It is said that “April showers bring forth May flowers” but here at The Hive WI, we are bringing you flowers aplenty a month early this year.
We’ll be joined by Barbara Morton, wizard of flowers and mistress of plants (this is not her official job title but it should be).
Come on in and smell the roses!
On to the news…
April Meeting
Blooming Marvellous
If you bought your mum something for Mother’s Day, there is a high chance that you bought her flowers.
One of my earliest memories is of a flower shop that my mum used to take me to, sometimes to buy bouquets but often just to look at the candy-coloured blooms.
I thought that florists must have the happiest job in the world.
Our April guest, Barbara Morton, has been arranging flowers for over forty years.
Three of Barbara’s arrangements will be donated as prizes for our raffle, so remember to bring some change if you’d like to try your luck and win one.
Flower arranging might sound like our most traditional WI meeting yet, but according to a New York Times article, flower arranging classes have blossomed in recent years. They’re particularly popular among younger people “as part of a swell of enthusiasm for things homemade”.
The recent interest in mindfulness might also have something to do with it, too. Meditative flower arranging in Japan dates back to the early 7th century, but much more recently the company Interflora partnered with mental health charity SANE to create The Mindfulness Flower Arranging Kit.
The colours, scents, and different textures of the plants can help bring people to their senses, slow down, and connect to the natural world.
There is also a radical side to modern flower arranging: floral street art has been seen in major cities around the world from New York to London, where mundane locations like bus stops are bedecked in glorious flowers and foliage.
Just think of what we could do to Beeston’s Bee Man!
This Month’s Top Tip
The Hive WI: Seven Thirty to Wine Thirty?
In March, several members asked if it were possible to make wine available.
If you’re someone who thinks the evening could be improved by having a glass of dark red or fruity white in your hand, you’re not alone – a show of hands revealed that eight of us would consider a glass if it were on offer.
In the early days, wine was available at every meeting. Due to lack of interest, provisions stopped.
That said, we strongly encourage you to bring wine to the next meeting if you want it. Feel free to team up with others to take turns in bottle-bringing but please note that this is something for members to organise rather than for the committee to take charge of.
This Month’s Volunteers
Cheryl R and Sandra C are our star bakers this month.
Please arrive early so we can slice and serve your cakes ready for 19:10.
We want to pay you back for the cost of the cake (up to £2.50 per cake) so please remember to sign for your reimbursement by seeing a committee member in the kitchen, too.
Cheryl R and Hayley L will be helping out in the kitchens.
Thank you so much to our April team!
The Hive WI Library
It’s open!
We swap items that would be at home in any modern library. This includes books, DVDs, audiobooks, CDs, and quality magazines.
If a book catches your eye but you don’t have one to swap in its place, just pop a donation in our jar.
Any left over books will be donated to a charity shop.
Other News
We Have an Issue
And it’s all over town
Professional creative enthusiast and regular contributor to the Beestonian, Debra Urbacz joined us to hang our Show The Love display in Rudyard’s Tea House on Beeston high street last month.
Originally we thought we might get a couple of photos and a paragraph, but we’ve been told to expect something a lot more juicy.
Keep a look our for Issue No. 63 – you can peruse a copy at one of their regular stockists (that is, cafes and pubs all over Beeston), or read it for free online.
Let us know if you get your hands on a copy!
We can’t wait to see it.
Your Hive Needs YOU
…to bake cupcakes
Plans for the Health and Wellbeing Fair in May are really underway, but we need your help.
We need 144 cupcakes baked for the day.
This would amount to 12 volunteers making one batch of 12 cupcakes each, or fewer volunteers if some made more than one batch.
We also need volunteers to fill in hour-length slots (or longer, if you’re able) to help set or clear up, help in the kitchen, take money at the door, and host the raffle.
You can bring a friend to volunteer with you.
More information will be available at the next meeting but please contact us if you are interested.
In the meantime, please share the event on Facebook and use the “share” button to invite your friends.
Clear Your Head
Organised Well
Our March speaker Laura Williams generated a lot of discussion when she came to “spark joy” at our meeting.
A professional organiser can help give you practical one-to-one support when it comes to both your projects and your possessions.
If you’d like to hear more from Laura and what she does, you can find her blog, dates for workshops, and more at her website.
Community Spotlight
“Do you have a coat? I’m sharing this one with my husband.”
In case you were feeling motivated by professional clutter-busterer Laura Williams at our last meeting to go through your own wardrobe and have a clear out, we at The Hive WI will be taking donations of second-hand items for three charities at our April meeting.
These charities are Shareware, Smalls For All, and Not Another Charity Shop.
Just in time for Spring Clearing Week, too!
Shareware is a scheme that provides emergency clothing, shoes, towels (which enable people to wash), and bedding to people in crisis in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
The people who use their services often, quite literally, have nothing to wear.
Shareware takes any item of clothing for adults, children, and babies, but they can only accept brand new underwear.
Our second charity, Smalls For All, does accept “gently used” bras.
They send bras (along with donations of brand new pants) to women and children living in orphanages, slums, schools, and hospitals in countries across Africa where access to underwear is limited.
The underwear not only gives the wearers a sense of dignity, but studies also suggest that wearing underwear reduces the likelihood of the wearers being targeted for sexual assault.
If you find good quality bras in your wardrobe that you no longer want and fancy giving Smalls For All your support (pun entirely intended), then please bring them along.
Our final charity is linked to Midland’s Women’s Aid (MWA), who we regularly donate to.
Not Another Charity Shop gives MWA first pick of any donated items before selling the rest to raise much-needed funds for the refuge.
They will take anything from books, DVDs, and toys to unopened toiletries, jewellery, and more.
Please label your bags and boxes with the charity you intend your donations to go to, and thank you so much for your generosity.
Keep Walkin’, Boots
Our new subgroup
We had 19 positive responses for the walking group questionnaire at March’s meeting:
From that we learned that five of you would be interested in “a slow amble” for up to an hour; 11 would enjoy a slow to moderately paced walk that lasts between an hour to an hour and a half; 15 would enjoy a 1-2 hour walk at a moderate pace; and 14 would be interested in a 2-3 hour hike.
Most people would like the option to bring a friend.
The group should be on firm ground in May.
If you would like to lead a walk, please send us a message.
Special Thanks
Pleased as punch
The second of April was the final class in our six-week beginner’s self-defence course. Terry has been such a fun and accommodating teacher – he comes highly recommended by us at The Hive WI.
I’ll never look at a tube of Smarties the same way again.
Check out the dojo’s website for information about their classes.
The C Word
Ahem
Please don’t be offended if I mention the word “Christmas” in April, but in November we are hosting a creative community Christmas crafting event in C- I mean, in Beeston at the Methodist Church.
It’s on the 16th of November. Save the date!
Regular Information
Refreshments
All refreshments are 50p.
If you’d like refreshments before we start, please come for around 19:15.
We will break for refreshments again later in the evening (do bring change!).
Please do not bring a cake if you have not already signed up to do so.
Bring your own cups (they will be provided in case you forget), and wine if you would like it.
Time and Location
Our main monthly meeting is every second Wednesday of the month at 19:30 to 21:30 in the church hall on Foster Avenue, Beeston (opposite the library).
Our next main meeting is on the 10th of April.
Parking and Transport
There is parking just outside the church hall as well as across the road next to the Citizens Advice Bureau.
Beeston’s transport interchange is excellent for regular trams and buses.
The interchange is just by Tesco and a four-minute walk from where we meet.
Non-Members and Guests
We’d love to meet you!
Guests are very welcome but you must reserve your place before coming.
There is an optional visitors donation of £5 to our charity.
Guests can come to up to three monthly meetings each year as a guest before being asked to join officially.
Guests can also come to many of our subgroups as a plus one.
If you sign up for membership that evening or in the seven days following the meeting, your donation will be refunded.
Our April Calendar
Tuesday Craft ‘n’ Chat is cancelled this month (2 April)
Self-Defence Course: Last class and dinner at Amores, Tuesday April 2. New people welcome, bring a friend, 19:00-20:00
Cafe Society: Lakeside Arts Pavilion Cafe,Wednesday 3 April, 14:00
Main Meeting: Flower Arranging Wednesday 10 April, 19:30-21:30
Tuesday Book Club: Paris for One by Jojo Motes, Tuesday 16 April, 20:00
Supper Club: Cafe Roya, Wednesday 17 April, 19:30 (please email us to reserve a place)
Thursday Book Club: The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham, Thursday 25 April, 19:30
Saturday Crafternoon: Saturday 27 April, 14:00
Reoccuring Events
Tuesday Craft ‘n’ Chat: Every first Tuesday, 19:00-21:00 at the Methodist Church in Beeston
Cafe Society: Every first Wednesday, 14:00 (various locations)
Main Meeting: Every second Wednesday, 19:30-21:30
Tuesday Night Book Club: Every third Tuesday, 20:00 at The White Lion in Beeston
Saturday Crafternoon: Every third Saturday, 14:00-16:00 at the Methodist Church in Beeston (note: the date has been changed for April).
Supper Club: Every third Wednesday, 19:30 (various locations)
Thursday Evening Book Club: Every last Thursday, 19:30 at the White Lion in Beeston
Find Us Online
Email: thehivewi@gmail.com
Facebook: facebook.com/thehivewi
Facebook group (members only): facebook.com/groups/thehivewi
Twitter: twitter.com/thehivewi
Website: thehivewi.com
You can also search for us on Google Calendar using our email address.
The Hive WI 