93 Members and 4 guests joined us to hear Paula Lamb aka Mrs. Fixit explain how she became involved in the DIY business and how no job is too small for her and her wonderful company of female craftsmen.
Members Madeleine Rhodes and Jill Evans also told us how they enjoyed their day at Denman College as a result of winning one of the bursaries offered by our WI. The course they chose was “Cooking with Alcohol”.
Merton Women’s Refuge
Thank you to all members who have given towels and sheets so generously to this worthwhile cause. We are overwhelmed by your kindness. We will be having a talk by a member of staff from the Refuge in February next year. If any member still wishes to donate towels or sheets, it’s not too late – just bring them to the October meeting. Pillows and duvets will also be welcome. As this is ongoing, you can drop off any contributions with Lesley if you do not want to wait until the next meeting.
Card Making Day – Saturday October 1st
Julia Whiting will once again be holding a free card making day at St. Lawrence’s Church Hall, Morden from 10am to 3 p.m. Come for the whole day or part of it. Eileen Smith will also attend and help those members who have not finished their Olympic Pennants and also help any member who wishes to make a pennant.
Christmas Cards
So far five members have made cards for the Wimbledon WI Christmas card pack and we look forward to being able to buy these cards at the October meeting. If you do want to submit a design please send to Joanna before the end of the month. We will tell you the size of packs and cost before the next meeting, please remember to bring your money so that you can buy some.
2011 Christmas Toy Appeal
You may remember we are supporting Camila Batmanghelidjh’s Kid’s Company this year. Please give generously to these really under privileged children and teenagers. Obviously toys will be the choice for younger children, but you may have to think about what you can give to the older teenagers. Whatever you choose will be greatly appreciated. Please bring your gifts to the November meeting.
New Charity 2012
Please bring your nominations to the October meeting for a charity for Wimbledon WI to support in 2012. We will be voting at the November meeting.
New Committee 2012
9 members have already come forward to say they are prepared to serve on the committee from November onwards. We still need 3 or 4 people to come forward. Please put your name down at the October meeting. Your time commitment is one meeting, which lasts about 2 hours each month. It is a very friendly group and now is the time to be part of a committee for such a popular and successful WI.
Denman College.
There is still time to enter for the Real Jam Festival, or to simply visit the College and view the entries.
Matthew Collins will be running workshops using classical speeches to explore the dynamic range of the human voice. [residential] 2- 4 November 2011 £250 WI members, £287 non members, and 26 November 2011 [day school] £88 members and £93 non members.
Morphy Richards Home Made Cook of the Year 2011. Share your favourite recipe for a family meal costing under £7.50 and you could win a fantastic kitchen makeover and many any other prizes, including a WI Cookery course at Denman.
For information on all of the above Contact www.denmancollege.org.uk , or phone 01865 391991
Streetwise Opera
Volunteers are needed for this charity that uses music as a tool to help those who have experienced homelessness. Help is needed assisting with regular Theatre Trips, Public Performances, Fundraising Events and Workshops. If interested please contact Nicholas office@streetwiseopera.org.
Knit for Peace
This is a voluntary organisation called Knit for Peace who work with a range of communities, bringing them together through setting up knitting and crochet groups. So far they have worked with local faith communities, women’s prisons and universities. They have discovered that by coming together around something as apparently neutral as knitting for other people we can create an environment where people start to discover what they have in common, even if at first it is just the knitting. If you are interested in volunteering for this please contact Sue Dunbar.
Dissertation Request
Hannah Gill is a final year student at Newcastle University and wonders if there was any chance that Wimbledon WI could help her with her dissertation research.
Her title is as follows: “Do popular media accurately represent women as they age?”
She is studying the perception and portrayal of age in popular media, and specifically, a comparison by race, of women’s self-images and perceptions as they age.
She is looking for groups of between 5 and 10 women of a variety of different ages who are willing to participate in my research. She would like to generate discussion amongst members of the focus groups about their self-images and perceptions, and the manner in which they are portrayed (or not portrayed) by the media, and would ask participants to discuss the way in which they would like to be portrayed – perhaps even producing their own visual images.
If you are interested in participating in this please contact Lesley on
wi.secretary@googlemail.com asap.
Maple Village WI Christmas Fayre
Saturday 19th November
St Andrew’s Church, Maple Road, Surbiton Surrey KT6 4DT
10 am – 2pm Entry Free
There are still some stalls available for hire for members [£15] and non members [£20] to sell hand crafted, non food items, in particular candles, glass, ceramics, children’s toys clothes and Christmas decorations gifts.
There is a cafe, and members are welcome to attend to support the WI.
If interested please contact Kelly Woods [president] at Maple Village WI for a booking form, and please include a description of the products you intend to sell, with pictures/link if possible.
Theatre Trips
There are a few tickets remaining for the two latest theatre trips:
ONE ticket only to see Legally Blonde the musical at the Savoy Theatre on Thursday 20th October at 7.30, ￡30
TWO tickets to see End of the Rainbow at Richmond Theatre on Thursday 24th November at 7.30, ￡26.50
If you would like to join us please email Annette Osborne.
Theatre Group
We are forming a new group aimed at people who enjoy going to plays. We will meet at each others houses to discuss and choose a play and then go along to the theatre to see it together. If you are interested in joining the group, please e mail Ann Lindsay.
Diaries and Surrey News.
If you ordered either of these and have not yet paid, please could you see Lesley at the next meeting. Diaries will be available at the November meeting.
Full contact details will be in the emailed version of hot topics if you need to have it resent please email contact@wimbledonwi.org.uk
