Fiona opened the meeting by welcoming 72 members and 1 guest. Thank you to everyone who brought in plants to sell at Monday’s meeting – £99.60 was raised for Carers Support Merton, our chosen charity.
Social Committee Notices: There are still spaces for the following events
Turner’s House/Orleans House, 3rd June (£6)
Lullingstone Castle, Wednesday, 4th July (£27.50)
Bateman, Wednesday, 5th September (£29.50)
Please let Gillian know as soon as possible if you would like a place
Bowling Day, Saturday, 28th April: Angela told us how much she, Lesley and Wendy enjoyed the bowling day at Belmont Bowling Club. It was a whole day event which included tuition and various challenges in the morning, followed by a delicious lunch and lovely cakes. In the afternoon a “round robin” competition took place and the Wimbledon WI team got the highest scores and therefore won the cup. The day was such a success there is a possibility it may be held again next year. But in the meantime, Angela mentioned that anyone can go along to the Wimbledon Park Bowls Club on a Saturday until September between 11.00 am – 12.30 pm for coaching/taster sessions. Well done to the 3 winners.
My WI: Fiona mentioned it is well worth registering with My WI for all the news etc.
My WI is the dedicated website for WI members. Here you will find everything you need to get the most from your membership – from essential information and advice, to campaign action packs and special interest projects for you to try. Go to this link for all information about registering https://mywi.thewi.org.uk/welcome-to-my-wi
Summer Fairs: Veronica mentioned that now that the Wimbledon Village Fair is no longer happening, Wimbledon WI will have a stall at the Morden Family Day on Sunday 22nd July and the Wimbledon Stables Day on Sunday, 9th September. A letter will be sent in due course regarding the usual request for cake, preserves and volunteers for these fairs.
4Ocean: With regard to one of the WI previous resolutions “End Plastic Soup”, Fiona wanted to bring to our attention a website called “4Ocean”. It is an organisation whose mission is to help clean up millions of pounds of plastic which enters the ocean every year, creating a dangerous and even deadly environment for marine life. 4Ocean fund their work by selling bracelets made from recycled materials. Every bracelet purchased funds the removal of 1 pound of trash from the ocean and coastlines. In less than 2 years, 4Ocean has removed 629,942 pounds of trash from the ocean and coastlines. Visit 4ocean.com for further information
The Perfect Pollinator Evening RHS Wisley Thursday 28th June: The Surrey Federation has arranged this evening event as a finale to the Centenary celebrations and will be open from 6.30pm to 9.30pm especially for WI members, their families and friends to have a social evening with a picnic. There will be live music from three bands: Blazing Saddles, a Country and Western band; Dr Bone and the Rhythm Boys (a 1920s style quintet) and Surgeons of Swing who play a mixture of swing, jive, jazz, ballroom and Latin music. To order your tickets ring 0203 176 5810 and ask for tickets to “The Perfect Pollinator Evening”. Tickets are RHS members £7 in advance or £8 on the night. Non RHS members £10 in advance and £11 on the night. This looks to be a fun evening so why not take your picnic hamper, Pimms or Prosecco and a chair or rug and enjoy the gardens and evening. Barbeque food and drinks will be available to purchase if you don’t want to take your own.
SWWI’s Centenary Fair: South West London WIs are delighted to announce that the South West London branches of the Women’s Institutes will be joining forces to hold a fantastic Centenary Fair, to celebrate and showcase all that the WI offers. The Fair promises to be an amazing day with a variety of stalls, a chance to enjoy the fun of the fair with retro games, taster drop in workshops, plenty of food, and of course, a supply of homemade WI cakes! We’re also having a courtyard bar and coffee shop.
Open to all, entry to the Fair is free and it will be held in an idyllic venue in the heart of Barnes, next to the beautiful village pond. The Centenary Fair will be taking place on Saturday, 9 June 2018 from 11.00am – 3.30pm at Barnes Green Centre, Church Road, London, SW13 9HE, which is also known as “The Gingerbread House by the Pond”. Barnes Green Centre is very easy to get to with an abundance of transport links; the nearest rail stations are Barnes or Barnes Bridge (5-10 minute walk away) and the nearest tube station is Hammersmith (with frequent 209 or 283 buses to the ‘Barnes Pond’ stop opposite the Centre). It’s also a short bus ride from Richmond (419 bus) and if you are driving there is ample free parking in the surrounding roads on weekends.
The Fair will be an opportunity for a fantastic family day out; children are welcome and can enjoy face painting and games. There will be workshops, for a small cost, on screenprinting, making biodegrable glitter and various arts and crafts. An array of stalls will offer plants, books (some signed/vintage), jewellery and crafts.
Entertainment on offer will be from the FiSH choir, Petite Performers, demonstrators from Mei Quan Tai Chi and Kew Karate. The Balhamonics have also confirmed and will be on hand to entertain you with their repertoire of rock and pop. Please do spread the word, and come along and help celebrate the 100th birthday!
Used or Unwanted Bras: Lesley mentioned that once again she has been contacted from a charity asking our members to donate their old or unwanted bras. Please can you bring any you may have to the June meeting.
Linden Lodge: Being one of our chosen charities in the past, we were delighted to be invited to the opening of The Isobel Centre which we helped to raise funds for. It is a truly remarkable building with the latest technology and facilities for their visually impaired and multi-disabled visually impaired pupils to use.
Resolutions Result: Members voted that the Resolution to go forward to the final vote at the NFWI Annual Meeting in Cardiff on 6th June is Mental Health Matters.
Flower Arranging Demostration: We certainly had a lovely evening when we tried to copy Jean and Julie’s beautiful flower arrangements. Julie took us through the procedure step by step and when finished there were some amazing creations by our members. At the end of the evening 3 lucky members won the lovely arrangements made by Julie.
Diary Dates:
Thursday, 28th June – SFWI Picnic at RHS Wisley (6.00pm – 9.30pm)
Wednesday, 4th July – Lullingstone Castle
Sunday, 22nd July – Morden Family Fun day
Saturday, 4th August – Countryfile Live at Blenheim Palace
Sunday, 26th and Monday, 27th August – Edenbridge & Oxted Show
Sunday, 9th September – Wimbledon Stables Day
Monday, 8th October – SFWI Autumn Meeting
Thursday, 4th October to Sunday, 14th October – Wimbledon Bookfest
