MFWI News

So… no more going out and here we were determined to carry on. Reading was however something we could all do.

Our problem was that not everyone either could or would Zoom.

We did have most members in a WhatsApp group but the decision was to try a ‘round the table’ email session (bring your own drinks!!).

The idea would be to write up your review and then on the day cut and paste in turn. The ‘host’ chose the running order based on who said they would join in and it was our normal Monday evening at 7.30pm once a month. Sometimes the reviews were very slow to appear but we waited and one could read them all and then free to comment at the end. We always give marks out of 10; sometimes a book is harrowing and yet still deserves a mark of 8.

We kept this up over the many weary lockdown months. Christmas 2020 we held a joint ‘phone-in’ which cheered us all up and surprisingly easy as we could recognise each others voices well and were very polite and did not interrupt each other too much!

Then, at last, we could meet in the pub garden and we were noisy enough to drown out the football tellies because it was so good to see each other again. This photo is our second outdoor meet. Our club is 12 to 17 folk who come along whenever they can and some send their written review if they cannot be there, and so we go from strength to strength.

Oh what a joy to meet in person and see other members of the group!

At long last we were able to have our monthly meeting as a physical meeting. Zoom has been wonderful to keep us in touch but there’s nothing like a face to face meeting. Over 30 met in the park and took advantage of the gorgeous sunny evening to chat.

Smiling faces were testament to what it meant to be together. We were able to see friends and meet some of our new members.

It’s a plethora of riches as we’re also now able to meet in Fordbridge Centre on a Thursday morning for craft, book club, coffee and board games sessions.

Friendship Day was celebrated by leaving small gifts around the town to be collected by the lucky finders. A member’s grandson enjoyed helping to place the gifts.

Now that we are getting back together Deborah will no longer be writing the newsletter that has kept us entertained and sane through the difficult days of Covid. Our heartfelt thanks go to her for those 200 letters.

The tablecloth embroidered by members was displayed in the Cow Byre exhibition of Middlesex crafts and was worth a visit.

Our August meeting is traditionally our Tea Party, and this year was no exception. The branch signed up for the Breast Cancer Now campaign and members enjoyed a great evening out while supporting this great cause .

As well as enjoying a lavish display of sandwiches, cakes and prosecco, £205 was raised for the campaign with members playing bingo , Games of Scones and Guess the name of the Teddy Bear with some lovely prizes.

A presentation was given by Joan Horton on Lawmakers, Breakers and Enforcers for our June meeting– a history of how our legal system evolved into today’s Parliamentary Democracy and independent judiciary, and how miscreants offended, were caught and dealt with.

Women’s involvement gradually increased in the 20^th century, with the vote, and the introduction of women police, MPs magistrates and judges.

Today, the Supreme Court is headed by Lady Hale, Dame Cressida Dick is the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, and there have been two female Prime Ministers.

However, offenders haven’t really changed much over the centuries—only adapted to life in their times. For example, petty thieves have always targeted untraceable and easy to sell items: textiles pre 20^th century were extremely expensive and an easy target as one sheet or tablecloth from a washing line looked much another.

In more recent times it was radios, then TVs, then videos, then PCs, and now it’s laptops and mobile phones. What next one wonders? The talk ended with some anecdotes from Joan’s 34 years as a local JP including some hilarious cases of indecent exposure. Joan found that although cases could make her cross, upset or exasperated, the hardest thing had always been to maintain a deadpan face and not laugh at the sheer stupidity so often portrayed.

For our July meeting, a presentation was given by Joan Horton on DNA—an explanation of how it makes us who we are, the history of its discovery, and the main uses to which the knowledge is put today: fighting crime, inventing new medical treatments, and tracing our family history.

As a qualified nurse, Joan had always had an interest in DNA’s role in hereditary conditions, especially as much of the research and its discovery was done at King’s College Hospital, where she trained. During her 34 years as a JP, DNA had been introduced as a crime detection tool and is now indispensable.

One of her main hobbies is family history, in which DNA is also becoming a significant tool in discovering one’s forbears, and relatives one didn’t know one had. Except for identical twins, we are all genetically unique, however only 1% of our DNA accounts for humanity’s differences.

We share DNA with every living being, and the talk concluded with the information that we share 50% of our DNA with a cabbage!

In August we had John Thirkettle on Adventures and Experiences.

John gave an amusing account of his childhood during the war and his call-up for National Service a few years later. By then he was part way through an engineering apprenticeship, which his father asked he be allowed to complete. Ultimately he joined the RAF, where his National Service stretched into a full career. Various strange and funny encounters with local during postings to Germany, Cyprus, and Egypt were related, and after leaving the RAF John continued to work and travel widely.

We were all in fits over his tale of attending a large and long-winded Japanese convention. He sneaked out of the hall, but later, being unable to read the signs couldn’t find his way back. On opening the door into what he thought was the hall, he found himself gate-crashing a wedding, where guests came up talking to him in Japanese. They introduced him to everyone as is the custom if a stranger walks in, so it took some time. Then on returning to his convention they wanted to know what took him so long… an interesting talk!

Images from Iver: A beautiful cushion cover crafted by Pat Gravette and azalea and clematis from Margaret Smith’s garden.

This was our first real in person WI meeting since March 2020 and it felt really good to be back. It was however in our new temporary venue, Hayes and Harlington Community Centre where we shall carry on until we get back to Harlington Hospice, hopefully in the New Year.

We decided to have an active group activity to celebrate benefits of real life meeting.

It was a busy evening, we had a Flower Arranging session, with initial guidelines and sample from Sarah regarding use of oasis, tape, placement, height of flowers in relation to size of container. What was produced were beautiful displays using garden grown and bought flowers with such individual flair and colour choices. Sarah gave everyone feedback on their constructions.

We have plans for a Pride themed Games evening in September and speaker for October. Really getting back into ‘old format’.