Around the Women’s Institutes

BENSON

OUR October meeting was really well attended with almost all of our members there and, along with a couple of visitors, we welcomed yet another new member.

Our president also welcomed our speaker, Sarah Turton, to talk about all things herbal.

Sarah is a master medicinal herbalist and iridologist, having undertaken a four-year degree course in Ireland as part of her training.

Her talk, “Plants, patterns and possibility — a herbalist perspective on healing”, was accompanied by a slide presentation. Sarah explained about the colour of our eyes and how they were the window to our health.

There were many questions, including ones on making our own health drinks with herbs such as nettles, hawthorn and leaves, but members were reminded to use caution. The questions and lots of discussion continued over our usual pot of tea.

Included in our meeting business was the announcement of the speaker for next year’s National WI annual meeting. This will be the new Astronomer Royal, Professor Michele Dougherty, the first female in the position for
350 years.

Also available at our meeting were invitations to the next OXOPS production, draw tickets for a lovely handmade patchwork quilt and details of forthcoming Oxfordshire Federation outings and talks. Booking for the outing to the Kew Orchid Festival on February 24, 2026 is currently open (see the OFWI website).

Members are also reminded that they can access many diverse free educational courses and talks via the “WI Learning Hub”.

Benson WI’s next meeting will be on Wednesday, November 26, when we will be hands on making seasonal wreaths and preparing for our entry in the St Helen’s Church Christmas tree festival. This is an annual event and takes place between November 28 and December 1.

Visitors are always welcome (£5) along with any potential new members. For more information, please contact the secretary first at ben sonwi@oxfordshirewi.co.uk

Sue Brown

CAVERSHAM

TERRY Dixon kindly led us through a historical walk around Reading starting in medieval times.

It was interesting to hear that in 1121 King Henry I built the Abbey and changed Reading forever because it became a much larger town and developed because it was on the pilgrims’ route to Oxford. He brought us right up to the present day with many other interesting stories.

We will report on our November meeting next month, while the following meeting will be on December 2 where we will have a festive party, with Jean Hill leading us in some festive poetry.

If you’re at a loose end or would just like to meet some kindly neighbours, please feel welcome to join us. Visitors are very welcome (and entirely free for the first three visits). After this, there is a set fee, but it is less than £5 a month and includes local, Berkshire and national events, activities and resources.

We meet on Tuesday evenings, the first one each month. Holding a weekday evening meeting (7.30pm) enables members with daytime commitments to join us and those looking for a midweek distraction to get out of the house.

Feel free to reach out on Facebook or by email (caver shamwi@berkshirewi.co.uk) if you would like to join us for an evening. Meetings are held in central Caversham, in a fully accessible venue, for about two hours, including tea and coffee, biscuits, a small raffle and, of course, time to learn something new and discuss local and national issues.

Claire Elliott

CHAZEY

THE ladies met and had great fun and laughter making decorations for Christmas under the guidance of their demonstrator Sue McQueen, followed by the usual tea and cake.

The group meets at 2.30pm on the first Friday of each month in St Andrew’s Hall, Albert Road, Caversham, and are always pleased to welcome new members.

Audrey Asquith

CLEEVE-BY-GORING

AMANDA Shora sang and gave an amusing talk about folk music at our October meeting.

There were two entries in the competition for a fascinator made from recycled materials. Gill Amos and Margaret King shared the glory.

Several members were involved throughout the autumn in a community project to remember the fallen.

Wearing several hats, members Krys Knox, Sally Wix and Janet Hurst represented the Local History Society, the Arts Society, and Women’s Institute.

Workshops were run, yarn distributed and completed poppies collected from more than 50 village knitters.

Under the supervision of Goring Parish Council, these were attached to netting and are displayed at the village sign in Rectory Gardens. There were even a few left to make a matching postbox topper.

More than 20 diners were at the Pack Horse for our autumn “ladies that lunch”. With a number of meal vouchers collected earlier in the year, a draw was made and five lucky ladies did not need to pay for their main course. Who says there’s no such thing as a free lunch?

Earlier in the year we had a speaker from Hearing Dogs for Deaf People and six members went to see their training facility near Princes Risborough.

Although we had already heard a lot about their work, it was lovely to meet some of the staff and see several dogs in action. Add to that a great café and a lovely drive through the Chilterns, and we were agreed that we had had a grand day out.

Our next meeting is on the work of Berkshire Women’s Aid, for which there will be a collection. We are also collecting Christmas goodies for Wallingford emergency food bank before turning our thoughts to Christmas celebrations for our own members.

We have had three new members join already this autumn but will always welcome more. We meet at Storton Lodge, RG8 0DL, at 7.30pm on the second Wednesday of the month.

Chris Cox

COCKPOLE GREEN

SOME of us met in the morning to complete “end of life” bags for the Royal Berkshire Hospital. The purpose is to give the last belongings of a person who has died, not in a plastic bag, but in an attractive fabric tote bag. We completed 48 bags and with those already made we have donated more than 60.

The afternoon was a potpourri of activities. The members brought cakes, chutneys, jams, sloe gin and other items for our produce stall — an autumnal bring and buy.

We have a charity of the year, supporting the Cowshed. It is a charity based in Wokingham, supporting families and individuals in need. Members donated a wide range of toiletries for the charity to distribute.

The theme of the meeting was board games. To start with, names of famous people or characters were stuck on each our backs. The idea was to work out who had been put on your back by asking questions where the answer had to be yes or no. Members became most animated.

We were visited by Katrina Sell, who is a trustee from the Berkshire Federation Women’s Institute. She wanted to circulate and talk to the members. In fact, there was so much chat we hardly played any board games at all. So, it was a jolly afternoon rounded off with tea.

Judith Rowlands

HARPSDEN-GREYS

NIMBLE fingers and artistic designs were needed at our October meeting when Jean Newman asked members to make fridge magnets. Jean supplied all the equipment from which we chose our designs and then it was out with the scissors, glue, cling film, cardboard and magnetic tape to complete the masterpieces.

I wonder how many are now displayed on fridges and freezers or whether some have found a resting place in the dustbin. Jean was thanked enthusiastically for an entertaining afternoon.

Mary Jenkins acted as president until Susan Beswick arrived, having attended appointments for her covid and flu jabs.

Judith Young acted as secretary in the absence of Gwen Wilding and as registrar.

Nine members had attended the Beechwood group meeting hosted by HoT [Henley-on-Thames) WI, where they succeeded in winning the quiz. However, their entry for “dinner on a plate” was not successful as their Greek salad was not to the judges’ taste.

Six members had recently visited the Thames Hospice in Maidenhead for a coffee morning and guided visit. This followed on from a talk a while ago at a monthly meeting by a representative of the hospice. There is a café at the hospice, which is open for anyone to call in for a coffee and to see the excellent building and facilities available.

The book club continues to meet, as does the knit and natter group and four ladies enjoyed a Sunday lunch at Henley Golf Club.

The next meeting on November 19 is an informal lunch, also at Henley Golf Club, and on December 10 we will be entertained by Barbara Carr when her subject is “To WI or not to WI”. Visitors will be made most welcome at Harpsden village hall at 2.30pm to hear what Barbara has to say.

Judith Young

HoT (HENLEY-ON-THAMES)

WE had 16 members plus two guests join our tai chi demonstration by Simon Jennings who retired from a career in IT and now practises and teaches Chen style tai chi.

Simon gave an account of the history of tai chi. Originating in China as a martial art and taught in secrecy to a select few, it has become a daily practice for the general population promoting good physical and mental health.

He told of his studies in China and this was followed by an interactive demonstration of tai chi.

Christmas planning is underway way with our dinner booked and our crafty members have got designs on our tree decorating skills and are getting prepared for the St Mary’s Church Christmas tree festival. Kristine and Daphne took part in a riverside walk for riverside action. We hope people have noticed the latest postbox topper outside Gabriel Machin in Market Place, Henley, to remember the sacrifices animals made during wartime.

This included the horses that were used to transport supplies and pull heavy equipment, carrier pigeons delivering important messages and cats and dogs providing comfort to those aboard ships, working at airfields and on the ground with the allied forces.

Our remembrance poppy wreath has had a little spruce-up and was ready for last Sunday’s parade.

Nicola Taylor, president

PEPPARD

OUR early October meeting entailed us all getting together to hear a talk from Janice Fisher on “Women in gardening” and it was fascinating.

The descriptions of the educated Edwardian women who planned most of the gardens in our country and influenced many abroad were most enlightening.

Over tea we could all chatter about this inspiring subject and catch up with the visit that some members had been on the day before to Hearing Dogs for the Deaf, which was as usual interesting and encouraging.

Being a nation of animal lovers and gardeners, the October events were a perfect start to get us all engaged.

At our next meeting, held on Wednesday, November 12, at 2pm in the Peppard memorial hall, Richard Anderson spoke to us about Eva Braun.

Elaine Douglas

REMENHAM

FOLLOWING our tea and cake stall at the recent Remenham Fayre, £100 has been donated to the church.

Plans are under way for the Christmas lunch and a musical theatre afternoon is being arranged for the next meeting in November and members are still busy knitting for the Alexander Devine charity.

The book club met to discuss their latest choice, Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent. This is a murder mystery set in Oxford. It follows the disappearance of a sister, an anonymous letter and a team of lexicographers determined to solve the worded clues, all makes for an interesting read!

John Kinory was the guest speaker at the October meeting to talk about his life and times as a film extra.

His very interesting talk was interspersed with slides of “behind the scenes” views of “extras” waiting for their turn to go on. It seems that there is a lot of waiting while mixing with the stars and it was challenging to name the films from some very different angles.

Daphne Austen

SHIPLAKE

PRESIDENT Sue Lines opened the meeting by drawing our attention to how nice the new panelling looked and the fact that the hall was much warmer. The hall trustees are to be congratulated on the work that has been done to improve things.

We have been given a quantity of wool so it has been suggested that we might start a knitting group. This is still to be decided.

Pippa Hughes has been presented with an “over and above” certificate for her amazing contribution to the Riding for the Disabled group. Well done Pippa.

Members were reminded that toiletries will be gratefully received at the November meeting for charitable distribution.

Janet Matthews will be holding a craft event in December to make Christmas decorations. Due to a good response this is to be divided into morning and afternoon sessions.

We will again be displaying a poppy topper for the post box for Remembrance Sunday. Joan Jolley is organising this with the proprietors of the Shiplake corner shop.

Rachel Lloyd represented our branch for the visit to the hall of the Deputy Lieutenant of Oxfordshire. He was pleased to learn of the activities that take place at the memorial hall and the long association of our WI.

At the recent Beechwood group meeting, Pam Hudgell won the competition for her photo of “my dinner”.

We again took part in a quiz at the hall which raised £1,000 for the hall funds. We came second.

Our speaker this month was Clare Goodall. Her topic was medieval music. She arrived in medieval dress and brought along various instruments of the period, which she demonstrated with gusto. She was very entertaining and certainly knew her subject. We would thoroughly recommend her for an afternoon’s entertainment.

Our next meeting is on November 19, 2.30pm at Shiplake memorial hall.

Jean Buckett

SONNING COMMON

OUR speaker, Colin Edwards, was from the Tilehurst branch of the Royal British Legion and it was good to hear of their activities in helping ex-servicemen and their families.

He spoke first about his own life before becoming a volunteer visitor, fundraiser and organiser of events like the poppy day collections and other social events for their members.

Since retiring from, among other jobs, spending the best years at sea in service he now goes around groups such as ours but also to schools and scouts to tell people of what they can do.

They help, where they can, veterans and their dependants with accommodation in one of their several homes. Members belong to clubs where there are dances and bars to keep the social side alive.

After his talk, he judged our competitive display of our members relatives’ medals. Some of these had been lovingly framed with stories of how they were earned by fathers and grandfathers.

Our meeting continued with reports from the recent Beechwood group meeting in Henley and also a patient report from an informative meeting at our surgery on dementia and care.

We were reminded of our “Bystanders can be lifesavers” resolution and a good article was pointed out to us in WI Life magazine, which we all receive.

Jane gave a good, heartfelt précis of the information, particularly the facts that women are less likely to get a speedy diagnosis but also importantly, are less likely statistically to receive emergency CPR from a stranger (bystander) because of the need to expose the breast area.

Our popular darts group is thankfully relocating to the Hare and Hounds in the village for our fortnightly games and we look forward to building a good relationship with the tenants at the pub.

Finally, members were reminded to get their forms in for the Christmas lunch at Badgemore Golf Club. We were asked if anyone (or several) could volunteer to bake our Christmas cake to be shared at our meeting. As there are potentially 70 of us, that’s a lot of cake to bake!

Penny Noble

STOKE ROW

ONE of the highlights of October was our harvest supper evening, a meal of seasonal fare followed by a ceilidh.

About 30 members, partners and friends tucked into platters of ham, chicken and cheeses accompanied with bread, salads and fruits followed by homemade apple pie and cream.

The tables were then cleared to one side to make space for dancing. Despite the amount of food consumed most people joined in for most of the dances, which were danced with great enthusiasm, if not always with the correct steps or in the right direction! Nevertheless it was lots of fun and was a truly great evening. Many thanks go to our caller, Paul, and to our team of members who organised the food.

Our monthly meeting was a little out of the ordinary as we were treated to the story of the Chalgrove Artisan Distillery, created by Bob and Jenny Clark where they craft their Ox Gins.

Jenny is the artist behind the selection and blending of the botanicals that flavour the gins which are all named after postcodes in Oxford. After their talk we were invited to sample a number of gins they had brought along including the award winning OX44 gin infused with mulberries, heather and lemon peel.

A popular choice among our members was OX Love gin, which was infused with champagne and strawberries and the resulting sales were brisk.

Not surprisingly, the evening slightly overran but the business was short and we then had time to watch a brief review of the efforts of our members to support the Coronation Gardens initiative.

Many of our members are growing their own fruit and vegetables as well as providing space for nature by growing insect-friendly flowers and leaving lawns unmowed. Some have provided water in their gardens all year round and others have created “bug hotels” or made their own compost.

Over the last couple of months our crafters have been busy furiously knitting poppies for our annual Remembrance Day display. This year we have created a waterfall of poppies which has just been installed on the outside of Stoke Row village hall.

We don’t know just how many poppies are on display but it must be hundreds. Thank you to all our members who made poppies and a special thanks to June who made around 230 of them.

At our next monthly meeting we are looking forward to hearing from Colleen Gould, one of our members, who spent many years in the RAF. In her own inimitable way, Colleen will continue her story of her life in the RAF, this time as an RAF wife.

There will also be regular meetings of our craft, book and drama groups, swimming, walking, theatre trips and coffee and chat sessions via Zoom. If you are interested in finding out more please contact our secretary via stoke
rowwi@oxfordshirewi.co.uk

Denise Stanworth

WHITCHURCH HILL

OUR committee has organised a couple of particularly successful events of late — setting the bar very high for the coming months.

October’s guest speaker gave us an enthralling talk about the bunker at RAF Uxbridge during the Second World War.

We have, of course, heard many stories about this war from many different sources but few have been as dynamic and captivating as this. Highly recommended.

Later in the month our in-house chefs excelled themselves with a three-course lunch for 29 in our village hall. This was to mark Halloween or, should I say, this provided the excuse to hold the event in the first place. We were delighted to welcome a number of trustees and friends from Upper Basildon.

Our “Welcome Pack” contributions to the Royal Berkshire Hospital continue on a regular basis as do our monthly lunch outings.

We have been delighted to welcome another prospective new member to our WI and are looking forward to Christmas and New Year celebrations.

Sally Bergmann

WOODCOTE

SALLY Lambert welcomed the members and a guest to our Harvest meeting.

Celebrating their birthdays this month were Kerry Jones, Connie Vickery and Sally Lambert. With very special birthdays were Kathy Brewer and Barbara George. We hope they all enjoyed their days.

Thank you to everyone who supported the coffee shop with cakes, tombola prizes, help on the day and the all-important washing up.

Our Christmas meal will be at the Bell, Crowmarsh and, after our homes and gardens meeting in January, we will go to the Red Lion in Woodcote.

The tables looked lovely with autumnal flowers and pretty tablecloths. The variety of food was amazing from some very good cooks.

We had one of Ann Larden’s quizzes and a wordsearch from Patricia Solomons. We also had a collection for the foodbank. Thank you to everyone who contributed.

In November our speaker will be from the RAF Mountain Rescue and the competition will be for a military photograph.

We meet in the village hall on the third Wednesday of the month at 2.30pm, please come and join us.

Judy Williams