Fiona opened the meeting by wishing the 80 members and the 2 guests who attended a Happy New Year.

Bring and Buy Sale: Fiona thanked everyone for their donations for the Bring and Buy Sale – £155.65 was made so well done everyone. Some of the Bring and Buy items have also gone towards the Tombola stall we will be running at the South West London WIs’ Centenary Fair in Barnes on the 9th June.

Summer Fairs: The Wimbledon Fair is no longer happening and as this was our biggest fundraiser (approximately £1,000) we are keen to attend other similar functions and already have a couple in mind. So we will still need your lovely jam, cakes etc. And talking of cakes, one of our members mentioned the Christmas cake ingredients boxes now reduced to £2 in Asda!

Quiz Night: Fiona mentioned the forthcoming Quiz Night on Saturday, 24th March. This is always a good evening and once again, Agnes’ son has kindly offered to be our quiz master. So do come, either on your own or, if you can, make up a table of 8. Tickets are £13 which includes a Ploughman’s Supper. There will be a cash bar and profits will go to our charity, Carers Support Merton.

2018 Resolutions: After some interesting and really thoughtful group discussions on the five shortlisted resolutions, the one we would most like to go forward for further discussion and final voting at the AGM in June is Mental Health Matters. The result of the voting is as follows:
1. Positive body image in a digital age 4
2. Stop female genital mutilation 18
3. Raising awareness of modern slavery in the UK 12
4. Mental health matters 39
5. Healthier Mouth, Healthier Body 5

Social Committee Notices: There are places for the following events:
Brands Museum, Saturday 20th January (£12)
Afternoon Tea at St. Pancras Hotel on Saturday, 17th March (£38)
Quiz Night, Saturday, 24th March (£13)
Lullingstone Castle, Wednesday, 4th July
Please contact Gillian if you would like to go.
SFWI Centenary Celebrations 2018 – Walk 100 Miles for 100 Years:
‘A Journey of a Thousand Miles Starts with a Few Steps’ Lao Tsu
Individual WI members, WIs and Groups are invited to participate in an initiative to get SFWI members walking to improve their health and well being.
Walking is one of the most accessible forms of exercise proven to improve health. Walking is a natural stress remover, relieving the triggers that release endorphins in the brain, the natural hormone that soothes both stress and pain.
You may wish to plan and walk with your fellow members or join walks put on by many organisations in and around Surrey e.g. National Trust, Surrey Wildlife Trust, Surrey Hills and Surrey County Council.
Participants are invited to record their progress in any way they wish e.g. a diary (real or virtual), a scrapbook, a Fitbit log, photos, blog etc.
It is suggested that these be shared within Groups and that a selection of these will be chosen and displayed at the ACM in Spring 2019.
So… let’s put our best foot forward for the next hundred years!

Richmond Park Walk: With the above in mind the South West London WIs feel that a larger scale walk would be good to involve everyone that wanted to take part and the plan is to have a walk in Richmond Park at 10.30 on Saturday, 17th March. The exact meeting places have yet to be confirmed but there will a refreshment stop at Pembroke Lodge so those not wishing/able to walk far can park there and meet to share a short mile and refreshments.

There will be a couple of options to walk either a couple of miles or a longer 6 or 7 mile route. The miles will be totalled amongst your WI members to add towards your 100 miles for 100 years total. More information about this walk to follow.

As London WIs are holding their centenary event on Saturday, June 9th it would be great to be able to display the documentation from our WI as part of this. You could document in a journal, photos, a short diary or any other way you choose.

Fiona opened the meeting by welcoming 65 members and 1 guest. Before introducing our regal entertainer for the evening, the following notices were mentioned:

Wimbledon Village Fair: We have heard from Wimbledon Guild that after 25 years of organising the annual Village Fair, they are unable to keep pace with the operating costs and it is no longer financially viable. As Wimbledon Village Fair is our biggest fund raiser, we are therefore looking for similar events where we can sell our homemade produce. So if any member knows of such events, please could they inform the committee. But in the meantime, don’t stop making your wonderful preserves etc.

SFWI Centenary: Fiona mentioned the list of events happening next year to celebrate SFWI Centenary. A copy of this is on the noticeboard but one date to put in your diary is Saturday, 9th June, when London South West WIs will be having their own fair at Barnes Green Centre between 11.00 and 3.30. Each WI will run a stall – unfortunately, homemade produce has already been taken! Imogen is our liaison officer and will keep us informed of developments.

Events: There are still places for the Afternoon Tea at St. Pancras Hotel on Saturday, 17th March (£38) and for the Brands Museum, Saturday 20th January (£12)
Please contact Gillian if you would like to go. Please note, to secure a place for an event, payment has to be made at time of booking (preferably by cheque).
Denman: Special Offer – Taste of Denman, March 10-11 (£155). Email Dulcie for details.

Volunteer for Age UK Merton: We have been contacted by Age UK Merton who are looking for volunteers to help with their organisation. As “Link Together to Alleviate Loneliness” is one of our resolutions passed in 2017, we are happy to pass on this information.

“Volunteering is a fantastic way of making friends, developing skills and giving back to the community whilst having fun. Age UK Merton delivers a wide range of services and activities, and volunteers are at the heart of this. If you can spare just a few hours each week we’d love to hear from you! Our volunteers support all our services including: Befriending, Reception, Health & Wellbeing, Activities Centre, Out & About and Admin Support.
Help us make a huge difference to the lives of older people living in Merton.”
Apply today
020 8648 5792
volunteering@ageukmerton.org.uk
www.ageukmerton.org.uk

Entertainer for the evening: We were all thoroughly entertained by Tony Harris and his “larger than life” impersonation of King Henry VIII. Tony in full regalia as King Henry gave a very detailed and fascinating insight into King Henry’s character and personality. Tony who is extremely knowledgeable about this fascinating monarch’s life not only quizzed his audience about his many wives but was able to portray Henry in such an amusing and enjoyable way that a lot of us learnt many more interesting facts surrounding his eventful reign.

Denman Bursaries: King Henry kindly drew the two Denman Bursary winners. Congratulations to Gillian and Janice.

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 2018 which are due in January for everyone and will be £41 for full membership and £20 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.
Guest Fees: Will increase to £5 for 2nd and 3rd visit – 1st visit is free.

Vote on Resolutions: Please keep your November/December issue of WI Life which gives you information on the resolutions which might be considered at the 2018 NFWI AGM in Cardiff. We will be discussing these at our January meeting. So don’t throw away your copy, study it and bring the resolution selection form with you to complete at our January meeting.

Bring and Buy Sale: We will be having a Bring & Buy Sale to support our 2018 Charity of the Year – Carers Support Merton. 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.