Those of you who remember Liz Woods coming to speak to us at Feast a few years ago might be interested to learn that her blog/talk has now been turned into a book. And the illustrations are by former Crowlas & Ludgvan W.I. member Freya Laughton.
The book will be available for £4.76 on Amazon on 23 April, but can be pre-ordered now.
Even though we haven’t yet held our February meeting and you haven’t been given your copies of the February issue of County News, the March issue is already available online! Just click on the CFWI County News tab at the top right side of the page.
The new Denman College course brochure (February – December 2013) is now available! You can see a digital copy here.
New this year is the one-day residential course. Starting at noon on day one and finishing after lunch the next day, you can have a taste of the Denman experience at little expense. With options including Astrology, Flamenco and Dressing with Style, there really is something to suit everyone. See page 43 for further details.
In April and May there will be a Bulb Festival, kindly sponsored by Walkers Bulbs. During this time, two open afternoons will be held, where you can come and stroll in the Denman gardens and treat yourself to a cream tea. These will be on Sunday 14 April and Sunday 28 April from 1pm-5pm. Additionally, there is a range of flower themed courses to coincide with the Festival. See page 15 for more information.
Other highlights in this brochure include a wide variety of Family Cookery Days (see pages 8-10), the Denman Summer School (see page 33), which will take people on a grand tour of Oxfordshire, and a whole range of special events, including a Classics Weekend and a Mother and Daughter Weekend (see page 15). No doubt these will fill up fast, so get booking today!
If you’d prefer a hard copy of the brochure, contact Kate Bullas, Denman’s Marketing and Communications Manager, on (01865) 391991 ext. 222, or by email at k.bullas@denman.org.uk.
Those of you interested in music or embroidery may want to know about the two Denman bursaries available this year:
To mark the late Clare Emery’s considerable involvement with the WI and her teaching of embroidery, a fund was set up by her family, friends and many WI members for an embroidery course bursary. Members wanting to apply for the Clare Emery Embroidery Bursary may choose any embroidery course but priority will be given to first-time embroidery course applicants. The two bursaries are for up to £275 towards the course fee and travel.
The Dr Ernest Walker Bursary provides three bursaries for music courses, and will be awarded to members living more than 200 miles from the College. Each bursary covers travelling expenses only, up to a maximum of £150.
New members (or old) who’ve never been to Denman College should really consider it. It’s fantastic! If you want any first-hand information, just ask some of the other members who’ve been – they’ll be more than happy to share their experiences with you.
There’s a lot going on to get us through these cold winter months, so make sure you haven’t missed out on anything!
Lis Davies is planning a birthday card-making workshop on Wednesday 27 February from 10am until 3pm in her home. The idea is that we’ll put all our crafty talents to use and wind up with a lovely collection of cards that can then be used for our members’ birthdays.
On Friday 22 March from 12-3pm, there’s a banner and tablecloth brainstorming session at Helen Kestle’s home. If you have sewing or embroidery skills or if you’re just the creative type, come along and share your thoughts as we plan a banner to commemorate our W.I.
Please get in touch with Lis if you’re interested in either of the above. There’s a £2.50 hostess fee for each and you’ll be provided with plenty of coffee, tea and cake. You’ll need to bring your own packed lunch to the card-making day.
Our County Federation has loads of things on as well from pancake making to visiting National Trust properties to learning to write, there’s something for everyone. See Dates for Your Diary or the latest copy of County News for more details, and get in touch with Helen to book.
Last night was our annual Feast meeting and what a great time it was.
For those of you who were under the weather and missed it, we hope you’re feeling better.
We welcomed two new members as well as Advisor Liz Anderson, guests from Gulval W.I. and a few visiting friends.
After a delicious meal of chicken or homity pie and peas, we were all tempted by a mouth-watering array of desserts.
The clean-up crew in the kitchen was working non-stop during the evening, and they deserve a big thank you!
Once we’d had our fill of trifle, cheesecake and treacle tart, we were treated to some Cornish stories and poems by the delightful Liz Harman. Liz read from her book Now ‘Ark to Me and regaled us with her hilarious version of a W.I. committee meeting, as well as tales of Aunt Sarah Jane trying to buy a blue bag in Penzance.
All in all, it was a fantastic evening. We can’t wait for next year’s Feast!
A group of us attended a mini-workshop today at the home of Charlotte Robinson to learn a bit of chicken scratch embroidery.
For those of you who are curious, chicken scratch embroidery (also known as Depression lace or Amish embroidery) originated in early America and is meant to look like lace for people who couldn’t afford the real thing.
Under the expert tutelage of Gail Allen and Charlotte, we all stitched away at our bits of gingham, learning a basic but lovely star pattern. With a quick break for lunch and some delicious cake courtesy of Lis Davies, we were back at it again very quickly in the afternoon!
We hope this will be the first in a series of mini-workshops. Stay tuned for details of our next one!
The Carbis Bay Hotel was the site of today’s jovial and sometimes raucous Christmas lunch. With food, drink, laughter and plenty of balloons, we all had a great time.
See lots more photos here.
Did you know that Ruth Bond, NFWI Chair, has a blog? If you have some time, give it a read. It’s good!
Today a group of us learned how to make our own willow baskets. We were taught by Lin Lovekin, a Cornish basketmaker, who brought some of her beautiful baskets with her – our efforts weren’t quite as good, but we did all have a great day.
In the end, we were all quite pleased with our baskets!
Thanks so much to Lis for organising the workshop, as well as providing delicious cake for everyone!
We hope to bring our baskets to the meeting on 15 October for everyone to look at!
We had a great meeting on Monday evening with a talk by Suzy from Cornwall Air Ambulance. She had us all laughing and really did a wonderful job of sharing her enthusiasm for the Air Ambulance with us. I think we all left with even more respect and admiration for the work they do.
Just a reminder that the County Annual Council Meeting will be held at the Hall for Cornwall on Tuesday 16th October. Tickets are £6 per person and Helen needs your name and money by 10th September at the absolute latest. As this is before our September meeting, please get your cheque in the post as soon as possible.
For anyone interested, Gulval W.I. have invited us to join them on a trip to Plymouth to see a matinee performace of The Mousetrap at the Theatre Royale. The cost is £26 which includes both theatre ticket and coach transport. The contact for this outing is Gill.
If anyone wants to take part in Lis’s willow weaving workshop on Wednesday 3rd October, I believe there are one or two places left. The cost is £25 +£5 due on the day for extra materials. The workshop will take place at the Murley Hall and promises to be a really exciting day! See Lis to book or for more information.
Earlier this month, a group of our members went to the Wayside Museum in Zennor where they had a tour and saw some milling. Here they are enjoying a post-museum cup of tea:
Crowlas & Ludgvan WI 