The team from Cornwall Federation of WI’s (known to us as County) organise an amazing variety of trips and events throughout the year. Details of how to sign up are to be found in County News each month. This is Pat’s account of their recent walk to Rough Tor :
Although we left our part of Cornwall shrouded in rain – it was overcast and dry at Rough Tor and made for a lovely walk/climb. We enjoyed a packed lunch at the top and then made our way down around to the car park.
The views from the top were spectacular – we could see Bude covered in sunshine, across to a misty Dartmoor and down to the west There was a lot of sheep, cows and horses roaming the moorland. The town of Camelford is just a short distance from the site, enabling us to have a comfort break and refreshments before meeting up with the other WIs.
We all felt the walk was well researched which enabled us all to have a good day.
The July mizzle didn’t deter Camera Club’s planned outing to Longrock Beach this week. There is always plenty to photograph whatever the weather, and this time a temporary art installation by artist Rupert James Baker added an extra dimension. The colours and reflections from a pot of bubbles proved particularly intriguing.
Cut out a 5 inch circle from a piece of card and mark North, South, East and West. Divide each quarter into 4 and mark these points. Cut slits as shown. There should be 16.
Make a hole with your pencil in the middle. Using Wool (any thickness) in 2 colours cut 8 threads each 24 inches long and tie together with a knot at one end. Push the knot through the hole in the middle of the circle.
Place the threads in the slots as shown in the diagram. Take the thread on the top right and place it bottom right, then take the thread bottom left and place it top left. Turn a quarter and repeat. As you continue the braid will form underneath.
On Wednesday, 30 June fifteen members of CLWI visited the Lavender Farm at Porthallow for an informative guide followed by tea and cake in the barn. We had glorious weather and discovered how the lavender is planted, weeded, harvested and distilled.
At Roskorwell they also have crocus plants growing with a view to harvesting saffron later in the year. There is an upcoming orchard and a beautiful pond teaming with all kinds of wildlife.
Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon at the farm, our first visit out in a long time!
The weather turned out to be much better than forecast for the June walk. Eight members and two canine friends met in Marazion for a circular walk along the fields to Perranuthnoe. The views of Mount’s Bay were stunning the flat sea providing a wonderful back drop to St Michael’s Mount. After a break for coffee and cake we returned along the easy coastal path to Marazion. It felt good getting together again for some exercise, fresh air and chat. Family, friends and pets always welcome to join us.
Julia Havard was our delegate for the 2021 NFWI Annual Meeting, which was held virtually due to the ongoing restrictions. Julia also represented Germoe and District, Gulval, Godolphin, Madron, Perranuthnoe and District, Porthleven and Sheffield and District WI’s.
The speakers were HRH Sophie, Countess of Wessex, Dame Cressida Dick, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, and Baroness Brenda Hale, former president of the Supreme Court of the UK.
If you would like to watch the section regarding this year’s resolution ‘A call to increase the awareness of the subtle signs of ovarian cancer’ it can be viewed here:
Camera Club visited Guy’s Butterfly House at St Hilary to take some amazing photos of these beautiful insects. With so many free flying butterflies, in an array of sizes and colours it was the perfect spot for an afternoon’s photography. Tea and scones followed (of course) at the Woodland Kitchen Bistro at Townshend, where members of Hayle WI were also enjoying an afternoon out!
Large tub Greek Yoghurt. Honey Mixed berries (fresh or frozen) Your choice of nuts or seeds.
Tip a large tub of natural Greek yoghurt into a bowl, stir in a little honey. Add a handful of berries, seeds or nuts and stir. Line a baking sheet and tip the yoghurt mix on. Sprinkle with coconut if desired. Freeze then break into pieces for a cool summer snack. Keep in in a plastic tub in the freezer. Try other combinations too, both apricot and almond, and chocolate chip with raspberry are good.
For their May read, Book Club chose The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. The author is known to many as host of TV Game Shows Pointless and House of Games, and won ‘Author of the Year’ for this his debut novel.
The book club were very divided by this book – several found it funny and enjoyed reading it very much – others were expecting something more academic from Richard Osman.
The scores rate from 5 to 9, with the majority giving an eight or nine.
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
On the site of an old Convent where the Nuns welcomed and looked after all those seeking help , a luxury Retirement Village Complex has been built. Once all the nuns had died, the Convent and Chapel became derelict and the site was developed by a Ian Ventham, creating this lovely village known as Coopers Chase with the help of builder Tony Curran and his gang of workmen. The development sits in twelve acres of woodland with a beautiful open hillside aspect. There are two small lakes, one real and one created. There are still sheep farmed at the very top of the hill and in the pastures by the lake is a herd of twenty llamas. Two were bought initially to look quirky in the sales photos but it got out of hand, as these things do.
There were a group of 4 residents Elizabeth (one is led to believe she worked for an organisation such a MI5 and appears to be able to call in favours from all manner of people) Penny (an unwell resident) used to be part of this group but she now residents in the Willows, the nursing area of the complex and Joyce has taken her place. Ron Ritchie who, when working with the Unions, was known as Red Ron and Ibrahim Arif.
This group formed what was known as The Thursday Murder Club trying to solve unsolved murders but little did they realise that they were about to experience helping to solve several unexplained murders just outside their front doors. Most of their activities are recorded by Joyce’s writing in her diary every night. PC Donna De Freitas came to the complex to give a talk on ‘Practical Tips for Home Security’ but whilst visiting Coopers Chase Retirement Village, which seemed an innocuous, lush, untroubled and sedate, she met up with Elizabeth and her jolly team.
A few weeks down the line after this visit, a brutal killing takes place within their confines and the group finds themselves in the middle of their first live case. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibraham and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves and when Donna and her boss DCI Chris Hudson visit the site to question the residents after the brutal murder of the builder Tony Curran, the group has specific information which could be of assistance to the Police as they witnessed an argument between Ian Ventham and Tony. They wished to trade their information for information from the Police. After the argument, Tony had been murdered in his own home a short distance from the complex with a photograph placed beside him showing 3 men in a local pub, one being Tony, another Jason Ritchie (Ron’s son and in earlier years a famous boxer also noted for dealing drugs) but the third person and the person taking the picture were unknown to anyone.
Ian Ventham was about to develop another part of the site which included a cemetery for the nuns and he did not particularly want Tony to be part of this development (looked to make more profits for himself) – several of the local population did not wish the cemetery to be disturbed, particularly a Father Mackie – a local priest. When the bulldozers arrived to commence work, the residents blocked the road much to the annoyance of Ian. Ian knowing that he did not want to have Tony as part of his team asked a Polish workman Bogdan, big and strong to take control of his new development plans. Whilst the diggers were prevented from reaching the allocated site, Bogdan took a shovel and became to dig the graves – he exposed one coffin but on top of this coffin were also the bones of another person with a shot gun wound to the leg. He quickly put everything back into the ground and wished to talk to someone about his find. He decided to visit Elizabeth, as she was always very kind to him. Elizabeth was on the case immediately and called in the favours of an expert friend who was able to examine the bones and give the group a history of these bones and the injury sustained by the skeleton. This information was what the group were waiting for – to whom did the bones belong and who murdered this person. In the meantime, whilst Bogdan was busy digging out the grave a heated argument took place between Ian and a group of the residents as they refused to allow the diggers onto the land – Ian turned from the group and immediately fell to the ground dead.
Can this unorthodox group solve not only the name of the skeleton but also who had murdered Tony Curran, so brutally in his own home, and who had administered a lethal injection into Ian Ventham to cause his death.
Who killed who – the book continues with its various plots?
This month members of Crowlas & Ludgvan WI met for their first walk together since lockdown in March 2020. The weather was sunny and the route was the very pretty and easy King George V Walk in Hayle – with lots of beautiful plants in flower despite the recent cold weather. We returned to the start of the walk and continued along North Quay – a very different scene here with the building of the new development. Pat gave us an interesting “guided tour” of the plants along the way. At the end of the Quay we stopped for coffee and cake, sitting in the sunshine and admiring the lovely views across the estuary to Lelant. I think we all agreed how enjoyable it had been to get together again and to catch up with all our activities.
