2020
Two fascinating tales were told at the January meeting of Woodhouse Eaves WI. The first was the story of Songster, Loughborough’s own War Horse. By means of an excellent presentation, members were taken through the life of one of the Leicestershire Yeomanry’s horses, made remarkable by the fact that Songster was a Leicestershire horse and one of the few to return to England at the end of World War I. The second story was how the book “The story of Songster” came to be written, illustrated and published, together with recent events celebrating Songster’s life and bringing together the descendants of the trooper who cared for the horse during the war. If you are in Loughborough, you can find Songster as you enjoy a walk through Queen’s Park!
2019
In their last meeting of 2019, members of Woodhouse Eaves WI were treated to an evening of festive 
fun, with a bumper raffle, magnificent buffet supper, a competition for the prettiest parcel and a plethora of fascinating facts about Christmas in the Victorian era and earlier by speaker Jo Golby. Members revealed their own Christmas traditions and exchanged cards as they enjoyed their mulled wine or fruit juice. Each member received the programme for 2020, which promises to be an entertaining and educational year – watch this space!
In October members of Woodhouse Eaves WI dusted down ornaments and raided their attics for 
unusual (and hopefully valuable!) items for auctioneer Vanessa Savage to cast her expert eye over. With over twenty-five items to assess, ranging from a beeswax thread softener to a silver chatelaine set, Vanessa greatly impressed us with the range and depth of her knowledge. The date, maker and approximate value were given for each item, with members contributing the history of the item if known. The evening concluded with an interesting general discussion on ivory and furniture and Vanessa’s top tips on what items would retain their value in today’s uncertain markets.
Woodhouse Eaves WI was in a jam at their August meeting! Rosie Jameson had come to share her expertise and lead a hands-on jam-making evening and the electric hotplates were not working! Could it be a fault with the [black]currants? Was this the time to blow a raspberry? Rosie, her assistants and WI members kept their bottle, however, and the problem was solved. The four work stations burst into life as members weighed, heated, stirred and tested. Jam wrinkled when it had reached its setting point and faces wrinkled in relief. Energy was funnelled into the final stage as the jam was funnelled into jars. Each work station bore fruit and 48 jars of delicious jam were produced. The credibility of the WI was preserved!
