26th July
A rather warm day to be inside discussing books but far too hot to be outside in the garden. The novel today was “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas” by John Boyne. This has been made into a film. It is a disturbing story which was written for teenagers as well as adults. To a certain extent, the fact that our generation is aware beforehand of the circumstances the author is describing will have given us a different slant to that of a youngster approaching the book; a person who has been spared the details of the horror of the holocaust. The innocence of the young boys in the story as they are pulled into the cruel world produced by the conflicting ideologies of their elders is so sad. And then that last hanging statement of the novel. ”Of course all this happened a long time ago and nothing like that could ever happen again. Not in this day and age.” Written in 2006 by an Irishman it reveals the true message behind the book which applies just as poignantly now-a-days in many lands further away from home.
23rd July
I visited the Mid-Devon County Agricultural Show today and as you would expect I had a look at the WI tent. The Federation had its own large marquee which also housed the Country Markets. The displays were impressive and the competitive inter-WIs contributions were exciting a lot of interest and comment. Obviously the WIs were set a theme but they were given a larger area in which to display their entries. The frames were deeper so didn’t look so “busy”/crowded as ours tend to do at the Bucks Show. The WI Advisers were doing their promotional work and there was an interesting stall set up for the Denman College Appeal and ACWW.
 
13th July
The discussion group met tonight over a glass of wine to talk about the emergency services. Once again it is surprising the amount of voluntary work which is included within what one would expect to be a state system. We were full of admiration for the scope of the services available, ranging from the air ambulance to the new first response cars. We also acknowledged the way in which big business and industries respond to the needs of people caught up in floods and disasters. The discussion also afforded us time to tell members about the local emergency scheme which operates across counties in which the WI plays its part. Many WIs have a list of trained members who are willing to make themselves available if an emergency arises in the neighbourhood, such as major transport accidents. One doesn’t need to have medical expertise: the ability to get to a village hall or school which has been set up as a relief centre, to make and receive phone calls, to listen or just to serve refreshments and provide a calming influence, may be all that is required. Fortunately, one may never be called upon but the hospitals and police really appreciate help in these ways so that they can get on with the jobs we cannot do.
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​12th July
What fun! It seems that WI members have been engaged in running an illegal business organisation for years and the Law has just exposed us for the criminals we all are. As the Chairman of Cambridgeshire Federation said it has taken a very long time for us to be brought to book for using hedgerow fruits to make products for sale. I notice she mentioned sales at fetes---clever to keep quiet about putting our goods on the shelves of large supermarkets. Surely that must be a more punishable offence.
6th July
The work of the Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity was the subject of tonight’s monthly WI meeting. We were all surprised at the varied scope of the department and the huge part that the volunteers play in the running of such a large organisation. Our delegate to the National WI’s Annual General Meeting at Brighton reported on her visit which she had found interesting. Both resolutions had been passed by large majorities and no amendments had been allowed. The local WI’s Pimms stall at the Queen’s celebrations in the town had been very popular and sold out. The cake stall next day had had to be moved inside the church because of rain but had been a success. Several members had visited the Life Skills flat at Furze Down School to inspect what the WI had helped to furnish and they were most impressed.
4th July
The craft Group are making progress in finding out how to become Wrap Pyjama Fairies. This involves making clothing for children undergoing surgery in hospital or in hospices so there are an awful lot of rules to follow for Health & Safety reasons about fabrics and fastenings which can or cannot be used. It will be September before we really get started but there is a lot of enthusiasm already being shown.
3rd July
The bric-a-brac stall at the Farmers’ Market attracted a lot of interest and the WI made a profit of around £100 which will be added to the money which we are raising for the Save Denman College Appeal. My definition of bric-a-brac is stuff no one wants, so it amazes me that anyone thinks that the stuff can be sold to make money but what do I know…

​29th June
The WI members and guests had taken great pains to dress in floral clothes, predominantly pink, to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday as if it was a lovely summer’s day---Barbara Cartland would have been proud of us. Fortunately, we were all under cover. There was much chatter and rueful laughter in the foyer of the Community Centre in Amersham as people shook themselves dry after crossing the car park. However once inside, everything was lovely: a traditional strawberry tea plus cakes and sandwiches accompanied by pink drinks. Many guests had made tiaras which they wore with style. A nonagenarian was installed as the Queen of proceedings and wore a very impressive full crown. In the course of the afternoon there was a royal quiz and an entertainment put on by members of the Board of Trustees and WI advisers. The finale of synchronised swimming was very well received. If you are wondering how this was achieved, I will just say that we were in Drake’s Hall and there had been a lot of rain that afternoon. If you don’t believe me, you should have attended this event put on by the BFWI for our entertainment to see for yourself.
 
8th June
The local WI’s Discussion Group met in a member’s house this evening to talk about “Engineering”. Some of us had been at a bit of a loss wondering how we could discuss such a huge topic so we started by defining engineering as the application of science for the control and use of power, especially by means of machinery. This made things a little easier when trying to separate science and technology. We discussed the rise of female engineers in spite of parental and social prejudice against young girls taking up what is still considered a career path more suited to males. Of course the inequality of rates of pay between the sexes was also mentioned. There is also a tendency for the public to imagine that the UK is no longer a big player in the field of industry. The evening’s discussion included other forms of engineering such as genetic, social engineering and even political manipulation which was a rather topical subject this month. We concluded by planning to ask the BFWI Education and Current Affairs sub-committee to consider inviting a high-power female engineer to talk at one of its science days.