Purton Evening WI
President Mrs Barbara Compton took the meeting of 16 June and relevant business was discussed.
However, do note that much of interest and importance is also available on the Information table; please refer to it and allow yourself time to read the variety of interesting material there.
For example, members who would like to visit Highgrove should put their names on the relevant board. The tour is for groups of 25 people at the moment but Jane will organise an additional visit if there is demand.
Jane Smith read the Report from the Link Delegate to the NFWI AGM in Cardiff on 2 June. Points of particular interest were:
The subscription for 2011 will be £30, half of which will be retained by each institute.
Since January 2010 there had been 11,000 new members and 41 new institutes started; there are also 129 WI members in women's prisons ...
The Honey Bee resolution/mandate and the follow-up work from last year has been successful, and the Farm Gate milk prices campaign is still on-going.
Branded WI goods are being produced by a small independent baker using AWI recipes and methods. These goods will be on sale in the Autumn, in branches of the Co-op and Tesco.
John Bercow, speaker of the House of Commons, spoke and praised the WI movement and recognised that if it were a political party we would be running the country!
Denman College reported that 7000 member had booked courses up to September 2010 and this was the best take-up in 60 years. All the rooms are now en suite and a two-night stay plus tuition costs £210.
This year's Resolution was for clear labelling showing the country of origin for meat, poultry and fish. The Food Standards Agency are against the resolution and withdrew from attending the AGM, on the grounds that the new government supported the idea of having the country of origin clearly stated. The vote was taken and the result was announced as a resounding "For", with 58 against.
Back to our own June meeting: because the booked speaker had had to cancel, some of our members sportingly stepped into the breach and entertained us under the title "Midsummer Madness" and what a jolly event it was!
Fresh fruit cup and strawberries on each table was an excellent beginning There were two quizzes, and a competition to identify the contents of four nonalcoholic (?) cocktails that were circulated during the evening.
Each table was given a bag of "bits" such as decorative paper, straws, cut-offs, with which to make a cocktail umbrella – quite difficult but produced some imaginative results.
The choir gave a short concert to wind up a most enjoyable evening. Many thanks to all participants, and for a programme that must have taken hours of planning and organising – cheers to Sue, Sylvia, Trish and all their helpers!
A date for your diary: the Carnival Whist Drive will be held on Monday13 September, commencing at 7.30pm at Silver Threads Hall. Tickets at £1.50 each will cover tea and biscuits.
The subject of the 18 August meeting will be "Cheese Tasting" with Richard Parsons. Don't eat too well before you come to the meeting!
CONSTANCE REED (TEL: 771 571)