Sounds of Summer

Open air concert at Denman College 15th September
Over 200 WI members with friends and family travelled to Denman College to share in the celebrations planned to mark its 70th birthday. Hosted by the NFWI Chair Lynne Stubbings and Pat Tulip, the vice Chair we were entertained to “Sounds of Summer”. There was music to suit all tastes---Gilbert and Sullivan songs from Opera Anywhere and a contribution from the Young Women’s Music Project, through to symphonies from the Isis Chamber Orchestra followed by the showmanship of the Temple Funk Collective and finishing with a local WI favourite, Lola Lamour singing songs from the shows. The pre-booked hampers were full of lovely food; there were little tents where the visitors could try their hand at willow-work, biscuit decoration or make decorative hearts. For the more active people there were activities such as badminton, croquet, welly whanging and table tennis. Inside the house, tables were laden with haberdashery for sale and of course there was a raffle with generous prizes. A nip in the air towards the end of the evening provided a welcome excuse to visit the bar for warmth of one kind or another.
I couldn’t help wondering why there were not more members from Bucks: after all, we are almost next door to Denman. It is always a risk to attend outside events but we survived abominable weather conditions at Stowe a few years ago and came through cheerfully wet. A pity as so much work had gone into the event and it was such fun! It was advertised in WI Life for several months. There were no coach parties present either but individuals had travelled from Wales and Kent.
September 10th
The local craft group has resumed its meetings. Members are struggling along with their poppies for Remembrance Sunday. We were disappointed to hear that the murder mystery evening at Wendover had been cancelled ---not for lack of support but because the sponsor had pulled out. A shame because the evening had been successful and enjoyed last year.
September 12th
It was sombre listening to the speaker Liz Gough at our monthly meeting. I hasten to add not because of the speaker but because of her subject. Liz has had first-hand experience of helping at refugee stations in Greece. The theme was human trafficking and modern day slavery which are topics relevant to WI campaigns at present. It is difficult for us to imagine the mindset of people prepared to appear to be greeting refugees after the trauma of crossing the seas and then delivering them straight into the hands of the traffickers. We must all keep our eyes open for those poor men, women and children who are unable to escape the clutches of these people. It isn’t just happening elsewhere---it is a local problem too.
The summer tea at Pendley Manor had been enjoyed and plans are well advanced for our Jazz evening in October. Tickets are now available. The village book is in hand. The monthly competitions are well supported now as the members work their way through the alphabet with their entries. I thought “I” was difficult but I think “J “may be more so.
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