Reports of meetings in 2022
21st December 2022
Our December meeting = Christmas party time and after having missed out for the last two years, this month’s get together was particularly special.
There was a small amount of business which was dealt with quickly, but included the result of the fundraising we raised on the day at Stonehouse Goodwill – the proceeds of the stall were a remarkable £165, most of which we will keep to boost our funds, but a £30 of it has been donated to the Women’s Refuge.
Social time begin with a short story sourced from a Gervase Phinn, on his experience giving instruction – and receiving feedback - from primary school children on the Nativity. Caroline gave the perfect rendition and there were several laugh out loud moments.
After a game of bingo with a twist - the score cards listing Christmas tunes instead of numbers which prompted some festive singing - we all tucked into the bring & share meal that had been brought along by everyone on the night. The tables had been decorated with tinsel, crackers and Marlene had knitted table favours looking like Xmas puds with a delicious chocolate inside and because the competition for the Rose Bowl was for the best table centrepiece the set up was simply perfect for a party.
The meal was a huge success and before the big clear up began, five committee members performed a potted pantomime. The script had been pared down so the story of Cinderella was told in such a way that each character only spoke briefly, but this routine went down a storm. The audience loved it and everyone left in good humour and definitely in good Christmas spirits.
Once again, our party was a huge success and the traditional gift exchange and collective Christmas card played a big part. The members generously contributed £49.30 and Barbara was the fortunate one whose name was selected to win the card itself and chose her favourite charity, Cotswold Dogs & Cats Home to benefit from the collection.
A great end to 2022 and we now look forward to sharing each other’s company again in the New Year.
There was a small amount of business which was dealt with quickly, but included the result of the fundraising we raised on the day at Stonehouse Goodwill – the proceeds of the stall were a remarkable £165, most of which we will keep to boost our funds, but a £30 of it has been donated to the Women’s Refuge.
Social time begin with a short story sourced from a Gervase Phinn, on his experience giving instruction – and receiving feedback - from primary school children on the Nativity. Caroline gave the perfect rendition and there were several laugh out loud moments.
After a game of bingo with a twist - the score cards listing Christmas tunes instead of numbers which prompted some festive singing - we all tucked into the bring & share meal that had been brought along by everyone on the night. The tables had been decorated with tinsel, crackers and Marlene had knitted table favours looking like Xmas puds with a delicious chocolate inside and because the competition for the Rose Bowl was for the best table centrepiece the set up was simply perfect for a party.
The meal was a huge success and before the big clear up began, five committee members performed a potted pantomime. The script had been pared down so the story of Cinderella was told in such a way that each character only spoke briefly, but this routine went down a storm. The audience loved it and everyone left in good humour and definitely in good Christmas spirits.
Once again, our party was a huge success and the traditional gift exchange and collective Christmas card played a big part. The members generously contributed £49.30 and Barbara was the fortunate one whose name was selected to win the card itself and chose her favourite charity, Cotswold Dogs & Cats Home to benefit from the collection.
A great end to 2022 and we now look forward to sharing each other’s company again in the New Year.
23rd November 2022
Our Annual Meeting saw Katie stand down as President and step away from the committee, but with the election of two more willing members there is now a total of eight ladies to work behind the scenes and brain storm to continue the success of Stonehouse WI.
The Secretary’s report was a recap of how busy the group had been in the last 12 months and a reminder to us all how we involve ourselves in national, county and local events when opportunities arise. 2022 was the year we particularly focused on the planter we maintain in the High Street by adorning it with different displays at various times of the year.
There have been knitted poppies marking the centenary of the Royal British Legion; green hearts to draw attention to the Show the Love campaign; woollen & felted flowers proclaiming the arrival of Spring and in June a banner and bunting celebrating the queen’s platinum jubilee.
However, even in between displays the blooms in the High Street planter have been a joy to view - despite the adverse hot weather making watering a huge challenge. The team have kept standards high and the planter was judged as part of the Community Gardening Britain in Bloom competition this year, which helped Stonehouse gain the silver gilt award in the Small-Town category.
After the business was completed, everyone formed teams took up a dice and played “Beetle”, a simple, traditional party game where no particular skills are involved, but which is just simply fun (and quite competitive it seems).
For such a wild, windy and wet night there was a large turnout of ladies which made the evening a great social occasion alongside getting the official bits done and dusted for another year without a hitch.
The Secretary’s report was a recap of how busy the group had been in the last 12 months and a reminder to us all how we involve ourselves in national, county and local events when opportunities arise. 2022 was the year we particularly focused on the planter we maintain in the High Street by adorning it with different displays at various times of the year.
There have been knitted poppies marking the centenary of the Royal British Legion; green hearts to draw attention to the Show the Love campaign; woollen & felted flowers proclaiming the arrival of Spring and in June a banner and bunting celebrating the queen’s platinum jubilee.
However, even in between displays the blooms in the High Street planter have been a joy to view - despite the adverse hot weather making watering a huge challenge. The team have kept standards high and the planter was judged as part of the Community Gardening Britain in Bloom competition this year, which helped Stonehouse gain the silver gilt award in the Small-Town category.
After the business was completed, everyone formed teams took up a dice and played “Beetle”, a simple, traditional party game where no particular skills are involved, but which is just simply fun (and quite competitive it seems).
For such a wild, windy and wet night there was a large turnout of ladies which made the evening a great social occasion alongside getting the official bits done and dusted for another year without a hitch.
19th October 2022
SARA is a volunteer lifeboat and inland search and rescue charity, with 7 lifeboat and rescue stations along the length of the River Severn. They have been saving lives on and around the Severn for almost 50 years. In 2021 SARA was called out 113 times
SARA’s inshore lifeboat and water-rescue station at Sharpness covers the Severn Estuary and River Severn north of the M4 bridges to just upstream of Gloucester and provides emergency rescue services along this notoriously treacherous stretch of water with its fast-flowing currents, many sandbanks and mudbanks, and a tidal range of more than 10 metres.
The emergency services, including HM Coastguard rely on their expertise when the county is hit by floods, to rescue and evacuate people from flooded homes and businesses. Their tasks also include providing safety-boat cover for local events like the Gloucester Tall Ships, as well as canal-boat and rowing regattas. In order to cater for the variety of conditions that they face, they currently have five inshore lifeboats and a rescue hovercraft,
The membership of the organisation is made up entirely from volunteers, with no paid staff. The crew not only willingly give up their time for emergencies and training, they actively fundraise in the locality because as a registered charity, all funding is raised by way of grants and donations either from local individuals, community groups or businesses.
SARA’s inshore lifeboat and water-rescue station at Sharpness covers the Severn Estuary and River Severn north of the M4 bridges to just upstream of Gloucester and provides emergency rescue services along this notoriously treacherous stretch of water with its fast-flowing currents, many sandbanks and mudbanks, and a tidal range of more than 10 metres.
The emergency services, including HM Coastguard rely on their expertise when the county is hit by floods, to rescue and evacuate people from flooded homes and businesses. Their tasks also include providing safety-boat cover for local events like the Gloucester Tall Ships, as well as canal-boat and rowing regattas. In order to cater for the variety of conditions that they face, they currently have five inshore lifeboats and a rescue hovercraft,
The membership of the organisation is made up entirely from volunteers, with no paid staff. The crew not only willingly give up their time for emergencies and training, they actively fundraise in the locality because as a registered charity, all funding is raised by way of grants and donations either from local individuals, community groups or businesses.
21st September 2022
Linda and Buzz are the proprietors of Woodfernal Cottage Nursery. Their business is centred in and around their home at Grove Lane, Whitminster and are well known for the plants they sell outside their property. The displays vary from season to season and an honesty box is in operation for when they are busy elsewhere. Although this is an unusual way to run a business in these modern times, but it has been their policy for years and assure us they have experienced very little fraud or deceitfulness in all that time.
Their business started as a hobby for Linda but literally grew & grew and now they buy and sell more than just plants to the general public, they offer a really personal service, giving trusty advice as well as having an excellent customer support ethos.
This evening they both came along to show us how to plant up a tub for autumn & winter. Their “ingredients” were very healthy-looking plants that been specifically picked for their attractive, evergreen foliage. There were many, varied colours however – not all green as the name suggests. We were introduced to the genus Heuchera which has a huge diverse range of coloured leaves, with some of them bearing marbled, or veined patterns on their plum-coloured leaves.
Buzz recommend selecting a small evergreen shrub to begin with, which he then surrounded with heucheras; ivy and wallflowers that would blossom in the Spring. For a bit of colour, he dropped in some pansies, recommending to dead-head them regularly, so they would go on to bush out and bloom even more by the by.
The autumn/winter season means a lot of plants can be packed into one display without the worry that one or more might grow too much and choke out others. In fact, as well as the leafy spectacle already on display, he planted daffodil and crocus bulbs in amongst the hardly visible gaps of (peat free) compost remaining so the show would continue into the early months of Spring - just when you need a boost!
The end result was really pretty and gave us all a bit of inspiration to go out and make one for ourselves. In fact, probably the best thing to do would be to take a trip to Woodfernal Cottage Nursery – we have it on good authority that the pansies grown on there would be at their best in a week or so. NB: They don't have their own website as yet, but can be found on Facebook.
Their business started as a hobby for Linda but literally grew & grew and now they buy and sell more than just plants to the general public, they offer a really personal service, giving trusty advice as well as having an excellent customer support ethos.
This evening they both came along to show us how to plant up a tub for autumn & winter. Their “ingredients” were very healthy-looking plants that been specifically picked for their attractive, evergreen foliage. There were many, varied colours however – not all green as the name suggests. We were introduced to the genus Heuchera which has a huge diverse range of coloured leaves, with some of them bearing marbled, or veined patterns on their plum-coloured leaves.
Buzz recommend selecting a small evergreen shrub to begin with, which he then surrounded with heucheras; ivy and wallflowers that would blossom in the Spring. For a bit of colour, he dropped in some pansies, recommending to dead-head them regularly, so they would go on to bush out and bloom even more by the by.
The autumn/winter season means a lot of plants can be packed into one display without the worry that one or more might grow too much and choke out others. In fact, as well as the leafy spectacle already on display, he planted daffodil and crocus bulbs in amongst the hardly visible gaps of (peat free) compost remaining so the show would continue into the early months of Spring - just when you need a boost!
The end result was really pretty and gave us all a bit of inspiration to go out and make one for ourselves. In fact, probably the best thing to do would be to take a trip to Woodfernal Cottage Nursery – we have it on good authority that the pansies grown on there would be at their best in a week or so. NB: They don't have their own website as yet, but can be found on Facebook.
20th July 2022
This evening’s talk was delivered by two of our own members who had both lived in Southern African for periods during their lifetime.
Diana spoke first and gave a really interesting insight into how it was to live in Zimbabwe (formerly Southern Rhodesia) as a child and for several decades beyond, until deciding to return to the UK.She was 10 years of age when she arrived and had very fond memories of her school days in a boarding school and of growing up in a Umtali (now Mutare) a city set halfway along the 350km mountain chain that borders Mozambique. From the photos she brought along for us to view it looks a busy, but attractively laid out city with wide, tree lined streets and parks. Diana certainly gave a good account of it. After getting married to a member of the BSAP force, she lived in a village called Chirundu, in a home made of wood, on stilts, with no electricity. Located very near to the Zambezi meant that she regularly saw a lot of wildlife, including elephants, baboons and even a huge, ancient crocodile that sunned itself on the bank of the river. Diana had lots of stories about her life there and of the community spirit that she enjoyed with other policeman’s wives. She told us that craft was a very important activity to help connect people and had brought a few, very fine examples of crochet & bead work she had been gifted that illustrated the skill of the people she had met along the way.
Veronica then followed on with her recollections of her stay in Zambia (formerly Northern Rhodesia). She had travelled there to be a teacher in a British School and shared her memories of the native flowers and fauna that she observed there. Like Diana she had encountered herds of elephants, a pride of lions, kudu deer to name but a few – all up close and personal - and particularly remembered watching a colony of dazzling bee-eater birds nesting in a river bank. She showed us some of the souvenirs she had brought back with her – a cute little frog and a beaded necklace both made from malachite, some small, fragile, very intricated sculpted stone figures of musicians, a flame lily made of metal and a small carved wooden ornament depicting a Zambian chief stool.
Diana & Veronica each have wonderful recollections of their time in Africa and despite their experiences being quite different from each other, they both had Victoria Falls very much in common. Their opinion of this massive waterfall was shared and both agreed it is simply spectacular. It is quite amazing that the two of them had lived in different regions and yet the Zambezi River flows through both Zimbabwe and Zambia plummeting over a cliff and into the Boiling Point, before flowing on through gorges spanning both countries.
Diana spoke first and gave a really interesting insight into how it was to live in Zimbabwe (formerly Southern Rhodesia) as a child and for several decades beyond, until deciding to return to the UK.She was 10 years of age when she arrived and had very fond memories of her school days in a boarding school and of growing up in a Umtali (now Mutare) a city set halfway along the 350km mountain chain that borders Mozambique. From the photos she brought along for us to view it looks a busy, but attractively laid out city with wide, tree lined streets and parks. Diana certainly gave a good account of it. After getting married to a member of the BSAP force, she lived in a village called Chirundu, in a home made of wood, on stilts, with no electricity. Located very near to the Zambezi meant that she regularly saw a lot of wildlife, including elephants, baboons and even a huge, ancient crocodile that sunned itself on the bank of the river. Diana had lots of stories about her life there and of the community spirit that she enjoyed with other policeman’s wives. She told us that craft was a very important activity to help connect people and had brought a few, very fine examples of crochet & bead work she had been gifted that illustrated the skill of the people she had met along the way.
Veronica then followed on with her recollections of her stay in Zambia (formerly Northern Rhodesia). She had travelled there to be a teacher in a British School and shared her memories of the native flowers and fauna that she observed there. Like Diana she had encountered herds of elephants, a pride of lions, kudu deer to name but a few – all up close and personal - and particularly remembered watching a colony of dazzling bee-eater birds nesting in a river bank. She showed us some of the souvenirs she had brought back with her – a cute little frog and a beaded necklace both made from malachite, some small, fragile, very intricated sculpted stone figures of musicians, a flame lily made of metal and a small carved wooden ornament depicting a Zambian chief stool.
Diana & Veronica each have wonderful recollections of their time in Africa and despite their experiences being quite different from each other, they both had Victoria Falls very much in common. Their opinion of this massive waterfall was shared and both agreed it is simply spectacular. It is quite amazing that the two of them had lived in different regions and yet the Zambezi River flows through both Zimbabwe and Zambia plummeting over a cliff and into the Boiling Point, before flowing on through gorges spanning both countries.
15th June 2022
Our June meeting took place outside. We had included an evening out in our programme in the back end of 2021, when it was cold, dark and stormy, with just a glimmer of hope that 15th June 2022 would be blessed with fine weather, but none of us had to foresight to know that it was going to be the hottest day for 11 months! After enduring shivering temperatures over the Queen’s Jubilee weekend less than two weeks previous, we just couldn’t believe our luck.
Laburnam Recreation Ground is situated right next to the Community Centre building and, in addition to the play area offers outdoor table tennis, a green gym and a boules court. Some of our more energetic members took full advantage of the space and equipment, while others just enjoyed the opportunity of sitting and chatting in the warm setting sun.
It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words so there’s no need to say more – just view the gallery that illustrates the good fun that was had by all.
Laburnam Recreation Ground is situated right next to the Community Centre building and, in addition to the play area offers outdoor table tennis, a green gym and a boules court. Some of our more energetic members took full advantage of the space and equipment, while others just enjoyed the opportunity of sitting and chatting in the warm setting sun.
It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words so there’s no need to say more – just view the gallery that illustrates the good fun that was had by all.
18th May 2022
Paul, a volunteer from The Severn Freewheelers came to give us an extremely interesting talk this month. The Severn Freewheelers are part of a national voluntary organisation who use motorbikes to deliver blood and other items to pathology laboratories and other hospital departments, surgeries and medical centres. These other items could be medical records, CDs of x-rays & scans, medicines and baby milk. A couple of the oddest items they have been asked to transport are a medical skeleton (they used a car!) and some false teeth for a patient who’d been transferred to another hospital with the wrong set. However, they don’t carry organs for transplant such as hearts, as these would be vulnerable in an accident and the transplant service has their own transport for these.
They are one of 30 independent ‘Blood Bike’ groups around the country and their group covers an area between the QE II hospital in Birmingham down to the Bristol Royal Infirmary and from Hereford and the Welsh borders to the Radcliffe hospital in Oxford. Deliveries can be co-ordinated across the country using eight groups in relay and in one, a delivery was picked up in Dumfries and delivered to a hospital in Plymouth. During the Covid Lockdowns the Freewheelers formed the “Pharmy Army”, delivering medication from pharmacies and hospitals to people at home and this was a 24 hour service.
The Freewheelers operate from 7 pm in the evening to 7 am in the morning 7 days a week, taking over from the NHS delivery service, providing an ‘Out of Hours’ service for the NHS, who would otherwise have to pay for taxis to make deliveries, thus saving the NHS in the region of £350,000.
Paul told us that each rider must be over 30 years of age, have an Institute of Advanced Motorists qualification and hold the ROSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) Gold award; they have to take a test every three years and a do check ride every year to make sure they are fit to ride. He also said that they have two female riders and others who will deliver using the cars. He gave us some examples of trips that he has made and gave us some statistics; since they formed in 2007, the Freewheelers have covered 2 million miles and undertaken 65,000 jobs. Monday nights are the busiest he told us. Their trips are organised by a controller who communicates with them over a secure system on a mobile phone, which can be linked by Bluetooth to a headset in their helmets.
As there is no government funding, the group are lucky to have sponsorship for their bikes, cars and other equipment. Their sponsors include Morrisons and Tesco supermarkets, the Masons and also the Rotary club, GCHQ and volunteers who give talks and organise fundraising events. This pays for their BMW bikes, their fuel, and their white helmets. They also have cars they can use in bad weather but will use their bikes when they can as they are much quicker in traffic. There are some groups who are not so lucky with sponsorship and will use their own bikes but they all have the brightly coloured jacket to use over their bike clothes. When the bikes have done about 150,000 miles they are passed on to other groups who are not so lucky with sponsors.
They are one of 30 independent ‘Blood Bike’ groups around the country and their group covers an area between the QE II hospital in Birmingham down to the Bristol Royal Infirmary and from Hereford and the Welsh borders to the Radcliffe hospital in Oxford. Deliveries can be co-ordinated across the country using eight groups in relay and in one, a delivery was picked up in Dumfries and delivered to a hospital in Plymouth. During the Covid Lockdowns the Freewheelers formed the “Pharmy Army”, delivering medication from pharmacies and hospitals to people at home and this was a 24 hour service.
The Freewheelers operate from 7 pm in the evening to 7 am in the morning 7 days a week, taking over from the NHS delivery service, providing an ‘Out of Hours’ service for the NHS, who would otherwise have to pay for taxis to make deliveries, thus saving the NHS in the region of £350,000.
Paul told us that each rider must be over 30 years of age, have an Institute of Advanced Motorists qualification and hold the ROSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) Gold award; they have to take a test every three years and a do check ride every year to make sure they are fit to ride. He also said that they have two female riders and others who will deliver using the cars. He gave us some examples of trips that he has made and gave us some statistics; since they formed in 2007, the Freewheelers have covered 2 million miles and undertaken 65,000 jobs. Monday nights are the busiest he told us. Their trips are organised by a controller who communicates with them over a secure system on a mobile phone, which can be linked by Bluetooth to a headset in their helmets.
As there is no government funding, the group are lucky to have sponsorship for their bikes, cars and other equipment. Their sponsors include Morrisons and Tesco supermarkets, the Masons and also the Rotary club, GCHQ and volunteers who give talks and organise fundraising events. This pays for their BMW bikes, their fuel, and their white helmets. They also have cars they can use in bad weather but will use their bikes when they can as they are much quicker in traffic. There are some groups who are not so lucky with sponsorship and will use their own bikes but they all have the brightly coloured jacket to use over their bike clothes. When the bikes have done about 150,000 miles they are passed on to other groups who are not so lucky with sponsors.
20th APRIL2022
As well as celebrating our 54th birthday this month – with cake, of course - we also had the pleasure of welcoming David Smith from BBC Radio Gloucestershire, who gave us a talk on his career in radio. He is actually a second-generation broadcaster because his father had been a presenter at Radio Shropshire, so David knew from a very young age that he wanted to follow in his footsteps. David described how a “happy accident” initiated this aspiration sooner than he had anticipated after his dad took a tumble and ended up in a wheelchair with David unexpectedly finding himself taking his place in the studio. The rest, they say, is history.
David has actually worked on several local radio stations but he focused on his highlights whilst working at Radio Glos., recalling his coverage of the 2012 Olympic torch relay and the shared euphoria of the people; relaying to us of the emotion he witnessed in 2015 as he was perched on the top of the Round Tower at Portsmouth at the final journey of HMS Gloucester and also the excitement he felt when he was the pitch side at Wembley stadium to cheer on Forest Green Rovers when they played there in 2017.
However, one of his most memorable trips was very local to us. In September 2008 he spent a week on a narrowboat sailing down the Severn and along the Gloucester to Sharpness canal. He remembers this as a fantastic achievement for broadcasting in general, because it wasn’t so long ago that transmitting a radio programme was strictly confined to the studio – and he only crashed the boat once!
David is now working mainly behind the scenes and he is involved in producing, rather than presenting, but this has given him an appreciation of how technology has rapidly developed. When he started out, he was splicing reel to reel tapes (you have to be a certain age to remember those), but now he just carries a microphone that works alongside his mobile telephone. Also, in the last couple of years, driven by the rules of social distancing, the boundaries have been pushed even further. Things just had to be done differently during the pandemic and David discovered he could produce a radio show from his kitchen.
Certainly Covid-19 has made everyone appreciate the value of local radio; the way it communicated so much essential information and the help it offered people gave the workforce of Radio Glos. the status of “Essential Workers”. David is very proud of this achievement and we all feel it was well deserved too and hope that realising how important a local radio station is to the community this will means that we shall all be listening in for many more years to come.
David has actually worked on several local radio stations but he focused on his highlights whilst working at Radio Glos., recalling his coverage of the 2012 Olympic torch relay and the shared euphoria of the people; relaying to us of the emotion he witnessed in 2015 as he was perched on the top of the Round Tower at Portsmouth at the final journey of HMS Gloucester and also the excitement he felt when he was the pitch side at Wembley stadium to cheer on Forest Green Rovers when they played there in 2017.
However, one of his most memorable trips was very local to us. In September 2008 he spent a week on a narrowboat sailing down the Severn and along the Gloucester to Sharpness canal. He remembers this as a fantastic achievement for broadcasting in general, because it wasn’t so long ago that transmitting a radio programme was strictly confined to the studio – and he only crashed the boat once!
David is now working mainly behind the scenes and he is involved in producing, rather than presenting, but this has given him an appreciation of how technology has rapidly developed. When he started out, he was splicing reel to reel tapes (you have to be a certain age to remember those), but now he just carries a microphone that works alongside his mobile telephone. Also, in the last couple of years, driven by the rules of social distancing, the boundaries have been pushed even further. Things just had to be done differently during the pandemic and David discovered he could produce a radio show from his kitchen.
Certainly Covid-19 has made everyone appreciate the value of local radio; the way it communicated so much essential information and the help it offered people gave the workforce of Radio Glos. the status of “Essential Workers”. David is very proud of this achievement and we all feel it was well deserved too and hope that realising how important a local radio station is to the community this will means that we shall all be listening in for many more years to come.
16th MARCH 2022
All members of the Womens Institute care for the environment, but our own WI can lay claim to be living in an area that is extremely ecologically aware. Stroud District Council has been named as one of the best councils in the country for addressing climate change and Stonehouse Town Council adopted a Neighbourhood Plan in 2018 and only last October we were involved in an event that celebrated the centenary of a landmark tree in Stonehouse, which was also the launch of the Community Arboretum Management Plan; the new tree and woodland strategy for the town.
It seemed an obvious decision to have a speaker programmed to talk to us on a topic relating to climate change and sustainability, so this month we welcomed Dr Simon Pickering, a resident of Stonehouse, an ecologist & facilitator and a recognised campaigner, who gave us a talk entitled “What does a carbon zero lifestyle look like and how to get there”.
Simon shared lots of data on the sources of co2 emissions and gave us examples on how we all could make small changes in our own lives that would contribute to make a difference. He even used his own home as an example, which is a Grade II listed building. Originally a leaky, cold house, he has refurbished it over the years with particular empathise on bringing down its carbon emissions to as low as possible using insulation, as well as installing solar panels on the roof. His success has proved that it can be done pretty much in any type of building.
He was very motivating and explained that by moving away from fossil fuel to a renewable source of electricity generation within our homes would be a huge step forward. Other things to consider would be to cut our mileage – ideally using public transport – and reduce our waste by not buying so much “stuff”.
Keeping to the theme of the evening was our competition. We asked members to make an item using recycled materials and Marlene was declared winner for her scoops made from a milk bottle. A clever idea indeed! As a result, she is now the holder of the Whitminster Cup.
It seemed an obvious decision to have a speaker programmed to talk to us on a topic relating to climate change and sustainability, so this month we welcomed Dr Simon Pickering, a resident of Stonehouse, an ecologist & facilitator and a recognised campaigner, who gave us a talk entitled “What does a carbon zero lifestyle look like and how to get there”.
Simon shared lots of data on the sources of co2 emissions and gave us examples on how we all could make small changes in our own lives that would contribute to make a difference. He even used his own home as an example, which is a Grade II listed building. Originally a leaky, cold house, he has refurbished it over the years with particular empathise on bringing down its carbon emissions to as low as possible using insulation, as well as installing solar panels on the roof. His success has proved that it can be done pretty much in any type of building.
He was very motivating and explained that by moving away from fossil fuel to a renewable source of electricity generation within our homes would be a huge step forward. Other things to consider would be to cut our mileage – ideally using public transport – and reduce our waste by not buying so much “stuff”.
Keeping to the theme of the evening was our competition. We asked members to make an item using recycled materials and Marlene was declared winner for her scoops made from a milk bottle. A clever idea indeed! As a result, she is now the holder of the Whitminster Cup.
16th FEBRUARY 2022
Our speaker this month was Celia Hargrave, who gave us an illustrated talk on the making of her garden at Trench Hill, Sheepscombe. The images projected on the screen were simply fabulous. Celia and her husband live in a house set in three acres of south facing grounds, high on the ledge of a hill which lends itself to spectacular views of Painswick and beyond.
Celia took over the plot after moving house from Birmingham nearly 30 years ago and had developed the site in its entirety, learning on the job because, as she freely admits, she knew nothing about gardening when they moved to the area although soon became hooked after getting hands on. She confesses that there are still gaps in her horticulture knowhow to this day, but she has intimate knowledge of her own garden and the planting she has introduced.
The garden is truly beautiful but the maintenance routine sounds brutal; Celia sometimes spending 60 hours a week outside making a frequent start at the crack of dawn and she points out to us that not all the work is as attractive as we imagine; more often than not is tedious and very physical. She generously gives a huge amount of credit to the people who help her with the upkeep.
Along with the flower borders there are vegetables plots as well as a large number of containers on her patio. Also, tucked away are substantial heaps of compost and leaf mould in several, super-sized bins that need filling and turning regularly – a gym workout just in that area! She is passionate about organic gardening and also believes that a garden should never be finished and should include creative elements along with the planting, such as sculpture and imaginative landscaping.
Celia is a very modest person and kept a very low profile on how much money she has raised for local causes and the bigger national charities by opening her garden for NGS, but she did gave us an insight into how much energy is needed in providing refreshments for the crowds that come to visit the garden and how the whole family gets involved. Her life sounds both exciting and exhausting, however she seems to thrive on it and the pride and love she has for her garden was evident. Her talk was really inspirational and a visit to Trench Hill is now on each of our bucket lists.
Check out this link to the NGS website for more stunning photos and info about Trench Hill:
https://ngs.org.uk/view-garden/14238/
Celia took over the plot after moving house from Birmingham nearly 30 years ago and had developed the site in its entirety, learning on the job because, as she freely admits, she knew nothing about gardening when they moved to the area although soon became hooked after getting hands on. She confesses that there are still gaps in her horticulture knowhow to this day, but she has intimate knowledge of her own garden and the planting she has introduced.
The garden is truly beautiful but the maintenance routine sounds brutal; Celia sometimes spending 60 hours a week outside making a frequent start at the crack of dawn and she points out to us that not all the work is as attractive as we imagine; more often than not is tedious and very physical. She generously gives a huge amount of credit to the people who help her with the upkeep.
Along with the flower borders there are vegetables plots as well as a large number of containers on her patio. Also, tucked away are substantial heaps of compost and leaf mould in several, super-sized bins that need filling and turning regularly – a gym workout just in that area! She is passionate about organic gardening and also believes that a garden should never be finished and should include creative elements along with the planting, such as sculpture and imaginative landscaping.
Celia is a very modest person and kept a very low profile on how much money she has raised for local causes and the bigger national charities by opening her garden for NGS, but she did gave us an insight into how much energy is needed in providing refreshments for the crowds that come to visit the garden and how the whole family gets involved. Her life sounds both exciting and exhausting, however she seems to thrive on it and the pride and love she has for her garden was evident. Her talk was really inspirational and a visit to Trench Hill is now on each of our bucket lists.
Check out this link to the NGS website for more stunning photos and info about Trench Hill:
https://ngs.org.uk/view-garden/14238/
19th JANUARY 2022
Like many of us, our President, Katie loves to walk, or hike in the great outdoors but, unlike us, she likes to take it to the extreme! Last autumn, along with her long-term friend, she decided to take on the West Highland Way (104 miles) and the Great Glen way (182 miles) back-to-back. And if you think that was punishment enough, she also wanted to challenge herself by wild camping along the way.
Katie gave us a wonderful, illustrated talk on the trials and tribulations of her journey. She was honest about the times the two of them were reduced to silence and sulks on the tough days but, it seemed, these were few and far between and most of the time they enjoyed their adventure with humour and delight. The scenery was nothing short of spectacular as Scottish lochs, hills and mountains were the backdrop along the way, all clad in the colours of autumn. This, along with the diverse wildlife, lichens and fungi special to Scotland added wonder and joy to the whole experience.
There is no doubt that such an expedition cannot be undertaken lightly and Katie showed us that preplanning was essential. In the run up they had created meticulously detailed spreadsheets listing their itinerary, menus and even a get out plan, designed to keep them safe on route and also so that their families back home would know their whereabouts at all times.
After viewing her progress on screen, Katie then showed us the actual kit bag she had taken with her and all the paraphernalia that was packed within. Colour coded, waterproof bags for the smaller things were obviously key, but the weight of each item was also paramount. This meant nothing surplus to requirements was allowed and her tent, sleeping bag, hot water bottle and even food stuffs had to be compact and lightweight (fruit pastilles were the only exception).
Her recollections were very enjoyable and they had us all engrossed. Thank you, Katie. Now we are wondering where are you going next and how can you possibly top that for endurance?
Katie gave us a wonderful, illustrated talk on the trials and tribulations of her journey. She was honest about the times the two of them were reduced to silence and sulks on the tough days but, it seemed, these were few and far between and most of the time they enjoyed their adventure with humour and delight. The scenery was nothing short of spectacular as Scottish lochs, hills and mountains were the backdrop along the way, all clad in the colours of autumn. This, along with the diverse wildlife, lichens and fungi special to Scotland added wonder and joy to the whole experience.
There is no doubt that such an expedition cannot be undertaken lightly and Katie showed us that preplanning was essential. In the run up they had created meticulously detailed spreadsheets listing their itinerary, menus and even a get out plan, designed to keep them safe on route and also so that their families back home would know their whereabouts at all times.
After viewing her progress on screen, Katie then showed us the actual kit bag she had taken with her and all the paraphernalia that was packed within. Colour coded, waterproof bags for the smaller things were obviously key, but the weight of each item was also paramount. This meant nothing surplus to requirements was allowed and her tent, sleeping bag, hot water bottle and even food stuffs had to be compact and lightweight (fruit pastilles were the only exception).
Her recollections were very enjoyable and they had us all engrossed. Thank you, Katie. Now we are wondering where are you going next and how can you possibly top that for endurance?