Author: crowlasludgvanwi

WI Day Celebration

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The WI was formed in 1915 to encourage countrywomen to get involved in growing and preserving food to help to increase the supply of food to the war-torn nation.

Under the auspices of the Agricultural Organisation Society, the first WI in Britain was formed in Llanfair PG, on Anglesey, North Wales, and held its first meeting on 16 Setember 1915.

LLanfair PG Women's Institute
LLanfair PG Women’s Institute

One hundred years later, members of Crowlas & Ludgvan WI, Zennor WI, St Ives WI, Carbis Bay WI and Gulval WI met on Friday to celebrate that remarkable beginning.

A celebratory birthday cake, courtesy of St Ives WI
A celebratory birthday cake, courtesy of St Ives WI

About 50 women came together to enjoy cream teas, some fun and games and spectacular views over Mount’s Bay.

Colleen, Liz and Pat have a go at boules
Colleen, Liz and Pat have a go at boules

We also used the opportunity to raise funds for ShelterBox, a Cornwall-based international disaster relief charity that delivers emergency shelter and vital aid to people affected by disaster worldwide. You’ll be pleased to hear that through our donations and raffle proceeds we raised over £350 for ShelterBox!

Sue x 2
Two Sues are better than one!

A very special thank you goes to Pippa Stiwell (Zennor WI) and her husband John for giving us the run of their beautiful home and garden.

Click here to see more photos of our WI Day celebration.

 

Bath WI’s Community Garden

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Did you know that Bath Women’s Institute has created a beautiful community garden within the city’s Botanical Gardens in Royal Victoria Park?

The garden is entirely made up of edible plants and flowers. The idea is to inspire people to plant edibles that are not only useful, but beautiful as well.

The garden was featured this evening on BBC’s Gardeners’ World, and you can catch it on BBC iPlayer here. (The segment about the garden starts at 15:35.)

You can read about the garden here.

Our Visit to the Isles of Scilly

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This week, a lucky 13 of us took a day trip to Scilly to meet up with the ladies of St Mary’s WI. What a splendid day it was!

Ruth and Kathy enjoying some sunshine on the Scillonian.
Ruth and Kathy enjoying some sunshine on the Scillonian.

The trip over on the Scillonian was beautifully smooth and we all sunned ourselves on the decks. When we arrived, we were met by Sue and Heather, two members of St Mary’s WI, who greeted us with a welcome sign. We then piled into two minibuses and were given a tour of the island – including the Garrison and Old Town, as well as the chapel hall where St Mary’s holds their WI meetings.

After our whirlwind tour, we were taken to Juliet’s Garden, a fabulous restaurant with enormous terraces overlooking the harbour. There, the rest of the St Mary’s WI members were waiting to meet us. I think there were about 25 of us altogether, all at a lovely long table!

Lunch at Juliet's Garden.
Lunch at Juliet’s Garden.

I can’t put into words how wonderfully warm and friendly they all were. The conversations were noisy and full of laughter and it was as if we’d all known each other for years! Or perhaps that was the wine. 😉

After a delicious meal and more laughs, we set off on foot to return to the ferry. On the way, we stopped on the Strand for ice cream. There aren’t many things nicer than ice cream on a hot summer day, looking out at beautiful sea views!

Karrie, Lis and Hazel enjoying a pre-ferry ice cream.
Karrie, Lis and Hazel enjoying a pre-ferry ice cream.
We cornered a stranger and asked him to take a big group photo!
We cornered a stranger and asked him to take a big group photo!

After saying our goodbyes, we all boarded the ferry – and had a slightly chillier trip home!

The trip back home was a little chilly!
The trip back home was a little chilly!

What a fantastic day it was. Those of us who went certainly had a day to remember. We are so grateful to Sue, Heather, Peggy and the rest of the St Mary’s ladies for their generosity and kindness. They even put on some late summer sunshine for us! Best of all, I think we all made some really good friends.

Two of the St Mary’s WI members will be in Truro for the Autumn Council Meeting next month, so make sure you say hello!

And now we must put on our thinking caps and come up with a way to repay the ladies when they visit the mainland next year.

Click here to see more pictures of our wonderful day out.

Summer Barbecue

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Monday night was all about fun, food and fire safety!

We celebrated summer with our annual barbecue, and what a wonderful celebration it was.

Jane and Di manned the barbecue with great skill.
Jane and Di manned the barbecue with great skill.

Before settling in to our lovely meal, we were given a brief talk about barbecue safety from Jordan Snook of Tolvaddon Community Fire Station. Jordan gave us pointers about both gas and charcoal barbecues, as well as on the use of disposable ones on the beach. We then also heard about general fire safety in the home and discovered that our local community fire stations offer free home fire safety checks! If you’re interested in arranging for some strapping firemen to come and make sure you’re safe, click here.

It was then barbecue time!

WI members always form orderly queues!
WI members always form orderly queues!

The Committee prepared a gorgeous spread of burgers, sausages and veggie kebabs, along with all sorts of delicious salads as accompaniments. Afterwards, we were served strawberries, cream and Jane’s marvellous meringues.

Sue can't get enough of those meringues!
Sue can’t get enough of those meringues!

We were so lucky that it was a beautiful warm evening. It was perfect barbecue weather!

On top of all that, we were visited by old friend Maureen Fordham who was holidaying in Corwall, and we also welcomed our newest member, Elaine Hughes!

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Click here to see more photos.

Free Fire Safety Check for Your Home

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Is your home fire safe? Are you aware of potential fire risks in your house? Do you have working smoke detectors?

All these questions were raised by Monday’s guest speaker Jordan Snook of Tolvaddon Community Fire Station. Many of you were interested in the free fire safety checks provided by your local community fire station, and Jordan was good enough to pass on the contact information to us.

If you’re concerned about fire safety in your home, you can have Penzance Community Fire Station come to you to perform a Free Home Fire Safety Check! They will also provide you with free smoke detectors if necessary and advise you on the correct placement of your detector(s).

To arrange for your check, either ring the Fire Station on 01736 336580 or click here to access a request form for a check.

A day out to Bodmin Plant & Herb Nursery

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On Friday, Charlotte, Gail, Pam R and Julie set off for a CFWI day out to Bodmin Plant and Herb Nursery.

They were welcomed by the owners Karen and Mark and served lovely fresh coffee and homemade biscuits. They then split into two groups and went to the potting shed where there was a beautiful display of herbs with which Karen and Claire (the young woman in charge of the herbs section) described a variety of potting options, explaining the herbs’ uses and how to keep them at their best.

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Off to lunch now where they were served homemade soup and homemade cake!

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Along the way, the ladies made a gorgeous new friend!

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The afternoon was spent on a tour of the operation explaining how they water, propagate and care for the plants from beginning to sale.

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It was a fabulous day with some super discounted shopping – it looks as though the ladies came home with a boot full of goodies!

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Thanks to Gail for the report and fab photos!

 

Hayle Carnival!

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On Saturday evening, a group of spirited Crowlas & Ludgvan WI members finally donned our fabulous jam pot costumes to take part in Hayle Carnival.

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First came the judging and we were placed second in the Mixed Walking Group category, with a surprise cash prize of £10!

Perhaps Julie being hit by seagull poo provided the good luck we needed!

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The parade led our jam pots from the Recreation Ground to Foundry Square, around the roundabout and back again. I’m told we made quite an impression on the spectators along the parade route!

After returning to the Recreation  Ground, our group tossed their ‘lids’ into the air in celebration!

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Hayle WI was there as well, with a float celebrating 100 years of the WI. Members were dressed in period costume.

Congratulations to everyone who participated and in particular to Di and Val for all their hard work in creating our amazing costumes. Fingers crossed for good weather on the 29th, as Marazion Carnival has been rescheduled for that date.

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Click here to see more photos of the day (thanks to Alison and Sally for the photos!).

It’s Carnival Season!

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As we gear up for Carnival Season and get ready to don our jam pots for the first time this weekend, we thought it might be fun to look at some carnivals from years gone by.

Wendy Allen has sent in this lovely photo of herself and her sister, both looking wonderful! (That’s Wendy on the right.)

sisterscarnival

Wendy says:

I lived in a small village called Brownsover in Rugby, Warwickshire sandwiched between the River Avon and the Oxford Canal. Brownsover was where the jet engine was conceived by Sir Frank Whittle. Like most villages we had a carnival each year but I cannot remember parading through the streets. There was only one main street and five more branching off it and we congregated in a field near the canal. My father made the headgear for my costume. We had two enormous cart horses, Captain and Colonel, in the field they looked magnificent in their finery. The main Rugby town carnival was fabulous in the early days and the magnificent floats seem to go on forever.

Helen Kestle also remembers dressing up and joining the parade on a float at the Blue Heron Fair in Barrhead, Albert, Canada. This particular year, the theme was The British Isles:

We represented our local Brownie Troop and I’m dressed in a very slapdash Welsh lady costume. I remember my mother made the hat from a Corn Flakes box! My friend Belinda (who was from Liverpool) is looking much smarter in a lovely Beefeater outfit. Scotland and Ireland are down the other end of the float, out of camera range.

float

Do you have any old carnival photos you’d like to share? If so, send them to us on crowlasludgvanwi@gmail.com.

And keep your fingers crossed for a dry Sunday for Marazion Carnival!