60 members braved the weather on Monday evening to hear Melanie Monaghan from Merton Young Carers, our chosen charity this year, tell us about  work that they do, and that we will be supporting.

This was followed by an entertaining and informative talk by Detective Chief Superintendent Darren Williams, Merton Police Commander, who, amongst other things, reminded us that we should never hesitate to dial 999  if the need arises. He  also told us that there is an opportunity for a member of the public to ride out in a patrol car each month. Any volunteers??

86 members attended on Monday for Wimbledon WI’s Annual Meeting.

As usual we collected gifts for one of our charities:

Charity

There was a clear majority vote for Carers Support Merton, and this will be our Charity for next year.
Members can give individual support to any of the other charities nominated, and these can be put forward for consideration next year.

Our New Committee

Janice Beale, Sally Alger, Fiona Gerdes Hansen, Eileen Smith, Dulcie Edwards, Diana Ovens, Gillian Kitcherside and Daphne Monk remain and are joined by Linda Close and Agnes Fox. Joanna Cardwell will remain responsible for Communications and the website.

Agnes Fox was voted for and elected President by the members in accordance with the NFWI regulations for the election of a president. Other officers are decided by the new committee.

74 Members and 1 guest attended the Christmas Meeting on Monday where we were treated to mulled wine and mince pies, and some seasonal music as well as engaging our collective brains to solve some quizzes. Thank you to all concerned with organising this.

Also thank you to Ann Dolphin for taking on the job of Secretary, we wish her well.

Thank you all for your generosity in donating items for the Food Bank. They were delighted with our contribution and will be contacting us to let us know the final total.
Please remember that a collection will take place at each meeting, and all items will be gratefully received. After the Christmas collection the items needed are tins of meat, stew, corned beef etc. Obviously the basics are always welcome.

The results of the Resolution Ballot were as follows.
DECLINE OF OUR HIGH STREETS AND TOWN CENTRES 43
RESOLVE TO KEEP YOUNG PEOPLE SUICIDE SAFE ON LINE 26

Remember that subs are due in January for everyone except members who have joined since October this year.
Full members ￡33.00.
Dual members ￡14.80.

Trips and Events

Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty at Wimbledon, Wednesday, 24th April 2013
Would all members sign up for Sleeping Beauty please bring payment of ￡25.50 to January meeting.

Kiss Me Kate, 6th February 2013
Tickets for Kiss Me Kate now reserved. Would all members signed up for this show please contact Frieda Willis urgently to arrange payment.

74 members and 7 guests were thoroughly entertained by award winning author, Robert Goddard, recounting how he became a writer of best selling crime mystery thrillers. Many of you bought his books to keep you occupied now the nights are drawing in. Enjoy!

Robert Goddard’s publishers gave 10%, or £50 donation to our WI.

A letter has been received from Faith in Action, to thank us for the money received as a result of our fund raising efforts. It is available on the notice board if you wish to see it.

Robert Goddard kindly drew two names from the bag for the Denman College Bursaries.

The winners are Sheena Peckham and Louise Greenwood, who both receive £250 towards the cost of any course at Denman College that they choose to attend.

Big Walk/Little Splash

Thank you to everyone who has filled out a form for this. We now have almost 70% of members involved. It would be wonderful if we could get all members included since we will be judged not only on whether we have completed the mileage but also on how many members have participated.

78 members and 3 guests attended on last Monday at our craft based evening, and thank you to our members who demonstrated the art of lace, and card making. We also had beading, and Boots no 7 consultants who gave make up and skin care advice, and provided us with ‘goody bags’, containing samples. Social and committee members provided cakes for sale.

Cliff Rich and Tracey Leighton from Contact the Elderly also came along to talk about how they support local older people who live on their own and who are often socially isolated. Their idea is a very simple but effective one. A group of volunteer drivers use their cars to collect the same local older people on the same Sunday of every month and together they visit a local volunteer host for tea and an informal social afternoon. The group visits a different host each month and arrive at the host’s home around 3.00 pm and leave again around 5.00pm. This monthly outing with friends is something the older people they support look forward to with great pleasure and for many the outings are a lifeline.

The charity is currently planning to launch a new group in the borough of Merton and is therefore looking for volunteers and older guests to join the group.  They were extremely grateful that quite a few members signed up to volunteer, and if anyone else is interested in volunteering as a host twice a year, a driver for the group once a month, or a reserve driver to drive when needed then they would love to hear from you.
 www.contact-the-elderly.org.uk