In advance of our May Resolution Meeting, have a look at Ruth Bond’s blog post from today, in which she discusses the importance of WI resolutions and mandates over the years. It’s interesting stuff – and she also makes mention of the ‘Save Our High Streets’ resolution which is up for discussion this year.
Author: crowlasludgvanwi
The Walking Group at Carn Brae
Last week our intrepid walking group donned their boots and made their way up Carn Brae. Joy George shared some of her photos of the day with us:
Annual Meeting (and more!)
Following last night’s Annual Meeting, I am pleased to report that your committee for 2013/14 is as follows:
President: Gill Gowland
Vice President/Membership Secretary: Gail Allen
Treasurer: Sue Knights
Secretary: Helen Kestle
Programme Secretary: Charlotte Robinson
Minutes Secretary: Polly Little
Craft Workshops: Lis Davies
Outings: Kathy Merrett
Muriel Laity
Val Puddiphatt
Any of you wanting to put your names down for Zennor’s “Group” meeting on Thursday 18 April, please let us know as soon as you can. The meeting will be held at 7:30pm at Zennor Village Hall and will cost £1.50 per person. These are always good nights, and I know Zennor has some great entertainment planned for us. Car-sharing and lifts are always available as long as we know who’s going and how many of us there are.
The same goes for the CFWI Chairman’s Coffee Morning to be held at St. Erme Community Centre on Saturday 27 April from 10am until noon (£2.50). Please let us know if you’d like to come and we’ll coordinate lifts.
Cornish Feasts and Festivals book available soon!
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.
County News
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.
New Denman brochure available
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.
Upcoming events
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.
Pies, Puds and Aunt Sarah Anne
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!
Chicken scratching!
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!
Christmas lunch!
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.
Crowlas & Ludgvan WI 