We had a good turnout for the first meeting of 2017 and Fiona welcomed 81 members and one new member. Membership fees were due this month and we will be collecting them again next month. If, for some reason, you will not be renewing your membership please let us know and we will not chase you for payment!
Forthcoming events

Fiona drew our attention to a few events coming up. On Saturday, 25th March we will be having a Quiz Evening at St. Mary’s Church Hall, Merton Park. Tickets will be £12.50 which includes a ploughman’s supper and all proceeds will go to our charity of the year, St. Raphael’s Hospice. Don’t feel you have to make up a table, just come along and make up the numbers on another table.
Also there is a chance to see “La Cage Aux Folles” at Wimbledon Theatre on Tuesday, 14th March (£31). There are only a few places left for Grumpy Mole Afternoon Tea on Saturday, 18th March (£14.95) and Longleat on Wednesday 26th April (£45). Please contact Gillian as soon as possible if you would like to go to any of these.

Surrey WI News
Lys mentioned a few notices in this month’s Surrey WI News:
Birthday Card for the Queen Competition – entries must be sent to SFWI HQ Guildford by Monday, 14th March
Surrey Country Show, Monday 29th May – Various competitions. Contact SFWI HQ Guildford for more details.
Art for the Terrified – 8th March (Drawing), 29th March (Watercolours) and 26th April (Oil Pastels). Applications to SFWI HQ Guildford.

Resolutions
After having some in depth and thoughtful group discussions on the six, shortlisted resolutions, we then had to vote for the one we would most like to go forward for further discussion and final voting at the AGM in June. The result of the voting is:
1. Alleviating loneliness 21
2. FGM: More Awareness for More Action 7
3. Equal Access for specialised maternal mental health services 17
4. Provision of appropriate welfare for women and children in refugee camps 0
5. Supporting women’s refuges 11
6. Plastic soup: Keep microplastic fibres out of our oceans 24
(One of our members went home after Monday’s meeting to do a bit of research to find out a bit more about Resolution 6 as she hadn’t heard about the issue of plastic fibres. She found the following link very interesting, as well as worrying, and would like to share it.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/sep/27/washing-clothes-releases-water-polluting-fibres-study-finds )

Bring and Buy Sale
Thank you to everyone who brought in items and bought from the Bring and Buy Sale. We made £202.50 for St. Raphael’s – well done everyone.

Knit for Peace
As an alternative to knitted blankets, Knit for Peace suggested making dressing gowns and here is Madeleine modelling the wonderful one she has made. This will now be sent to Knit for Peace to go towards their “Keep Britain Warm” campaign. Well done Madeleine.

Fiona welcomed 66 members and 1 guest. She went on to read an email received from Jenny about her recent weekend to Denman.

“The reason I wasn’t at the November meeting was because I was at Denman College reaping the benefits of my bursary from Wimbledon WI!

It was interesting to visit Denman. I met friendly like-minded women doing a range of different courses. I admired the work of the women making silver clay jewellery and Faberge-type eggs as well as the smells of Indian cookery emanating from the Denman kitchen classroom. The accommodation was comfortable and the food excellent. All in all, a most enjoyable two days. Thank you to Wimbledon WI for making it possible. I do hope it will be possible to continue the bursary raffle in future years to give other members the opportunity to attend.”

WI Fair: Lys mentioned The WI Fair at Alexandra Palace from 29th March to 1st April. Tickets are £12.50 in advance or £14 on the door. For more information go to http://www.thewifair.co.uk/about/ She also mentioned that on Valentine’s Day it will be “Show the Love 2017” when we have the chance to wear our green hearts to show how much we care about how climate change threatens the things we love.

Entertainer for the evening John Styles: John gave us a very entertaining and funny evening with a mixture of magic, comedy and chat. John is a very cheeky chappie, with years of experience. We all enjoyed his magic tricks and jokes which seemed original, dry and unexpected and he had us all laughing, which was a lovely start to Christmas week.

Denman Bursary Draw: There were two Denman Bursary draws on offer at the December meeting each worth £350. Congratulations to the two lucky winners.

Christmas Gifts/Toy Collection: An update on last month’s toy collection. “Merton Police’s borough commander Theresa Breen said: “I am very proud and humbled to see how many of Merton’s residents have pledged gifts for this year’s Christmas Tree Appeal. We are very happy to be able to help vulnerable and deprived young people over the festive period.” Visit this link for more information https://news.merton.gov.uk/2016/12/09/hundreds-of-donated-gifts-will-make-christmas-merry-for-looked-after-children/

WI Questionnaire: The NFWI want to know about your experience of WI membership, so this is your chance to tell them what you like, dislike etc., by completing the online questionnaire found on this link https://www.thewi.org.uk/media-centre/news-and-events/current-news-and-events/our-wi,-our-future
Quiz night: It is planned to have our Quiz Night on Saturday, 25th March, so make a note in your diary.

Longleat: There are still spaces available for the Longleat trip on Wednesday, 26th April – £45. Please let Gillian know if you are interested in going.

The Institute of Advanced Motorists RoadSmart and the WI: The NFWI are working closely with the Institute of Advanced Motorists to plan three, one-day events for WI members in 2017. If you would like to be kept up to date with our progress and be the first to know of new events and activities, please email your full contact details (including address and telephone number), WI and federation to NFWI. Your details will then be kept on their database.

JANUARY MEETING: This is one of the important meetings of the year, so please try to attend if at all possible. Amongst other things will be:
Subscriptions: Collecting your subscriptions for 2017 which are due in January for everyone and will be £39 for full membership and £19 for dual member (to their second WI). Please make cheques payable to Wimbledon WI and put in an envelope with your name, (please also make a note of any change of address, telephone numbers or email details on envelope so we can keep our database up to date). If you are not renewing for any reason, please let us know and we will not chase you for payment! If for any reason you cannot attend this meeting and you know someone who is, ask them if they would mind bringing your subscription in an envelope as well.
Bring and Buy Sale: We will be having a Bring & Buy Sale to support our 2017 Charity of the Year – St. Raphael’s Hospice. Please bring all your unwanted presents and any new, unused items and of course some money to buy something so we can start this year off with a good donation to this worthwhile Charity.
Resolutions and WI Life: Please keep your November issue of WI Life which gives you information on the resolutions which might be considered at the 2017 NFWI AGM in Liverpool. We will be discussing these at our January meeting. So don’t throw away your copy, study it and bring the AM 2017 resolution selection form with you to complete at our January meeting.

Dates for diaries
January meeting – Monday, 16th
February meeting – Monday, 20th
March Meeting – Monday, 20th
Quiz Night – Saturday, 25th March
The WI Fair – 29th March – 1st April

We wish you all the very best for 2017 and look forward to seeing you in January.
The Committee