Beyond Bucks

There has been rather a long gap in my blog which most of you will not have noticed. Our local WI’s discussion group talked about “Etiquette” and discovered there were many things done in society nowadays which would never have been deemed acceptable even twenty years ago. However, there was much that we missed but knew we had lost the battle: e-mails and even phone calls are no substitute for thank-you letters; the use of Christian names immediately by medics and tradesmen is another sore point. We all know many Johns and Chris-es so that a surname is absolutely necessary but not often included in an introduction. One of the more memorable aspects of the recent royal wedding was tied in with the traditional use of etiquette and the showing of respect and consideration to others.
While my husband and I were on holiday in Essex (we know how to live) I was talking to a lady from Kent who is a WI member. The subject of food waste at the hotel at which we were staying came up. Unfortunately, it was horribly evident and I mentioned the NFWI campaign. I was very shocked that she said something like “My WI never does anything about following up the resolutions. In fact “ she said “Her WI wasn’t important enough to go to the AGMs.” It was obvious she knew nothing about how all WIs are linked into attending. She had heard about the midwife crisis and knew about the shortcomings in the adoption process but only through the Mothers’ Union. I daren’t ask her about pollution of the oceans because I thought I might get rather cross.
It was a pity I missed the “From Adversity to Prosperity” event. I wonder whether there is anyone out there who could write it up for my blog? That’s the disadvantage of not attending as many events as I used to: this was not because of advancing years but because I was elsewhere. Did I tell you I had been to Essex?
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