Around the Women’s Institutes

BENSON

WE got hands on at our November meeting, making seasonal wreaths under the guidance of Sandie Griffiths, who is a local floristry expert.

Sandie has visited us in November for the last couple of years to demonstrate and help us with our arrangements.

There was lots of mess and chatter but there were some very satisfying outcomes with members taking home their creations all ready for Christmas.

In the same week, Benson WI took part in the annual Christmas Tree Festival held in St Helen’s Church.

The theme for our tree was “Christmas Puddings” and decorations included some lovely hand-knitted Christmas puddings and mince pies plus twinkling lights.

In December, we will be going out to the Springs Hotel and Golf Resort near Wallingford for a Christmas afternoon tea. This will be purely a social event, a chance to pull a cracker or two and wish everybody a Happy Christmas.

In the New Year, Benson WI will meet in Benson House — not the usual parish hall. Visitors are more than welcome but please contact the secretary first at bensonwi@oxfordshire
wi.co.uk

Sue Brown

CAVERSHAM

IN November, we held our usual monthly meeting at Caversham WI. This time, to make a change, the meeting was very much biscuit-themed.

We started the meeting with tea and biscuits and played a photograph quiz and tabletop games such as “cork in a mug”. There was much laughter and joy and more biscuits for the winners!

Our December meeting has also just taken place. This is our birthday celebration and festive party. Jean Hill did a fantastic job of leading us through many journeys, stories and thoughtful exercises in a festive spirit and all in poetry too.

We would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

When we meet again, in January, we will be discussing which of the proposed national WI resolutions we would most like to support. These votes then go on to shape where the National WI uses its efforts throughout the coming year — standing up for the key issues that affect women today.

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/coffee, biscuits, a small raffle and, of course, time to learn something new and discuss local and national issues.

Claire Elliott

CHAZEY

CHRISTMAS celebrations started early when the members were entertained by Derry and the Silver Tones.

Derry, a young man, conducted a group of senior citizens who were dressed predominantly in red and lots and lots of sparkle. The programme included Christmas and other songs and soon had everyone’s feet tapping.

The performers joined the ladies for Christmas cake and tea. Some even won a prize in the Christmas raffle. The meeting discussed how best to spend the £50 prize won by the group for having the most new members and also made the final arrangement for the Christmas lunch at Caversham Chazey Golf Club.

The group meet 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

WITH Christmas, and our own family celebrations in mind, it is sometimes easy to forget those for whom the season is not so very merry.

Our November speaker was Matilda Draycott-Wright from Berkshire Women’s Aid, who explained the services offered, and the dreadful need behind them. As well as the speaker’s fee, a collection was made totalling £200. This topic was chosen for November to tie in with the WI campaign to eliminate violence against women.

In November we always make a collection of food for Wallingford Emergency Food Bank. A bumper car load was donated and delivered to the charity the following day.

Four members attended Oxfordshire Federation of Women’s Institute’s talk on “The Greatest Story Ever Told” at Abingdon, where Professor Timothy Coulson took us from the Big Bang to the present day in just over an hour, and teeny tiny pieces.

We have attracted several new members over the autumn period and look forward to another fulfilling WI year. But first of all — the Christmas Party! Wishing all readers a Very Happy Christmas and New Year,

Chris Cox

COCKPOLE GREEN

ON Wednesday, November 19 Cockpole Green WI welcomed a fellow member of the group.

Sheila Williams is also a member and experienced judge of NAFAS (the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies).

Today’s demonstration was how to decorate a grapevine wreath to place on a door or as a table decoration. Sheila is a very talented flower arranger and we knew we would be given expert tuition (and help!).

Sheila came very well prepared with grapevine wreaths and many decorative attachments including coloured ribbons, apple, lime and orange slices, lotus pods, cinnamon sticks, sparkly balls and much more. Ribbons could be used as a base or made into loops and placed around the wreath.

All these attractive decorations were attached by wires to make sure they were firmly in place.

Members enjoyed choosing and designing their wreaths from the many decorations and were helped and guided with expert advice and suggestions from Sheila.

Each wreath was as individual as our lovely members.

Sheila was warmly thanked by chair Judi Rowlands, as we all admired each other’s finished wreaths and then enjoyed tea and biscuits served by Liz Cope and Ruth-Mary Vaughan.

Our next meeting is Wednesday January 21 — a talk by Peter Delaney, historian with Wargrave Local History Society.

New members are always welcome.

Ruth-Mary Vaughan

PEPPARD

WE gathered on a wonderful autumnal sunny day for our meeting in November and welcomed our guest speaker, Richard Anderson, who gave us a very professional and thought-provoking illustrated talk on the historical figure, Eva Braun.

It left us all far more aware of the situation she found herself in and the new facts we all learnt were fascinating and rather illuminating. It was a reminder that dedicated research unearths facts that have been hidden for decades, a lifetime.

Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, December 10 at 2pm in Peppard War Memorial Hall, when members will conclude the year with our anticipated afternoon of festive cheer at the Christmas party.

Elaine Douglas

REMENHAM

THIS month our members attended a film afternoon at Remenham WI.

They enjoyed watching the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. This was an interesting version of the story with, among others, Donny Osmond, Richard Attenborough, Joan Collins and Christopher Biggins.

The well-known music was appreciated on a rather grey afternoon, as were the ice creams which were distributed during the film.

The tea afterwards took on shades of a cinema trip with hot dogs and fruit jelly cups!

Tickets have all been booked for the forthcoming trip to My Fair Lady at the Mill at Sonning.

The book club enjoyed their last book, Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent, and they are now reading You Are Here by David Nichols, which was a Sunday Times bestseller. This is a comic fiction of a grown-up love story, balancing absurdity and sadness as a party of walkers set out on a hike of several days across northern England. Readers can enjoy the rain and shine with the backdrop of England’s lakes and fells.

Daphne Austen

SHIPLAKE

OUR November meeting took the form of business dealings first.

Rosemary Appleby laid a poppy wreath on behalf of our WI at Shiplake war memorial.

Joan Jolley organised our post box poppy topper for outside the Shiplake corner shop and has asked for volunteers with future toppers, especially for our upcoming centenary.

Members have been very generous with their donations of toiletries for charity. These will be taken to Nationwide who will be organising distribution.

Our ladies were reminded of the craft morning on December 4, organised by Janet Matthews, when we will be making Christmas tree and table decorations.

Our Christmas lunch is at the Baskerville on Wednesday, December 3 at 12.30 pm.

Our next outing was to see Just for One Day at the Shaftesbury Theatre on November 26. This month’s speaker was Jeremy Sharpe, the subject being the Holocaust, “It could have been me”. This year is the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, one of six Second World War death camps where one million people were murdered.

Ironically, the sign above the gates to the camp translates as “Work Sets You Free”.

Jeremy, a retired history teacher, told us that the Holocaust is the only compulsory subject to be taught in the curriculum.

He then told us about his Jewish grandfather and his own family background when his grandmother escaped to England with her daughter Erika.

Erika is Jeremy’s mother and this is why he is so passionate about the Holocaust and that the story is never forgotten but passed on to future generations.

Jeremy was an excellent speaker, holding everyone’s attention to the very end. Thank you, Jeremy.

There will be no speaker at our December meeting which is our Christmas tea party on December 17, 2.30pm at Shiplake Memorial Hall.

Judy Rolstone

SONNING COMMON

NOVEMBER took us back in time for some medieval merriment.

Our speaker was an accomplished musician, playing various recorders and other medieval instruments including a mini harp and even the bagpipes.

She told us of the feasting and merriment which morphed into Christmastime entertainment, often on a very lavish scale and lasting the full 12 days of Christmas with the giving of gifts as well.

Some pretty stained-glass items were on our competition table and a flower of the month, difficult to find in our gardens at this time of year, was chosen.

We all voted for the local causes to receive our latest set of profits from the village coffee mornings, with the Springwater vouchers to go to families in particular need at Christmas under the auspices of the food bank gaining the most votes and four or five others who will receive their donations in the new year.

The Badgemore lunch is being looked forward to by some 56 members, who will have a jolly time in December, thanks to Jane, who has organised it. We heard of the progress of our quiz team in the village quiz for the library. We kept our record of coming last but we do enjoy the evening. It’s not about winning but taking part…

We all thanked our longstanding raffle girls who are retiring after a very long time of taking our money at the door and sourcing interesting prizes.

They were given lovely bouquets and we are now looking for two more to take this on.

Our Christmas party is on December 18 (members only) and we look forward to hearing from the Barbarettes and maybe playing the odd silly game or two.

Merry Christmas all.

Penny Noble

STOKE ROW

AT our November meeting we welcomed our very own Colleen Gould as our speaker for the evening.

The hall was full with several members also joining online via Zoom, which is testament to Colleen’s popularity as a speaker.

Last year, Colleen talked to us about her early career in the RAF before she met her husband when they were both stationed in what was then called Aden.

This time Colleen continued the story of her life concentrating on her change of role to an RAF wife.

What ran through her story was the resilience, flexibility and humour required to provide a home and stability for their family as “home” shifted from place to place at regular intervals often with little notice.

Sometimes the postings were in various parts of the UK and sometimes abroad but Colleen’s favourite place was Singapore, where they lived for a couple of years on each of two separate postings.

Life was not glamorous and was often quite boring but Colleen fought the boredom by finding jobs wherever they happened to live.

She finished the story with their return to England to start their retirement which we hope she will tell us about on another occasion as I’m sure it was anything but quiet.

The humour continued as our drama group entertained us with a short panto-themed sketch based on Cinderella which was great fun. Well done ladies!

On the night members also donated tubes of toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap and flannels as part of the WI’s “dental health matters” campaign. One of our members has made more than 20 fabric toiletry bags which will be filled with these items and donated to the Sonning Common food bank for distribution to those in need.

On the day of our November walk we were blessed with blue skies and wall to wall sunshine for a beautiful walk around the fields and woodlands of the Nuffield area.

The walk of about two-and-a-half miles was enjoyed by all and the cherry on the cake was to finish the walk at the Maker Space for a mug of tea and of course a cake.

Our next meeting will be our Christmas party when we have musical entertainment in the form of the Tonyxx.

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 email
stokerowwi@oxfordshire
wi.co.uk

Denise Stanworth

WOODCOTE

SALLY Lambert welcomed the members to our November meeting.

Celebrating two very special birthdays this month were Yasmin Gaielle and Betty Thomas, we hope they had a lovely time.

Our speaker this month was Al Sylvester MBE, who gave us an inspirational talk on his work as a team leader with the Royal Air Force’s Mountain Rescue Service, where he was involved in more than 400 rescues in extreme and hostile environments.

The competition for a military photograph was won by Jenny Cotter and the bloom of the month was also won by Jenny with her beautiful red Mandevilla or rock trumpet.

We had a lovely tea — thank you to Jenny Cotter and Patricia Solomons.

In December we will be entertained by Lyne Nash with Christmas songs.

We meet in the village hall on the third Wednesday of the month for a 2.30pm start, we would love to see you, come and join us.

Judy Williams