Fiona welcomed 79 members and 2 guests. Before reading out notices and voting on Resolutions Fiona introduced us to Nick Beecroft, volunteer with the London Air Ambulance, who gave a very interesting talk about this amazing service.

London Air Ambulance was formed in 1989 – over 30 years ago. They serve greater London within the M25 and are based at Royal London Hospital Whitechapel and their aim is to get to call outs within 11 minutes – the first hour is crucial and is called the “golden hour” when the casualty has the best chance of survival.

They go to anywhere they are needed and are available 24 hours a day and 365 days of the year. The helicopters and rapid response cars are equipped with almost everything you would find in a Resus unit in a hospital and have on board an advanced trauma care team that go out to extreme traumatic casualties where anything from amputation, anaesthesia, lung inflation, blood transfusion and REBOA (Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta) can be performed on the road side. Only 20% of callouts are taken to hospital by London Air Ambulance.

In 1993 the London Air Ambulance performed the world’s first open heart surgery at the roadside. In 1999 rapid response car and night time operations started. In 2005 London Air Ambulance had royal recognition for response to 7/7 bombings and in 2012 they were the first UK air ambulance to carry blood on board for transfusions. In 2016 they received a Pride of Britain award and in 2019 Duke of Cambridge became Patron of London’s Air Ambulance 30^th Anniversary campaign.

It costs 10 million to provide this service and over £2,000 per mission. They treat up to 5 people a day and in 2018 helped 1656 casualties. Sadly the highest percentage of incidents are due to shootings or stabbings.

Resolutions: The results from Monday’s voting are:

1. A call to increase potential stem cell donor registration 25

2. Female crash dummies 4

3. End modern slavery 30

4. Time to talk about death and dying 5

5. Protect our precious helium 3

Bring and Buy and Jam Sales: The Bring & Buy sale on Monday raised £137.84 for our Charity and the jams raised £18.50 for our funds. Thank you for all the donations and to the ladies who manned the stall. 

Quiz Night: Fiona mentioned the forthcoming Quiz Night on Saturday, 21^st March at 7.30 St. Mary’s Church Hall, Merton Park. This is always a good evening and a chance to socialise. So do come, either on your own or, if you can, make up a table of 8. Tickets are £15 which includes a Ploughman’s Supper.  There will be a cash bar and profits will go to our charity, Stem4. Please contact Gillian if you would like tickets.

Salvation Army:  Included in the thank you letter from Emma (Captain) for the gifts and vouchers we donated she mentions she is running the marathon. The money raised will support their emergency relief, counselling for women who have left abusive partners as well as their new ‘Living Room’ community space in Mitcham town centre. If interested you can sponsor her at
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/emmascott2020

Social Events: There are still spaces available for:

Cinema Museum, Friday, 21^st February, £7 http://www.cinemamuseum.org.uk/

Overlord Embroidery – The D-Day Story, Portsmouth, Tuesday 31^st March £28

Overlord Embroidery

Quiz Evening, Saturday, 21^st March – £15 – includes Ploughman’s Supper

As usual please let Gillian know as soon as possible if you would like a place 

Wimbledon Crafty Ladies: Please note that the Crafty Ladies meetings will be held on the Friday following the monthly WI meeting. So the next meeting will be held on Friday 24th January in the upper restaurant at Ely’s Department Store in Wimbledon from 2.30pm to approximately 5pm.  Members are welcome to come to every meeting or just to attend now and again.

Subscriptions:   Subscriptions for 2020 were due at Monday’s meeting for everyone and are £43 for full membership and £21.10 for dual member (to their second WI). If you were unable to attend Monday’s meeting and want to renew your membership please bring your subscription to February’s meeting or, alternatively, post it to Wendy. If you are not renewing for any reason, please let us know and we will not chase you for payment!

Fiona welcomed 67 members. Lesley and Fiona read out a few notes before handing over to our guest speaker, Paul Lewis, who had stepped in at very short notice in place of his wife.

Salvation Army: Lesley has received an email from the Salvation Army saying they were thrilled to receive our gifts and vouchers and particularly wrapping paper and thank you all very much. Lesley has also received a copy of their The Link Café newsletter which she will put on the noticeboard.

Denman: Lesley also reminded us of the one night stay Denman Experience on March 7-8 where 5 courses are on offer and the Surrey at Denman weekend from July 10-12. If interested please apply as soon as possible. Details of these events and other courses can be found on https://surreyfedwi.org.uk/whats-on-2/denman/

The two lucky winners for the Denman draw on Monday were Sally and Sue who won bursaries up to the value of £350 each – congratulations.

Social Events: There are still spaces available for:

Tour of Wimbledon Tennis Grounds by Blue Badge Guide Friday, 17th January at 11.00 am £17.

Cinema Museum, Friday, 21^st February, £7 http://www.cinemamuseum.org.uk/.

Overlord Embroidery – The D-Day Story, Portsmouth, Tuesday 31^st March £28. https://theddaystory.com/discover/overlord-embroidery/ 

As usual please let Gillian know as soon as possible if you would like a place.

Wimbledon Crafty Ladies: Please note as from January the Crafty Ladies meetings will be held on the third Friday of the month. So the next meeting will be held on Friday 24^th January in the upper restaurant at Ely’s Department Store in Wimbledon from 2.30pm to approximately 5pm.  Members are welcome to come to every meeting or just to attend now and again.

2020 Resolutions:  We will be discussing these at our January meeting.  Your copy of November and December WI Life gives you information on the Resolutions which might be considered at the 2020 NFWI AGM at the Albert Hall. Please bring the resolution selection form with you to complete at our January meeting.

Subscriptions: Subscriptions for 2020 are due next month for everyone and will be £43 for full membership and £21.10 for dual member (to your second WI).

NFWI AM 2020 – Royal Albert Hall:   The NFWI Annual Meeting will be held on Thursday, 4^th June at Royal Albert Hall and costs £22. If you are interested in going into the ballot for a ticket please download and complete the “Request for Observer Ticket” form on https://surreyfedwi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/201911-NFWI-AGM-Observers-Ticket-Request-2020.pdf. Forms to be in by 24^th January.

Jams: Some of the remaining jam from the summer fair was sold at Monday’s meeting and made £41.

Learn2love2read: We have received an email from this Wandsworth based charity that is looking for volunteers to provide one-to-one reading support for 5-7 years olds who are at risk of falling behind. They currently work at 6 schools (4 in Wimbledon). For further information visit https://www.learn2love2read.org.uk/

Refreshments: Starting from January 2020 tea and coffee will be free at our meetings and wine will be reduced to £2 for a standard measure.

Paul Lewis gave us a potted history of his career. He began composing for television at age 20 and is best known today for his television music which include  Arthur of the Britons, The Prisoner of Zenda, Undermind, children’s series such as Woof!, comedies such as the Monty Python’s Flying Circus and The Benny Hill Show. Paul has also written music for films and the concert hall and composed “Inauguration” for orchestra which was used to accompany a Pathé news reel of Prince Charles’ Investiture at Caernarvon. At the end of the evening Paul accompanied us on his keyboard whilst we sang a few Christmas songs.

THE COMMITTEE WOULD LIKE TO WISH YOU ALL MERRY CHRISTMAS AND LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AT OUR NEXT MEETING IN JANUARY

Fiona welcomed 78 members. Before the business of the AGM and a very informative and interesting presentation from Katharine about her recent visit to Chernobyl, Fiona invited Dr Nihara Krause, to say a few words about our chosen charity for 2020, stem4. In 2010 a 16-year-old teenager, who lived in Merton, died after battling with anorexia nervosa. Dr Krause was involved in supporting her school, family and friends in grieving for her loss, and saw this as the impetus to set up a charitable organisation that would provide accurate, user-friendly psycho-education to young people, their families and carers and schools. stem4 was formed in June 2011 with a group of six volunteers who owned a range of skills and who all shared in their commitment to making a difference. stem4 is a charity that promotes positive mental health in teenagers and those who support them including their families and carers, education professionals, as well as school nurses and GPs through the provision of mental health education, resilience strategies and early intervention. Now, in 2019, stem4 has 6 staff, 8 trustees, 3 contractors, 8 volunteers – all still very committed to making a difference. This is primarily provided digitally through their innovative education programme, pioneering mental health apps, clinically-informed website and mental health conferences that contribute to helping young people and those around them flourish. Visit https://stem4.org.uk/ for further information.

Wimbledon Foodbank: Wimbledon Foodbank has recently moved premises and are very short of space and due to Harvest Festival donations and the run up to Christmas their stocks are currently very high. It was suggested members may like to make a monetary donation this month that could be used in purchasing more storage boxes. Wimbledon Foodbank would like to thank members for their generosity as slightly over £130 was raised at Monday’s meeting which was amazing and should buy them about 8 storage boxes. 

Remembrance Sunday and Poppies: A few of us attended the Remembrance Service on Sunday 10^th in Wimbledon Village when Fiona and Lorna (SW19 WI) represented the WI and joined the dignitaries and laid a wreath at Wimbledon War Memorial. A cheque for £364 has been sent to The Royal British Legion for the poppies we made and sold on their behalf. Thank you to all the lovely ladies who help make the poppies and to all of you who bought one.

Walk – Friday 22nd November 10.20am – The City of London Liveries: Liz will lead a walk through the western side of the City taking in many of the Livery Companies along the way. The walk is approximately 5 miles long. Meet at Blackfriars Tube/Rail Station north side entrance at 10.30am. There are several places in the area to eat at the end of the walk. Contact Liz if you would like to join the group.

Wimbledon Crafty Ladies: The next Crafty Ladies meeting will be held on Friday 6^th December in the upper restaurant at Ely’s Department Store in Wimbledon from 2.30pm to approximately 5pm.  Members are welcome to come to every meeting or just to attend now and again.

Social Events: There are still spaces available for:

Christmas Dinner at Taste Restaurant, South Thames College, Thursday, 5^th December 6.30 for 7.00 £2

Tour of Wimbledon Tennis Grounds by Blue Badge Guide Friday, 17th January at 11.00 am £17.

Cinema Museum, Friday, 21^st February, £7 http://www.cinemamuseum.org.uk

As usual please let Gillian know as soon as possible if you would like a place. /

Fiona welcomed 68 members. Whilst members got stuck into a very enjoyable evening creating some lovely Christmas themed crafts and floral arrangements, various notices etc., were read out.

Surrey Federation of WI’s website: Fiona encouraged members to look at the new website and suggested, whilst browsing, to have a look at the various courses available to members https://surreyfedwi.org.uk/

NFWI AGM: Lesley informed us that this will take place on Thursday, 4^th June at the Royal Albert Hall. She will let us know in due course when we can apply for tickets.

Salvation Army: Lesley has been in touch with the Salvation Army and it was suggested that at the November meeting members bring in gifts (unwrapped) for children particularly between the ages of 9-13 for Christmas.  The suggested price to spend on gifts is between £5 and £10 but vouchers would also be really appreciated as mothers/carers can then actually buy the present their child wants. Should anyone be replacing their washing machine, the Salvation Army are in need of one.

Pampering Evening: We have been informed by the London WI Advisors that there will be a Pampering Evening at House of Elemis, Tuesday 19 November, 6pm-9pm, £15. Fulham & Chelsea have organised a pre-party season pampering evening just for members at the House of Elemis where you can learn how to look after your skin during the winter months and get a complimentary 15 minute treatment (e.g. hand massage, arm massage, mini Glow facial). You will also have a free glass of Nyetimber sparkling wine and canapés, as well as discounts in the shop (20% off products, 10% off gift sets) and £30 off if you book your next treatment that night. Each member will also get a free goody bag. If you’d like to book a place at this event for £15 (usually valued at £60), please call Elemis on 020 7907 2780 and tell them you’d like to book your place on the Fulham and Chelsea WI evening

Members’ Notices:

Walk – Friday 22nd November 10.30am – The City of London Liveries. Liz will lead a walk through the western side of the City taking in many of the Livery Companies along the way. The walk is approximately 5 miles long. Meet at Blackfriars Tube/Rail Station entrance at 10.30am. There are several places in the area to eat at the end of the walk. There will also be a sign-up sheet at the November meeting.

Fiona told us that the Sutton Amateur Dramatic Club’s next production is “We Happy Few” at the Adrian Mann Theatre, Epsom from 13^th to 16^th November at 7.45. To book tickets please visit https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/sadc

Gill informed us that her husband, Stewart Wilde, has written a book entitled “Sparkling Wine: Vineyards of England and Wales”. The book costs £12.95. She has a few copies and it can also be bought on Amazon.

We have been notified by Sheena about the “Commit to Knit” campaign which asks people to knit hats for the homeless. If you would like to participate please visit
https://www.ukhandknitting.com/news/commit-to-knit-is-well-under-way for further details. h

Jigsaw4u: Sheila welcomed Stephen Loizou, Managing Director of Jigsaw4u and our chosen charity for 2019. She presented Stephen with a cheque for £1,353.21. He was very appreciative and thanked all the members and said our donation will go towards helping some of the many children, young people and their families who have been affected by significant social and emotional issues and bereavement. Click on this link to view Jigsaw4u’s 2019 Annual Report https://www.jigsaw4u.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Jigsaw4u-Annual-Review-2019.pdf

Charity for 2020: Fiona thanked Sheila for all her hard work sourcing local charities. Members were asked to vote on the following nominated charities:

stem4 is a charity that promotes positive mental health in teenagers and those who support them including their families and carers, education professionals, as well as school nurses and GPs through the provision of mental health education, resilience strategies and early intervention.  This is primarily provided digitally through innovative education programmes, pioneering mental health apps, clinically-informed website and mental health conferences that contribute to helping young people and those around them flourish.

Merton Centre for Independent Living (also known as Merton CIL) are a user led disabled people’s organisation. They are an organisation run and controlled by Deaf and Disabled People, delivering free services for Deaf and Disabled People who live in Merton. They provide advice and advocacy support around benefits, community care and Disability Hate Crime.

Lantern Arts Centre is a venue for the community of Raynes Park and beyond, where people of all ages and abilities can learn and develop performance arts skills.
The Lantern Arts Centre offers a wide range of classes, activities and productions for the community to take part in.

The result of the voting for the 3 charities was:

Stem 4 30

Lantern Arts Centre 20

Merton Centre for Independent Living 15

Book Sale and Craft Evening: A very successful evening all round. Thank you to members who brought in books to be sold and jigsaws. The book sale had a good result making £74 for our funds and everyone appeared to enjoy the various craft activities and socialising. If members would like templates of the boxes or instructions for the needlepoint candle or Christmas tree, please let Dulcie know.

Social Events: There are still spaces available for the wonderful light extravaganza at Syon Park Enchanted Woodland at 6.20pm on Saturday 30^th November (£12.80). As usual please let Gillian know as soon as possible if you would like a place.

November Meeting:  PLEASE NOTE THAT THE NOVEMBER MEETING WILL BE HELD IN THE CANTEEN AT THE URSULINE SCHOOL when we will be having the AGM and the re-election of committee members. Please let us know if you would be interested in joining the committee. Anyone can join – no experience needed. So if you have the time, we would love to hear from you.

Remembrance Sunday:  Once again, we will be laying a joint wreath with SW19 WI on Sunday, 10^th November, at Wimbledon Memorial in Wimbledon Village. It would be lovely if you could join us. We will meet at 10.00 at Belvedere Grove, Wimbledon Village when we will process with other community groups.

Wimbledon Crafty Ladies: The next Crafty Ladies meeting will be held on Friday 1st November in the upper restaurant at Ely’s Department Store in Wimbledon from 2.30pm to approximately 5pm.  Members are welcome to come to every meeting or just to attend now and again.

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Fiona welcomed 61 members and 2 guests and hoped everyone had a good summer. Fiona said the Wimbledon and Putney Commons Open Day was a huge success. She thanked Veronica for all her hard work, dedication and organisation, without whom the WI stall would not exist. Fiona also thanked Dulcie and her helpers for covering the huge amount of jams and preserves – remains of which were on sale at Monday’s meeting. The final amount raised including Monday’s sales is an amazing £1177 – thank you to everyone who helped and donated produce.

Campaigns: Lesley has been sent campaign action packs on End Plastic Soup, Cervical Screening and No More Violence Against Women. All very worthwhile campaigns – are there any members who are interested in public affairs and willing to set up a sub-committee campaign group to deal with these issues.

Surrey Federation Website: The new website for Surrey Federation has just been launched and worth a look. You can find it on www.surreyfedwi.org.uk

Thank you from Agnes: Gillian had been asked by Agnes to thank everyone for all the cards, messages of sympathy and flowers. She was very touched and overwhelmed.

Future outings/events:

Chatham Dockyard, Friday, 27^th September £37 https://thedockyard.co.uk/

Syon Park Enchanted Woodland, Saturday 30^th November £20 http://www.enchantedwoodland.com/

Christmas Dinner at Taste Restaurant, South Thames College, Thursday, 5^th December 6.30 for 7.00 £27

As usual please let Gillian know as soon as possible if you would like a place.

Walking Netball: Walking netball has been suspended for the time being until Angela is well enough after her foot operation. We wish her a speedy recovery.

Charity of The Year: At our October meeting we will chose our Charity for 2020. If you have a local charity you would like to nominate please let Sheila have details before next meeting. The Managing Director of Jigsaw4u will attend the October meeting to receive our cheque on their behalf.

2020 Diaries: After enquiring we have heard that Surrey Federation will not be selling WI diaries for 2020 as it is not economically viable. However these can be purchased directly from NFWI and Wendy is happy to purchase these for members. If you would like one could you let Wendy know as soon as possible. They cost £5.80 and are red this year.

Wimbledon Crafty Ladies: The next Crafty Ladies meeting will be held on Friday 4^th October in the upper restaurant at Ely’s Department Store in Wimbledon from 2.30pm to approximately 5pm.  Members are welcome to come to every meeting or just to attend now and again.

Fixing Fast Fashion: The NFWI is taking aim at fast fashion for the next stage of the End Plastic Soup campaign. With around 300,000 tonnes of textiles thrown away every year, action is needed to tackle the environmental impact of clothing.

Members are invited to attend a free educational women-only event, hosted with clothing charity TRAID, to learn more about how to reduce the impact of their wardrobe. This is an interactive, hands-on event where people will come together to learn more about the true cost of fast fashion and what can be done to fix it.

There will be different stations set up to consider different aspects of fast fashion—these include repairing and mending clothes, considering clothes production and our throwaway culture and the impact microplastic fibres pose to the environment.

This is to be an intergenerational, communal event and so each member is asked to bring along a female plus one; whether that’s a neighbour, friend, female relative or work colleague to introduce them (and hopefully recruit them!) to the WI.

This event is aimed at people who are novices at repairing, adapting, mending and sharing clothes and who wish to learn more about how they can play their part in fixing fast fashion.

It will take place at the Abbey Centre, 34 Great Smith Street, London, SW1P 3BU, on Saturday 19 October from 1.30-5pm. Places are first come, first served, so please register your interest via this link: www.thewi.org.uk/s/fast-fashion 

Speaker for the evening Joyce Meader: Most of you will remember Joyce when she previously spoke at one of our meetings. Tonight’s knitting history started from the 1950’s with a lot of us remembering some of the items she displayed across her chest. The items ranged from some very weird and wonderful hats – smog hoods, pixie hats, balaclavas, bobble hats and a knitted beret with a knitted breakfast on it – egg, bacon and peas!! But the 1950’s was known for one particular garment – the string vest for both male and female. Originating in Norway in the mid 1800’s they were known as health vests as they are warm in the winter and cool in the summer. And to go with the string vests Joyce produced some very fetching string pants! Of course she showed us the compulsory toilet roll covers, tank tops (round neck for women, v-shape for men) and some wonderful jumpers with pictures knitted on them. Joyce also had a large selection of knitwear from all over the world which included many sleeper socks. We were also given the amusement of being shown a knitted garment that warmed a certain part of the male anatomy along with some fluffy thongs – the mind boggles. As we had envisaged a very amusing and insightful evening.

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