Fiona welcomed 73 members and 2 guests. Fiona went on to mention that next year will be Surrey Federation of WI’s centenary year but more importantly, it will be Wimbledon WI’s 10th year and the plan is to have a garden party to celebrate this with food, wine and entertainment. Further details to follow. Fiona said she knows it is too early to mention Christmas but to save disappointment we intend to book Taste again for our Christmas meal as everyone enjoyed it last year.

Surrey’s Centenary: Lys said that the SFWI is inviting every WI in the county to produce an A4 page showing a craft work representation of their WI – for example a small copy of their emblem or logo in either pastel, charcoal, pen and ink, fabric, needlework or photography (no oil paintings or any raised embellishments i.e. buttons, beads etc.) As we can only send one entry we thought it would be fun to have a competition and the winning entry would be sent to Surrey in October. More details about this at the June meeting but in the meantime get your thinking caps on!

Wimbledon Village Fair: Veronica mentioned that this will be the last meeting before our biggest fund raiser of the year and encouraged members to sign up to make produce for our stall at Wimbledon Village Fair or to help on the day. Veronica mentioned there will be emails sent to all members with details about produce and where to deliver them etc. Please note preserves and jams need to be delivered to Dulcie before 7th June Thank you.

Food Matters: This campaign was launched following the “Avoid food waste, address food poverty” resolution which was passed at the WIs 2016 Annual Meeting. The resolution calls on supermarkets to sign up to a voluntary agreement to tackle food waste and to pass on surplus food to food charities. The 19th – 21st May is the WIs food waste weekend of action which will be an opportunity to draw attention to our key campaign asks. More information and details can be found on this link https://www.thewi.org.uk/campaigns/current-campaigns-and-initiatives/avoid-food-waste-address-food-poverty.

Resolutions: Lys asked for a show of hands for the Resolutions to go forward at the NFWI in June. The results were:
Alleviating Loneliness – 8
Plastic Soup – 10
Votes for both of the above – 48

National Federation of WIs AGM: Please note there is a free ticket going begging for the NFWI AGM in Liverpool on the 7th June. Please contact Fiona if interested.

Sutton College: Fiona has been in touch the with Principal at Sutton College regarding craft sessions and they are happy to host WI events at the college. More details to follow.

Downview Dames WI: We have received a lovely letter from the Downview Dames WI, thanking you all for the craft donations. This is on the notice board for all to see.

“My WI Website”: This dedicated members’ only, new website which will be launched at the NFWI Annual Meeting in June, will be linked through the MCS (Membership Communication System) to ensure that the site is only accessible to members. Please ensure that we have a valid email address entered in our records as this will be the address that your password is sent through to when you first start using the site.

Lifts for members: Fiona mentioned that some members are not able to make meetings due to restricted mobility. Please let us know if you are finding it difficult to get to our monthly meetings plus also let us know if you would be willing to help with transporting members. Thank you.

Plant Sale: £140.25 was raised for St. Raphael’s Hospice at the plant sale on Monday. Thank you all, particularly all the helpers. Also many thanks to the members who brought in knitted items and material to cover the jam jars.

Future events: Bevis Marks Synagogue Thursday, 15th June (£5)
Charterhouse, Clerkenwell Saturday, 23rd September (£15)
Proposed event to Waddesdon Manor Thursday, 23rd November to visit house, garden and Christmas market.

Knit and Natter: For those who wish to attend, Knit & Natter continues to be held at IKnit at Lower Marsh, London Waterloo, on the first Wednesday of the month – next one 7th June. For those going from Wimbledon, please meet Margaret at the station at 17:30 to make your way up to Waterloo. Should any member be working in Central London please make your way to Lower Marsh as folk meet up any time from approximately 18:00 until the store closes at 20:30.

Guest Speaker: Pat Mitchinson, gave us a very interesting talk on how the television programme “Who Do you think you are?” came about. At its inception no one was sure if it would be successful – would viewers want to watch a programme about the family history of celebrities? The presenting of the programme to Head of BBC2 to get funding was difficult enough but trying to get celebrities on board proved a lot more difficult. In fact, the first celebrity to sign up was Bill Oddie and then with a lot of persuasion other well-known TV celebrities took the plunge. The criteria was if the programme didn’t have over 2 million viewers in the first few episodes, the programme would be axed. But now with over 6 million viewers and in its 13th year the programme is as popular as ever and continues to be a huge success. Also more than 10 international adaptations of the show have been produced. Pat mentioned because of the programme there is now a lot more interest in genealogy. She gave us a few tips on how to get started and as a reference mentioned the following BBC link http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/0/23493076

Dates for Diary:
17th June Wimbledon Village Fair
19th June – Next meeting – Kath Start – Oral History
23rd June – 2nd July Raynes Park Summer Festival http://www.myraynespark.co.uk/

Fiona welcomed 63 members and 2 guests.

National Open Garden Scheme: Jan thanked members for their contribution of cakes etc., to go towards the National Open Garden Scheme to be held on Monday, 29th May at 15 The Avenue, Cheam, SM2 7QA. She will be pleased to see anyone who can make it and all proceeds will go to St. Raphael’s Hospice which is our chosen charity this year.

St. Raphael’s Hospice: Fiona was pleased to report that the Quiz Night was very successful and we raised over £800. She thanked everyone who came and those who helped. Also members who brought and bought books on Monday – another £82 was made, thank you.
A representative from St. Raphael’s will be attending our June meeting when they will be presented with a cheque for around about £1,200, being money we have raised for this worthwhile charity.

SFWIs Centenary: Lys has recently had notification from Surrey Federation of WIs that they will be celebrating 100 years next year. They are inviting all Surrey county WIs to produce an entry for inclusion in the Centenary Record Book. Amongst events planned is a ticketed evening event at Wisley on Thursday, 28th June 2018 with music and entertainment, a Centenary Garden Party on 16th September, 2018 and a series of Centenary walks by WIs. Details of all these to be confirmed.

Wimbledon Village Fair: Veronica reminded us that we need to start thinking about making preserves and cakes etc., for the Wimbledon Village Fair as there is only one more meeting before the event.
Please note preserves and jams need to be brought to the May meeting or delivered to Dulcie before 7th June. A Wimbledon Village Fair email will be sent out shortly with all the relevant information.

Future events: There are still places for the following events
National Theatre Backstage Tour, Saturday, 20th May (£8.95). (Please note this will now start at 12.00).
Bevis Marks Synagogue Thursday, 15th June (£5)
Rotherhithe Walk, Thursday, 6th July (£8)

Recovery Café: Eileen wanted to bring members’ attention to a Recovery Café which has recently opened in Wimbledon Chase. It is called Sunshine Recovery Café and is opposite Wimbledon Chase Train Station. It is a cafe offering a safe, inclusive and welcoming space for people who are experiencing difficulties with their mental health and feel unable to cope. It is open from 6.00pm – 11.00pm Monday – Friday and 12 noon to 11.00pm Saturday, Sunday and bank holidays. Please share this information with friends and family.

Speaker for evening Joyce Meader: Joyce gave us a very interesting talk on Historic Knitting which was not only very educational but extremely amusing. Joyce had an amazing collection of knitting patterns and artefacts and together with her funny anecdotes had us all in “stitches”. Joyce is a historical knitting expert and owns an extensive collection of commercially printed knitting patterns dating from 1817 which is thought to be the largest in Britain outside a museum (around 10,000 at the last count). She has knitted clothing from many of these patterns, and brought quite a selection for us to see. As well as being of historical interest, many of Joyce’s historic garments have featured in films, TV programmes and re-enactments.

Next Meeting will be on Monday, 15th May when we will be having a plant sale and making the final vote on the Resolutions. Our guest speaker for the evening will be Pat Mitchinson whose talk will be on “Who do you think you are?”