Yesterday, nine of us had a fantastic day learning some sugarcrafting skills with Gill O’Connor.
Gill led the group in making sugar past Christmas cake decorations, and the results were quite brilliant!
The ladies were energised by Pat’s homemade mince pies and, later on, with lemon curd cake.
Gail Allen, who participated (and who was kind enough to take some photos for us) says that everyone had a fabulous day. Thanks to Gill for her time and talent, and to Val P for arranging the day.
Shirley’s last walk of 2015 was a nice easy and short one. The weather very mild but there was a blustery breeze.
The ladies’ route took them from Halsetown to Knill’s Monument from where they enjoyed spectacular panoramic views of St Ives, Carbis Bay, Godrevy Light House and Hayle, with Mount’s Bay in the distance.
Surprisingly enough although this spot is right on our doorstep, most of the walkers had never visited before!
If you’d like to start walking in January, please see Shirley at our next meeting and see what she has in store for 2016!
Come on ladies!
Let’s hit Penzance on the evening of Friday 27 November – lets dance, sing, blow whistles or any other noisy item, lets wave flags or banners, lets join women all over the world to show that we are proud to be women and that we claim freedom to be out after dark without fear. Lets do it to show support for women who have been, or are being, subjected to domestic and/or sexual abuse or violence.
Meet at St John’s Hall at 7pm – see posters for full details or speak to Pam Smith.
It was a very floral affair on Friday as a group of us learned the art of paper flower making.
Our instructor, Pam Booth of Paper Gardens, led us through the steps required to make a perfect paper rose. Not all of ours were as perfect as Pam’s, but we had a great time!
As we got the hang of the process, we found we could easily snip away and glue while chatting and even while eating cake. Who knew?
We chose polystyrene forms – some cones, some wreaths and some balls – which we plan to cover with our paper flowers. Mine’s still a work in progress, but I am determined to finish it!
Thanks to Pam for being so patient with us, and to Val for organising the day and providing the cake.
Thank you so much to all members who baked and jammed and volunteered their time today at Wyevale. We put on a fabulous display of deliciousness.
You’ll be pleased to hear we made £126! Well done, everyone!
On Thursday, 10 of us visited Mike Johnson’s Copper Works in Newlyn.
Tucked away not far from Newlyn Harbour is Mike’s fascinating studio. The business was established in 2005, appropriately in the same workshop space as the original copper works set up in 1890!
Mike talked to us about copper’s important role in Newlyn’s artistic heritage, along with painting, pottery and textiles. Unfortunately, many of the skills, tools and facilities associated with a coppersmith’s workshop have been lost over the years. Mike and his colleage Shelley are now working to revive this wonderful craft.
The Copper Works has created pieces for Hampton Court Flower Show, Harrod’s, Claridge’s and, recently, Eton College. The project at Eton is an acroterion (a large roof ornament) at the College’s new lecture theatre, and has received quite a bit of press lately. Mike has also done work for film – the copper-studded belts worn by Johnny Depp et al in the Pirates of the Caribbean films were created in the Newlyn workshop!
Mike showed us some of his smaller pieces – beautiful copper leaves, little dishes, etc. – as well as some more sizeable projects – the beginnings of a water feature for a recent private commission.
We all left the workshop with an appreciation for the beauty of copper and a renewed respect for the skill and artistry of the coppersmith. And Val already has her ‘workshop organiser’ hat on and is planning to arrange some hands-on copper work for us!
Thank you so much to Kathy for setting up this wonderful day. You can some more photos here.
Despite a poor weather forcast, Shirley B’s walking group got lucky and had a dry and mist-free day for last week’s walk.
The ladies all enjoyed some fantastic coastal views from Zennor to Gurnards Head.
Although there were very few other walkers along the way, the pubs were busy and full, but the group was able to refuel back in Zennor.
Thanks to Shirle Battle for organising the walk and to Shirley Jones for the photos – you can see more of them here.
The NFWI has published the list of eight shortlisted resolutions for 2015-16. Why not have a read below and see which one might be your cause. We’ll all have a chance to vote later on in the year – look out for the voting slip in your copy of WI Life!
2015–16 NFWI Resolution Shortlist
1) Ban the microbead
Beach litter and floating plastic debris is more than just an unsightly problem. Scientific research shows that plastic microbeads, found in cosmetic and personal care products, are polluting the oceans and causing long-term health risks for both aquatic life and people. We call on WI members to take action to reduce use of plastic microbead-containing products in their own homes and communities; to raise awareness of the problems associated with plastic microbeads; and to lobby manufacturers, retailers and see the UK Government following in the steps of the Netherlands and other countries in proposing a ban on the use of these products.
2) British fruit: reviving our heritage
This meeting calls on the WI to spearhead a national campaign that creates a fruit revival in local communities, celebrates our WI roots, promotes health, addresses food security and reduces the carbon footprint.
3) Free sanitary protection for homeless women
We call upon WIs to campaign for homeless shelters to be provided with a funding allowance to enable them to provide sanitary protection (tampons and towels) for homeless women.
4) Prevention of sudden cardiac death in young adults in the UK
Every week in the UK at least 12 apparently fit and healthy people die suddenly from undetected cardiac abnormalities. The majority of these deaths are preventable. This meeting urges Her Majesty’s Government to put in place a national strategy for the prevention of young sudden cardiac death to ensure that all young people between the ages of 14 and 35 have access to heart screening by appropriately qualified professionals to identify any potentially life-threatening conditions.
5) First aid to save lives
The NFWI considers that suffering could be minimised and lives could be saved if more members of the general population were trained in first aid. We propose that HM Government should promote first aid training in schools, colleges, universities and in the workplace. Furthermore, that all WIs should support and encourage first aid training and volunteer first aiders in their communities so that we become a safer and better informed country ready to help save lives.
6) Mind or body – equal funding for care
The National Federation of Women’s Institutes calls upon the Government to ensure that the care of people with poor mental health receives funding and respect equal to that provided for people with physical health problems.
7) Avoid food waste, address food poverty
The WI calls on all supermarkets to sign up to a voluntary agreement to avoid food waste, thereby passing surplus food onto charities thus helping to address the issue of increasing food poverty in the UK.
8) Appropriate care in hospitals for people with dementia
We call upon HM Government and the NHS to provide facilities to enable carers to stay with people with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia that have been admitted into hospital.
This week, 10 of us met at the Murley Hall to learn the basics of stained glass. Under the tutelage of instructor Claire Albert, we each made a beautiful stained glass suncatcher!
Claire had us practice cutting on plain glass first, using a special cutting tool and snippers. We made straight cuts, then curved cuts and then tried to cut following a stencil.
Once we had mastered our cutting techniques, we selected coloured glass and cut shapes from stencils provided by Claire. Some of us went for sun, some stars and some abstract landscapes.
It was very tricky cutting the glass so that the pieces fit together perfectly, so we then used a grinder to help with shaping. After that, we wrapped the edges of our pieces of glass with copper tape before starting on the soldering – that’s the exciting bit! Using bits of solder, we joined our pieces together to get our finished products.
It was a fantastic day spent learning something completely new that none of us had ever tried before!
Click here to see more photos of the workshop.
Thanks to Claire for teaching us, and to Val for setting up the day and providing cake and biscuits!
It’s no secret that we WI members like our food. So why not celebrate the best of British food and support our local farmers and growers by marking British Food Fortnight (19 September through 4 October)?
Held in the autumn at the same time as harvest festival, British Food Fortnight is the biggest annual, national celebration of British food and drink. It was established in the wake of the Foot and Mouth crisis, in response to the fact that, though there are numerous food initiatives, projects and events taking place across Britain, there was no overall flagship event to bring them to the public’s attention.
Here are some of the things you can do to help celebrate British food:
1. When you are shopping make a special effort to seek out British food. Pause when you select your food from the supermarket aisle. Look at the label. Does it tell you where the food has come from? Does it provide a description of who produced it? And if it is imported, is there a British equivalent in-season? When looking to purchase products, keep an eye out for marks such as the Red Tractor logo (right).
2. Shop at local butchers, greengrocers, farm shops and markets that source locally and will be able to tell you a little about the person who produced the food you are purchasing.
3. Seek out food in season – look for, for example, the English plum, marrow and squashes, which are in-season during British Food Fortnight.
4. Cook a British meal for friends and family. Nothing beats the old favourites like cottage pie or apple crumble, and then sharing them with your loved ones. Consider inviting friends round for a British Food Fortnight Feast or make a special effort to get the family sitting around the table.
5. Pick your own. What is better or healthier than being able to enjoy fresh fruit selected and picked by yourself? Rummage in the hedgerows for blackberries or visit a fruit and vegetable farm and then get pickling, jamming and freezing. Trevaskis Farm currently has gorgeous runner beans, cooking apples and plums.
6. Go to a food festival. This weekend from Friday through Sunday is the Great Cornish Food Festival, on Lemon Quay in Truro. Around 60 producers and 40 chefs and food experts are taking part, with an exhibitor line-up that includes everyone from household Cornish names like Rodda’s and Sharp’s Brewery, to artisan producers such as Fowey Valley Cider and Buttermilk Confectionery. Chef Nathan Outlaw will be hosting the grand finale on Sunday afternoon, following a tantalising programme of masterclasses and demonstrations across two different stages, in company with a host of Cornwall’s top chefs and food experts.
Crowlas & Ludgvan WI 