This is not the April we imagined we’d be having, but we do have a meeting planned for this month!
Our committee have been working hard to make sure that almost all of our usual activities are up and running in some way online. It has been wonderful to keep meeting up and see your faces with webcam, and also to see how everyone is using the Facebook group more. We may be physically distant from each other but we are decidedly not socially isolating.
If you are lonely, please get in touch with us either by emailing the committee at thehivewi@gmail.com or by posting in our Facebook group.
Members have also come forward to say that they would be happy to pick up items from the shop for anyone in the Hive who is struggling to get deliveries for the things they need. We will get through this!
April Meeting
“Nottingham Women’s Centre”
This month we will be joined by Katie Finnegan-Clarke of Nottingham Women’s Centre live on Zoom (more on Zoom later in the newsletter).
We’ve never done a meeting like this before but we are excited to give it a try!
We will meet at the usual time of 19:30 and send the link out again on the night via email and Facebook.
We will also try to record the talk so we can share it with members who can’t make it on the night. We will try to make this an audio-only recording but feel free to turn your webcam off if you’re worried.
Nottingham Women’s Centre can trace its beginnings to 1971, making it one of the oldest of its kind in the UK. We were established during the second wave of feminism in the seventies when the first ever National Women’s Liberation Conference brought together a number of disparate actions into an actual movement. The movement created a series of demands around free childcare; equal pay, education and job opportunities; free contraception and abortion rights; an end to discrimination against lesbians; and an end to male violence against women.
Today, we work across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire offering a range of formal services to women with mental health needs, women offenders, women who are seeking asylum, facing extreme poverty, escaping abuse or women simply wanting to make a change in their lives.
– Nottingham Women’s Centre Website
Microphones will be turned off during Katie’s talk, but you can send questions to The Hive WI in advance (please do!) or use the text function on Zoom.
See you very “Zoom”!
On the Tables
Media swap, Just for Fun, and prizes
If you are on Facebook, head over to our member’s only Facebook group for a virtual version of this month’s “On the Tables”. Threads about these topics on the day of the meeting…
- Media swap: We’re swapping media recommendations rather than physical items this month. Have you read or watched anything good lately? Are you hoping to get your hands on a particular box set? Have you discovered any good new music? Let us know!
- Just For Fun: As we were originally going to be swapping craft items in April, we’d like to know about your experiences, hopes, dreams, and failures about crafting. Did you grow up with a crafter? Do you like or loath crafts? Are you working on anything at the moment?
Don’t Forget!
What to bring to the next meeting
What you need to join us online:
- The link to our meeting (please check the newsletter email or our Facebook group for this);
- A cup of tea and some cake (it’s WI tradition!);
- Wear your best pair of pyjamas;
- That’s it!
Other News
How Does Zoom Work?
Let us know if you need any help!
Zoom is an online communication platform that nobody seemed to have heard of before a few weeks ago.
It gained in popularity while people work and study from home in part because users do not need to make a Zoom account to join the chatrooms. The only people who need Zoom accounts are the ones who want to create chatrooms for others to join.
This means that if you want to join in with one of our Zoom events, all you need is to download the app (it won’t even ask for your email address) and to click the links we’re emailing out and posting on Facebook.
This video might help:
When you first enter the chatroom your microphone may be be turned off. You will be able to turn it on by selecting the microphone icon at the bottom of the screen, or you can ask whoever created the chatroom to turn it on for you (they are the only ones in the chatroom who can do this).
You may prefer, of course, to just use your microphone and not have your webcam on at all. There is no pressure to turn your camera on at all but it might do this automatically at the beginning though, so please be aware of that!
There is also a text-chat feature on the right of the screen where you can type messages and post pictures. You can send these messages to the chatroom at large or you can select an individual person’s name from a drop-down menu and message them privately.
Microphones will be turned off for Katie’s talk on Wednesday the 8th at the main meeting in April.
Now that you know how it works, I hope you will feel more confident to come and join us at our subgroups this month if you haven’t already!
The NFWI’s Response to Corona
Inspiring women in uncertain times
The National Federation of Women’s Institutes (the NFWI) has been posting on social media encouraging the public to talk about “self-isolating” in more positive terms. They have, therefore, adopted “cocooning” as a friendlier and less fear-driven term.
In an article on Country Living, Catherine Pritchard from Lechlade WI was quoted saying, “The phrase ‘self-isolating’ sounds very stark and a little scary, especially for such a friendly, welcoming and inclusive social group like the WI […] Referring to it as ‘cocooning’ sounds much more positive and encouraging, as though we will be staying warm and safe in our homes, protected from the world outside.”
The NFWI put out a message on Twitter last week to say that “it has been incredible to see how our members have kept the WI network strong through this testing time. In times of uncertainty, WI members have always come together to support each other and stay connected with their communities.”
The WI still has a reputation of maintaining a level-headed “war-time spirit” thanks to its dedication to promoting non-violent activism in WWII.
We at The Hive WI will do whatever we can over the next few weeks and months to “keep calm and carry on”.
Please do reach out to us if you need help. We are not isolating – we are cocooning, staying safe, and looking after ourselves.
This means looking after our minds, friendships, and levels of stress as well as our bodies.
Physically Distancing, Socially Connecting
Our subgroups are still going!
Despite not being able to meetup in person, it’s actually never been easier to come to one of our subgroups for those of you using Zoom.
You don’t even have to get out of your pyjamas!
We are still meeting for subgroups at the usual days and times, with the exception of our monthly pub quiz which is meeting an hour earlier than usual (20:15 on Thursday rather than 21:00, with the extra 15 minutes allowing for time to join in with Clap for Carers). In fact, the quiz was so popular the first time we did it that it’s going to be a twice-monthly event until we can meet in the pub again.
If you have never been to a subgroup before, this is an easy way to get a taste of them.
You can find the reading lists for both our book groups on our website (thehivewi.com/subgroups/books/), although there is no pressure to have read the book to join the discussions so long as you don’t mind spoilers.
For the Supper Club, members have been thinking of ordering a take away from the same restaurant at the same time, or cooking food from the same cuisine (i.e. French, Indian, or Chinese) and sharing pictures on our Facebook group.
Perhaps some of our online meetings will go on for long after we’ve come out of our cocoons. It’s been a lovely way to connect!
You can find a full list of our subgroups on our website, as well as a schedule – as always – at the end of the newsletter.
Regular Information
Time and Location
Our main monthly meeting is the second Wednesday of the month at 19:30. This month we’re meeting on Zoom:
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/243026860?pwd=QXdkRHlQWDNOMnRBaS9Cc2d0Q3hFUT09
Parking and Transport
Park yourself on your favourite chair, on your sofa, or even your bed.
The Hive’s April Calendar
What’s on when
- Wednesday 1, 13:00 – Crafternoon
- Thursday 2, 20:15 – “Pub” Quiz
- Wednesday 8, 19:30 – Main Meeting: Nottingham Women’s Centre
- Wednesday 15, 19:30 – Supper Club: Cafe Roya (take away suggestion)
- Thursday 16, 20:15 – “Pub” Quiz
- Saturday 18, 14:00 – Crafternoon
- Tuesday 21, 20:00 – Book Club: The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden by Jonas Jonssson
- Wednesday 22, 18:30 – Committee Meeting
- Cancelled – Walk ‘n’ Talk
- Wednesday 29, 14:00 – Cafe Society: Virtual Cafe
- Thursday 30, 18:45 – Book Club: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Recurring Events
Your shortcut to the subgroups
- Craft ‘n’ Chat: Every first Wednesday, 13:00-15:00
- Pub Quiz: Every first Thursday, 20:00
- Walk ‘n’ Talk: Every first weekend of the month on alternating Saturdays and Sundays – times vary
- Main Meeting: Every second Wednesday, 19:30-21:30
- Tuesday Book Club: Every third Tuesday, 20:00
- Crafternoon: Every third Saturday, 14:00-16:00
- Supper Club: Every third Wednesday, 19:30
- Committee Meeting: Every fourth Wednesday, 18:30
- Cafe Society: Every last Wednesday, 14:00
- Thursday Book Club: Every last Thursday, 18:45
Please get in touch if you would like to lead a subgroup.
For a list of the reading lists for our book groups, please go to our website or check the reminders on our Facebook group.
Walks for the Walk ‘n’ Talk will be listed on our website as soon as they have been planned.
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 