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The Members' Blog

Authorship
Until January 2020, this Blog was the voice of an individual WI member.  Over her 40 years of membership, our Blogger had made a very fine contribution to this and other Federations in England.  With interests in crafts, reading and writing and in travel, she also took an active part in campaigning for women's welfare and education and on environmental issues.  While she has now handed over the Blog to the wider Bucks membership, her archived blog posts are a testament to someone who always made the utmost of her membership, and a rich source of information about the part the WI can play in today's society. 

Annual Meeting, Bournemouth

13/6/2019

2 Comments

 
This was a very good meeting, not wildly exciting but interesting. Lynne Stubbings NFWI Chair started proceedings with a “state of the nation” type of resume of the past year. The Treasurer reported a good year financially: WI Enterprises had done well and Denman College had been dealing successfully with its deficit. The new system for claiming Gift Aid was explained. Ann Jones promoted the Climate Ambassador Scheme and appealed for volunteers to work locally for it.
The resolution against the decline of local bus services was well presented with experts speaking for and against the motion. Debate from the floor stressed the extent of the problem and the negative impact on living conditions in rural areas. It was carried by a huge majority as expected.
Lord Bradley Chairman of the Care not Custody Coalition spoke of the work of the Prison Reform Trust and 38 other organisations working within this coalition. He listed the action programme that it was carrying out with 92% coverage across the UK. This included diversion services, street triage, teams in schools and colleges, Pathways such as the one in Milton Keynes for women on remand or with short sentences and improved information sharing between hospitals, the police and social services. A united approach would save money in the NHS, reduce the crowding in prisons and cut re-offending figures and more importantly increase the chances of the offenders enjoying a better standard of life.
After lunch the resolution Don’t fear the Smear was presented. Rob Music from Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust supported the motion and a member from NFWI Trustees spoke as the Devil’s advocate because no expert could be found. There were heart-rending examples quoted in the debate and the overall message was don’t stop at the age of seventy, encourage businesses to allow employees time for tests and increase awareness to stop the gap among younger women who had missed the new system of vaccination in secondary schools. This was passed by an even huger majority than the morning’s motion.
Maggie Philbin CEO of Teentech and previous presenter on Tomorrow’s World and Swapshop described her work with youngsters especially girls to encourage their skills in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and Maths). She stressed the need for nurturing talent and imagination from an early age even if it was difficult to fit into a rigid school curriculum.
This year I didn’t travel down with the BFWI coach nor stay with Bucks members in the same hotel but I am sure that worked out well as usual. I shared my hotel with Suffolk Federation which had arranged for the delegates to raid the breakfast bar to make up sandwiches and take fruit etc for their lunches at the conference to avoid crowding in the hall: foil and paper bags provided. This wasn’t repeated for their journey home! I couldn’t help thinking this was a good idea as there have been meeting halls with pretty ropey refreshments in the past.
I picked up leaflets encouraging the use of MYWI and the Climate Ambassador Scheme to bring home to Bucks but left all the promotion material for cruises---well, you know what I think about the pollution from ocean liners! Mind, if you look at the financial statement for NFWI you know why it insists on handing out their cruise lists and fills WI Life with their advertisements. Enough said…
​
2 Comments
Kim Edwards
24/6/2019 02:06:47 pm

Sounds like petty theft to me! (making up lunch bags from the breakfast items)

Reply
blogger link
25/6/2019 11:00:34 am

No It was pre-arranged with the hotel probably to thwart petty theft as well!

Reply



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Buckinghamshire Federation of Women's Institutes (Affiliated to the National Federation of Women's Institutes)   ​Charity No: 228057 ​
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  • Home
  • who we are
    • Federation Trustees
    • Sub-Committees
    • Sub-Committee Videos
  • What we do
    • Current Campaigns
      • Climate Change
      • End Violence against Women
      • Get On Board
      • Stop Modern Slavery
      • Make a Match
      • 5 Minutes that matter
    • Resolutions
    • The Members' Blog
  • What's On
    • Events Calendar
    • Competitions & Challenges
      • Green Canopy Competition '22
      • Elizabeth Bell Challenge 2021
      • BFWI Silver Cup
      • Lady Denman Cup
      • Pudding Fit for a Queen
      • Virtual Show
  • Running your WI
    • Finding a Speaker
    • Subscriptions
    • Library
      • Tutorials & Library
    • Learning
      • WI Training
      • Denman @ Home
  • Gallery
  • Contact Us
  • On-line Store
  • History of Buckinghamshire WIs
  • Use of Website