Reports

Sharpness, Purton and the Incredible Hulks
Jenny Cooper from the Leisure Committee writes: On a glorious mid-October morning a group of almost 60 set off from Sharpness for one of the regular mid-week walks, on this occasion with an historical theme.

Participants had come from all over Gloucestershire, and for many Sharpness was a rather delightful, undiscovered corner. Assembly and registration completed at the Pier View Hotel, where there was a welcoming coffee from Tina and her team, the group set off along field paths in the direction of Purton, to the accompaniment of birds singing as though it were Spring!

Here, a short break to explore the church or canal, or just enjoy the peace and wonderful autumn sunshine with some refreshments from the backpack. Then it was across the canal, via a swing-bridge, towards the estuary.

After a short while the route emerged between the river on the right and the canal on the left, and there they were  - the Purton Hulks! Some 80 ships abandoned between 1909 and 1963 and the largest ships' graveyard in Britain. Home to the finest collection of schooners, concrete and steel barges in the country, representing the birth of British industry, supplying coal to the blast furnaces of Ironbridge and then transporting the products around the world. Now beached and left to protect the bank from erosion by the strong currents in the river.

Immediately afterwards are the remains of the Severn Railway Bridge, opened in 1879, which carried a single-track railway between Sharpness and Lydney and was used most regularly for transporting coal from the Forest of Dean to the docks. In 1960, an accident in thick fog between two barges caused part of the bridge to collapse and it was finally demolished in 1970.

The original canal, itself an impressive engineering feat, comes to an end by way of a colourful marina, in the Old Dock of 1827, complete with the original entrance lock into the Severn. The working waterway now leads into the New Dock of 1874, where sea-going vessels of up to 5,000 tons can be accommodated.

All in all, a fascinating walk, followed by an excellent lunch at the Pier View Hotel, an end to a perfect autumn day.

Especial thanks to Shirley Wood and Jenny Buckland from Southfield WI for their research and for leading the walk.

Visit to Shugborough 16 June
Kathy Quant from Upton St Leonards WI writes: On a delightful summer's day eight coaches of WI members set off to visit Shugborough in Staffordshire.

Enthusiastically we visited the working dairy, mill with water wheel, old fashioned sweet shops, stables with tack and bridles, hay wagons of days past - pure nostalgia.
Sitting for lunch amongst the animals, refreshed we moved onto the fine "Mansion House" plus servants quarters, home of the Earls of Lichfield, whose artistic photography of the late Earl was striking.

Celebrating later with iced cake, fanfare of fireworks, speeches by Margaret and Glenda we toasted our very own 90th anniversary with champagne.

Fantastic!

Visit to the Houses of Parliament 12 May
Poppy Moss from The Chase WI writes: Our trip to London was organised because we had been so overwhelmed with applications to go last year that another visit was arranged to allow everyone the chance to visit the Houses of Parliament. 

The members enjoyed a tour round the Palace of Westminster and a good few of them went to listen to a debate in the House of Commons. We concluded our visit with a Question and Answer session with David Drew the MP from Stroud and the MP from Gloucester Parmjit Dhanda. Altogether this was a most interesting and informative day! The photo shows our members gathered in a Committee Room for the question and answer session.

Visits to the Houses Of Parliament have been a very popular item on the the Public Affairs agenda within the last three years. and this was the sixth visit. We have been sponsored by the MPs from The Forest of Dean, Mark Harper, for Gloucester Parmjit Dhanda and for the Cotswolds Geoffrey Clifton Brown.

WI walking weekend at Abergavenny.
Di Burgum writes: Thirty nine WI ladies, husbands and friends were picked up by Rover coaches at various places to travel, in the sun, to ‘The Hill’ at Abergavenny for a weekend of walking in the beautiful Welsh countryside.

On arrival we were greeted with a welcome cup of tea and cake before wandering round the beautiful walled garden or relaxing in our rooms. During a delicious 3-course dinner members were soon chatting and comparing WI experiences. Bill, one of the local guides gave a brief outline of the three walks for the following day, and everyone signed up for the walk of their choice. Some social time was spent in the bar before gradually people retired to their beds.

Saturday morning dawned dry and sunny and following breakfast people joined their chosen group to enjoy a day of walking.

 After a steady climb with regular stops to admire the view (and get your breath back) we had to time to ooh! and ah! at the baby lambs, and soak up the beauty of dark blue bluebells under a canopy of fresh green beech leaves, Mother Nature at her Spring best.
Picnic lunches were a welcome excuse to sit down, admire the views and address the hunger pangs.

There is more to walking than walking. One group enjoyed a tree hug round a 400 year old sweet chestnut tree,
while another group were marvelling at the sculptural wonder and ‘enchanted wood’ atmosphere of Sessile Oaks with their moss coated trunks and branches.

Two of the walks finished at the charming, historic town of Crickhowell with time to visit the castle, wander down to the river or enjoy some retail therapy before catching the minibus back. Several walkers had taken the longer, blustery Sugar Loaf route to get there; others had climbed Table Mountain (no not the South African one!).


On Sunday many more of the party made it to the top of the Sugar Loaf Mountain while others enjoyed the peaceful tranquillity of walking along the banks of the river Usk, and through a densely flowered buttercup meadow. During the lunch picnic by the river, a rare and unusual pochard duck flew past and back again. One group were spurred on by Brian’s promise of a visit to a local vineyard. Three varieties of wine were sampled and the general consensus was the white wine was the best.

A most enjoyable weekend. Thank you to Diana and the leaders.

Campaign and Debate Day 29 April
Lisa Lovering from Tutshill WI writes: Over 70 WI members from across the county gathered at Witcombe  for a full and informative day, made all more pleasurable by the excellent refreshments provided by Southfields WI.

The morning began with a short presentation by Liz Wright from Oxfam on the Women Reaching Women project. Liz outlined how climate change impacts women differently to men.

Pam Sparrow chairman of Public Affairs committee and Liz Wright, Community and Activism Campaigner for Oxfam South West. 

The NFWI is running a three year campaign to raise awareness of world poverty and climate change, focussing particularly on how women are affected. With funding from the Deparment for International Development NFWI will be working closely with Oxfam and the Everyone Foundation until March 2011 to bring global inequality to the top of the WI agenda. We then watched "Sisters on the Planet"  - a specially commissioned dvd which illustrated not only the impact of climate change on women in different continents but also what some women were trying to do to combat this. The dvd is well worth watching and is available from WI House.  As you would expect from any gathering of WI members a lively debate followed which continued through lunch.

Following lunch we went on to hear more about the plight of the honeybee from Dave Maslan, a bee keeper.  

All in all a very enjoyable day - thank you Pam and all on Public Affairs committee for organising this. Thanks too to Southfields for looking after us so well!

Cheltenham Rugby Festival on 25 April
Sue Wilson, on behalf of GFWI,  presented the Golden Fern Cup to the winners of the Ladies competition at the Cheltenham Rugby League Festival. The women's event was a new addition to the nine-a-side tournament, which started last year to commemorate the Rugby league Test series, played in Cheltenham in 1908, between England and New Zealand.

The Cup was won by the British Army who beat England Students in the final. Sue Wilson (right) with Pat Crawshaw, presenting the Golden Fern Cup to the captain of the British Army team.
Sue joined Pat Crawshaw, the chair of the RFL's National Female Steering Group, to present the trophy and choose the player of the tournament. This was won by Briege Williams from the Cheltenham Ladies team who normally play rugby union.

Around 30 ladies' teams play rugby league across the country and tornaments like this can only help to increase interest in the game which traditionally has its roots in the north of England.

Might we see a WI Rugby League team in the future? You never know!

County Walk hosted by Edge WI on 18 April
Caroline Fennell from Norton WI writes: The weather was dry and bright, the village hall at Pitchcombe crowded with walkers keen to be off!!

Our four mile walk, led by Mary and Liz, set off up the hill towards Edge Common. Once we reached the top of the hill the rest of the walk was all on the level or downhill - so we could relax and enjoy the views.
From Edge Common we carried on through some woodland and on to Haresfield Common where we walked out to the bronze 3D map
We continued through Standish Wood where the bluebells were just coming out, across some fields and then through the village of Pitchcombe and back to the hall. Four miles completed and no stiles!!
Everyone enjoyed the walk and the excellent lunch of soup and ploughmans. Many thanks to Edge WI.

Annual Council Meeting at Cheltenham Town Hall

Some 700 members gathered at Cheltenham on Wednesday 25 March for the annual council meeting. As ever the day was filled with a mix of business to be conducted and some very interesting speakers.

 In our 90th year our County Chairman, Margaret Clarke chose as her theme in her keynote address "embrace the new and cherish the old".  We were able to congratulate ourselves on another successful year with membership rising within the federation. A new style County Newsheet was unveiled.

The Federation remains financially sound. Rising membership and well supported county activities have helped to offset the predictable loss of income from the Federation investments. We were very pleased that our National Chair, Fay Mansell, was able to join us too. Fay reflected on her many years as a WI member and more recently her experience at the national level. Fay urged all members to seize the opportunities within WI and aspire to become National Chair too!

The full calendar of events to celebrate our 90th anniversary year was announced. Take a look at 90th Celebrations page and the Forthcoming Events pages for full details! We were thrilled that Edward Gillespie, the Director of Cheltenham Racecourse, was able to join us so that we could thank him for  the marvellous support that the Racecourse are giving us during our 90th year. In his entertaining address he concluded with a hint that we may be able to visit the Racecourse again next year so watch this space...!
 

Margaret Clarke was very pleased to present awards to our Federation winners:

Nailsworth WI: Tim Poole Cup

Uley WI: Banff Award for recruiting the most new members in the over 25 members category

Siddington with Preston WI and Dursley WI awarded jointly for the most new members in under 25 category

Margaret Chappenden received the Judges Cup for the best photo in the calendar

Weavers Group won the Federation skittles tournament

Our final speaker for the day was Lisa Potts. Lisa recounted how in July 1996 she had been attacked by a schizophrenic with a maschette whilst she was looking after children in a day nursery in Wolverhampton. Lisa was awarded th George Medal for Bravery for her actions on that day. We heard how her life had changed since the attack and how in particular she had founded a charity "Believe to Achieve"  within 5 schools in the Wolverhampton area.

With the meeting over the 700 or so members made their way to cheerfully queue for the park and ride!

90th birthday celebrations begin at Cheltenham
Over 250 WI members from across the county came together at Cheltenham Racecourse to enjoy a magnificent day of racing, fun and friendship.

We were a mix of experienced racegoers and those who were at a racecourse for the first time. Our marquee was awash with hats, feathers and fascinators with everyone determined
to begin our birthday celebrations in style. The unanimous verdict on the day was "can we come back next year please!" 

We were very well looked after by everyone at the racecourse and shared the day with friends from BBC Radio Gloucestershire, BBC Points West and ITV West.  
Members from Woodmancote shared their experiences throughout the day with BBC Radio Gloucestershire listeners including the odd flutter or two on the horses!

ACWW was the nominated charity for the day and we were very pleased that Dato Ursula Goh the ACWW World President was able to join us too. 
Pictured with Data Ursula Goh are Margaret Clarke looking very elegant, Mary Watkins a GFWI Trustee, Anphia Grobler the ACWW Treasurer. and Sue Wilson looking stunning in purple. Sue was the Ladies Day Ambassador 2009.
  

Nintendo comes to Lechlade WI
Lechlade's Secretary responded to a Nintendo article in WI Life last summer offering a trial session to any interested WI. Nintendo were inundated with requests and chose 10 venues throughout the country, Lechlade being one of them.

Maggie Burrows, Lechlade WI writes: Fun, laughter and good company (all the things you would expect from the WI) were in evidence when Nintendo visited Lechlade in Gloucestershire recently. Nintendo see the WI as perfect partners as we have diverse sets of interests and an open-minded attitude to innovation.

They brought with them two Wii Fit Boards and several DS Lite games consoles. At first many people were sceptical about using the Wii Boards, but after a first tentative attempt they soon realised that the Wii Fit system was designed for all ages and abilities.
Liz Banks trying jogging with Wii Fit
Not only does the Wii Board measure weight and balance but using four different inbuilt programs it proved to be a very enjoyable way of keeping fit and supple. Not to be outdone by grandchildren we had a go at some of the other games and the roars of laughter as we attempted to ski jump or ski slalom must have been heard all over Lechlade!

The DS Lites were found to be almost addictive as we tried to train our brains through a variety of games and puzzles.             Janet Edwards and Jean Rust checking their brain ages on DS Lites

Some of the ladies also had a go in the village hall at a bit of Tai Chi which proved to be both therapeutic and relaxing as well as being good for balance and posture. Everyone who joined the Lechlade WI on the day had a really enjoyable time.
It was an excellent way of bringing Gloucestershire WIs together in a day of fun and, if Nintendo have their way, we will all become a lot fitter and develop new skills.


2009 Shortlist conference
Elaine Webb, Toddington WI, writes: Monday is laundry day? Wrong! If you had been in Churchdown near St Andrew's Church Hall on Monday 12th of January, you might have heard the 'Buzzing' sound of bees swarming around their hive? Surely not in mid-January!

Wrong again! - it was in fact around 100 WI members from all over Gloucestershire busy discussing and selecting their choices from the short list of resolutions to send forward to the 2009 AGM.

From five short listed resolutions, one of which was in fact about bees and the need for research into the problem diseases they are experiencing, we were to choose our favourites for the AGM.
In fact the 'Bee' resolution topped the list after we had heard some statistics and discussed the problems and the outcome if we lose all our bees. The other two which got high marks were concerned with i) re-allocating hospital cleaning to 'in-house' control, ii) urging the Government to adopt the Pitt Review to adopt measures to better deal with potential flooding in the future.
Pam Sparrow and her Public Affairs sub-committee organised and stewarded the morning with expertise and aplomb! It was enjoyed greatly by all who went and exercised their democratic role in WI.
Many thanks to Pam and her team!!


A Great Day Out At Slimbridge

Margaret Clarke writes: I joined 60 Gloucestershire members (and some husbands, including mine) for a fascinating guided tour of the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust at Slimbridge. A dry but very cold day meant that the first 'port of call' was the large cafeteria for a hot drink.Members at Slimbridge
After a brief introduction we were divided into three groups each accompanied by a guide.  Ours was extremely knowledgeable pointing out and explaining the peculiarities on some of the many birds that live on or visit the site. For example: Why is the male Mallard Duck prettier than the female? Answer:  Unlike some species they do not mate for life so have to look attractive for the next season.
I never expected to see six species of Flamingos living in Gloucestershire. At this time of year at Slimbridge the finale of the day, is the floodlit feeding spectacular. The icing on the cake for us was witnessing the largest influx of Bewick Swans to visit Gloucestershire this year so far. Slimbridge
These  swans fly to and from Artic Russia which is a journey of 3,000 km, amazing.  Weren't we lucky to have visited on that very day. A very enjoyable day and one to be recommended to all ages.