Group meetings, river dips and croquet competitions are only a few of the exciting activities the WIs have been getting up to this month.
Click the link to have a look.
Middlesex News – October 2023
MFWI News
Chair’s Chat – September 2023
Hello everyone
…and welcome to our late Summer Middlesex News.
I hope that you have enjoyed the warmer weather – although as I am writing this there is an amazing thunderstorm going on.
Ah, the joys of a British Summer!
As you probably know, National Federation has sent out information and deadlines for the submission for next year’s Resolutions.
Is there an issue that you feel passionate about and that the WI could get behind? Would you like to enter it for discussion as a Resolution?
Your Secretary should have a copy of the guidelines, and there is full information on My WI. Alternatively, have a chat with Alison Fremantle, our Federation Public Affairs representative, who will be able to help.
National Federation has also sent out details of next year’s Annual Meeting, which will be held on Wednesday 5 June 2024 at The Royal Albert Hall in London. I hope to see some of you there at this wonderful venue.
Just a reminder that it’s time to renew your 200+ Club shares. Shares remain at £6 and there have been a lot of lucky monthly draw winners this year, as well as the bursary winners at the Annual Meeting.
You have to be in it to win it—more details from your Secretary.
You may recall that Federation has been updating the Speakers Directory as well as trying to make it a bit more user-friendly. We are now finalising this and hope to be able to send it out to all WIs soon.
It would be great if you could send us feedback when you book one of the speakers—it all helps other WIs to decide whether the speaker is someone their members may like to hear.
Finally, plans are afoot for a Federation-wide competition that will be open to all WIs.
More details to follow…
I hope that you will enjoy the rest of the summer. Don’t forget to send in photos of your WI activities.
Angela
Middlesex News – September 2023
Our newsletter for September is a jam-packed round-up of what’s been happening in the Federation over the summer. Garden parties, flashmobs, croquet: we have it all!
Middlesex News – September 2023
Middlesex News – July 2023
Bright and early with the summery July newsletter!
Here’s a link to download the PDF from the Middlesex Federation website—please share with family and friends and help spread the WI word:
Here’s the link:
Chair’s Chat – July 2023
Hello everyone
I hope you are all well—and hasn’t the weather been wonderful?
In the last few months I have made a real effort to get out walking more and these last few weeks have been a joy—the parks and gardens really are at their best.
My walks have also taken me along the riverside and it has made me think more about this year’s resolution, Clean Rivers for People and Wildlife.
What is the river like near me? Is it a safe habitat for river wildlife, for the freshwater fish, voles, dragonflies and kingfishers? Even the bumblebee, foraging among the banks.
Would I want to swim in it??
I will definitely be exploring the issue more in the coming months. What about you? Are you and your WI planning anything to get involved?
In September, couple of our WIs are planning a WI Week of River Action in support of the resolution and they are starting off with a riverside picnic, dip and dabble in Sunbury-on -Thames (see page 4). I believe there will be some ‘wild swimming’ so hopefully we will have some photos to share!
The Thames swim looks like a brilliant day; do let us know what else is going on in the Federation. Please also turn to page 3 for member Sian Cooley’s report of the NFWI Annual meeting which involved… swimming!
Just a reminder that we will be holding Officer training in July. Please get in touch with Georgina, Federation Secretary, if you would like to book a place, on secretary@mfwi.org.uk.
Finally, some of you may remember that we used to hold a craft ‘Chair’s Challenge’, with the winner being announced at the MFWI Annual Council Meeting.
We have decided to revive this, and more information will be shared with you shortly, but get your creative thinking caps on.
A reminder that we do have an August/September issue of Middlesex News, then take a break from production in August, with the following issue the October one.
Have a great Summer.
Angela
Reflections on Cardiff 2023
The Annual meeting at Cardiff was the first National event I had attended.
I was excited to be part of such a large gathering of WI members, and to be voting for a Resolution that really spoke to me personally. As a year-round swimmer and lover of wildlife, I feel passionate about the Environment, and our responsibility towards it.
The weather was perfect, and once arrived in Cardiff, I travelled with Debbie, Chris and Caroline to Penarth, to swim in the sea and sample local Welsh ice-cream on the beautiful Victorian pier. Walking back into Cardiff across the Barrage, with views of the freshwater lake and sea, we were reminded how important it is to look to the future and put plans in place to support wildlife and outdoor leisure pursuits. (Scroll down for info on Teddington’s river event in support of the resolution)
It was inspiring to see how Mermaid Quay (Cardiff’s waterfront precinct) supports this, with the Bay trail for cycles and walking, sailing, paddle boarding and swimming on offer, as well as a variety of wildlife, including the amazing Swift Nesting Tower, with its eerie calls ringing across the bay.
The Conference day itself was overwhelming, exciting and definitely inspirational. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled as thousands of voices sang Jerusalem together. I loved hearing the speakers talk about their personal journeys through life, following their dreams with passion and resilience.
I felt privileged to be part of such a huge group of women, working together to bring about change through education, campaigning and never giving up. I would go again in a heartbeat and am already looking forward to the event in London next year!
—Sian Cooley, President, Teddington WI
NFWI Annual Meeting 2023
The Middlesex contingent attending the National Federation of Women’s Institutes 2023 Annual Meeting in Cardiff all signed up to the old adage “What goes on tour, stays on tour” but here are a few images from the trip and the meeting.
Things kicked off with Pimm’s on the Federation coach, now a springtime tradition, accompanied by a quiz which kept travellers’ eyes down.
Do take a look at the NFWI website for information on the 2023 Resolution, Clean Rivers for People and Wildlife.
Middlesex News – June 2023
Another month and another fun-filled June Newsletter.
Here’s a link to download the PDF from the Middlesex Federation website—please share with family and friends and help spread the WI word!
Chair’s Chat – June 2023
Hello everyone
I hope that you are all well and have enjoyed the Bank Holidays.
I don’t know what we will do this month without any!
Several WIs have been sharing their events and photos from the Coronation celebrations; it was great seeing all of the banners and flags everywhere and it looks like many people had a great time with picnics and street parties.
Whatever you did, I hope you had a wonderful time.
My own WI is a member of Spelthorne Group and we recently held our Spring Group Meeting.
As usual, a good time was had by all and a highlight of the evening was the fantastic entertainment by Lindsay Barrell and her team, from WIs in Essex Federation. What an inspirational lady! She gave an amusing and uplifting talk on how she found friendship through the WI and how she was inspired to use her performance art to raise funds for charity.
If you get the chance to see her show, do go—it is great! As one of our members said, it made her feel happy—and that can’t be bad! Turn to page 5 for a report.
However, our meeting did remind me that there are very few of our WIs organising full Group Meetings.
I wonder why that is? It is great to get together with local WIs, even if it’s just for a party in the park! I know that several WIs meet up informally, so why not take the next step and arrange a ‘real’ group meeting?
If it’s anything like our last one, you will have a great time.
Turn to page 4 or see our website for a list of all our groups: time to get in touch and organise to meet up?
By the time you are reading this, we will have had our Annual Meeting in Cardiff. More about that in the next edition… But turn to page 3 for some images from the meeting (and the trip there)!
Have a good month.
Angela
Middlesex News – May 2023
Here we are with a bright and cheery Middlesex News for May: spring is here, the King has been crowned and hopefully its not raining where you are!
It’s May Newsletter time: here’s a link to see what we’ve been up to in the last month—do take look!
Remember you can see an archive of our old newsletters here: have a delve if you’re a new member and see what we got up in years past. Middlesex news archive
We are going to try to add to this with older issues over the coming year, too.
