Memorial Hall, Green Lane, Seagrave, Leicestershire LE12 7LU
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Memorial Hall, Green Lane, Seagrave, Leicestershire LE12 7LU |
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Press Release In 2008 we had a varied programme of speakers and demonstrations throughout the year. The Open Meeting in March with a talk on the gardens of the National Trust was well attended as too was the bring and buy sale and coffee evening in November. Successful outings were arranged to Caithness Crystal and Kings Lynn and also Blenheim Palace. Cups were presented to Averill Tyrell for craftwork, Joyce Atkins for a gift wrapped tablet of soap, and to Helen Woods for gaining the most competition points throughout the year. 2009 is a milestone year for Seagrave WI. We will be celebrating our 80th birthday in April with a party. The year started with a talk by David Hage on winter driving and personal safety. An Open Meeting with a Valentine theme is scheduled for February 2nd. Anne Hughes will be the speaker and we hope to welcome lots of visitors to that meeting. Also in February the WI will be going to the White Swan in Sileby for their annual New Year meal. Unfortunately due to the inclement weather the open meeting on February 2nd had to be cancelled. We tried to let as many people as possible know, but if we missed anyone then we apologise. The dinner at the White Swan in Sileby was also deferred until March 12th when 13 members partook of a very enjoyable meal. The talk by Fiona Ure on Old Fashioned Remedies was very well received at the March 30th meeting. A number of artefacts were passed around amongst the members bringing a lot of hilarity in their wake. The 80th Birthday Party at Park Hill Training Centre was very well attended by WI members and guests from other organisations within the village and everyone had a great time. A big THANK YOU to the committee who arranged it all and also to members who provided the desserts. Entertainment consisting of songs, verse and jokes was provided by the trio Timeless and rounded off the evening in style. Back at the Memorial Hall once more our monthly meeting was a talk by Chris Neville on how she got started doing beadwork. Examples of her work were on display and members were encouraged to make bracelets with some very good results at the end of the evening. The craft competition for the Elsie Smith Cup was won by Linda English with here Italian quilted cushion covers. At the beginning of August Chalkie Ivey gave a very interesting and informative talk on owls. Bringing several for us to see ranging from a beautiful little barn owl to an enormous European Eagle Owl.
Joyce Lucas began her talk in September by reading out two humorous poems that she had written. She followed this with a slide show on the subject of "Portals" which included images of doors, windows, arches etc from around the British Isles and abroad. Seagrave WI hosted the Autumn Group Meeting on September 24th when members of the eight WI's that constitute the Soar Valley Group met at Seagrave Memorial Hall to listen to a hilarious talk given by Peter Slack - a hill farmer from the Peak District National Park - a light hearted dissertation on his encounters with ramblers who cross his land. Seagrave WI ladies provided tea and cakes and it was a very enjoyable evening. On Monday 5th October florist Philippa Wells gave a demonstration of flower arranging using fresh flowers. The two arrangements were then donated as raffle prizes.
Then later in the week, WI members,
family and friends went to Bantocks of Lo
Mr Richard Foster was the speaker at the November meeting and gave a very informative talk on the work done by the Royal British Legion on behalf of ex service personnel and their dependants. The competition for a handmade poppy was won by Mrs Janet Randell. The Christmas bring and buy sales table was well supported and raised £34. We rounded off our 80th birthday year celebrations with a Christmas Party held at the Memorial Hall in December. Guests from other WI’s within the Soar Valley Group were invited to join us for an evening of fun and food. A big thank you to everyone who helped the committee members to get the hall ready and to all the members who provided such a variety of food. The entertainment was provided by the Leicester Accordion Orchestra who played carols for us and encouraged us to sing along which we all enjoyed. Anne Hughes was the guest speaker at the January meeting and talked about reflexology and the benefits to be gained from it. A cup and a voucher were presented to Janet Randell for gaining the most competition points in 2009. Jan Sutton of the Street Pastors came to
the February meeting to give a talk on her work with the Loughborough branch of
the organisation which helps people requiring Twenty six members of Seagrave WI and guests attended the meeting at the Memorial Hall on March 1st when Pat Rayner came to give a talk and slide show on “Images of Japan”. She also brought along several Japanese artifacts. The exhibition of Japanese ornaments belonging to members attracted quite a number of entries. Kerry Evans came to the WI meeting on 29th March where she demonstrated flower arranging making a total of four very different arrays of flowers which were sold at the end of the meeting. The WI Birthday Dinner arranged by Mrs Dorothy Astill at Sysonby Knoll Hotel in Melton Mowbray on April 22nd was enjoyed by 19 members. The May meeting was a discussion of the resolution to be put forward at National level in June when a meeting of representatives from all the UK WI groups will vote on whether meat, poultry and fish products should be labelled with their true country of origin. The competition for the Elsie Smith cup for a piece of craftwork was won by Mrs Averill Tyrell with her cross stitched footstool. There will be no May outing this year, instead Mrs Mary Ladkin will be arranging an outing to Woburn Abbey in September. Stephanie Brown gave a very interesting and informative
talk about the Mablethorpe Holiday Home where under privileged children are
taken for a holiday – many of them seeing the sea for the first time. A
donation was given towards their funds. Several members took along their own
childhood holiday photos to display. There will be no meeting in July. The WI will meet again on Monday 2nd August when there will be a demonstration of farmhouse cookery by Brenda Featherstone with a members competition for a side salad. The winner of which will be awarded the Agnes Barrett cup.
After a two month break the August meeting of Seagrave WI kicked off with a demonstration of farmhouse cookery given by Brenda Featherstone with heSr two daughters assisting. The meeting was very well attended with several visitors too. After the demonstration everyone was invited to sample the dishes on display. Recipes were given out and it was a very enjoyable evening. The competition for a side salad was won by Karen Henfrey with her edible floral salad. The September meeting was very well attended when Diane
Cave came to give a talk on “Pets as Therapy” ably assisted by her P.A.T. dog
Molly who is one of hundreds of dogs and cats throughout the country who visit
hospitals and care homes where they help to de-stress patients. An exhibition of
members pet photos followed the talk. An outing to Woburn Abbey and Safari Park arranged by Mary Ladkin was enjoyed by WI members and friends in September. Dorothy Ferrin demonstrated Christmas Card making at the
October meeting followed by a “make your own” session resulting in some
beautiful cards. At the AGM on November 1st the existing officers and committee were re-elected en masse. Karen Henfrey gave a computerised powerpoint presentation of the accounts for the past year. Cups were awarded to Karen Henfrey for cookery and Averill Tyrell for the highest points score in the overall competitions. A bonfire faith supper was enjoyed by everyone with musical entertainment by a duo with keyboard and guitar. The evening ended with dancing. Ian Rogerson’s talk on poultry and game was well received at the December meeting by members who braved the icy weather conditions to get to the meeting spurred on by thoughts of the hot turkey cobs he was providing. Our next meeting will be on January 10th when Josephine Burgess will be coming to talk about the charity Save the Children. Subscriptions of £30 are due to be paid at the January meeting. Despite the inclement weather there was a very good turnout at the January meeting when Josephine Burgess gave a very informative talk on the work done by the Save the Children charity. This is an independent charity providing healthcare, food and education for children throughout the world. Around 30 members and visitors enjoyed Val Williams slide show entitled Exploring Britain at the February meeting. The exhibition of old maps was well supported. Caribbean Carnival was the subject of Janet Gaskell’s talk at the March WI meeting – a very interesting talk on the history of carnival and especially the Leicester Carnival held every August. A display of photographs and articles of costume were much admired, see here for further examples. http://www.leicestercarnival.com At the April meeting Gail Wooliscroft gave a demonstration of various kitchen gadgets which used to make a turkey and cranberry ring as well as mixed fruit and marzipan muffins. Members were encouraged to taste the results which were rapidly consumed. The competition for a decorated cupcake was won by Janet Rowland. The May meeting will take the form of a discussion on the resolutions to be put forward at the WI AGM in Liverpool in June.. There will be an open meeting on 6th June when the guest speaker will be Ady Dayman broadcaster and TV gardener of Derrys Nurseries giving a talk entitled Horticultural Highlights. As this is an open meeting everyone is welcome to come and join us at the Memorial Hall at 8pm, see you there. Seagrave WI celebrated its birthday with a meal at Sysonby Knoll Hotel which was enjoyed by all the members who participated, thanks to Mrs Dorothy Astill for arranging it. Twenty eight members and friends went on the WI outing to Biddulph Grange and Trentham Gardens on April 21st. We had a lovely day with plenty of sunshine and beautiful gardens to wander around in followed by some serious retail therapy at Trentham. There was a very good turnout at the June Meeting when Ady Dayman of Derrys Nurseries at Cossington gave a talk entitled Horticultural Highlights. Plants were offered for sale following the talk. Phoenix Trading also had a birthday and Christmas card stall. The competition for a flower arrangement with a candle was won by Megan Freer. After the summer break Seagrave WI met again on August 1st to welcome Pauline Fitchell who gave a fascinating insight into her life growing up in a mining community. To illustrate her talk she brought along several artifacts and publications relating to mining in Leicestershire. There were several entries in the exhibition of pretty cups and saucers. On September 5th Eleanor Clifford came to the WI to give a demonstration of wax painting which involved the use of different coloured waxes and a hot iron resulting in some very effective pictures. Several members then tried out the technique for themselves and produced a variety of impressions. Their were several entries in the exhibition for something made with wax. We now have a new secretary Mrs Helen Woods of Cossington has agreed to take on the role and our thanks go to her and to those others who answered our quest. John Schone along with his daughter and son in law came to the October meeting to demonstrate the ancient art of willow weaving and created some fine examples during the evening. The AGM on November 7th saw two more members
elected onto the Committee. Helen Woods has taken on the role of Secretary
while Linda English will serve as a committee member. Mary Ladkin who had been
a committee member for several years has now relocated to Southbourne and will
be greatly missed. After the AGM which included a visual projection of the
state of the finances by the Treasurer Karen Henfrey, members then partook of an
array of a variety of party food and drink. A quiz by Karen Henfrey consisted
of photographs from various parts of the world with members having to guess the
locations. Another quiz by Averill Tyrell was a list of Birds and Beasts. The
picture quiz was won by Janet Rowland the other quiz by Janice Bond. Joy Henderson came to entertain the WI in December with an evening of magic during which several members were co-opted to act as magicians assistants. A hilarious evening was enjoyed by all the members. January was a meeting with a difference when we went to Sileby Conservative Club for a skittles evening and a tasty and filling hot supper. Highest scores were achieved by Carrol and Beryl. Val Williams is coming to the February meeting where she will show slides of an English country garden. The exhibition will be photos of members gardens.
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assistance between 10pm and 3am. 
