Fiona welcomed 63 members back and 5 guests and hoped everyone had a good summer. She opened the meeting with a few notices:

We have had a letter from the Chairman of Surrey Federation thanking us for our contribution to the Pollinator evening at RHS Wisley in June which was a great success.

There is ‘The March of the Women Community Day’ on Saturday, 24th November (10.00 – 4.00) at Surrey History Centre, 130 Goldsworth Road, Woking. Tickets are free but please book online at www.surreycc.gov.uk/heritageevents or phone 01483518737.

London Surrey WI Advisors had a meeting at Sherwood Grange Care Home about how the residents could be involved with local groups. It is felt this could possibly work if the WI could take extra activities to the care home i.e. craft group, coffee morning, games afternoon etc., on a regular basis. Please let us know if you have any ideas or could help in any way.

The 2 summer fairs we were present at i.e. Morden Family Fun Day and Wimbledon and Putney Commons Open Day were both a great success and we raised over £1,100 – we would have raised more at the Open Day but, unfortunately, we ran out of cakes by lunchtime!!! Fiona gave bouquet of flowers to Veronica and Angela for all their hard work.

Next month’s meeting, 15th October, will be our 10th Anniversary when we will be having a social evening including finger food, drinks, birthday cake, entertainment and an auction of a handmade dress.

Once again, we will be laying a joint wreath with SW19 WI on Sunday, 11th November, at Wimbledon Memorial in Wimbledon Village. It would be lovely if you could join us.

The November meeting will be our AGM and re-election of committee members. Please let us know if you would like to stand – it would be lovely to have you.

We will be having Henry VIII back for our December (17th) meeting but this time he will coming as a Christmas Elf so, no doubt, it will be a fun evening.

One of our guests today, Mirella, is a volunteer at the British Red Cross charity shop in Wimbledon Village. They are looking for volunteers to help in the shop. Please let us know if you can help when we will put you in touch with Mirella.

Social Events:
Watts Gallery, Friday, 19th October – PLEASE NOTE THIS TRIP HAS BEEN CANCELLED
Kew Gardens (Christmas Lights), Thursday, 22nd November 6.00pm (£16.50) – Now full, waiting list only.
Christmas Meal at Taste Restaurant, Tuesday, 4th December (£30) – A few places available.
Fullers Brewery, Chiswick, Wednesday, 23rd January (£18)
Please let Gillian know as soon as possible if you would like a place on any of the above.

SW19 WI are holding an Autumn Village Fair on Saturday, 22nd September from 12.00 to 4.00 at Emmanuel Church, 24 Ridgway.

Send Inspired WI – Tea Party Invitation: We have been invited to the next tea party “Once upon a time” at Send Inspired WI, to be held on Friday 2 November. Send Inspired WI is one of our prison WI’s, and if you wish to attend then please contact Dina and please arrive by 1.15pm and have photo ID with you, and £1.00 for the raffle.

London WI Advisors: We have been asked to let you know that on Friday, 30th November 2018, Surrey Federation are planning a trip to Greenwich market, a blue badge guided river cruise to Westminster pier, a coach guided trip round the lights in London and then supper at the Strand Palace Hotel. This costs £49 all included.
This is a fantastic value trip and the London WI Advisors have arranged for members who live in London to meet in Greenwich without having to travel out to the Surrey pick up points i.e. meet the rest of the group in Greenwich and leave them after the Strand Palace Hotel. Please contact us for further details etc.

It has also been suggested that, if enough members can meet at Greenwich beforehand, a local history guide is arranged to show members round for an hour before the Surrey members arrive.

Queen’s Birthday card: An opportunity to design a card for the Queen’s Birthday. The final design should be A5 size and be completed by 1st March 2019. Anyone interested please contact us for further information.

Craft News: Another consignment of dresses, teddies, jumpers, hats etc., will be going out to Kenya in November. So just to let you know, if you have any please bring them to the October meeting. Thank you for those received already.

Book Sale: £19.50 was made at Monday’s booksale. Thank you to everyone who brought in books to sell and to those buying them.

Salvation Army: Eileen and Lesley met with Emma of Mitcham Salvation Arm. They run a cafe every Tuesday morning to support ladies who have left abusive relationships and are making a new start. We discussed how we could offer support. They do require things like kitchenware and bedding etc., but they have limited storage so we agreed that they would contact us when they need items. They also have volunteers who accompany the ladies to court hearings etc., to give support. We also discussed the possibility of donating our Christmas toy and present collection to them this year. They ask for donations and then hold a session where the mothers can choose the presents, wrap them and give them to their children in their name.
As this was an initial meeting, the committee will discuss further and we hope that Emma might be able to come to talk to us about their work in the New Year.
We will give further information when we have it.

2018 Charity: Catriona and Raymond, representatives of our chosen charity, Carers Support Merton, were delighted to receive our cheque for £1440.54 and thanked us all for our efforts and said that some of the money would be spent on outings for the young carers; some of whom are only 5 years old.

William French, speaker for the evening, certainly gave us an entertaining time on Monday with his resume of his life and work. After getting his brother to forge his mother’s signature on his sign up papers, William joined the Royal Navy at 15. He trained as a chef but soon realised he wanted to be “on show” and retrained to become a No.1 steward. He later graduated to personal steward to a senior office at NATO HQ where he saw action in the Falklands aboard HMS Battleaxe and HMS Broadsword. After the conflict he worked as a Leading Steward for a short while before attending a 6 hour interview and subsequently being appointed Royal Class Steward on the Royal Yacht Britannia. This opened up a new world for William as not only was he serving the Queen and Prince Philip, the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of York, he went on many of the royal tours around the world. Later he moved to Kensington Palace as ‘breakfast butler’ and he was at the Ritz Hotel in Paris on the night of Princess Diana’s tragic accident.
William was also serving on Royal Yacht Brittania on passage to New Zealand for Royal Duty in Jan 1986 when fighting between the Government and rival Marxist factions had broken out in the former British Colony of Aden. With the full agreement of Her Majesty, Britannia proceeded to the Aden area and prepared to evacuate British and Commonwealth nationals. Before she resumed her voyage to New Zealand Britannia had rescued 1,082 people of the overall total of 1,379 of 55 nationalities saved by the British ships.
William went on to work for the Rothschild family, Lord Rothermere in Eton Square, Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise, Robert Redford, Sean Connery to name just a few. William also had a few saucy tales to tell us and probably knows a lot more he couldn’t.

We have just heard from William that £158.60 was raised on Monday in donations for Medical Detection. His fee also went to that charity.

Fiona welcomed 70 members and 2 guests. Fiona reported on the lovely evening at the Surrey Centenary evening at Wisley and how amazing the displays of Pollinators were. She also had a slide show of the wonderful creations. One of Linda’s students from Taiwan also attended the event and heard all about what the WI do etc., and it transpired she very generously donated £300 to our WI.

Lullingstone: Fiona also had a few slides of the recent visit to Lullingstone and Gillian mentioned that she has received a letter from Tom Hart Dyke thanking us for the donation in remembrance of his father to go towards the restoration of Lullingstone church.

Bronzefield Bees WI (HMP and Young Offenders Institute) are having a craft fair and afternoon tea on 10th August at 2.30. Please let Wendy know by 1st August if you would like to attend as they need to have a list of full names of those attending prior to the event. An early arrival of 1.30 pm will be necessary to go through ID (passport) and registration etc. There are now a few prisons’ WI’s and studies have shown that those who have become members and attended were less likely to reoffend.

New Resolutions: Lys reported that next year’s AGM of NFWI is to be held on Wednesday, 5th June in Bournemouth and that now is the time to submit any resolutions you may like to put forward to be considered.

Surrey Autumn Federation Meeting will be on Monday 8th October from 10.00 to 4.00 at Dorking Halls. The main speaker is Tricia Stewart, the lady behind the “Calendar Girls”.

10th Anniversary: As you all know, at our October meeting we will be celebrating our 10th anniversary when we will be having a social evening with prosecco, nibbles etc. If anyone knows of a small group of musicians who could play chamber music during the evening, could they please let us know as we thought that would be a lovely addition.

Ecumenical service to celebrate the Centenary of Surrey Federation will be held at Guildford Cathedral at 2.00pm on Saturday 8th September. Everyone welcome to just go along and to the cream tea afterwards (£7).

Red Cross Charity Shop: We have been asked to mention if anyone has a few spare hours a week to help at the Red Cross Charity shop in Wimbledon Village as they are looking for volunteers

Sutton Countryside Walk: Liz has organised a walk for Friday August 3rd at 10.30 am to start from the Oaks Park Car Park. The walk is approximately 5 miles long, so we will be able to get refreshments at the end either in the Mayfield Lavender field or the Oaks Park Cafe. If you are interested in joining the party of walkers, please contact Liz for further details.

Social Events: Gillian mentioned there are still places for Batemans – Home of Rudyard Kipling, Wednesday, 5th September (£29.50), Watts Gallery, Friday, 19th October (£17) and Kew, Thursday, 22nd November, 6.00pm (£16.50) to see the Christmas lights,
Please let Gillian know as soon as possible if you would like a place.

Charity for 2019: We need to start thinking about our chosen charity for next year so if you have any suggestions can you please let us know. The only criterion is that it has to be local.

Craft Items: Thank you to everyone who has been busy making jumpers, dresses and toys to send out to Kenya. They will all be taken out by the scout leaders in September. There are 52 jumper and hat sets, 24 jumpers, 22 hats, 14 dresses, 2 shorts, 2 baby blankets, 6 bags and over 30 teddies and rabbits. Absolutely fantastic, thank you so much.

WI Campaigns: An interesting clip was shown at the National AGM in Cardiff in June about WI Campaigning and is available to watch on this link https://www.facebook.com/130129976138/posts/10155739192556139/

Guest Speaker, Melanie Lewis gave a very interesting talk on Mindfulness and how it can benefit all our lives. Mindfulness is the ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we are doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what is going on around us. It is something we all naturally possess but need to practice on a daily basis for it to be readily available. Jon Kabat-Zinn, creator of MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) explains how mindfulness lights up parts of our brains that aren’t normally activated when we’re mindlessly running on autopilot. “Whenever you bring awareness to what you’re directly experiencing via your senses, or to your state of mind via your thoughts and emotions, you’re being mindful. And there’s growing research showing that when you train your brain to be mindful, you’re actually remodelling the physical structure of your brain.

Mindfulness can help you manage your wellbeing and mental health. It can enable you to:

✓ feel less overwhelmed
✓ improve your sleep quality
✓ positively change the way you think and feel about your experiences (especially stressful experiences)
✓ increase your ability to manage difficult situations
✓ make wiser choices
✓ reduce levels of anxiety
✓ reduce levels of depression
✓ reduce levels of stress
✓ reduce the amount you chew things over in your mind
✓ have greater self-compassion

Melanie talked us through a few exercises to experience the feeling of mindfulness which resulted in some positive feedback from members. She also offered other sessions that members could attend if interested. We certainly all went home feeling calmer and more relaxed.

Summer Fairs: Morden Family Funday was a success and a big thank you to everyone who provided produce, helped before the event and on the stall on Sunday, 22nd July. With everyone’s efforts we had a very good result on a very hot day and made over £500. Well done everyone. The Wimbledon and Putney Common Open Day on Sunday 9th September will be held before our next meeting. The same format will apply i.e. cakes etc., to Sacred Heart on Friday, 7th September and preserves etc., to Dulcie. For further information refer to email sent on 31st May or contact Veronica.

We wish you all a very enjoyable summer and look forward to seeing you 17th September when we will be having a booksale and jigsaw swap and our guest speaker will be William French – Butler to Royalty.

Fiona opened the meeting by welcoming 61 members and 2 guests. Thank you to everyone who brought their old and unwanted bras for Zabra and as usual, for all your items for Foodbank

Walking Netball: Fiona mentioned how much she had enjoyed the Walking Netball warm up practice and encouraged a few more to come along next month. She said it was great fun and another way of keeping fit. Wimbledon WI has now signed up to the NFWI Walking Netball Programme and, hopefully, will soon have a team to compete.

Centenary Fair at Barnes: This was a great success and the 14 London WI’s involved made over £3600. Once expenses have been paid, plus hire of the hall and a donation made possibly to The Friendship Fund, the proceeds will be divided between the WIs involved. Fiona thanked Dulcie and Sheila for all their hard work to the lead up to the fair where we ran a Gift Bag Tombola stall.

2019 Diaries: Fiona mentioned that orders for next year diaries have to be in soon. If you would like a diary please contact Wendy Kilgour. The cost of the diaries is £4.70 each.

Social Committee Notices: There are still spaces for the following events
Lullingstone Castle, Wednesday, 4th July (£27.50). Hopefully led by Tom Hart Dyke
Bateman, Wednesday, 5th September (£29.50)
Please let Gillian know as soon as possible if you would like a place.

Summer Fairs: Veronica mentioned the two summer fairs Wimbledon WI will be attending this year. Namely, Morden Family Day on Sunday 22nd July and Wimbledon Stables Day on Sunday 9th September. As collection for cakes etc., will be on the Friday preceding both fairs, it has been asked that there should be no cream or chocolate fillings etc. A letter with further information will be sent out in due course.

My WI: Fiona mentioned it is well worth registering with My WI for all the news etc. and demonstrated how to access the site and login. Quite a few members have not received login details but this is easily rectified by visiting https://mywi.thewi.org.uk/welcome-to-my-wi for all information about registering etc.

The Perfect Pollinator Evening RHS Wisley Thursday 28th June: Fiona reminded everyone about this evening’s event which is happening next week. She also asked if any member had spare seats in their car to give other members a lift. If so, please let us know as soon as possible if you do.

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.

Eileen later showed members Beatrice the Bee Pollinator made by several members which will be displayed at Wisley so look out for her when you go.

Guest Speaker: Rosie Troughton gave us a very interesting talk on the Wimbledon Ball Boys and Girls (BBGs). She first gave us a potted history about the All England Lawn Tennis Club before telling us all about her time as an Instructor and Trainer of the BBGs. The boys and girls are now chosen from 35 feeder schools throughout south London but between 1946 and 1966 Dr Barnado’s boys would be bused in everyday from their home to do the job. Originally only 4 ball boys were on court and were on for 4 hour shifts unlike today’s 45 minute shifts. In 1996 six ball boys were introduced to the system and in 1977 girls were included. In 1980 mixed teams were set up and in 1985 girls were seen on centre court for the first time. Approximately 250 BBGs from around 700 applicants work at The Championships. The average age is 15. Training is one evening a week for 6 months where they have to learn perfect ball handling skills, self-discipline and obedience. Being a BBG is an arduous task and very competitive not only amongst themselves but amongst the schools taking part as well. The BBGs get a daily allowance but they also get to keep their prestigious uniform designed by Polo Ralph Lauren which can consist of 3 shirts, 2 shorts, tracksuit and trainers and costs several hundreds of pounds. But if the BBGs are not up to scratch they get notification telling them this (nowadays by email but originally by letter) and they are out. Rosie retired a few years ago but says she was very proud of her BBGs for all the 20 years she worked as their Instructor.

Diary Dates:
Thursday, 28th June – SFWI Picnic at RHS Wisley (6.00pm – 9.30pm)
Wednesday, 4th July – Lullingstone Castle
Monday, 16th July – A talk by Melanie Lewis on Mindfulness
Sunday, 22nd July – Morden Family Fun day
Saturday, 4th August – Countryfile Live at Blenheim Palace
Sunday, 26th and Monday, 27th August – Edenbridge & Oxted Show
Wednesday, 5th September – Bateman (Home of Rudyard Kipling)
Sunday, 9th September – Wimbledon Stables Day
Monday, 8th October – SFWI Autumn Meeting
Thursday, 4th October to Sunday, 14th October – Wimbledon Bookfest

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

Fiona opened the meeting by welcoming 61 members and 1 guest. Thank you to everyone who brought in books to sell at Monday’s meeting – £38.50 was raised.

NFWI AGM: Lys reminded us that this will take place on Wednesday, 6th June at Motorpoint Arena Cardiff if anyone is interested in attending.

Surrey WI News: Lys said a copy of the Surrey News would be put on the noticeboard for people to see what events are happening. If there is anything that takes your fancy, please let Wendy know so she can book a place. This is also “the last shout” if you want a copy of Surrey WI News as orders have to be in by the end of the month. Please let us know within the next few days if you want to receive this which comes out monthly, starting in June, and costs £5 for 12 copies

Events: We have had two fantastic events recently. The first was quiz night when we raised £1133.79 for our chosen charity – well done and thank you to everyone who took part or helped on the evening. Also a black scarf was left behind if anyone is missing one. The second event was the brilliant trip to the Hat Factory in Luton – a lovely day out.
Four of our members are attending the Bowling Day on 27th April to be held at Streatham WI’s meeting place.
There are a few places left for:
Blue Badge Whitechapel Walk, Saturday, 12th May (£9)
Turner’s House/Orleans House, Sunday, 3rd June (£6)
Lullingstone Castle, Wednesday, 4th July (£27.50)
Please let Gillian know as soon as possible if you would like a place.

Centenary merchandise: There will be another opportunity to order these at the May meeting. Mugs £10, Tea towels £6, pens £3. Please pay with your order.

Barnes Fair. Fourteen London WIs are running stalls at this fair on Saturday 9th June. We are looking for volunteers to help run our tombola stall. If we get enough helpers the slots will only be for half an hour – giving you plenty of time to enjoy the fair.

Jellyfish and Octopus for prem babies: Eileen showed us a delightful crochet jellyfish she has made for the prem unit at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. These little jellyfish and octopuses make babies feel calmer and safer. The babies play with their tentacles as if it is their mother’s umbilical cord and reduces the risk of them pulling out any medical tubes etc. Below are a few websites with patterns plus a Woman’s Hour clip. The yarn has to be 100% cotton and the coordinator for Chelsea and Westminster, who vets all the octopuses or jellyfish, suggests beginners try the knitted jellyfish or the flat jellyfish for crocheters. If you have difficulty accessing patterns, please let us know.http://octopusforapreemie.com/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/octopusforapreemie/
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=octopus+for+a+preemie+uk+
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09gbn0h

My WI: If you haven’t received an automated ‘Welcome to the Digital WI’ email containing your login instructions for My WI, please visit https://mywi.thewi.org.uk/request-access to request access to the site.

Suffrage 100 – Archives at night: Law breakers, law makers: An event at the National Archives on Friday 18th May at 18.30 – 22,00

FGM (Female Genital Mutilation): We have received an email from the London Surrey WI Advisors regarding the campaign against FGM in the UK and globally. They are encouraging us to write to our MP to investigate why the practice of FGM is still occurring and asking for this to be eradicated both nationally and globally and to bring justice to these little girls. Attached with these Hot Topics is a copy of a letter members can edit and send to their MPs. If we all sent this to our MP that would be in excess of 800 letters from the 15 London WIs.

Perfect Pollinator : Plans are under way to make a bee by our WI for the display at Wisley. If any member has either bright yellow or black material/wool we can use for rag work, could they please bring it to the May meeting. Thank you.

The Perfect Pollinator Evening RHS Wisley Thursday 28th June: The 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.

Fire Regulations: Fiona reminded us of the procedure in the event of a fire:
• Vacate the room walking quickly and quietly, with the last person closing the door and go directly to the Muster Point
• Do not stop to collect any belongings
• Make sure your evacuation route takes you away from any risk
• The Muster Point is the tennis courts where names will be checked against the sign-in sheets
• Do not return to the building until instructed it is safe to do so.
A copy of the Ursuline Fire Policy and school plan can be found on the noticeboard.

Speaker for the evening – Jane Asher: To say swimmer extraordinaire is putting it lightly, Jane is truly an inspirational lady who in her 88th year is still swimming competitively.
Born in Rhodesia, Jane swam competitively at school and during her early twenties before moving to the UK. Living in Norwich Jane took up coaching when she became a mother to her four children and set up the East Anglian Swallow Tails swimming club, for which she is still the Honorary Life President. When Jane lost her husband, Robbie, to cancer in 1991, it was at this point that she decided to pursue competitive swimming. Masters Swimming became a lifeline for Jane. It kept her busy and gave her something positive to focus on. She made lots of new friends and it gave her the opportunity to travel all over the world.
Despite having a double hip replacement at the start of the millennium, Jane has smashed over 200 swimming records. She has competed in races in some of the world’s most high profile swimming pools but she maintains that her favourite pool to swim in is our very own London Aquatics Centre at the Queen Elizabeth Park.

Diary Dates:
Saturday, 12th May – Whitechapel Walk
Monday, 21st May – Plant Sale, Final vote on resolutions, Flower demo
Wednesday, 6th June – NFWI AGM Cardiff
Saturday, 9th June – London SWWI’s Centenary Fair
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

Fiona opened the meeting by welcoming 64 members and 3 guests. The following notices were mentioned before our entertainment for the evening.

Surrey WI News: Fiona informed members that Surrey WI News is an invaluable source of information of Federation news and events. Orders to receive this magazine have to be by the end of April. If you would like to place an order to receive this please sign-up at next meeting or email us beforehand. The cost of the magazine is £5 for 12 issues and begins with the June edition.

General Data Protection Regulation: Fiona mentioned that changes to the data protection laws are coming into force in May this year. These changes include introducing clearer ways in which organisations must ask for permission before sending information or to use images resulting from photos/videos in any printed and online publicity, social media, and press releases. This will be mandatory and after that date we may no longer be able to use your data to send Wimbledon WI correspondence unless we have your permission to do so.

Summer Fairs: Veronica reminded us that Wimbledon Village Fair was our biggest fund raiser for our WI and as this is no longer happening, we need to look at other events to help raise funds. Two local summer fairs have been suggested Morden Family Fun Day on Sunday, 22nd July and Wimbledon and Putney Commons Open Day on Sunday, 9th September. Veronica asked for everybody’s help with baking cakes, making preserves etc., to make these fairs successful and reminded us that when making cakes etc., we can always make two and pop one in the freezer. Further information and sign-up sheets will be made available later.

Perfect Pollinators: As part of the Centenary Celebrations, Surrey WIs have been invited to create a Perfect Pollinator which will be displayed at RHS Wisley from 28th June. Eileen mentioned that it would be lovely if Wimbledon WI could take part and if anyone is interested there will be a brainstorming session at 7.30 on Tuesday, 27th March. Please let us know if you would like to join us. (See February Hot Topics for further details).

The Perfect Pollinator Evening RHS Wisley Thursday 28th June: The 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.

Walking Netball: Fiona mentioned that Angela is the person to see if you are interested in joining Walking Netball. A few members are interested, so, hopefully, we will be able to form a team. Let us know if you would like to be included.

Social Committee Notices: It’s not too late if you would like to come along to the quiz night on Saturday 24th March at 7.30 St. Mary’s Church Hall, Merton Park. Tickets are £13 and include a ploughman’s supper. Please let Gillian know as soon as possible if you would like tickets. Places are also available for the following
Blue Badge Whitechapel Walk, Saturday, 12th May (£9)
Lullingstone Castle, Wednesday, 4th July (£27.50)

Bowling Day, Saturday, 28th April: A Bowling Day is taking place at Belmont Bowls Club. The cost is £5 per person and it will be a fun day with tuition in the morning, lunch and an inter WI competition in the afternoon, with a cup for the winning WI. Let us know if you are interested

SFWI Centenary Celebrations 2018 – Walk 100 Miles for 100 Years: As Saturday 17th March was such an awful day and not many people could make the Richmond Park walk arranged by the South West London WI Advisors, they have rescheduled the 10 mile walk round the park for Sunday, 15th April at 1.00pm at Kingston Gate.
Wimbledon WI walk Kew Bridge to Strawberry Hill: Liz led 9 of us on a lovely walk on Friday 9th March from Kew Bridge to Strawberry Hill. We walked about six and a half miles and our walk finished at our refreshment stop just as the rain started.

Countryfile Live Saturday, 4th August: Just to let you know NFWI have organised a presence at BBC Countryfile Live in the grounds of Blenheim Palace. SFWI have organised coaches with pick up from Clapham Junction. Family and friends are welcome. Group and early booking discounts are available. Inclusive of the coach (£15) the costs are £38 per adult and £26.50 per child before April 24th. After that date and before Tuesday, 24th July, costs rise to £42 per adult £28.50 per child. Entry to Blenheim and gardens not included. However, those with tickets for Countryfile Live can secure entry for half price during the event. For more information visit https://countryfilelive.com/

Little Honey Bee Co: We received a cheque from Michelle of the Little Honey Bee Company for £11.50 being 10% of her sales at last month’s meeting.

Bollywood Dance Experience: Our entertainment for the evening was to try and undertake some beautiful dance movements demonstrated to us by the talented Ayesha and Priya. They had brought various garments for us to wear and many of us tried to imitate their movements. But we soon realised what they made look effortless was quite difficult to master. We all enjoyed ourselves nevertheless and appreciate how beautiful and complicated Bollywood dances are.

Diary Dates:
Saturday, 24th March – Quiz Night
Monday, 16th April – Jane Asher Swimmer Extraordinaire – Book sale/Jigsaw Swap
Saturday, 12th May – Whitechapel Walk
Saturday, 9th June – London SWWI’s Centenary Fair
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

Fiona opened the meeting by welcoming 77 members and 3 guests. Fiona then drew our attention to the various Centenary events mentioned in the Surrey WI News which will be happening over the summer – a copy of which will be on the noticeboard. Amongst other things, there is the Barnes Fair on Saturday 9th June which is organised by the 14 London South West WIs and where we will be running the Tombola stall – thank you to those who have brought in gifts for this. There will also be an evening at RHS Wisley on Thursday, 28th June, a Richmond Park walk on 17th March and our own walk on 9th March. More details about these below.

Quiz Night: Fiona reminded everyone about our quiz night and how enjoyable it is. It is on Saturday 24th March at 7.30 St. Mary’s Church Hall, Merton Park. Tickets are £13 and include a ploughman’s supper. You can either make up a table of 8 or come on your own and join a table. Everyone welcome. Please contact Gillian if you would like a ticket.

A few words of thanks: Fiona mentioned that we had received a letter from Foodbank thanking us for all our contributions.
Eileen also thanked all the members who have made the lovely items to send out to Kenya. These are taken out to a community near Mombasa by members of Merton Park Explorer Scout Group. A number of years ago the scouts helped to build school rooms and a doctor’s surgery. The leaders continue to visit a couple of times a year taking items to support the maternity clinic such as teddies, jumpers, hats and tote bags (containing baby toiletries). If you would like to make a jumper or teddy you can find the links on our website. The leaders will be going out to Kenya over Easter so please bring any finished items to our March meeting.

Perfect Pollinators: As part of the Centenary Celebrations Surrey WIs have been invited to create a Perfect Pollinator which will be displayed at RHS Wisley. So why not be creative and have a go. If you are interested, we need to notify SFWI by 1st April that we are taking part so please let us know.
The Specification
The Federation is requesting as many WIs as possible to create an exhibit of an enlarged Pollinator Insect as realistic as possible including the colouration. No florescent colours may be used. The exhibits are to be distributed around the RHS Wisley garden. If the exhibit is intended to be displayed hanging from a tree, then a suitable hook should be attached for that purpose.
The pollinators we hope to see are bees, wasps, ants, butterflies, moths, flies and beetles.
The size of the completed Pollinator should not exceed a breadth of 1 metre, width of 1 metre and height of 1 metre. The finished Pollinator must be limited in weight to 5 kg. Please be aware that you must limit the size such that the assembled exhibit fits into your car. The Pollinator may be made of any material but it must be robustly weatherproof as it will be left outside in the gardens for some days. Suitable materials include wire, chicken wire or flexible wood to make the basic structure and a material cover eg tights for wings. Robust wrapping must be applied to ensure that nothing will drop off or get blown away particularly if polystyrene or loose, non-biodegradable material is used.
The exhibit should be delivered to RHS Wisley complete. A team of RHS staff and WI members will be positioning and fixing the exhibits round the area where they are to be exhibited during the week starting 25 June.

NFWI Raffle Tickets: Lys said she now has these raffle tickets for sale so please see her over the next few meetings to buy them at £1 each.

Social Committee Notices: The following events have been arranged and there are still spaces. Please contact Gillian if you would like to go
Afternoon Tea at St. Pancras Hotel on Saturday, 17th March (£38)
Quiz Night, Saturday, 24th March (£13)
Blue Badge Whitechapel Walk, Saturday, 12th May (£9)
Lullingstone Castle, Wednesday, 4th July (£27.50)

SFWI Centenary Celebrations 2018 – Walk 100 Miles for 100 Years:
Two walks have been organised as part of the above celebrations.
The first is organised by Liz, one of our members, and will be from Kew Bridge to Strawberry Hill on Friday, 9th March. Members who signed up for this will be receiving further details in due course. Anyone else wishing to join us, please let us know.

The second walk is a Richmond Park Walk which has been organised by South West London WIs. The plan is to start 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 the option to walk either a couple of miles or a longer 6 or 7 mile route. The miles will be totalled amongst our WI members to add towards the 100 miles for 100 years total.

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

Our speaker for the evening was Michelle from The Little Honey Bee Company who gave a very interesting talk on bees. She brought with her some props and products made from honey.

One artefact she brought was a beehive made from polystyrene which is particularly suited to beekeeping in Britain. In our cold wet winters, wooden beehives become damp and the wood saturated but in a dry, warm, poly hive the situation is quite different. The insulation keeps the bees warm whatever the weather, rain simply runs off the outside, and any moisture inside the hive runs out of the open mesh floor, keeping the colony warm, dry, and above all, healthy.
Bees have their own unique ways of coping with cold temperatures. As the weather becomes cool, the honeybees gather in a central area of the hive and form a “winter cluster.” Bees have one main job in the winter — to keep the queen bee warm and safe. In order to do so, worker bees surround the queen and form a cluster with their bodies. The worker bees then flutter their wings and shiver. This constant motion and continuous use of energy is how the bees keep the inside temperature of the hive warm. In order to keep shivering, the bees must have enough honey. This is how they get their energy. One of the most important jobs of the beekeeper in the winter is to make sure the honey supply stays full so the bees can keep shivering. The worker bees rotate from the outside to the inside of the cluster, so no individual worker bee gets too cold.
Facts about bees:
• Honeybees are the only insect that produces food eaten by humans.
• Worker honeybees are female.
• The average worker bee produces only 1/12 teaspoon of honey over her lifetime.
• A worker bee lives about 6 weeks. The queen bee can live to be 5 years old.
• Honey never spoils.
• To make one pound of honey, bees must visit 2 million flowers.
• Swarming is the process by which a new honey bee colony is formed when the queen bee leaves the colony with a large group of worker bees. In the prime swarm, about 60% of the worker bees leave the original hive location with the old queen. This swarm can contain thousands to tens of thousands of bees
For further information visit http://www.thelittlehoneybeecompany.co.uk/

Diary Dates:
Friday, 9th March – Wimbledon WI walk – Kew to Strawberry Hill
Saturday, 17th March – London SWWIs walk – Richmond Park
Saturday, 17th March – Afternoon Tea at St. Pancras Hotel
Monday, 19th March – SFWI Annual Council Meeting
Monday, 19th March – March Meeting Bollywood Dance Experience
Saturday, 24th March – Quiz Night
Saturday, 12th May – Whitechapel Walk
Saturday, 9th June – London SWWI’s Centenary Fair
Thursday, 28th June – SFWI Picnic at RHS Wisley (6.00pm – 9.30pm)
Wednesday, 4th July – Lullingstone Castle
Sunday, 22nd July – Morden Family Fun day
Sunday, 9th September – Wimbledon Stables Day
Monday, 8th October – SFWI Autumn Meeting

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.