And I was able to indulge another of my great interests and see Broneiron House, the legendary Girl guiding HQ in Wales where the meeting was held.
WIs are springing up across Wales and shows and festivals with a WI tent are a delight – come rain or shine. The WI's birthplace is doing well. One of these days I have to enter my bara brith in a class – recipe curtsey of my Loughor-born grandmother.
The snow did appear to ground even the WI in recent months but of course that doesn't affect the plantations of coffee and tea as well as other crops grown under the Fairtrade banner.
Two instances have really brought home to me what Fairtrade is all about: one was reading this issue's interview subject Harriet Lamb's The Banana Wars and the other was meeting a very colourful, determined lady who now owns her own cocoa farm – she produces Divine chocolate – a farm that we taken from her when her husband died and she had to fight to regain ownership. She succeeded, though, and now not only her own children, but her village’s children are received an education.
Of course, cocoa is an ingredient many a WI judge encounters in her judging of chocolate cakes. WI Judging can be a contentious issue – so I'm sure many of you will be interested in our feature in this issue following Amy Willcock through Judges' Training. As some of you may know, Amy has frank views on many subjects, so her journey into judging promises to be a fascinating one.
Best wishes,
Ruth Bond
NFWI Chair
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