Our crafty members might be interested to know about this!

 Grand Opening Alert!

**

Join us for the official launch of Torbay Scrapstore

**Are you a crafter, artist, community group, school, nursery or just a reuse rockstar?** Then you won’t want to miss this! Our community scrapstore is packed with affordable and sustainable arts and crafts materials just waiting to be transformed into something amazing. From fabric and yarn to buttons and bobbins to paints and paper, we’ve got it all! Plus, many unique items you won’t find elsewhere.

**But that's not all... **

We’re also opening a cosy coffee shop right inside the store! Grab a delicious cup of coffee, tea, or a sweet treat while you browse. Creativity and caffeine – what could be better? Make sure to pick up your coffee shop *Loyalty Card* on opening day! Collect stamps with every visit and enjoy future discounts on drinks as you create, sip and shop.

**Looking for inspiration? Try one of our special crafting kits! **

Our ready-to-go crafting kits are perfect for all skill levels and come with everything you need to create a beautiful project. The best part? You can buy a kit and enjoy crafting right in our coffee shop while sipping your favourite drink!

**And if you’re looking to learn new skills or share your own, check out our upcoming workshops!**

We’ll be hosting a variety of creative workshops for all skill levels. Whether you want to try your hand at hand-sewing, festive crafting or funky upcycling, we’re planning something for everyone.

** Date: Wednesday, 28th August 2024

** Location: 6, Fore Street, St.Marychurch, Torquay, TQ1 4NE

** Time: From 10:00am

Bring your friends, meet fellow creatives and find inspiration together. We’d love to see you there!

** The first 25 visitors will receive a *free* goodie bag filled with craft supplies! **

Please **Like and Share** this post to spread the word!

Dartmouth Book Festival at the Flavel Centre, 20 - 21st September

 Is anyone interested in attending this talk on Friday 20th September at the Flavel Centre in Dartmouth? 

2 - 3 pm. £10. 

We could take the bus to Kingswear, cross on the ferry and walk to the Flavel Centre (ten minutes’ walk).

Rosemary Griggs came to give us a very entertaining and informative talk at one of our group meetings several years ago. 

Book Share report from Tina.

 Bookshare book for August was Don't Look Now and other stories by Daphne du Maurier. This did not really get terrific reviews, with one criticism being that the stories didn't have satisfying endings.

Some books read this month were by Minette

Walters - The Swift and the Harrier, recommended by 3, The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende, loved by 2, The Gap of Time (a reimagine of Shakespeare's Winters Tale) by Jeanette Winterson and Ordinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd. His 'Any Human Heart' was also recommended. We also spoke of diverse topics as fish pedicures, sailing reading, and steroid injections, human and canine. A nice afternoon meeting. If you would like to join us, there is one space available. (Contact Jayne).

Our visit to Fermoy’s.

 35 of us + a WI visitor from Corsham in Wiltshire, enjoyed a really splendid afternoon at Fermoy’s Garden Centre this afternoon.  From the photos it looks as if it was all very serious! Not so! Our speaker was very entertaining and interesting. We had a very good time and learned a lot. 

Our speaker talked to us about pollinators to plant in our gardens. He began by explaining that Fermoys is part of the Blue Diamond group which works in conjunction with the National Trust to support their work in encouraging and developing plants which assist bees and other insects to pollinate. They did well at the Chelsea Garden Show this year, winning a Silver Gilt award.

Recommended evergreen plants:

 ivy, late flowering, 

cotoneaster, 

callistemon (bottle brush plant) which should be cut back immediately after flowering so that another flower can grow, without leaving the brown stem from the old flower. 

Hebe, 

lavender - which should be cut back now, towards the end of August. Doing this will give the plant a chance to grow new shoots ready for the spring, to give it a strong head start next season. When choosing a lavender plant, if you are looking for a taller, floppy plant, look for ‘augustifolia’ next to the name. If you prefer a more compact lavender bush, find ‘intermediate’ on the label. 

Semi evergreens: 

Russian sage which needs to be cut down by half in the autumn, in order to maintain a dense, bushy growth. 

Salvia (hot lips) which also benefits from cutting back immediately after flowering, as a second flowering may occur. In autumn, cut down by half.

 Echinacea is the George Clooney of the bee world! Scabious are good for butterflies and will flower all year providing you dead head the plant. 

Achillea

Sedum - easy to look after, late flowering

Many thanks to Ann and Lynn for organising it all. Thank you to Jayne for the photos. 

Message from Tina (who has been paying attention!)

 Tomorrow is the 4th Thursday so it's BOOKSHARE. 2pm Golf Club

A great event this week!

 This week for the delight and enjoyment of our Brixham wI members, we have our annual ‘Margery’s Cream Tea‘ on Wednesday. In addition there will be a talk from one of the excellent gardeners at Fermoys. A definite highlight!

What’s On?

 This week some of our Brixham wI members may be attending their Book Worms book group on Wednesday - unless they have decided to take a holiday month! Enjoy your reading everyone!

The sweet peas in the garden below had the most amazing scent! Thank you Arthur!

WI Twinning!

 We have a message from our twin WI at Uffculme; please tell someone on the committee if you are interested in taking tea at the donkey sanctuary and meeting up with our twins! 

Uffculme WI is going on a coach trip to Lyme Regis on the 25 September and on to the donkey sanctuary for tea on the way back. We wondered if anyone from Brixham WI would like to join us for tea in the afternoon with the donkeys. If not we will try and catch up soon. All the best. Ros Crook

What’s On?

 Our Brixham WI members have a great month ahead! To start with, we have:

Tuesday: 10.30 coffee at the delightful Lupton House café

Thursday: guided visit to Totnes Fashion and Textile Museum. Contact Lynn for details.

August 8th - a visit

 Brixham WI members! Did you enjoy the talk in July from the curator of the Totnes Fashion and Textile museum?

Are you free on August 8th?

Lynn has arranged a visit and guided tour of the museum! There are a few spaces - let her know immediately if you would like to join in. Lifts can be arranged!