A little bit more about the WI...
Are there many WIs members these days?
Yes, there are thousands of us. In South Lincolnshire alone there are 2,340 and in the country there are approximately 205,000 in nearly 7,000 WIs.
When and where did the WI start?
It started in Canada in 1897. The first WI in Britain was formed in 1915 in Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrnd-robwllandysiliogogogoch.
You hear of the WI speaking out on political issues these days. When did they start doing that?
That's political with a small 'p'. We've always been a campaigning organisation. In the 1920s we were calling for stiffer sentences for child abuse and members wanted at least two women on every magistrates bench. In 1943 there was a call for equal pay for equal work and for equal facilities for children in education from nursery to university.
In 1957 members concerned with the suffering caused by the live export of animals.
Why do people go on about jam and Jerusalem?
In the second World War, when sugar was rationed and the need for food was great, the WI stepped in to make jams and preserves and to can fruit and vegetables to help meet national shortages. As for Jerusalem, composer Sir Hubert Parry put Blake's words to music in 1916 for the 'Fight of the Right' movement. In 1918 it was sung at the Royal Albert Hall to celebrate the granting of votes for women. It then seemed appropriate to adopt it as the WI hymn and it was first sung in 1924.
So that's what you've done in the past. What are you up to now?
This year we've been campaigning on retaining post offices, limiting packaging in supermarkets, better care for the elderly and trying to combat obesity in children by introducing healthy school dinners and sport for all. It is reported that WI members give a staggering 3.5 million hours a year in voluntary work of all kinds. On the fun side of things we have holidays, outings, theatre trips, meals, fun quizzes, workshops and the lucky ones among us attend courses at Denman College - and of course we enjoy meeting and making new friends within our institutes.