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.
