ANNUAL REPORT 8TH NOVEMBER 2018
Another busy, fun packed year with lots of activities going on.
Jo and Helen (two of our members) taught us how to do some simple decoupage.................lots of coffee tins became objects of beauty and usefulness!
A very entertaining talk about Tewkesbury during WWII was given by John Dixon. The competition saw some fascinating wartime objects, one of two of which really interested John - it's fascinating what some of us have up in our lofts!
We had a number of well-being type talks including the kitchen pharmacy and stress management. Also a first for us was asking Jo to share with us her wilderness upbringing in the depths of Canada, it was a fascinating insight into an alternative culture and many of us could have listened to her for another hour at least.
Six of us attended the GFWI Annual Council Meeting in Cheltenham Town Hall where we heard Adam Henson of Countryfile and Cotswold Farm Park fame tell us a little bit about his life. There were also lots of lovely stalls to browse around and it is always good to hear what is happening in WI world in the rest of Gloucestershire. If you fancy a day out, it is a good day and will be on March 27th next year (2019).
Four members from our Knit & Natter group attended a 'staging' workshop for the GFWI Centenary exhibition planned for Gloucester Cathedral next Autumn - our group are planning to knit a display depicting some of our own WI activities.
Again we joined the Tewkesbury Medieval Festival parade on a very hot day in July - we were chased all the way through the parade by the 'Dead Cart' who kept dropping body parts along the way, much to the amusement/concern of the children. 'Bring out your dead' was the refrain from the High Street to the Meadow! Do think about joining us next year - all are welcome.
In June Helen & Marge went to Norton's open meeting where the activity for the evening was 'Laughter Yoga' - they had such a brilliant time they haven't stopped talking about it yet! A few of us went along to the Tredington & Stoke Orchard open meeting in September to listen to a terrific speaker telling us all about the SS Great Britain, it was such a fascinating talk that a visit to SS Great Britain was considered a contender for our outing next year.
We had a super day out in August at the Black Country Museum, all organised for us by Peggy (thank you Peggy). Seeing Jo do 'double dutch skipping' in high heels was terrifying with visions of broken ankles. The silent Laurel & Hardy movie was wonderful. I think the majority of us donned hard hats to sail through the canal tunnels and/or had a pint in the pub - shame it wasn't 1908 prices!! Did anyone go down the mine or get told off by the strict teacher in the school??
2019 it was our turn to host the Cotswold Vale Group Rally. We had a lovely speaker, Jackie Dean from Bluebell Wood Florists in Tewkesbury, who did an amazing floral art demonstration which she then donated to our raffle. Everyone enjoyed the Ploughmans and the little individual trifles to follow proved very popular. We had 59 attendees including our GFWI President and Secretary, Jan and Lindsay. The four institute's craft displays were well received and the paper flowers on the tables made by Helen and Jo were much admired by all - some of them were so admired that people actually bought them!
Finally don't forget that we have our own WI website - if you go to uckington-elmstonehardwickewi.weebly.com you will find lots of photographs of things we have done over the years, our annual reports and our programmes.
Jo and Helen (two of our members) taught us how to do some simple decoupage.................lots of coffee tins became objects of beauty and usefulness!
A very entertaining talk about Tewkesbury during WWII was given by John Dixon. The competition saw some fascinating wartime objects, one of two of which really interested John - it's fascinating what some of us have up in our lofts!
We had a number of well-being type talks including the kitchen pharmacy and stress management. Also a first for us was asking Jo to share with us her wilderness upbringing in the depths of Canada, it was a fascinating insight into an alternative culture and many of us could have listened to her for another hour at least.
Six of us attended the GFWI Annual Council Meeting in Cheltenham Town Hall where we heard Adam Henson of Countryfile and Cotswold Farm Park fame tell us a little bit about his life. There were also lots of lovely stalls to browse around and it is always good to hear what is happening in WI world in the rest of Gloucestershire. If you fancy a day out, it is a good day and will be on March 27th next year (2019).
Four members from our Knit & Natter group attended a 'staging' workshop for the GFWI Centenary exhibition planned for Gloucester Cathedral next Autumn - our group are planning to knit a display depicting some of our own WI activities.
Again we joined the Tewkesbury Medieval Festival parade on a very hot day in July - we were chased all the way through the parade by the 'Dead Cart' who kept dropping body parts along the way, much to the amusement/concern of the children. 'Bring out your dead' was the refrain from the High Street to the Meadow! Do think about joining us next year - all are welcome.
In June Helen & Marge went to Norton's open meeting where the activity for the evening was 'Laughter Yoga' - they had such a brilliant time they haven't stopped talking about it yet! A few of us went along to the Tredington & Stoke Orchard open meeting in September to listen to a terrific speaker telling us all about the SS Great Britain, it was such a fascinating talk that a visit to SS Great Britain was considered a contender for our outing next year.
We had a super day out in August at the Black Country Museum, all organised for us by Peggy (thank you Peggy). Seeing Jo do 'double dutch skipping' in high heels was terrifying with visions of broken ankles. The silent Laurel & Hardy movie was wonderful. I think the majority of us donned hard hats to sail through the canal tunnels and/or had a pint in the pub - shame it wasn't 1908 prices!! Did anyone go down the mine or get told off by the strict teacher in the school??
2019 it was our turn to host the Cotswold Vale Group Rally. We had a lovely speaker, Jackie Dean from Bluebell Wood Florists in Tewkesbury, who did an amazing floral art demonstration which she then donated to our raffle. Everyone enjoyed the Ploughmans and the little individual trifles to follow proved very popular. We had 59 attendees including our GFWI President and Secretary, Jan and Lindsay. The four institute's craft displays were well received and the paper flowers on the tables made by Helen and Jo were much admired by all - some of them were so admired that people actually bought them!
Finally don't forget that we have our own WI website - if you go to uckington-elmstonehardwickewi.weebly.com you will find lots of photographs of things we have done over the years, our annual reports and our programmes.