Monday’s Walk

Nine of us caught the bus to Kingswear, the ferry to Dartmouth and enjoyed a great walk to the castle. Sadly the café was closed, but we managed to make it back to Alf Resco’s instead! What a lovely day with great company!

 

Dick Whittington!

Brixham WI goes to the panto! Oh yes they will! 

Are you going? Please email Lynn (even if you put your name on the list at the last meeting, just to be sure) and organise your payment! 

Dick Whittington at Paignton Palace Theatre on Sunday 8th January at 2.30pm.

Cost £12 

Lynn needs to pay for the tickets before Christmas so if people can pay by BACS usual details with reference PANTO.

Before the next meeting. 

Lynn will be able to take cheques and cash at the meeting if necessary 

(Editor’s note: I realise that a golden corgi is not a pantomime cat, give me a break, it’s a great photo!)

What’s On?

 Monday: the walking group will catch the No 18 Kingswear bus at 9.35. Meet at the bus stop at 9.25. From Kingswear catch the ferry to Dartmouth and walk to the castle.

Thursday: some of us swim at 8.30 and others at 1.15! Admiral Pool. Take your pick! 

2 pm: colouring, preceded by lunch, for some.
Friday: 10.30 coffee at the Berry Head hotel.

News from the Public Affairs team at NFWI

 

The WI (National Federation of Women's Institutes)

  · 

𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬

Nature and environment organisations have been sounding the alarm about a range of proposed changes that could threaten our vital environmental protections. A new government bill, the Retained EU Law Bill, could be especially damaging for UK environmental protections. This Bill, in its current form, would make it easier to amend, repeal or replace laws that originally came from the EU. More than 570 environmental laws, including those around water and air quality, nature and wildlife conservation, and climate change come from the EU. Unless these laws are adopted into the UK statute books before the end of next year, they will lapse and vanish, unless specifically saved by a Minister.

The WI has a strong record of working to safeguard our environment, and so we are working with Unchecked UK, a coalition of environmental, health and social organisations from across the UK, including the WI.

Unchecked makes the case for common-sense, properly enforced protections as the framework for a fair and thriving society- where the food we eat and the things we buy are safe, where the natural environment is protected, and where our rights at work are guaranteed.

The WI is encouraging members to ask their MPs to take Unchecked UK’s pledge, and commit to do all in their power to safeguard the regulations that protect our environment and society. You can find the protection pledge on Unchecked UK’s website.

The NFWI Public Affairs team has put together a template letter for WI members to use when contacting their MP. To receive the template letter, please contact pa@nfwi.org.uk.

(Editor’s note: I have sent for this template, if anyone would like to have a copy to send to our MP. )

November craft - just in time for Christmas!

 This afternoon’s craft was a lot of fun! We began making a gift bag, which proved quite tricky for some of us! Jayne was very patient! Barbara showed how to wrap a box and then make a very pretty paper fan to embellish it. Several people had brought their Christmas gifts to wrap, whilst others brought odd tins and boxes - or a tin of mushy peas! I wonder who will be lucky enough to find that in his stocking?

It is Pat’s birthday and her granddaughter made a lovely cake and some peanut cookies for us all! Happy Birthday Pat and a big thank you to your granddaughter! We loved your cake!

Resolutions

 Lynn read out the resolutions at our November meeting, and you will find them in the latest edition of WI Life. Click here if you would like to know a bit more about the whole process https://www.thewi.org.uk/campaigns/resolutions

The shortlisted resolutions are:

1. Save our water – every drop matters
2. Women to women – turning over a new leaf in the lives of women tea workers
3. Online gambling harm: time for action
4. Clean rivers for people and wildlife

Read more about them all either in the WI Life magazine or online. You make up your own mind which one you would like the NFWI to vote on at the Annual Meeting in Cardiff next year. 

At our January meeting we will collect your vote and send it off to DFWI where it will count towards the final selection for the Cardiff meeting. This is the time when you have your say, make your own choice and vote. 

Colouring, 1st December

 Are you planning to come and join us for our relaxing colouring session on Thursday 1st December? If you would like lunch beforehand, please let Jayne know by Friday so that she can book it with the Golf Club.

Theatre, anyone?

Are you interested in going to see this? Please tell Lynn Asher immediately!

Back, by popular demand for a Festive Celebration at the Brixham Theatre, the hit show which continues to play to sell-out audiences and standing ovations throughout the U.K.

Featuring the amazing falsetto voice of Einar Vestman and the humour of Gary Gould, the packed two set programme guarantees an evening of superb harmonies, stunning solo spots and light comedy.

As well as hits from the Four Seasons, the show includes tributes to other legendary performers such as Showaddywaddy, Freddie Mercury and Tina Turner.

An unmissable entertainment!

A full range of tickets are available on our website (link in bio), at Brixham and Churston libraries and in our box office right until the start of the show! 

 

Wednesday Craft

Barbara is showing how to wrap gifts beautifully - please bring a box and paper to practise for yourself. Also I am sure she will ask you to bring your usual craft kit!

If your gifts are awkward shapes, you may like to find out how to make these two gift bags. All materials will be provided for these.

What’s On?

 A full itinerary for Brixham wI members this week! 

Monday: meet to catch the 10 am bus for Paignton in order to board the 10.40 bus for Totnes. 
2 pm Sew Mondays at Jill Haslam‘s house. 

Wednesday: 2pm craft afternoon at the Rugby Club - wrapping gifts and making gift bags.

Thursday: 1.15 swim at the Admiral Pool

Friday: 10.30 coffee at the Berry Head Hotel

NFWI Annual Meeting News!

 The NFWI Annual Meeting is to be in Cardiff this year so attending is a realistic proposition for us. We have very little information at present but it would be useful to know how many Brixham WI members would like to go. The date is May 25th 2023 Tickets will be limited and the cost is £22 for an observer ticket and £25 for transport on the DFWI coach. If we are allocated enough tickets it might be worthwhile organising our own transport but we have to wait for more information and Mary H will keep you posted. For the moment, if you think would like to go, please reply to the email from Mary Hall which arrived today.

Denman at Home & NFWI zoom sessions!

 https://www.denman.org.uk/at-home/courses/online 

There is another wide variety of sessions available on zoom! Open to all and perfect for a gloomy, rainy day! 

Do you read Your copy of WI Life? Or do you grumble about it and put it straight in the recycling? Take some positive action and find out about the how and why behind the scenes! 

Peanut Butter Cookies

 At our Dabble Day, Virginia made it extra special by bringing us her homemade peanut butter cookies. She very kindly brought the recipe to the meeting yesterday! 

 We have tickets for the Christmas Market visit to Cardiff 29th November. £25. Pick up in Newton Abbott

*Exeter cathedral Carol service Monday 5th December afternoon tickets have all been taken. 

Please ask if you are interested.

November Institute Meeting

What a marvellous meeting! Our speaker gave us a very entertaining and interesting talk about Ladies of Laughter. She read poems and writing from Dorothy Parker, Joyce Grenfell, Pam Ayres and Victoria Wood and had us all laughing, too!

The room was beautifully decorated by the flowers in the flower competition, lots of items made by the members who had attended the Dabble Day and our absolutely gorgeous Margaret Seaward Exhibition. We had a wide range of entries: cakes, fresh flowers, a golden evening stole, a photograph…. and much more as you will see in the photos. We also had a wonderfully calming Golden Breath yoga exercise from Fiona! Fantastic! Well done everyone and thank you all for making the effort to enter, you made a marvellous display. Members all voted and we had two winners: Aldene with a bejewelled Christmas tree and Trish who made a golden wreath adorned with fairy lights. The corgi, hedgehog, large golden wreath and the green background embroidery with stitching and jewellery all came in a very close second. (Sorry for the poor description, but I think you will see which one I meant!)

Plans were made for more skittles and some darts activities at the Cricket Club (with thanks to Annette and Jackie who offered to organise the darts). Fiona has kindly offered to run a yoga session for us and members are considering our options for marking the coronation in May - ideas, please?

Swimming is moving from 8.30am to 1.15 as more members felt they might come along at this time!

Craft next Wednesday is a kind of DIY wrapping session. Bring an item to wrap and some paper (the real thing or simply something to practise on). Barbara says she has a book on how to do it! If you have any expertise in this area please come and share it! We will also be making the gift bags, as requested last month.

Some of the Dabble Day creations:

Flower competition:

The Gold Margaret Seaward Cup exhibition entries: 

                                                                     Trish’s wreath

Aldene’s tree

Remembrance Day Parade and Service

 Fifteen of our members took part in the parade yesterday. Annette laid our wreath.