Communication

17th April

What a full and interesting April Council Meeting Bucks WI members and friends enjoyed today at the Waterside Theatre! We were all extremely worried that Michael Portillo would not be able to get out of London in time to speak but he arrived just five minutes late looking immaculate in mourning suit. He is an entertaining speaker and has a large following from his TV series on great train journeys.The morning speaker was inspiring: May Kidd the World President of ACWW to which the WI is affiliated. May has a completely different style of presentation to Michael Portillo. She appears rather homely and slightly unprofessional but she gets her message across very cleverly. I am sure that those who heard her describing her work around the globe will dip deep in future when asked to contribute to Coins for Friendship.May acknowledged the contribution made to Bucks WIs' latest ACWW project by members and advertised the Women Walk the World scheme for 29th April.

The business side of the meeting went smoothly and we enjoyed listening to the Joyful Divas choir. The new website was launched and we were all encouraged to advance our techniques not only for WI activities but also in private, getting the best out of our own computers.If you have never been to one of these council meetings I would recommend that you try in the future because you learn that there is so much more to the WI than the monthly meeting.

16th April

Today the local WI book group was discussing the Confession of Katherine Howard by Suzannah Dunn. We have been reading quite a lot of historical fiction recently, mostly about the Tudors. I am afraid that Hilary Mantell and Philippa Gregory must have spoilt us for appreciating this novel.Several members thought it little better than a Mills&Boon title but one brave soul stood up in its defence.No one liked the manner in which the author had used modern language and phrases such as "in your face" in the text instead of something even slightly more Tudor. I know we don't know exactly how they spoke in those times but I bet it wasn't like that! We are growing in numbers in the reading group and will soon be having to sit cross-legged on the floor. Fortunately (in a way) there is rarely a full house and so far we have been able to share the books and still finish them in time for the next session.