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!
Middlesex News – June 2023
Newsletter
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.
Middlesex News – April 2023
It’s a bit late but it’s here: our April newsletter landed in our members’ inboxes today, with hard copies on their way to those who subscribe.
Here’s a link to download the PDF—please share with family and friends and help spread the WI word!
Middlesex News – March 2023
Spring has almost sprung, and here’s your and your Middlesex News for March. We have lots of updates from across the Federation, and hope you enjoy the read! Please feel free to share the link, the PDF or a printed copy with your family, friends and wider community.
Looking for back copies? Click here for them!
Chair’s Chat – March 2023
Hello
As I am writing this the sun is shining and the early daffodils are starting to bring the garden alive again.
I really love Springtime. I know that in this part of the world we are quite lucky with the weather, but it really lifts the spirits when the warmer weather comes along.
The Board of Trustees is still busy planning our first face to face Annual Council Meeting since before the pandemic.
As you probably know, we have changed the venue this year, mainly in the hope that more members will be able to attend —the theatre has excellent transport links. Many thanks to Board member Julia for recommending her local playhouse!
I do hope we will see a lot of you there.
Tickets are available from your Secretary or from Federation Office and you will be able to order a packed lunch, bring your own or take a short walk to the local cafes. If the weather is nice there is a lovely park just opposite the theatre. We also have two excellent speakers, so I am sure that you will have an enjoyable day.
The deadline for Resolution votes has now passed and the results for the Middlesex Federation WIs have been sent to National Office.
The results for Middlesex were: Save our Water – 210, Women to Women – 67, Online Gambling – 218, Clean Rivers – 299. The total number of votes cast was 794.
Thank you to all WIs who took the time to discuss the Resolutions and send in their votes—but it was a bit disappointing that this was only approximately half of our membership. However, I am sure that we are all looking forward to finding out which Resolution has been chosen to be voted on at the Annual Meeting – we should hear the results at the end of the month.
As you know, we are hoping to start organising some Federation events and one suggestion was a cross-Federation quiz.
As soon as we have more news we will be in touch—so please do put your thinking caps on!
Take care and keep in touch.
Kind regards
Angela
Middlesex News – November 2022
Here’s the Middlesex News for November 2022: we hope you enjoy the read!
Click here to read the newsletter.
Chair’s Chat – November 2022
Hello all
I hope you are all well and enjoying this mild Autumn weather. The seasons really are changing, and they are no longer as clear cut as they used to be; I must confess that I enjoy the lingering summers.
However, as winter approaches, I know a lot of us will be thinking about the cost of living—especially, maybe, the cost of heating our homes, and if we will be able to keep warm.
Please have a look at The Cost of Living Hub in MyWI, where you will find information about the government support for energy bills.
The WI also supports the Warm this Winter Campaign, which calls on the Government to address this crisis.
This will be a difficult time for many people, so it’s important to know what help is available.
We are well into the Annual Meeting ‘season’—many of Middlesex WIs have their AMs at this time of year. Most meetings will be chaired by one of our WI Advisers, so do take this opportunity to talk to them about any queries you may have, and let them know what you have been doing to encourage new members. It is good to share ideas.
WIs will also be getting their accounts audited and many now take advantage of the County’s IFEs (Independent Financial Examiners) to do this. Is this something you might be Interested in doing? Full training will be given—if you think this is something you might enjoy please get in touch with our Treasurer, Sarah Endersby.
October marked the new year for the 200+ Club. As you will see later in the newsletter (refer page 3), we have increased the number of prizes and the prize amounts! Good luck to everyone who has a share.
You will know by now that the shortlist for next year’s Resolutions has been published. All of the information, guides and discussion points will be available on My WI and will be published in WI Life and I am sure that your WI will set aside some time to discuss them at one of your forthcoming meetings.
Resolutions are an important part of your WI Membership, so please do get involved.
Just a reminder that County Office is now open Mondays and Wednesdays, 9am to 1pm, as well as for Craft Dabble days. Hope to see you there sometime.
Kind regards
Angela
Chair’s Chat – June 2022
Hello all,
I hope you are well – and doesn’t a bit of sunshine just make you feel better?
Let’s hope we have a proper summer this year.
In May, the Board of Trustees held its Committee meeting in the Office for the first time since lockdown began. However, in the spirit of the times, it was a hybrid meeting, with a Zoom connection available for those who couldn’t get there in person. We had a few teething problems with this set-up but hope to improve next month!
I am so pleased that we are able to do this; it’s great to see the office open again, for business as well as craft sessions and so on, and we hope to be doing more there in the future.
As I mentioned in my last mailing, we are hoping to set up some training sessions soon, so please have a think if it is something you could help us with. Members can be wary of taking on a role on their WI Committee, not knowing what it might entail, so some information and guidance would be a great help. The office is available for face to face meetings, or Zoom if it is easier. Please get in touch if you would like more information.
By the time this reaches you it will nearly be time for our National Federation Annual Meeting in Liverpool. I am really looking forward to seeing some of you there—please come and have a chat if you can, as it would be good to put some names to faces.
It seems like such a long time since we gathered in Bournemouth in 2019 and I am sure we will have a great time—I just can’t wait to hear several hundred members singing Jerusalem; it always sends a shiver down my spine! It promises to be a successful day: the speakers look very interesting, and of course we will be discussing and voting on this year’s Resolution.
This is a very timely selection, there have been several mentions in the press recently about ASD/ADHD and it seems that they are only just beginning to realise how the condition is going undiagnosed in girls. It promises to be a thought-provoking debate.
So, what have I been doing this month?
I was pleased to recently attend the Spelthorne Group Meeting. It was good to be with so many fellow members and it really brought home how much we have missed these events over the past two years. We had an excellent evening.. After the business was dealt with, our refreshments were provided by Surplus to Supper.
We had all been asked to take our own mug/cup/glass; it was good to feel we were doing our small bit for the environment! Our entertainment was provided by a very funny magician, who had us all joining in. I hope to be able to attend more of these events in the future. A full report and photos are on page 10
My own WI, Stanwell, celebrated its 103rd Birthday in May, with a birthday party at our Village Hall. As usual, a good time was had by all! Earlier in the month, several of us attended a VE Day celebration dinner at a local college.
The food was prepared and served by students of the catering department and we were pleased to meet a group from a WI in Surrey—it seems we all know where to find a good meal—and it was good to support the next generation of chefs and restaurateurs!
I have just realised how many social events involve food…
Have a great month
Angela
Middlesex News – May 2021
Middlesex Federation’s May Newsletter is here: please click here to read, and please share with your family and friends!
