Meeting Reports - 2009

08th December

At our last meeting of 2009, we were entertained by the 'Organ Grinder', John Hunt, who is a member of the British Organ Grinders' Association. He brought along 2 organs, one of which he'd built himself; it took him about 18 months from start to finish. He played a variety of tunes on this organ, which came complete with a monkey! The other organ he'd bought along was computerised; you couldn't really tell the difference in the sound between the 2 organs, although the one he operated himself sounded like a proper organ!

The Committee laid on an excellent supper, complete with a glass of wine on arrival, and everyone had a really enjoyable evening.

Our first meeting of 2010, will be on Tuesday 9th February, starting at 7.30pm. The talk will be given by Jill Bailey, who will be telling us about how a Kookabura stole her tent peg! The competition is to bring along a bird, of any form or description.

As usual, details of all our future meetings, photographs of visits we’ve been on, and links to the NFWI website, amongst others, can be found on our own website at www.bagpuizewi.co.uk. It might just inspire you to join our ranks!

Mel Gulliford

10th November

Firstly, I'd like to thank Jean Warr, who very kindly stepped in and reported on our October meeting, whilst I was suffering from the lurgey! Our November meeting was well attended, and we had a very interesting talk from Natalie Hill, who is an Enforcement Officer working with the Doorstep Crime Team at Oxfordshire County Council's Trading Standards Department! Phew! Natalie explained the main areas that Trading Standards are involved in, including counterfeit goods, rogue traders, and the sale of alcohol, fireworks etc to underage children. Her role as an Enforcement Officer involves dealing with victims of doorstep crime e.g. people who have had work done on their property and have been overcharged for it, people who can't get rid of double-glazing salesmen, and 'cold-callers'. She told us how to try and avoid being caught out by door-to-door salesmen, and informed us that Trading Standards work with other enforcement agencies, including the police. It was a very interesting, and thought-provoking talk, which made us all realise that everyone is vulnerable to these sorts of people.

Mel Gulliford

13th October 2009

Joan Graham and her team of helpers organized the Members’ Evening this month, which gave Sue Melling and the WI committee a well-earned break. Together with the rest of the members they were able to enjoy an excellent talk by the guest speaker, Ella Poppit who is Regional Manager for the Organ Donation and Transplantation, NHS Blood and Transplant [NHSBT], an area covering Oxfordshire, Portsmouth and Northern Ireland.

Ella gave us an insight into the world of organ donation, explaining the sensitive work she has been involved with for several years now, work which includes being a donor advocate and giving donor family support.

She was able to dispel a number of myths on the subject, especially relating to age. She stressed that there is no age limit on prospective donors. Nevertheless there is a huge lack of organs available and an ever increasing list of chronically ill patients awaiting donation.

Her talk elicited a number of questions, reassured us regarding donations, and encouraged many of us to carry donor cards in the future.

Jean Warr

08th September 2009

Our meeting took a slightly different turn in September, in that the committee had decided to hold a fun auction/fundraising/social event. Yes, our husbands were allowed out for the night!

Paul Weaving made an excellent, if slightly confused(!) auctioneer, ably aided and abetted by Sue, and there was a wildly-ranging selection of items available for auction.

At the time of writing, I don't know how much money was raised for WI funds, but it was a really enjoyable evening. The committee had also organised an excellent cold supper, which included ham, cheese, pate, and rustic bread, served with a green salad, baby tomatoes, homemade chutney, followed by an excellent choice of desserts. If you weren't there, you definitely missed out!

Our October meeting is being organised by a committee made up of our members, and the talk is being kept under close wraps! If you want to find out what its all about, come along to Southmoor Village Hall on Tuesday 13th October at 7.30pm.

All our meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month.

For details of all our future meetings, photographs of visits we've been on, and links to the NFWI website, amongst others, please go to our own website at www.bagpuizewi.co.uk. It might just inspire you to join our ranks!

Mel Gulliford

11th August 2009

Our August 'Open' meeting was very well attended, despite various members being away on their holidays! Some of the husbands came along too, which was lovely.

Our speaker, Dr Faith Holdsworth, gave a very entertaining and humourous talk about her recent trip to Nepal, to raise much-needed funds for Helen and Douglas House. Dr. Holdsworth explained the reasons why she decided to undertake the trek to the Base camp of Everest, and her exploits during the trip. She described fighting altitude sickness, the constant climbing up and climbing down the valleys to get to Everest, and then her relief at finally reaching Base camp In total she raised £7,000 which was absolutely brilliant.

The evening concluded with the presenting of birthday flowers to our August birthday 'girls', and a raffle.

Our September meeting will be a social/fundraising/fun auction event, and members are invited to bring their husbands/partners along. The date if you want to put it in your diary as a reminder is Tuesday 8th September at 7.30pm. There will be a buffet and a glass of wine or soft drink available.; If you are not yet a member and would like to come along, please let Sue Weaving know as the Committee are doing the catering and will need to know numbers for the night. Sue's telephone number is 01865 820381.

Please do come along and join us at any of our meetings, which are held in the Village Hall, on the second Tuesday of each month.

Details of all our future meetings, photographs of visits we’ve been on, and links to the NFWI website, amongst others, can be found on our own website at www.bagpuizewi.co.uk. It might just inspire you to join our ranks!

Mel Gulliford

08th July 2009

We had a very interesting and thought-provoking talk from Mais Appleton at our July meeting. Mais was talking about ACWW - Associated Countrywomen Worldwide, which is an entirely voluntary organisation. ACWW raises money from fundraising, and supports projects in rural villages across the world, mainly in developing countries. Projects can include such things as providing fresh water for the village, building schools, toilets, and other things that we in the West take for granted. Kingston Bagpuize WI fundraise for ACWW by having a ‘Pennies for Friendship’ jar at our meetings, where members can put any spare change they may have that particular month. This is then all added up and sent to ACWW’s headquarters in London.

Our August meeting will be open to everyone from the village, and will include husbands/partners!! Its going to be on the 11th, at 7.30pm in the village hall. Our speaker will be Dr Faith Holdsworth, who will giving us a talk about her trek to Nepal, to fundraise money for Helen and Douglas House. Dr. Holdsworth has very generously offered to donate her speakers fee to Helen and Douglas House. Please do come along and join us. If you are thinking about joining the WI, then this meeting may be a good opportunity to find out more about what we do, and who we are!!

Mel Gulliford

09th June 2009

The speaker at our June meeting was Deborah Brady, who used to be a photo-journalist working for some of the big papers in Fleet Street. She gave us a fascinating insight into the world of journalism, telling us how, on her very first day, she was sent to Heathrow to try and get a picture of Michael Jackson, who at the time was doing a concert tour in the UK. Deborah managed to take one picture of Michael Jackson, amongst hundreds of others she’d taken of the fans, and this picture was used in the centre pages of the following day’s papers! A real stroke of luck!

Deborah had also brought along some of the types of cameras she used in her work, and needed a model to demonstrate how it all worked. I’m afraid to say I was foolish enough to put my hand up to volunteer! I can also categorically say that I’m very glad I’m not a photo-journalist! Not only would you have had to juggle up to 3 cameras at a time, you’d also have your battery-charging pack, a holdall to put all your equipment into, as well as a step-ladder to get a better view over the heads of everyone else! Nowadays of course, photo-journalists mainly use digital cameras, which makes life much easier!

Our meeting in July will be on Tuesday 14th, and our speaker will be Mais Appleton, who will be giving us a talk about ACWW Traidcraft. The competition will be a ‘Holiday souvenir’. Please do come along and join us.

Mel Gulliford

12th May 2009

As I mentioned last month, the main part of our May meeting was to vote on the 2009 Resolution about the plight of the honeybee. Of course, other bees are important too, and our members obviously felt strongly about bees in general, because the voting was unanimously in favour of the resolution.

This was followed by an Antiques-style Roadshow, led by Simon Jones of Jones and Jacob Auctioneers. Members had the opportunity to bring along either an antique or valuable item, which Simon then spoke about. He started off his talk by giving us a brief guide to antiques, how they are valued, for insurance purposes for example, and how an auction is run. He did say that some people have been known to freeze in their seats with shock when something they've taken along to a sale is being auctioned off! We also learned that the term 'antique' is generally used to describe items over 100 years old, but in fact, there is no time limit on what is classed as an antique!

Simon then spoke about the items members had bought along, which included an old photograph, a plate camera (I think that’s correct), and a very old walking stick, beautifully engraved with various types of fish. Fascinating stuff!

The MS Cake Break which Sue Melling organised to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society was very successful, drawing in lots of people (especially after the rain stopped!), and we managed to raise in excess of £100! Well done Sue!

Our meetings are always on the 2nd Tuesday of the month, and our next meeting will be on 9th June. Our speaker will be Deborah Brady and her talk is entitled 'A Female in Fleet Street'. The competition is 'A newsworthy picture'. Details of all our future meetings, photographs of visits we’ve been on, and links to the NFWI website, amongst others, can be found on our own website at www.bagpuizewi.co.uk. It might just inspire you to join our ranks!

Mel Gulliford

14th April 2009

Our 2009 programme has got off to a flying start, and we have even more to come! Our speaker at the April meeting, author Mel Rees, was no exception, and we enjoyed a very thought-provoking, and amusing talk from him, mainly concerning how this country seems to be going to rack and ruin, and how things differ from the good old days! He likened himself to Victor Meldrew (of One Foot in the Grave fame), and I have to say I found myself agreeing with a lot of what he had to say! Bit worrying! He did also talk about how he became an author, mainly writing about the same subject matter. He had to self-publish, as none of the major booksellers would entertain taking him on, but now WH Smith approach HIM about selling his books, rather than the other way round!

Our meeting in May is going to be mainly taken up with voting on the 2009 Resolutions, which will be taken forward to the Annual NFWI AGM. Actually, there only seems to be one resolution this year, which involves the plight of bees, and what can be done to save them. This will be followed by an Antiques Roadshow, led by Simon Jones. There will be an opportunity to bring along an item you have in your possession, which Simon may choose to talk about and/or give a valuation.

You may like to make a note in your diaries, that on Friday 8th May from 10am till 12 noon, Sue Melling (our President) is hosting a Cake Break, in aid of the MS Society, at the Methodist Chapel (opposite Crossroads Garage). Please do come along and support this very worthwhile cause, and if you’d like to bake a cake for the occasion, please contact Sue on 01865 820867.

Last but not least, I’ve been asked to draw your attention to our very own WI website, which contains news about what we’re up to, links to the NFWI website, plus links of other interest, and photographs of trips we’ve been on. You can find all this at www.bagpuizewi.co.uk. It might just inspire you to join our ranks!

Mel Gulliford

10th March 2009

Our 2009 programme kicks off with a talk from Mel Rees, a highly recommended WI speaker and will be on the topic of ‘Brought to Book’. The meeting will be on Tuesday 14th April @ 7.30pm. We have a small competition each month, and this time we’re asking people to bring along ‘an interesting book’! (should be fun!). Three of our younger members have joined the committee (myself included!) and hopefully we’ll be planning some interesting events in the forthcoming months. We are also looking forward to a small part in Guy Browning’s new film, which may cost us dearly in cakes!

As members of the WI, we receive a monthly edition of the Oxfordshire Federation (OFWI) magazine, ‘News and Views’ which is full of interesting articles about what the county’s WI’s get up to and the many outings and events organised on our behalf. We also receive a regular copy of the ‘WI Life’ magazine from the National Federation, and at village level, we organise our own walks, social and other events, and we do have fun! There is a lot to get involved in, so do come along and see what we’re all about.

Our Annual Meeting in March was very well attended, and we had an excellent speaker in the form of Stephen Haywood about his trip to Malawi, along with other members of St John the Baptist Church. He told us about how the church is involved with various community projects such as an orphanage and a clinic, and his talk was accompanied by some stunning slides… thank you Stephen!

Mel Gulliford