Finally a summer evening arrived for our July Meeting. The Speaker, Lesley Bensley had requested to start at 7.30 instead of 8 to which we readily agreed. She had come to talk to us on ‘Talking Stock’ the story of the Oxo cube. She had come with her partner Steve (who willingly participated during the talk, at one point added by Sooty, you had to be there) and they had brought a huge collection of OXO memorabilia, tins, boxes, boilers, games and 3 lovely dolls. We were told Oxo began in Argentina as a liquid in around 1801 and only came to be made in Britain in the 1860s still in liquid form. The cube was not produced until 1910 and of course is still going strong. It was a very informative talk and Members got to handle some of the exhibits. Lesley and Steve are definitely ‘Oxo Addicts’. After the talk we got down to the business of the Meeting. The Egmanton Fun Day had proved successful, the treasure hunt and guess the weight of the cake had raised £26 profit, after a donation to the Village Hall, thank you to everyone who participated. An extra thank you to our fellow Member Nina for bringing ‘Pirate Johnny’ who certainly was loved by the children. Two of us had also been to County House for a Meeting to discuss new accounts and information forms to be used for 2017 and had a very informative discussion with Members from other Institutes. By the time you read this four Members will have been to the Tea and Tents weekend at Walesby Scout Camp. This year they are taking self-made bunting showing Egmanton WI and have also had t-shirts printed to advertise the Institute. Also taking a bunch of dried herbs to burn to keep the insects away. Emma has made a ‘Hanging Brasket’ for a National Competition, making a hanging basket out of two pairs of bras. For our ‘Grow and Sow’ raffle, we have to invest £10 and make it grow for Federation funds, this month the prize was a pair of Charles Rennie Mackintosh mugs which was won by Julia and the monthly raffle was won by Carol. The competition for ‘a tin’ was won by Sheila. The competition next month is ‘something floral’, the ideas are endless so come on ladies get thinking out of the box. The speaker next month is Dave Newman who will be showing us ‘Life in a Victorian Garden’, Thursday, 18 August at 7.30pm. The programme for 2017 is well under way and hopeful we will have something to whet your appetite. Photos are in the gallery of our stall at Egmanton Village Fun Day on Sunday evening, Treasure chest won by a lovely little girl who chose the skeleton for the hiding place of the treasure, almost on the spot where it was hidden. Guess the weight of the cake winner was only a few grams out, however we managed to make £26.50 for funds. Thank you to everyone who helped or entered the competitions. Special thanks to Nina for bringing Pirate Johnny to help our display, he was certainly of interest to the children. Unfortunately we were rained off after about hour and half. But well done everyone.
Twenty Members attended the May Meeting of Egmanton WI.
After the usual business, during which we were invited by the County Federation to enjoy T20 Cricket at Trent Bridge, The Aegon Tennis Tournament in Nottingham, croquet, indoor bowls, a country walk, plus craft workshops and events, we discussed our representation at the forthcoming Village Event in June which will be the week after our Meeting on Sunday, 26 June at the Village Hall, look out for our stalls. We then decided upon our voting for the resolutions to be put forward at the National WI AGM at Brighton next month. Then came the highlight of the evening when Alison Clark, of Worksop Wonders WI, demonstrated the art of Encaustic Wax. This entails putting a small amount of wax onto the plate of a small iron and rubbing this across a special paper to make a design. By the nature of the hot iron and wax you can alter the picture at any time if you do not like the result. More than one colour can be put on the iron at the same time but you cannot guarantee the outcome and it is impossible to repeat a picture. Embellishments may be added. The picture cannot be stored in a place where heat is involved as the wax will melt. However it can be put on material instead of paper, silk is a very good substitute, and then embroidered either by hand or machine. Alison had provided a delightful display of previously made pictures. Everyone was enthralled. Two or three members also had a go and had their finished pictures framed. The competition for the evening was a Self-made Craft Item and was won by a white cloth teddy bear. See the gallery page for photos. The evening ended with the usual tea and biscuits. In a chilly Village Hall at our first Meeting for 2016 we welcomed one new Member and welcomed back four previous Members who had decided to join us again. We were also joined by 4 year old Eva, who was as quiet as a mouse during the whole evening, although she did end up asleep.
Before starting the Meeting I advised Members of an error on their programmes where I had put our September Meeting as being Thursday, 17 September whereas I should have put Thursday, 15 September, luckily the speaker has been booked for the 15th. (I would like to thank the person who made this known to the Editor of The Egmanton Villager but maybe that person should have contacted me as it was my mistake.) However, being January there was very little business to cover but our Treasurer, Julia Smith was kept busy taking subscriptions and payments for the April visit to The Robin Hood Theatre, Aveham to see ‘Gaslight’ a Victorian Melodrama (guests are also welcome to join us at the theatre, tickets are £10, numbers and payment required by our February Meeting). We had an invitation to East Markham WI’s birthday party in March and were advised of an alteration to Sutton on Trent WI’s birthday party in February. We then took nominations for the Committee for 2016 to be voted on at the AGM on Thursday, 18 February. Following this, our speaker for the evening, John Devlin of Nottinghamshire Blood Bikes, was introduced. John gave us a slide presentation and talk on the history and work of Nottinghamshire Blood Bikes. They take blood, frozen mothers’ milk, and a variety of other medical items from hospital to hospital entirely free of charge on a volunteer basis. We were told that the original blood bikes was created in the 1960s and now covers most of the country, organised by county groups. They are a little known organisation which has now achieved a charity basis as it is entirely run on donations. At the moment Notts Blood Bikes have three motorcycles and the cyclists have to undergo advanced training. Items can be transported from one end of the country to the other, taken by members from one county to the borders of another where the items are transferred to another member for onward transportation, until the items reach their destination, maybe Yorkshire to Devon. John said that they have stands at various events throughout the county including Truck Fest at Newark and were heavily involved in the toy run for Kings Mill Hospital this last Christmas. Members were very interested as many of us were unaware of this happening and had further questions for John and we thought that this was a very worthwhile talk. (Further information can be found on www.nottinghamshirebloodbikes.org) The competition for the evening ‘something red’ was won by Emma Olechnowicz with a pair of ‘sparkly red shoes’ Members must be thanked for the great variety of ‘red’ objects displayed. The competition for the AGM is ‘a cheese recipe’. The raffle was won by Shirley Isard. If you feel like joining us please do so, you will receive a warm welcome from our friendly Members. You can join us as a guest at any Meeting for £4 including refreshments and a raffle ticket. Happy New Year to everyone. I am sorry I haven't been answering Facebook messages but I have been away over New Year and returned to look after sick Grandchildren. Sometimes family must come before the WI.
However it has been brought to my attention that I have made an error in the printing of the 2016 Programme. The date for the September Meeting should have been Thursday, 15 September not 17 as stated. Luckily the Speaker has been booked for the 15th. The programme on this website has now been amended. Thank you to the person who notified me Happy and Peaceful New Year to everyone from all the Members of Egmanton Women's Institute.
Don't forget to join us on Thursday 21 January 2016 for a talk by John Devlin on the subject of Nottinghamshire Blood Bikes. |
AuthorEgmanton WI Archives
May 2018
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