Author: crowlasludgvanwi

NFWI Centenary Annual Meeting

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Today was the big day! The 2015 Centenary Annual Meeting at the Royal Albert Hall. Although nobody from Crowlas & Ludgvan WI was able to go, we did send our resolution vote (more on that below!) with our delegate from Porthleven WI and for the first time we were also given the rare opportunity to watch the meeting live online.

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The Queen, Princess Anne and the Countess of Wessex were all there, and the Queen addressed the meeting after receiving the Baton.

During her speech, the Queen said, “In 2015, the Women’s Institute continues to demonstrate it can make a real difference to the lives of women of all ages and backgrounds”. You can say that again!

After her speech, Her Majesty pressed the button to begin a slide show highlighting some of the Centenary Baton’s journey around the country. And what a surprise it was to see our own Jane, Niamh and Pat up there on the big screen for all to see!

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The important bit was the resolution, and that’s when things got rather heated! After a lot of discussion, both about the resolution and its proposed amendment, one member proposed that the meeting move to the next item of business. That meant that the would be no vote at all on the resolution. The proposal was seconded, and by a majority of more than three-quarters, the meeting voted to move on. In effect, the resolution was thrown out!

Here’s a photo I loved, posted by another WI on Twitter, of lunchtime at the Albert Memorial, then and now. Things don’t change much, do they?!

memoralThere have been a flurry of newspaper articles about the WI over the past day or two. Here’s a quick rundown of some we found, in case you missed them. The Guardian, The Telegraph, another from The Guardian, another from The Telegraph, Hello magazine, and some television coverage from the BBC and ITV.

If you missed the live feed but would like to see it, you can still catch the whole thing on YouTube (see below), including a lovely rendition of ‘Jerusalem’.

The Jam Pots are Coming!

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With carnival season fast approaching, your crafty WI members have been hard at work getting our costumes ready!

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On Monday, an all-day workshop was held at Di C’s house and some serious progress was made. Some ladies used sewing machines, others ironed, some made labels and others threaded elastic.

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We worked together like a well-oiled machine!

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If you fancy joining us at either Marazion or Hayle Carnivals (or both!), make sure you’re at our June meeting! We’ll be taking names and lining up bodies to fill those jam pots!

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Click here to see a few more photos from Monday’s workshop.

A Day to Remember: The Royal Garden Party

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Colleen, Helen, Julia and Kathy represented Crowlas & Ludgvan WI at the Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday, and what a day we had!

We left our end of Cornwall at the shocking hour of 5am, picking up excited ladies as we headed north. The atmosphere grew more and more festive the closer we got to London, particularly after our last comfort stop when we all changed out of our comfy clothes and into our garden party finery!

Kathy Reed and Barbara Corbett looking lovely in their hats
Kathy Reed and Barbara Corbett looking lovely in their hats

The weather was dreadful during our journey, but amazingly began to clear as we got to London. Though there was still no sunshine.

The weather didn't look promising!
The weather didn’t look promising!

Excitement reached a fever pitch as we approached the Mall!

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Everywhere you looked were ladies in hats!

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We queued up and were finally IN!

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The gardens looked beautiful and we all had a quick wander around with a glass of lemon barley before forming ‘lanes’ for the royals. The Duchess of Cornwall, the Countess of Wessex, Princess Alexandra and the Duchess of Gloucester were all there – some of us were lucky enough to get a handshake and a few words!

And the sun shone!

After that, we headed to the tea tents where there were sandwiches, cakes and tea on offer.

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Helen with Hayle WI President Margie Stockton

 

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There was time for another look around the garden’s beautiful roses before heading back to the coach for our trip home, arriving back in Cornwall in the wee hours of the morning.

It was a long day but an amazing one; a true once-in-a-lifetime experience!

Apologies for the very few photos inside the Garden Party, but we were seriously law-abiding (for the most part) and followed the Palace’s No Photography rules quite closely until we realised that everyone else had their phones and cameras out!

In the Pink at the Race for Life!

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Last week, the prom in Penzance was a sea of pink as over 800 women turned out for this year’s Race for Life in aid of Cancer Research UK.

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Among those 800 were Hazel, Helen, Jane (along with daughter Darcy and dog Ruby), Julie, Liz H and Mary. Together, we raised nearly £1,000 – that’s an estimate; we don’t have exact figures – but we certainly did our part!

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Well done to all who participated as well as those of you who helped us through sponsorships and donations.

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We Are Not Doormats! (Rag Rug Show)

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If you’re at a loose end next weekend, why not head to St Just for the We Are Not Doormats rag rug exhibition?

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As well as the rugs, you’ll be able to see St Just in bloom, and enjoy some delicious homemade cake. There will also be a craft stall. It all happens at St Just WI Hall, Friday through Sunday.

This will definitely appeal to our Rag Dolls, but also to anyone who appreciates beautiful handiwork!

Ludgvan Open Village Day

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What a splendid time we all had at this year’s Ludgvan Open Village Day on Sunday!

Our stall was chock-a-block with gorgeous hand-crafted items, jams, books and plants. It really did look fantastic, especially with our bunting-clad gazebo and our banner proudly displayed.

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If you weren’t there, you certainly missed a treat. There were 21 open gardens, varying from stunning grand lawns to tucked-away pocket gardens. We heard a jazz band, a choir and more. Sausages, barbecued fish, cake and ice cream were all on offer for those with appetites. Fantastic artwork was on display in the church, including some lovely pieces by our own talented Rosemary Gries.

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The day was held to raise funds for the Murley Hall Development Fun (of particular interest to us), Cornwall Wildlife Trust and ACE (Aid Conservation through Education), all very worthwhile causes. We’ve been told that a grand total of £2,581.09 was raised!

As for Crowlas & Ludgvan WI, we raised over £100 – which still leaves us with £80 after making a contribution to the day’s fundraising. We should all be very proud of ourselves, both for adding to our own coffers and for helping to support some really worthwhile causes.

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Thank you to everyone who worked on the stall, made and donated items to sell, and to those who stopped by to say hello as well!

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Thanks to Mary and Ruth for the lovely photos!

Centenary Baton Watch … Middlesex!

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The baton has just made its penultimate stop, in Middlesex, before being delivered to the Royal Albert Hall.

HA:WI, meeting in Pinner, celebrated by welcoming author and historian Jane Robinson who spoke about the history of the Women’s Institute, drawing from her book A Force to be Reckoned With. Members sipped tea from fine bone-china vintage cups and saucers, alongside the obligatory Victoria sponge.

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The ladies of West Ealing WI made this impressively-decorated cake to mark the centenary:

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Elsewhere in the county, WI members took a paddle steamer trip …

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… and posed for a photo with the baton on a rainy day at Staines Bridge.

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Only one more stop to go!

Our resolutions meeting

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Last night was our annual resolutions meeting. This year’s NFWI resolution reads:

This meeting calls on HM government to remove the distinction between nursing care and personal care in the assessment of the needs of individuals, in order to advance health and wellbeing.

After hearing our guest speaker and engaging in our customary spirited debate, we voted on the resolution. This year’s vote was close, but the resolution failed to pass with 17 no votes and 14 yes votes.

Our vote will now be sent to the NFWI Annual Meeting in London with our link delegate from Porthleven WI, Jill Blunn. We will invite Jill to attend our June meeting and hope she’ll be able to attend to share some of her Annual Meeting experiences with us.

Thanks to all who participated in the discussion and who voted last night.

 

Farmers’ Market

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On Friday, we had a stall at the Penzance Farmers’ Market. The array of craft items we had on sale was truly amazing. You are all such talented ladies!

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Foot traffic at the market was very light, unfortunately. Many of the regular vendors told us that things hadn’t picked up much since the market returned to St John’s Hall. We are sure they will, however, as the market is such a treasure!

In the end we made nearly £70 for Crowlas & Ludgvan WI, which is nothing to sneeze at. And we’ll be at Ludgvan Village Open Day this Sunday to try to add more to our coffers!

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Thank you so much to all who made and donated items for the stall, as well as to those who staffed it during the morning. You’re all stars!

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