REPORTS
January 8th 2019.
A demonstration on sausage making by the local butchers. May sound a little mundane however Matt and Brady were very entertaining and enthusiastic about the business of sausage making. They soon had everyone enthralled and told us they could 'link' 40 sausages a minute and make 700 each day! Two very hard working lads.
February 12th 2019.
Eddie Smallwood talked to us about the Barber/Surgeon of medieval times coming dressed as the role, (bloodied apron) and with all the 'gory' tools used at the time. There was lots of talk about cannonball injuries, digging out arrows, tasting urine and letting of blood. Fortunately Eddie did not request a volunteer for demonstration purposes!
January 9th 2018
Our invited Speaker was Martin Saunders, recently retired Security Manager at Birmingham Airport. It certainly was an eye opener to hear about all the measures in place to keep people safe when flying from Birmingham Airport. Martin told us that the 'Threat Level' is always at 'Severe' and all staff at the Airport take this seriously. The airport has numorous 'Inspections' and these are always unannounced.One point of interest - as soon as you book your travel at the travel agents your security risk is being tracked. A very interesting talk and certainly re-assuring.
September 12th 2017
Everyone agreed the games evening had been a huge success. Members who had been to see the show Top Hat at Kilworth House thought it had been 'the best show yet' and look forward to next years shows. Our Speaker for the evening was Jo Carter, an avid fan of everything Laura Ashley. Jo had brought lots of Laura Ashley clothing and memorabilia with her and lots of knowledge about the Laura Ashley family life style and business. A very interesting evening with delicious refreshments too.
August 8th 2017
Jolly good fish and chips were enjoyed half way through our games evening. it was an extremely energetic evening with Teams challenging each other to quoits, shove halfpenny, dominoes and skittles. Somewhere in there a couple of quizzes too. A really good meeting.
July 11th 2017.
The meeting had a 'nostalgic air about it as our invited Guest, Cathy Morris, entertained members with songs from the 1940's and 50's.To add to the atmosphere a number of members wore 'vintage' clothing looking very splendid indeed. Cathy sang well with those members with 'longer' memories singing along with her.
June 13th 2017.
Another very interesting Speaker, Wendy Coley, who gave an enlightening talk on medical detection dogs. How, with their amazing sense of smell, they can pick up life-threatening conditions such as diabetes and some cancers.
April 11th 2017.
Once again a 'Fun' evening with lovely refreshments enjoyed by all. Our Guest Speaker, Elisabeth Robinson, had many a funny anecdote and story to keep us all laughing. Some tales were satirical with a little bit of humour about husbands and growing older, which we could all relate too.
Our Group Meeting it was agreed had been a huge success with lots of positive feedback about our evening with Henry V111.
March 14th 2017.
A very busy meeting and well attended. We now have 60 members and all fully paid up with their membership fees.
Our invited Speaker, David Howell, spoke about spring flowers and how to prepare the garden and plants for Springtime. David showed a selection of slides of some beautiful gardens before demonstrating practical advice on re-planting and and getting the best from plants.
Our next meeting is on April 11th at 7.30pm in Witherley Parish Rooms.Elisabeth Robinson , our Speaker, promises an 'Evening of Laughter'. The competition is 'Your Favourite Joke'
February 14th 2017
A well-attended meeting and a good many members wearing a hat, some posh, some practical and some very different. The hat wearing was due to the invited Speaker's theme 'Mad as a Hatter'. John Whitehead spoke to members about the history of hat making in England, with particular reference to Atherstone - the hat making centre at one time. An interesting talk, which many members could relate to having their 'Roots' in Atherstone.
January 10th 2017
The first meeting of the New Year had members crying with laughter! this was down to the excellent and very amusing Speaker, Canon Alan Haydock, who spoke about the many times he had been misunderstood. His talk included accounts of his ministry, his family life and how he knew one of the original Calendar Girls?
Our President, Nina, gave several announcements about the planned programme of meetings and activities for 2017. Once again we shall be busy out and about with a varied programme of invited Speakers. We are also the Hosts this year for the Bosworth Field Group Meeting and we have invited Henry V111 to come along and join us.
Our next meeting will be on February 14th at 7.30pm in Witherley Parish Rooms. John Whitehead is the invited Speaker and his theme will be 'Mad as a Hatter'
October 18th - 50 Years as a W.I. Celebrated in Style.
A grand party was held at The Millers in Sibson to celebrate Witherley W.I.'s Golden Anniversary. It really was a wonderful evening with some Founder Members attending as well as Federation Chairman, Janet Kirk, and invited guests from the Bosworth Field Group. Thank you all for attending and not least a big thank you and congratulations to all 58 Witherley WI members. As our President, Nina Marshall said, 'It is YOU, our members who make it special'.
September 13th 2016 - WI Meeting
A fine turnout on a lovely late summer's evening. Our invited Speaker, Mr Lincoln, gave an interesting talk about his passion with 'linking in to the past' through collecting military artifacts and old picture postcards. Mr Lincoln brought along some of his collection and spoke in detail about these, passing them around for members to look at. Most interesting was some of the Victorian jewellery he had collected.
Our next meeting on October 12th will be our A.G.M. THEN - on the 18th October we shall be celebrating our 50th Anniversary with a GRAND Party!!
August 9th 2016 - WI Meeting.
An evening of games followed by a fish and chip supper. What a great time was had by all with our own version of the Rio Olympics. No Gold medals for the winning team but bottles of wine instead - tissues for the losing team.
Our next meeting is on September 19th when our Speaker will be Mr Lincoln who will be telling us about his life after teaching. The competition will be for an item of jewellery - a clue as to the theme of Mr Lincolns talk.
26th July 2016 - Outing to Bletchley Park.
A wonderful day out to Bletchley Park. The Park is well worth a visit, interesting and amazing too - people worked so hard and many of them women. Thank you to committee member Jane for arranging the day out.
12th July 2016 - WI Meeting.
A damp July evening did not deter 45 members arriving at Witherley Parish Rooms for a very enjoyable meeting. The Speaker for the evening was Sandy Leong, who spoke about the origin and meanings of sayings we use everyday. For example, 'Rise and Shine' comes from the American Army wake up call and interprets as 'Get up and shine/polish your uniform. Sandy was interesting and informative, giving a humorous insight into her fascination with idioms and sayings. The meeting concluded with scrumptious refreshments and talking 'til the cows came home'.
The next meeting will be on 9th August when we can enjoy an evening of games followed by a fish and chip supper.
21st May 2016 Spring Lunch at Leicester.
Our President asked, 'Would any members like to go to the Spring Lunch at Leicester?' Well there was some discussion about this - we had loved past Spring Lunches but they were always close to home. 'I don't fancy driving into Leicester on a Saturday', 'It's too far to drive.' and 'What about parking?' were some of the responses. Then someone said 'What about the train, I've heard the venue is only a short walk from Leicester station.' Guess what - she was right. After a twenty minute train journey and a four minute walk we found ourselves at one of the grandest venues in Leicester for the Spring Lunch. What a wonderful day we had. Lovely food, good company and a very entertaining Speaker. Next time our President asks if anyone wants to go to a WI Lunch at Devonshire Place, Leicester, Witherley WI will certainly be there.