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Last weekend, I attended the NFWI’s Annual Meeting in Brighton, and what an experience it was! I’ll report more fully at our meeting on Monday night, but I thought I’d just share some highlights with you here and give you a bit of an idea of what it was like.

We arrived on Friday and stayed at the Hilton Brighton Metropole, right on the seafront. I was one of the lucky ones who wound up with a room with a sea view, looking out toward the dramatic skeleton of the old pier.

Our hotel was full of WI ladies, from Federations all over the country. On our first evening, there was a big buffet meal for all of us in one of the hotel’s big function rooms. It was great because it gave us all a chance to meet and chat with people from WIs outside Cornwall.

On Saturday was the meeting itself.

The lobby of the Brighton Centre was full of all sorts of stalls to explore – ones showing off the WI and Denman College, but also selling WI merchandise, handbags and all sorts of other things. Ladies in yellow hats with buckets were collecting for the Save Denman Appeal as well. I later heard they raised nearly £5,000!

We heard speakers on both of the resolutions and cast our votes. Both resolutions passed, with 79.4% supporting the ‘appropriate care in hospitals for people with dementia’ resolution and 82.7% supporting the ‘food waste/food poverty’ resolution.

Lunchtime was a lot of fun, with WI members all over the beach eating their sandwiches and dodging seagulls.

We also heard from two very accomplished women: Rona Fairhead, Chair of the BBC Trust and Baroness d’Souza, the current Speaker of the House of Lords.

After such a long day, it was nice to get outside and have a wander around Brighton. We were too late to go to the Pavilion, but we did walk around the outside of it and took some photographs.

Other WI members took to the Pier.

In the evening, after some cocktails in the hotel bar with more than 20 Cornwall WI members, some of us headed out for a lovely dinner together.

This was my first experience at an Annual Meeting and I found the whole thing wonderful. The meeting itself was fascinating, but the best part was the chance to meet and mingle with other WI members. Over the years, I’ve made ‘friends’ with lots of ladies through social media, so meeting some of them in person was a real treat!

As we’re part of a ‘link’ group of four WIs, it won’t be Crowlas & Ludgvan’s turn to send a delegate until 2020. But I highly recommend it so keep it in mind when the time comes!

There’s an interesting blog post on the NFWI website about how best to report problems with goods and services. Have a read here and see what Lewis Shand Smith, chief ombudsman at Ombudsman Services, has to say.

(A day late, but make it 29 Days Wild and it still counts!)

The Wildlife Trust is encouraging people to get outside and feel happier, healthier and more connected to nature by doing something wild every day for thirty days this June.

“No matter where you live – from an urban jungle to a windswept mountain – wildlife and wild places are all around, waiting to be discovered by you.”

Go for a walk, smell some wildflowers, paddle in the sea, watch butterflies in your own garden – there’s no end to the opportunities!

If you have a child or grandchild you might like to play along, he or she can sign up to take the challenge and will get a badge, chart and stickers! Click here to sign up.

If you see or do anything you’d like to share, get in touch with us (crowlasludgvanwi@gmail.com) and we’ll post it here on our blog!

 

Blogger Alexandra Pearce is writing about her ‘random acts of wildness’ here. Why not follow along?

We did a bit of fundraising today with a stall on Causewayhead in Penzance.

BIG HUGE thanks go out to everyone who baked yummy cakes, donated plants and books and who helped on the day. We raised £175 for our funds. Well done, everyone!

Fundraising efforts like this mean that we can afford to subsidise our trip to Killerton, so it’s great that we have such wonderful support from our wonderful members!

Shirley and her crew of walkers set off last Wednesday with perfect for walking – sunshine and a cool breeze.

The walk started at Mylor Churchtown and followed the coast around Trefusis Point to Flushing. The views across to Anthony Head, Pendennis Castle and Falmouth were wonderful.

They ate our picnic at the bowling green in Flushing and then admired the many old and beautiful gardens as we walked through the village. The route took them inland through fields and eventually down through a wood filled with wild garlic.

At Trelew they noticed an “open garden” for charity, and were shown around a very beautiful garden surrounding a luxury home. Of course they had tea and cake and bought plants. What a bonus! They continued along the estuary back to Mylor Churchtown.

If you fancy joining Shirley on any of her fabulous monthly walks, just have a word with her at our next meeting!

To see more photos of the walk, click here.

At our last meeting, we told you about the Ashford Ayres Bursary, awarded to a WI member in Cornwall who has never been to Denman before. The Bursary offers £450 which includes fees and costs towards travel for a course of your choice. The draw will be made at the Annual Council Meeting in September and is valid for two years. Contact the CFWI office on (01872) 272843 for further information. Closing date for applications is Thursday 1 September.

But there are other bursaries available as well! Just today, Denman published its own list of 2016-17 bursaries. They are as follows:

Denman First-Timer bursaries
Six bursaries of £250 towards any open residential course are available for members who have not attended a residential course at Denman before.

Lois Parker bursaries
Six bursaries of £250 are available towards any open residential course for any WI member.

Denman Carer bursaries
Five bursaries of £550 are available for an open residential course, travel up to £50 and replacement carer costs up to 80% subject to a maximum of £100 per night.

Denman ‘Spring Fling’ bursaries
Six bursaries of £250 for any WI member are available for use on any residential open course taking place in February, March or April 2017.

Cakefests bursary
Two bursaries of £200 are available as a result of a group fundraising effort from a tea and cake stall at BBC Radio 6 Music’s 2016 festival, to WI members who would not otherwise have the opportunity to go to Denman. They can be used towards either course fees or travel.

Gwen Garner bursary (kindly donated by Lesley Garner in memory of her late mother Gwen Garner)
Two bursaries of £300 each are available for an open residential art course including a travel contribution.

Freda Barnicoat travel bursary (kindly donated by John Barnicoat in memory of his late wife) the following travel bursaries are available for members attending an open residential course:
• Four travel bursaries for members living a minimum distance of 100 miles from Denman up to a maximum of £100.
• Four travel bursaries for members living a minimum distance of 150 miles from Denman up to a maximum of £150.

To apply for any of the Denman-allocated bursaries, please send a short letter in support of your application to: Karen Hodge, Denman, Marcham, OXON, OX13 6NW. Or email it to k.hodge@denman.org.uk

In your letter or email please give the following details:
• Your full name, contact details, WI and Federation
• The name of the bursary you would like to apply for
• Whether you have received a bursary from Denman in the past
• The number and title of the course you would like to attend if your application for a bursary is successful plus a second and third choice.
• Any accommodation or dietary needs, should your application be successful

The closing date for applications is Friday 22nd July 2016. Successful applicants will be contacted in writing by Friday 5th August 2016. Regrettably it will not be possible to notify unsuccessful applicants.

Go on! Give it a go!

 

Yesterday, seven members of Crowlas & Ludgvan WI (eight if you count Ruby the dog!) took part in a County event, exploring Camborne’s mining heritage.

Our Blue Badge guide led us on a wonderful walk, following old mine tramways and cart paths and through several ruined engine houses and other mining buildings.

The sky was blue and the sun was out, but we were quite high up and the wind was very cold at times. Thankfully, Mary managed to conjure up three extra coats from her car, so we were saved!

We started at the Great Flat Lode, which spans the bottom of Carn Brea, and learned about the geological changes which gave rise to this area’s rich veins of tin and copper.

We learned about the Basset family, who owned the mineral rights to the Lode. Francis Basset was at one time the fifth richest man in Britain, and the monument atop Carn Brea was erected in his honour.

The finances behind the mines was fascinating – from the mineral owners to the adventurers, right down to the miners themselves, who actually had to bid and pay to work.

We saw ruins of the managers’ quarters, including their private bath! A nice perk of the job! We also saw a larger communal bath for the miners in their ‘Dry’.

Our guide told us about the various jobs in the mining industry, including heavy surface work for the bal maidens and for children as young as six and seven. We stood on the cobbled floor the bal maidens used for breaking up ore with hammers – the only things missing were our hessian aprons and ‘gooks’ (the white bonnets the bal maidens wore to protect themselves from the elements and from bits of flying rock).

We concluded that as much as we all whinge about our lives, we are very grateful not to be bal maidens!

All in all, it was a lovely walk and a fascinating day!

Did you know that 18 June is World Wide Knit in Public Day?!

To mark the occasion, a knitting day will be held at the Murley Hall on Saturday 18 June from 10am unti 4pm.

There’s no need to book and there’s no admission charge. Just come along and knit!

Help will be available for those who need it, and needles and wool will be on hand for those who want to learn.

There will also be refreshments, arts and crafts on display and for sale and a raffle in aid of ACE (Aiding Conservation through Education).

For more information, contact organiser Janet Pye on janetpye13@gmail.com, or just turn up and join in the knitting fun!

Several members from Crowlas and Ludgvan WI, along with members of Zennor, Connor Downs and St Wenns WIs, spent yesterday learning about bees.

This County event took place at a picturesque smallholding near St Eval on a cool morning and provided a fascinating and informative day learning about bees and beekeeping.

Apiarist Lucy’s passion for her subject was infectious and the morning’s talk enthused the group.

After a picnic lunch in the barn, it had warmed up sufficiently for beekeeping suits to be donned and, armed with a beekeeper’s smoker, everyone set off for the hives. Even the most nervous were brave enough to hold the frames for inspection and identify the queen, workers and drones, and see the nectar and honey on the combs.

With tea and cake to round off the day, the group left with minds buzzing with information and a newfound respect for the world of bees and the beekeeper.

(Thanks to Lisa Elsey for the report)

We couldn’t have chosen a better day for our May Coffee Beans outing! It has definitely been the best weather of the year so far!

A dozen of us met at the lovely Porthminster Beach Cafe for coffee and laughs. I say a dozen, but three of the group went to the Porthminster Hotel by mistake instead and had to be redirected!

We sat on the deck, overlooking the beach and soaked up some sun while we enjoyed our coffee. What a spectacular setting on a spectacular day.