Buckinghamshire Federation of Women's Institutes
  • 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
  • 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


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. 

Local and global issues

2/4/2017

0 Comments

 
30th March
Like many WIs across the county our WI organised a coach to take us to the WI Craft Fair at the Alexandra Palace today. This was the second day of the exhibition and after a marvellous run up to London we arrived just as it opened so it was easy to walk around and find a coffee before getting down to the business of the day---buying craft items and looking for inspiration. Actually, it never became crowded which was a bit worrying. There was a good variety of stalls selling clothes, food and drink and promotional stands for travel firms offering holidays and outings. In the centre was the official WI area where we could talk to the members of the National Board of Trustees. There were also workshops and presentations on craft and cookery. However, I was not the only person who would have liked more stalls selling craft equipment and supplies. Very few were selling wools and fabrics, no skirt lengths nor frames nor patterns to inspire projects ---not even the WI knitting wools were on offer. We enjoyed our day and the weather helped us to appreciate the London skyline. Judging by the bags being loaded onto the bus for the return home we obviously spent money even if not quite how we had intended.
28th March
Four members from our WI attended the presentation afternoon to learn more about the resolutions that are going up to the NFWI Annual General Meeting in June at Liverpool. These were introduced to the audience so that they would be able to take the information back to their WIs to help decide on how to instruct their delegates to vote. Thelma Sackman introduced the Loneliness resolution and Graham White, the Bucks County Council Communicating Links Officer told us what was happening in our own area. We are fortunate locally on what is being done to alleviate loneliness but certainly there are many places where the inner cities are hardly covered at all: the smaller the community, the more chance there is of this problem coming to light but the prospect of financial cuts hangs over us all. This is a resolution on which WI members can work.
The resolution on the pollution of the seas by microfibres was presented by Hilary Haworth who will be taking it to Liverpool. It is a global problem and therefore the WI can only educate the public about it and pressurise the politicians and industrialists into doing something to reduce the damage already done and what is being done every day as we wash our synthetic clothes. We watched a very American cartoon presentation explaining the problem and Hilary concluded by singing an alternative version of the Gloria Gaynor hit song “I will survive” which would make a great battle cry for the WI.
27th March
Members from both the WIs in Winslow spent the day helping to serve drinks at the NHS blood donors’ session in the town today. In the evening, we were together again at the Chase Group Meeting when the talk was given by an auctioneer who told us tales about his experiences in antique salerooms. He had brought along various items for us to examine and talked about some of the extraordinary things he had had to value and sell in his showrooms. He also answered questions on how to approach the task of deciding how to bequeath our belongings. The reports from the WIs were entertaining as always and the meeting was well attended.
25th March
It is always a great relief when something that has been in the planning for months actually happens and is a success. Those were certainly the sentiments of the WI committee at the Murder Mystery Evening tonight.  This was the return visit of the Lacey Green Players and the mood in the hall was very good but there proved to be very few gifted detectives among the audience. Maybe the fact that they had brought their own liquid refreshments clouded their thinking powers. We hope that the event made a good profit which is going to two local hospices, the Florence Nightingale and Willen.
16th March
One of the local WI members held another jigsaw coffee morning in aid of Adoption UK which the members supported well. Apparently, there is a surge of interest nationally in doing puzzles which is leading to a rise in sales in the shops and at charity shops too. The exercise is being promoted as a way of avoiding dementia and enjoying an evening’s entertainment fairly cheaply---what could be nicer than a warm room, a good light and a glass of wine and to find the one piece you have been searching ​
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    December 2021
    September 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013

    Categories

    All
    ACWW
    Annual Meeting
    Body Image
    Book Group
    Bucks County Show
    Care Not Custody
    Centenary
    Christmas
    COOL
    Denman
    Digital Team Leader
    Discussion Group
    Existentialist Angst
    FGM
    Food Matters
    Great Food Debate
    Happy Stitchers
    History Day
    Homelessness
    Investigation And Discovery
    Jammin' With The WI
    Literary Lunch
    Loneliness
    Love Your Libraries
    Membership
    Mental Health Matters
    Modern Slavery
    Organ Donation
    Plastic Soup
    Quiz
    Resolutions
    Science
    Shop
    SOS For High Streets
    Stuart Lodge
    Support Overdue
    Violence Against Women
    WI Campaigns
    WI Constitution
    WI Crafts
    WI Life
    Women's History
    Women's Suffrage

    RSS Feed

Buckinghamshire Federation of Women's Institutes (Affiliated to the National Federation of Women's Institutes)   ​Charity No: 228057 ​
​External links disclaimer
Throughout our site you will find links to external websites. Although we make every effort to ensure these links are accurate, up to date and relevant, BFWI cannot take responsibility for pages maintained by external providers.  If you come across any external links that don't work, we would be grateful if you could report them to us.
Photo used under Creative Commons from rverc
  • 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