The new year got off to a good start with excellent attendance at our first meeting of 2016 and we were very pleased to have no less than eight visitors join us. The short-listed resolutions were discussed and members voted for the campaign that they would like to go forward to the NFWI AGM, after which our speaker of the evening, Tony Osman gave us a brief history on the subject of glass-blowing. Small pieces of blown glass have been discovered in the tombs of the Egyptian Pharaohs and it is believed glass has been around for around 5,000 years. Tony also told us about the amazing properties of glass, despite it consisting of only three very basic elements - sand making up 70% of the equation. There followed a very exciting demonstration of how he is able to transform a small piece of glass tubing into a variety of shapes, just by adding a heat source. Tony is indeed very skilled at his trade and finished by producing a beautiful scent bottle, complete with a glass embellishment and kindly donated one such bottle he had made earlier for our raffle.
February
We were delighted to welcome Susan Marshfield to our February meeting as the speaker of the month. Her talk was entitled “Oh yes I remember it well” and, as you can guess, meant she was looking back and relaying some of the significant events she could recall happening in her life, which she described as “memory jolts”. The focus mainly revolved around her early family life; of evenings listening to the radio; the delivery of their first TV and screening of the Coronation in 1953; her father teaching her how to drive and taking her to football matches. Susan has a gentle, humorous personality and had many wry observations on life in general, prompting much laughter from her audience. Her talk left us all recalling “memory jolts” of our own and by the end of the evening we were sharing experiences and recalling events that were special to us all. Lovely!
March
This month we had Paul Evans entertain us with a selection of poems and monologue. He opened with the classic, well known poem "Leisure" by W.H. Davies - you know, the one that starts with the lines "What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare......" This immediately pleased everyone but certainly did not set the tone for the rest of the evening. Paul had a very humorous, varied collection of poems, anecdotes and readings and he recited material that gave us an insight as to how children view the role of a grandmother; the teenage angst of unrequited love and even how a simple piece of binder string can be the saviour of many situations. Although Paul has material sourced from classic and contemporary poets, he has also obtained some delightful pieces penned by characters in his own locality which had us laughing out loud. He is a real story teller and it was a treat to hear him this evening.
April
Philip Wilkinson, author and historian, joined us tonight to talk on the history of The High Street. This was an absolute treat. His interest in architectural & social history and his ability to convey the obvious passion he has on the subject made us all sit up and listen intently. Also the images he projected to illustrate his talk were fascinating and he opened our eyes as we view some fascinating shop frontages of yesteryear. Initially he transported us back to the 16th century; moving through the Georgian period when buying power really started to get going, when glazed shop fronts began to appear in major towns and cities; then on into the Victorian age when sheet glass was available for windows and gas lamps could shed light on mirror glass to produce sparkling, eye-catching displays. The Victorians were the inventors of promotional signing, incorporating cast iron, coloured glass and ceramics; the shopping arcade also started making an appearance in this era, creating a safe, clean and beautiful environment for the lady shopper. Philip not only spoke about the shop fronts, ut also about some of the established brands still around today. We learnt all about how Mr. William Henry Smith (WHSmith) and Mr.Jesse Boot, (Boots) became national retailers and he also gave us an insight into the life of the entrepreneur William Whitely, founder of the first department store in London. High Street history is a huge topic to cover and Philip could have kept us entertained for hours on the subject, but sadly the old enemy of time meant he had to bring his talk to a close. He finished with advice to us all that, when we are walking down a street in a town, familiar or otherwise, we should LOOK UP and take in the wonderful architecture around us. His talk has certain inspired us and hopefully we will now begin to see things we would normally overlook.
May
After discussions and voting on the two Resolutions put forward for adoption at the 2016 AGM our speaker for the evening, Liz Reilly recounted the fateful moment she was involved in a freak, life changing accident that during an evening walk in the countryside with her husband. A style collapsed beneath her causing injuries to her back and groin - so much so that the next day she could hardly speak because the pain was so great. Liz recalled all the professionals she had seen during her road to recovery, including Osteopaths, Chiropractors and Sports Therapists. Along with the absolutely essential painkillers she needed, Liz also sought many, varied, mainstream and complimentary treatments, such as pain management, Cortisone injections, massage and acupuncture. Despite all these efforts she lived in chronic pain for several years before the breakthrough diagnosis was delivered to her that eventually meant she could source and receive the treatment that successfully brought her relief. You would think such a story would be miserable tale, but Liz managed to tell it in a positive and even amusing way that engaged us all. She has also since turned her experiences into a book which was published in 2014 and is appropriately called "Fighting Back". In the book she passes on all the knowledge she has gained and hopes to give inspiration to those readers also suffering chronic back pain.
June
We had a member’s own evening for June, which means that we get to enjoy some home grown entertainment but, before things got underway Janice, our delegate to the NFWI AGM held in Brighton this year, gave us a resume of the weekend. She said the whole event was a time of fun, fellowship and debate – just what the WI is all about really. We then set off on a table top treasure hunt in the Welsh Borders. We turned detective and, armed with map and clues, a route from Leominster to Tenbury Wells had to be followed. There was much head scratching but everyone managed to get around most of the course. This report may be small, but it does not reflect the huge amusement had by all on the night!
July
Another member’s evening was organised for July, which mean lots of chat and conviviality among everyone. However that wasn’t all that kept us busy; Veronica brought along a huge stash of craft items in the form of material off cuts; ribbons and stamps which she generously allowed us to freely raid. Now the slightly shocking bit of news to convey is that we were actually making Christmas cards! Yes, you heard correctly – on one of the hottest days of the year so far, we were looking ahead to Christmas. Despite the slightly ironic situation we did enjoy it though – we have some extremely imaginative ladies in our WI and some very original handiworks were created. Below are some photos of the evening for you to view – nothing like being ahead of the game!
September
Howard Pitts was our speaker for September and his talk entitled "Inside a Bee Hive" was a delight. His gentle manner and sense of humour quickly put us at ease and we too were soon caught up in his passion for bees and bee keeping. He is extremely knowledgeable on the subject and invited us to ask questions throughout his presentation, which were all answered comprehensively and enthusiastically.
Howard has been involved in bee keeping for many years and has produced honey commercially too. At one time he was managing 70 bee hives. However, he has had first hand experience of the devastating effect of the verroa mite, having lost more than 90% of his bees to this terrible parasite in the past. He told us the process he had to follow to start all over again, utilising the queen bees that survived the attack, to set up some new colonies.
As well as the making us aware of the theory of keeping bees, Howard also brought along an actual hive that he had used in the past, along with some of the equipment needed to keep a happy and healthy bee. The topic of honey took the discussion off in a different direction completely, but it was one that had us all salivating at the thought of it.
All in all Howard was an informative, interesting and witty guy who was very engaging and he brought honey along too that was available to buy at the end of the evening. What more could you ask for?
October
The meeting with Hardwicke was great fun, it was good to meet with other WI members and learn of their doings and indeed see how they do things. The speaker had us examining several quirky items from the collection at Gloucester Museum, setting us the task of using our knowledge and/or our imagination to identify them and keep score. Needless to say no-one got full marks but there were one or two 17 out of 20, so not bad! The hand warmer variously was thought to be a grenade or whisky flask, while the head-light cover used during the black out had us all scratching our heads from oven or fire vents to?? The most recognised and remembered by many was the knitted children's romper suit, leading to memories of knitted swimsuits which got longer and longer as they got wetter! It was fascinating to learn so much more bout many of the objects such as the fire insurance plaque, without the right one your house was left to burn, and the ice cream penny lick, used rinsed in dirty water and rinsed again! Thankfully, our hygienic refreshments provided by Hardwicke were lovely!
November
November is the month we hold our AGM and this years proceedings went without a hitch. Thankfully, the current holders of the office of President, Secretary and Treasurer were happy to be re-elected and so we can now look forward to 2017 with confidence, happy in the knowledge that they, together witha team of dedicatedcommittee members will be doing their utmost to continue making Stonehouse WI the best group to belong to!
Our Speaker this evening was Will Mansell who is Project Manager of the Stroud Foodbank. Will immediately set out to bust a few popular myths and was very willing to answer any question put to him, controversial or otherwise. He gave us an insight into the workings of the foodbanks in Stroud, Dursley and Stonehouse and could tell us that 5,000 people are currently receiving help, amounting to 3% of the population of the district (note: 40% of that 3% are children under the age of 16). People finding themselves in food poverty and needing help are referred by professionals with authority within the community, such as teachers, doctors, social workers or vicars. A signed voucher is issued and this voucher equates to 10 meals, or three days worth of food made up of breakfast, lunch and dinner, all nutritionally balanced. However, a voucher can only be issued to the same person a maximum of three times in a six month period, highlighting the fact that foodbanks are used only in an emergency as stop-gap support for genuine, needy families who find themselves in a crisis situation. Of the 5,000 quoted above 2,500 of them are different people; on average the same family has to approach Stroud Foodbank 2.1 times a year. Although Will's talk had some very disturbing elements - it is not comfortable to learn that some people find themselves in impossible situations due to ill health and/or debt and have to chose between heating or eating - it was also reassuring to hear of the wonderful support that the district foodbanks receives; 50 tonnes of food are donated unconditionally every year by local people and there are many volunteers who donate their time and skills to run the foodbanks to help make a difference to people's lives. For more information on the Stroud Foodbank visit their website by clicking here
December
Once again our December meeting was another great success. It is a time when the members can enjoy each others company while enjoying a delicious meal - honestly, it is amazing what appears on the buffet table as a result of our bring & share meal. We all love this meeting purely and simply because it allows us time to socialise and catch with each other’s news. This year everyone was encouraged to make and wear a name badge and the winning entry was one Wendy created, in the shape of a teapot - so appropriate as Wendy is our supervisor in the kitchen and makes sure we enjoy a good cuppa at our monthly meetings. After the meal we took part in a table quiz Janice had sourced for us; the cryptic questions made us think, but the challenge was fun and produced a lot of laughter. Finally everyone took home a present from the Secret Santa basket, a perfect end to the evening. It is time to say goodbye to 2016, but we can look forward to more of the fellowship and friendship we enjoy in 2017. Please check out our programme and make a new year's resolution to pay us a visit soon!