Hello ladies and at last we are beginning to enjoy some better weather and enjoying some lovely sunshine. Many of you will know that I shop in the Sainsbury store near to my home and I always buy their monthly magazine which is an excellent one covering everything you would expect, but this isn’t an advert for the said Magazine, no, it’s to mention one of their articles. In the May edition they ran an article entitled Join the Club and yes, the first line mentions signing up to the WI. It mentions the benefits of being part of any organisation on mental health and wellbeing and stresses that the WI is so much more than non members realise. What a pleasure it was to receive such a glowing reason to join and I hope that many non members will read the article and give it a try. I presume the magazine is on all the usual digital platforms so if you want to know, the article is on page 95.
I have visited several WIs for their Annual Meetings already with quite a lot more to come over the next few weeks and I also went to the Sth Tyne Group Meeting recently where the speaker focused on our recent resolution “Bystanders can be Lifesavers too” along with his “mannequin” to actually show everyone what to do. It was an excellent presentation and if your programme organiser is short of a speaker, I do suggest that WIs get in touch with someone to come along to go through the actions with members and reassure them that any help is better than not helping at all.
On the subject of having visited many WIs, not just this year but over many years as an Adviser I am always amazed at the amount of talent we have in our organisation and how much we are willing to share with others. Many of our WIs do one or more “in house” entertainment each year and these evenings are so invaluable as speakers are becoming very expensive which can be quite a consideration for small WIs. If you are a committee member don’t be afraid to ask your members if any of them have a talent or hobby that they are willing to share and if you have a hidden talent don’t be afraid to make the offer to your committee. Please also remember that all the emergency services will always come and speak to WIs and sometimes a good old fashioned games night and natter can just hit the spot, because your WI should be what you want it to be and not what anyone else tells you it should be, bingo or beading, writing or wirework, it’s up to you.
Looking forward to seeing many of you over the next few weeks and finding out what’s on your programme of events.
Marj
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