After quite a wet start to the summer, the weather seems to have got on board for our picnic plans later this week!

We know that not everyone will be able or confident enough to meet up yet so we still have plenty of social opportunities to meetup online. As always, if you have any ideas for a subgroup that you’d like to take charge of hosting, please do get in touch and let us know. We’d be happy to talk you through it!

Onto the news!

August Meeting

“Picnic in the Park”

We’re taking our monthly meeting off Zoom for the first time in months and heading over to Dovecote Lane Park at 19:30 for a picnic.

Because of the official guidelines, we have to make sure we stick to these ground rules:

• You will need to bring your own hand sanitizer, chair or picnic blanket, and food and drink.
• We will be sitting in groups of no more than six, two metres apart.
• Unfortunately we cannot swap groups or food and drinks with each other.

We’ll keep you updated in case there is any dramatic change in the weather, but so far it looks like it is set to be a lovely evening!

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!
• Plastic Free Living: We’ll be talking about plastic-free products on our Facebook group on Wednesday. Do you have any tips? Any products you’d like to try and ask if anyone’s tested them? Now’s a good time to ask!

Don’t Forget!

What to bring to the next meeting

What you need to join our picnic:

• Hand sanitizer;
• A chair or picnic blanket;
• Food and drink.
• Members will be seated in groups of no more than six, spaced two metres apart.
• Unfortunately we have to discourage swapping groups, and definitely no swapping food or drinks.
• That’s it!

Other News

We Got Locked Down, But We Met Up Again

Some dates for your diary!

The Cafe Society met at the end of July at Broadgate Park for their first in-person meetup for months.

Members were invited to either bring their own drinks and food or pick up supplies from Cafe Metro.

It sounds like people were really happy to see each other again after so long!

They are hoping to meet in-person again at the Canalside Heritage Centre on Wednesday the 26th of August at 14:00 (weather permitting) but can’t plan further ahead in case official advice changes.

As well as meeting for the Cafe Society, three of our members met for the Walk ‘n’ Talk subgroup at Linby for a six mile socially distanced circular walk and a picnic.

Their walk included the dismantled Great Northern Railway Line to Newstead Abbey, returning through Abbey Woods and Papplewick Village.

Walk ‘n’ Talk will be meeting again on Sunday the 23rd of August at 10:00 to do the Coffin Walk in Breaston. They will meet outside Fintons Café in Breaston.

If you would like to join this walk, please contact Hayley ahead of time through our Hive email address: thehivewi@gmail.com

We need still need to maintain small groups in accordance with government guidelines so please do let Hayley know if you’d like to come.

Subgroup Catchup

Still going!

We know that not everyone will be able to attend in-person meetings for a while so we’re keen to keep our Zoom meetings going for as long as we can.

Our subgroups are extremely welcoming to newcomers, so please feel free to come along even if you’ve never been to one before. You can also invite a female friend to join us with you or ask a committee member for technical help any time.

Jen’s Wildflower Syrup Recipe

Wildly delicious!

Last month Jen did us a brilliant talk on the history of gin. She shared with us this recipe for Wildflower Syrup. Many of you asked for it to be included in this month’s newsletter – here it is!

Step 1: Pick some edible wildflowers – e.g rose, meadowsweet, elderflower, fruit blossom, dandelion, gorse blossom, heather, lavender.

Step 2: Set your flowers on white paper for an hour, preferably outside, for the bugs to escape.

Step 3: Strip the flowers from the large stems or the petals from the flowers.

Step 4: Take a jar and mark a line 2/3 of the way up with a waterproof pen. Fill with granulated sugar to that line. Pour the sugar out into a separate bowl.

Step 5: Layer sugar and flowers in the jar. Start with sugar and alternate until you get to the top of the jar. End with sugar.

Step 6: The jar can now sit for 24 hours at room temperature or up to a week in the fridge to allow the flavours to infuse into the sugar.

Step 7: Tip the contents of the jar into a small saucepan. Fill the jar with water to the line you marked earlier. Give it a swirl to dissolve any clinging sugar and pour the water into the small saucepan.

Step 8: Warm gently until the sugar is dissolved. Try not to let it boil. Check all the sugar crystals have gone using a metal spoon – your syrup should be completely clear.

Step 9: Remove from the heat and filter. You can either use a sieve and muslin, a sieve and kitchen towel or a funnel and a coffee filter to filter your syrup.

Step 10: Put your clear, yummy, hot syrup into a clean sterilised jar or bottle.

This will keep for up to 3 weeks in the fridge.

Ways to use your syrup:use as a cordial with still or fizzy waterdrizzle over icecream

Add a teaspoon to your G&T. For a cocktail. Take 60 ml gin, 25 ml syrup, 15ml lemon or lime juice and top with 100 ml tonic water/ soda water/ lemonade.

First Meeting Success!

C.A.K.E. Fighters and City to Sea

Last month we launched the first CAKE Fighters meeting on Zoom. CAKE Fighters stands for Community Action, Knitting, Etc and was set up as a way for Hive members to engage in the WI’s national campaigns as well as tackle local issues that are of interest and relevance to members.

The WI is currently the largest voluntary women’s organisation in the country, with over 22,000 members across the country.

As the WI promotes Plastic Free July and campaigns on ending “plastic soup”, plastic pollution was the topic for the CAKE Fighters’ first meeting, with a special focus on plastic-free period products.

We were joined by Jasmine Tribe (pictured above!) from the charity City to Sea.

Jasmine was a fantastic speaker and a professional presenter. A few of us stayed after the meeting with her to discuss ideas and possible future plans, such as how to submit these ideas to WI Life magazine and keep the conversation going.

Plastic pollution is a topic CAKE Fighters will be revisiting in the future as it is something that we can all make a difference in reducing.

As this was an awareness raising event, members from other WIs were also invited to join us.

We had 53 attendees in total!

The next meeting will be about “holiday hunger”. The date for this Zoom meeting will be emailed out to members and put on Facebook when it is secured. We hope to see you there!

CAKE Fighters meets every first Monday of the month at 18:00 to discuss plans and ideas. Any member is welcome to join the planning meeting or to submit an idea for discussion. 

Regular Information

The Hive’s MONTH Calendar

What’s on when

• Monday 3, 18:00 – CAKE Fighters planning meeting
• Thursday 6, 20:15- Publess Quiz
• In person! Wednesday 12, 19:30 – Picnic in the Park
• Saturday 15, 14:00 – Crafternoon
• Tuesday 18, 20:00 – Book Club: Nora Webster by Colm Toibin
• Thursday 20, 20:15 – Publess Quiz
• In person! Sunday 23, 10:00 – Walk ‘n’ Talk: The Coffin Walk, Breaston
• In person! Wednesday 26, 14:00 – Cafe Society: Canalside Heritage Centre
• Wednesday 26, 18:30 – Committee Meeting
• Thursday 27, 18:45 – Book Club: Skinny Legs And All by Tom Robbins
• TBC – CAKE Fighters event

Recurring Events

Your shortcut to the subgroups

• C.A.K.E. Fighters Planning Meeting: Every first Monday, 18:00
• 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.