Spring cleaning

Spring has certainly sprung and we have enjoyed marvellous weather over the Easter Bank Holiday. The urge to spring clean may be why the local committee is gathering together all the WI’s archives from various members’ houses in order to conduct a stocktake. Luckily there is a printed list of what has to be kept officially and what can be discarded after a set period of time so that important records do not disappear into the shredding machines. Paper is not as great a problem as the physical items that a WI collects over the years such as banners, tablecloths and china, costumes from drama events, competition entries etc. Then there is the problem of storage to be solved as WIs no longer have cupboards in their meeting places.
 Outside, several members have been taking part in the national town scheme of litter-picking which one approaches with some reluctance but once involved it is quite an enjoyable activity. Working in teams of three it is not long before a competitive element emerges as the collector of plastic and tin argues with the classification made by the general rubbish sack-holder. Of course, in an ideal world this would not need to be done at all, but unfortunately it is only a matter of hours before one notices new litter along a road or street from which one has personally just purged every cigarette end.
Recent activities include meetings of the craft group, an outing for the gardening group and a jigsaw swap coffee morning in aid of Adoption UK. The members of the discussion group enjoyed an entertaining evening sharing the titles of books which had made a lasting impression on them at some time in their lives. Children’s classics, books studied for English exams and books written by authors local to the reader’s area which brought back memories, all featured. Several people were prompted to read the recommendations of others but the majority of titles had already been read by all at some time.
Next month promises to be a very busy month for WI members everywhere with preparations for the National AGM resolutions, the Bucks Council Meeting in Aylesbury and outdoor activities such as outings and walking netball. I feel like Mole in “The Wind in the Willows”: hang the spring cleaning, enjoy the fresh air, but I’ll probably not go “ messing around with boats”.
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