Our June meeting was a delightfully witty affair as we welcomed the fabulous Baroness Bolsover for an unforgettable interactive talk, spilling the tea in an afternoon tea etiquette masterclass. The Baroness looked spectacular in her Victorian finery, as did some of our group who also wore hats for the occasion. While teaching us the exact way to hold a teacup, the proper 6-to-12 o’clock spoon stir, and the ultimate sin of biscuit dunking, the Baroness had us in stitches!

Who knew there was SO much we’d all been doing wrong in the way we sit at a table and how we make, stir and
drink our tea – even down to how we hold our dainty teacups and saucers for all these years?! Thank goodness for our wonderful teacher steering us in the right direction.

Following the Baroness’ delightful demonstration, we put our impeccable new etiquette skills straight to the test over a wonderful spread of traditional scones, clotted cream, and jam….and who knew Lidl scones would win out over Mozza’s! It was a thoroughly joyful evening filled with yummy food, laughter, learning, and the company of a fabulously diverse group of brilliant women.

Who knew good manners could involve so much laughter?! It was truly the crème de la crème of WI evenings.

In May we welcomed back Catherine Chivers from Manor Arts, who introduced us to ‘FitSteps’; a
fun and effective work out for all ages and abilities based on a mixture of ballroom and Latin dance
steps such as tango, salsa, jive and Charleston. Catherine’s infectious energy and enthusiasm meant that we all had great fun with lots of laughs but also had a good workout too!

22 members attended and we welcomed 2 visitors

In April, 25 members and 3 visitors joined us for a talk from retired Yeoman Warder Keith Hanson and his subject was ‘Tales of the Tower of London’. He talked about its history, prisoners and the Crown Jewels and gave an interesting insight into what life is like as a Beefeater living in the Tower of London!

33 members and 2 visitors attended our very busy March meeting which began with the important business of the Annual meeting. Members received reports on events over the past year and also our finances. Our thanks to Angie and Rosanna for these excellent reports.
After 3 years our President Sally decided to step down. She has done a amazing job and we are delighted she is staying on as Vice President (not sure what we would do without her!). We are now VERY pleased indeed to have Jenny as our new President!

Next, we had a visit from St John’s Ambulance who showed us how to perform CPR and use a defibrillator. This was a really useful and informative session in support of the WI resolution ‘Bystanders can be Lifesavers’ and we were pleased to donate the proceeds from the sale of refreshments to St John’s.

However that was not all! 27 members stayed on for a discussion on the changes to the rules regarding membership which affect trans women. The WI has always been a safe and inclusive space for women including trans women so this is a difficult and controversial issue. The committee felt it was important to give everyone a chance to share opinions and consider options going forward.

Finally we need to thank members for their very generous contributions of Easter Eggs – 56 in total! These have been donated to the Forget me Notts charity which supports local families and vulnerable children.

For our February meeting we had arranged a talk on Recycling in Nottinghamshire given by
the Veolia waste management company. Unfortunately, the speaker in question is retiring at
the end of January and so was unable to join us. The good news is that (thanks to our fabulous programme planning team!) we brought forward Paul Wilkins, a speaker we had booked for next year to talk to us about the
women who worked in the First World War munitions factories.

This topic is of great local interest as there was a National Shell Filling Factory close by in Chilwell!

It was really interesting to learn about their vital contribution to the war effort, the dangers they faced and how they came to be known as the Canary Girls.

Paul provided us with the following link which gives us a lot of additional information about the munitions
factory at Chilwell specifically with clear photographs:

Following the talk we had an email from Paul. Paul really enjoyed the visit and to quote
from his e mail he said ‘what a great group of ladies at your WI ‘ (we definitely agree!)