​A rather depleted craft group met this afternoon. We reviewed the success of our contributions to the WI tombola stall at the Farmers’ Market. This had been masterminded by one of our members. There hadn’t been the number of children visiting the stall as we had expected which meant we had toys left over. We agreed that these could go still in their wrappings but without raffle tickets attached to the Women’s Refuge which the local WI supports. We then discussed the invitation from the local school PTA to help at its Christmas Fair. Fifty knitted teddy bears had been donated to the school but they needed eyes, stuffing and sewing up by the children. It was hoped some WI ladies would be able to give practical advice and be there to demonstrate how to tackle the problem. The thought of perhaps 50 primary children armed with needles and bags of stuffing made some of us turn pale but we are going to give it a go!
The local WI held an extra meeting this week. Every year our WI gives what it calls a Denman College bursary: one year the members draw a raffle to attend a course at the WI college at Marcham and in alternate years the Committee set up an extra educational evening to which all the members can come for free. On Wednesday over 20 of the members shared the annual Denman Bursary by being taught to work with silver wire to make a piece of jewellery. The demonstrators from Corzo&Wood in the Courtyard at Claydon House brought with them a display of silver pendants and ear-rings, handbags and scarves from their shop. We set about trying to tame lengths of silver wire with different kinds of pliers in order to encase a stone to form a pendant. It was very hard on the thumbs but everyone produced a passable pendant with a little help from Violeta and Sarah. It was a most enjoyable and educational evening and of course the refreshments were good too.

​Yesterday one of the Bucks Federation board of trustees held a shop and coffee morning at her house in Padbury. I imagine the attendance might turn out to be lower than hoped because overnight rain had caused extensive flooding on local roads. It is appreciated when the WI shop contents are brought out to the areas at a distance from our HQ in High Wycombe.
The local WI discussion group met this week after a sort of summer recess. The topic was “fake news” which is not a new problem but one that has grown in importance with the advent of social media. We thought there were two kinds; first the deliberate information planted to reach a targeted audience in order to achieve a specific aim and secondly, information started with a nugget of truth which then suffers manipulation in the manner of Chinese whispers. Fake news has been about since it was exchanged by word of mouth among the courtiers, crusaders and peasants of the medieval world. It was used in scare stories in wartime and in espionage to bamboozle the enemy. Chequebook journalism thrives on it and of course it is so fast along social media outlets.
Our WI Annual Meeting is in November and this year it was very well attended. We completed all the required reports and were pleased to be reminded of a successful year with interesting speakers enjoyed and a healthy bank balance to see us through the next. We have a committee and our president is game to continue in post for another year. The members were asked to sign up to receive the Bucks Newsletter on line rather than as hard copy. Several of us refused even though we had e-mail addresses because we didn’t like reading newsletters off the screen and personally, I don’t believe that the members will take up as many bookings for BFWI events if they haven’t got the information in writing in front of them. It’s bad enough as it is with the system of not receiving paper tickets for events: one has to go back to the original announcement in the newsletter to be reminded of time and place. OK you can prove me wrong! The tickets for the barn dance are selling well. The social time at the meeting was taken up by “swishing” our unwanted clothes or bad buys amongst each other. This proved popular and no money changed hands.
The local WI held a promotional stall at the November Farmers’ Market when we ran a tombola and drew attention to our WI. This attracted a few enquiries into what the WI was all about and we hope these will bear fruit in January.
 

​Did you spot the good news in the national press yesterday about the progress in the medical world towards being able to offer self-diagnosis via a urine test of infection by the human papilloma virus (HPV) and so do away with smear tests. Of course, it is in the future but it shows willing in line with last year’s WI mandate. It will not answer the question of how to ensure that young women actually do the test regularly but they will not have the excuse that it is an unpleasant way to spend one’s free time. It may also cover the gap after the inoculation programme starts in secondary schools for boys as well as girls.
On 31st October I went along to the BFWI Afternoon of Presentations arranged by the Speakers’ sub-committee at Oving. We listened to five speakers give potted versions of their talks which they hoped would lead to their being accepted on to the BFWI list. Subjects ranged from live bug specimens to Bucks part in espionage during World War II, from the writing of romantic fiction to feeding the troops in East Africa and we finished with an entertaining duo who sang to a large guitar. WIs are encouraged to send a couple of members to these sessions to get ideas for the following year’s programme: the pair can have their tickets paid for out of funds. So why are they able to fit into a small village hall? These meetings are so entertaining and useful---and the refreshments are marvellous. The next auditions are in High Wycombe in February. It is always worth enquiring if there are any spare seats after the “official” places are booked.
The local WI book group discussed “Old Baggage” by Lissa Evans. None of its members had requested this title so we were a bit doubtful as to why the community librarian had booked it for us but he was forgiven as most of us had enjoyed reading it. The main character is a former suffragette who lectures and talks about the campaign at meetings so that a lot of accurate information about the movement is provided. Mattie had been a very active member, a real fighter for the cause who in 1928 is missing the excitement of being involved in a national campaign and is not sure that women have achieved enough. She had suffered the loss of two brothers in World War I and when she discovers a niece of whom she was unaware among the girls she is training to be self-reliant strong members of society she makes an error of judgement which destroys her own position. There is a lot of humour in the novel but also it is a sad tale of someone who is completely ignorant of the feelings of those around her. This novel is set to be the first part of a trilogy.