Leigh and District WI Annual Report for Leigh Parish Council
Meeting – May 2022
There were a number of “first times” for us as Leigh
and District WI.
For the first time we
began our year in May, rather than April - with 36 full members, the majority
from the Leigh Parish and Tean.
It was the first time that we offered a free year of
membership to our WI.
Another first, for a number of years, was a change of
officers with a new President, secretary and treasurer.
Another first for us was the way in which we conducted many
of our meetings in 2021/2. In the first half of the year our meetings were held
via Zoom.
Zoom also allowed some of us to join other Wis for meetings
and we were able to share in some of Tean’s celebrations for their centenary.
We held, in total, 14 meetings from April 2021- February
2022, some face to face and some via zoom. Our final meeting for 2021 was our
Christmas meal held at The Queens at Freehay, attended by 32 members.
Our first zoom meeting took place in March 2021, when we
held our AGM.
In April we were joined on zoom by Farmer Jane Barnes, who
talked to us about diversifying from a dairy farmer to
developing a milking parlour classroom and tea room.
We held a
second meeting in April where we were joined online by “Lady Mildred Freeman”
who shared some hilarious tales about Mothers Ruin- the story of gin.
In May we
watched a cookery demonstration with Perry’s Field to Fork team at Eccleshall
In June we were joined by Mrs Alice Taylor, a flower farmer who
talked to us about different flowers she used for bouquets throughout the
seasons.
In July, due to covid restrictions our speaker cancelled and we
held an inhouse quiz and social evening on zoom.
In August we met face to face for the first time since May
2020. We enjoyed an additional event with Aardvark who brought along rifles,
axes and angels (a type of knife) for us to experience on the village hall
green. We also enjoyed a flower arranging evening .
In September we held a very enjoyable meeting where members
brought completed craft bags that had been distributed to members during the
Covid lockdown in 2020. Members had been supplied with a variety of resources
such as fabric, wool, colouring materials and card to produce creative items
and improve their mental well being during the many months of lockdown.
Joe from Mint
Cocktail entertained us with a demonstration on Designing your own Cocktail,
Our first trip out for 2021/2022 was in September, a trip to
Penkridge for a fish and chip lunch on the canal.
In the same month
members enjoyed afternoon tea at Heath House farm garden centre and
nurseries
In October we welcomed Mr David Wood, a thatcher from
Staffordshire. He entertained us for over an hour and half talking about his
journey into thatch roofing and the history and traditions of the art as well as
informing us where thatched buildings could be seen in Staffordshire.
In November Mrs Christine Robinson was welcomed to our
meeting, the former housekeeper at Chatsworth who talked about preparing Chatsworth
for Christmas through the years.
In December members
enjoyed an excellent Christmas meal at The Queens at Freehay. It was a lovely
end to a very unusual year
During the year we also celebrated success in the SFWI
competitions at
the County show.
Three £100.00
bursaries were awarded and members spent them at local workshops.
Our craft group
started to meet again in June 2021 and continued to meet until November. During
some of the craft sessions neonatal blankets were completed and donated to
local hospitals.
Throughout the year members contributed favourite recipes to
a cook book in memory of Gill Baggeley. Gill was loved by everyone at WI, she
was one of the longest standing members remaining in the group, and had been
responsible for our competitions for many years. Mrs Pat Ingram is still very
busy compiling the book ready for publication in 2022.
In January 2022 we unfortunately had to hold our first
meeting of the year again via zoom, where members enjoyed a get together and a
general discussion about plans for 2022.
In February one of our members delivered a craft session
with members making clay roses for a display for the 2022 County Show. A number
of members brought along their crafts for us all to learn more about. There
were excellent displays of bead making, cards, 3D gift boxes, paintings and
knitting on display
Despite
a very difficult and unusual year for everyone members enjoyed the year which
saw us have varied meetings in varied forms.
Mary Allen
President Leigh and District WI
JT09/05 22
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