, put on your “posh frock” and have your photograph taken wearing the Strathmore Tiara, the Grenville tiara or a different one altogether. There are quite a few in the collection and are indeed quite dazzling! Spaces for this event will be limited due to the size of Cresswell House so make sure you get your application in before the closing date.
The final Federation event of 2022 will of course be our Service of Celebration at Newcastle Cathedral and the preparations are already underway for this lovely start to the Festive season for so many of our members. Once again application details are with your Secretaries.
As I end this message it is raining outside. I wonder if we are now on our way to Autumn and Winter but fear not because I have seen some fabulous jewel coloured hats, gloves and scarves around to cheer us all up.
Best wishes
Marj x
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