WI Meeting Reports
May 2021
Our May meeting on zoom was another chance to catch up and share an entertaining and informative evening. It’s not the same as our village hall meetings but it’s lovely to see smiling faces and laugh together.
Deana introduced our speaker David Allen, an accomplished and experienced public speaker. From his home in Tooting, London, David adopted the persona of Hugo Bottomly Smythe and soon we were enrolled in his finishing school for Victorian ladies.
Deana introduced our speaker David Allen, an accomplished and experienced public speaker. From his home in Tooting, London, David adopted the persona of Hugo Bottomly Smythe and soon we were enrolled in his finishing school for Victorian ladies.
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Telling us to imagine ourselves, lit by the all new gas lamps and wearing a crinoline six feet in diameter under our green silk dresses, David led us on our journey into Victorian etiquette. For the upper classes it was seen as binding society together and wearing the wrong bonnet could lead to the horrors of social ostracism.
As we practiced curtsying and stirring our tea correctly, we all began to realise how lucky we are to be living today; no steel corsets crushing our internal organs to achieve a fifteen inch waist; no struggling with multiple petticoats and woollen bloomers to straddle a chamber pot and a life expectancy of more than 35-40! Our lessons taught us the art of deportment because ‘poor posture encourages tuberculosis’. We imagined a plank of wood against our backs, shoulders back, arms down, chest out and feet apart - ‘as if you were standing with the corgi between them’! Somehow David charmed us into walking around with books on our heads, sitting down with the crinoline like a butterfly and knees at the recommended 70 degrees. We learnt that our sole purpose in life was to attract a suitable husband by being alluring in our clothes, horses and carriages. We should know how to sing, paint watercolours and draw. Even Greek and Latin were admired although we should never show off. In a very modern advertising section, David offered us an excellent skin cream for the prevention of wrinkles, pimples and freckles. This healthy pale skin would be achieved with an ingredient mined in Devon- arsenic! |
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Back to our lessons and we learned never to discuss politics or religion as it would cause us colic, hiccups and wind. We may never show our teeth even our expensive hippopotamus ivory dentures. Despite a 10 course dinner including mock turtle soup and lark pie, we could eat only very sparingly- remember the corset!
We enjoyed learning about the language of fans; how to flirt or discourage; how to ask with both hands on a closed fan, ‘Do you love me?’ and how to open and close the fan to say, ‘Kiss me’! |
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Finally we looked forward to married life managing the house, instructing the servants and producing well behaved, silent children!
Pam thanked David on our behalf and we agreed that using zoom had allowed us to have a great variety of speakers. We had reports from our wildlife and health groups and look forward to to our next meeting on June 3rd when we will hear about the training of women secret agents during the war.
Visitors and new members are always welcome. Please contact Victoria for details. 07773365992v.gemmell@hotmail.co.uk
Pam thanked David on our behalf and we agreed that using zoom had allowed us to have a great variety of speakers. We had reports from our wildlife and health groups and look forward to to our next meeting on June 3rd when we will hear about the training of women secret agents during the war.
Visitors and new members are always welcome. Please contact Victoria for details. 07773365992v.gemmell@hotmail.co.uk
April 2021
Our April meeting saw us meeting on zoom again and we’re getting better and faster at the format.
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It looks as if we’ll be zooming in May and perhaps June but then who knows... a garden catch up in June? Road map and second vaccination allowing of course. Our president, Deana, introduced Analiza Jones whose topic was Making Hand Woven Bags in the Philippines. Analiza spoke with charm and enthusiasm about her childhood home on one of the Philippines’ over 2,000 populated islands. She showed us pictures of beautiful white sand beaches and bountiful crops. |
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She described the Philippine culture of using everything, sopineapples are eaten, the squeezed pulp is fed to pigs, the crown is planted to make the next crop and the leaf fibres are woven into very fine shirts for men while slices of the stalk are hand woven for fans. Less well known to us is the abaca plantain farmed for the fibres in the stem for paper and rope which was very popular with the American navy. More recently thin layers of the stalk are used to make bags and we saw videos of men and women stripping the stems and separating off the pulp from the fibres with scant regard for health and safety considerations. |
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After sun drying, the fibres are sold at the market and progress to joiners who combine them into long strands which are then spun into balls. Some weavers use hand looms to make cloth from fine abaca fibres and cotton and Analiza showed us a variety of other weaving techniques to make a whole range of beautiful bags with beaded, wooden or rope handles.
We also saw use of the butal palm tree and large family groups working together outdoors or in caves using natural or synthetic dyes originally fixed with male urine. After time in a large can over an open fire the fibres are dried on the ground, pounded to make it more pliable then hand woven into bright bags in the equivalent of ‘Weave and Natter’ groups. |
Analiza illustrated her talk with power points, maps, fibre samples and lovely colourful bags, shoes and mats. She told us that the pandemic has caused huge problems for production and export and also that young Filipinos are not keen to continue these traditional skills for as little as £5-7/week so now they are training prisoners to take up the crafts.
Analiza welcomed questions then Pam thanked her for her information packed and fascinating talk.
Our meeting continued with reports from our health, wildlife and Go Wild groups. Looking ahead we have a talk from David Allan on May 5th on ‘Manners Please, Dearest...’ exploring Victorian etiquette. We’ve been asked to bring a book and a fan so the photos may be fun! In June we will learn about Training Female WW1 Secret Agents with Bernard O’Connor. Visitors and new members are welcome. Please contact Victoria Gemmell v.gemmell@hotmail.co.uk 07773365992 for further details.
Analiza welcomed questions then Pam thanked her for her information packed and fascinating talk.
Our meeting continued with reports from our health, wildlife and Go Wild groups. Looking ahead we have a talk from David Allan on May 5th on ‘Manners Please, Dearest...’ exploring Victorian etiquette. We’ve been asked to bring a book and a fan so the photos may be fun! In June we will learn about Training Female WW1 Secret Agents with Bernard O’Connor. Visitors and new members are welcome. Please contact Victoria Gemmell v.gemmell@hotmail.co.uk 07773365992 for further details.
March 2021
Our March meeting took place on zoom again. We’re really looking forward to being together ‘in real life’ again but in the meantime we’re making the most of the technology available and it’s lovely to see everyone albeit on screen.
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Being virtual allowed us to have a distanced speaker, Sarah Slater who is a Guide Lecturer at Historic Royal Palaces and a costumed tour guide at Hampton Court Palace. Sarah spoke with enthusiasm and a huge depth of knowledge about ‘Sex, Secrets, Scandal and Salacious Gossip or the Royal Court, 1660 – 1830’. |
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As well as supporting her talk with photos, royal family trees and many other artefacts,Sarah wore a very beautiful, home-made evening gown in the style a well off lady would wear over her stays, corset and shift – the latter being the only item of underwear a lady had. Knickers we learned, were not worn till WWI, though previously daring dancers of the waltz would wear drawers unsewn at the crotch but covering the upper leg for modesty. Sarah’s hair was styled as according to the period and she wore pearls to show off her wealth and virginity. Built in 1515 by Cardinal Wolsey Hampton Court was given to Henry VIII in the hope of atoning for failing to secure him a divorce. It came into its own as the home of the monarch in the reign of Charles 11 and continued till George 3rd. The 1660s restoration period involved many parties and partners with Charles’ seven acknowledged titled mistresses living with him and his wife at Hampton Court Palace and several untitled mistresses were set up nearby in their own homes. The next Monarch was a double act between William and Mary who are both known to have same sex partners and so the stories unfolded at dizzying speed! |
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Sarah introduced us to some of the noble and sometimes infamous families, including the Keppels, Churchills and others who are ancestors of our current Prime Minister and Duchess of Cornwall.
Amongst other things we learned about ‘Women of Fashion: Harris’s List of London’s Prostitutes’ which sold 8,000 copies in 1791, the origin of some of our slang terms, the fact that the rich lady’s white skin, often obtained by white lead-based makeup, with blue veins painted on is the origin of the term blue blooded to denote rank. The whiteness was further highlighted by black beauty spots sometimes in profusion to cover pox marks. Sarah welcomed questions then Deana thanked her for her information packed and fascinating talk. We had a round up from the sub groups working on the topics of women’s health and a wildlife friendly community and made plans for the next phase. |
Febuary 2021
... and it was lovely to see everyone albeit in a small rectangle!
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Our speaker was Charlotte Hollins who, with her brother Ben, run Fordhall Farm a Community Land Initiative just outside Market Drayton. |
We were all so impressed by Charlotte’s enterprise, determination and hard work as she explained about their struggle to fight off developers from the struggling farm her family had run for generations.
Nestled as it is in a meander of the river Tern with poor thin soil, Fordhall farmers had relied on chemical fertilisers which washed out the soil and left it increasingly dead and unproductive.
Gradually Charlotte’s father, Arthur, recognised that the contrast between the sterile land he had farmed since he was 14 and the surrounding vibrant countryside was the diverse ecosystem and world of microorganisms within the soil- more in a teaspoon of really healthy soil than the number of people on earth!
Slowly he worked out which plants protected and improved the soil, settling in organic matter where worms and other invertebrates could combine to restore the heart to the land. As a pioneer of organic farming he very slowly began to gain business by selling premium milk, yoghurt and ice cream direct to the public.
Nestled as it is in a meander of the river Tern with poor thin soil, Fordhall farmers had relied on chemical fertilisers which washed out the soil and left it increasingly dead and unproductive.
Gradually Charlotte’s father, Arthur, recognised that the contrast between the sterile land he had farmed since he was 14 and the surrounding vibrant countryside was the diverse ecosystem and world of microorganisms within the soil- more in a teaspoon of really healthy soil than the number of people on earth!
Slowly he worked out which plants protected and improved the soil, settling in organic matter where worms and other invertebrates could combine to restore the heart to the land. As a pioneer of organic farming he very slowly began to gain business by selling premium milk, yoghurt and ice cream direct to the public.
He taught Charlotte and Ben about his three key principles of: diversity of crops, rotation of land use and breeding native species suited to our climate. However they also watched his repeated, exhausting and costly battles as a tenant farmer to fend off eviction following the construction, right on their boundary, of the huge Muller factory. This meant that the land’s value to developers shot up and when their father died, Ben and Charlotte at 19 and 21 expected to lose the farm within a year.
The rest of her talk described their determined efforts during 2005 to secure the farm, raise £800,000 in six months, engage the community, encourage volunteers and publicise their scheme to become a Community Land Initiative by selling shares at £50.
We saw photos of the run down property they inherited and Fordhall Farm as it is now providing employment to over 100 local people and, in normal times, providing enjoyment, exercise and excellent food to hundreds of visitors.
Visit their website www.fordhallfarm.com and plan your post Covid visit.
Our next meeting is making the most of meeting remotely as we are going to hear from a room guide at Hampton Court Palace. The title of the talk is intriguing - Sex, Secrets and Salacious Gossip at the Royal Court!
Visitors and new members are always welcome. Please contact Victoria for the zoom details.
07773364992
v.gemmell@hotmail.co.uk
The rest of her talk described their determined efforts during 2005 to secure the farm, raise £800,000 in six months, engage the community, encourage volunteers and publicise their scheme to become a Community Land Initiative by selling shares at £50.
We saw photos of the run down property they inherited and Fordhall Farm as it is now providing employment to over 100 local people and, in normal times, providing enjoyment, exercise and excellent food to hundreds of visitors.
Visit their website www.fordhallfarm.com and plan your post Covid visit.
Our next meeting is making the most of meeting remotely as we are going to hear from a room guide at Hampton Court Palace. The title of the talk is intriguing - Sex, Secrets and Salacious Gossip at the Royal Court!
Visitors and new members are always welcome. Please contact Victoria for the zoom details.
07773364992
v.gemmell@hotmail.co.uk
January 2021
Trefonen WI
Well, here we are again, a little older and a little colder! Happily we’ve managed to stay busy and stay in touch with each other despite the difficult times. On a very positive note, the first of our members has had her vaccination so it definitely feels as if we’re moving forward.
Since the last report we’ve had two zoom meetings and we’re getting quite adventurous, moving into breakout groups for Christmas quiz teams and screen sharing to discuss the topics for the campaign focus later this year. This year we had to hold our usual Christmas party on screen but we managed to distribute hyacinth bulbs and glass jars to everyone to allow us to enjoy the first signs of Spring as we watch them grow.
At our January meeting K guided us through the choice of five resolutions which could become the subject of our national WI campaign for 2021. In a very successful discussion full of ideas and personal stories, we agreed that all five are very worthy issues.
The first two proposals relate to very important, but perhaps overlooked, topics in women’s health: ovarian cancer and coronary heart disease. The statistics are very concerning and much needs to be done on raising awareness of the subtle symptoms and what treatments should be on offer. Resolution 3 asks for the WI to join campaigns to combat the systemic racism and discrimination faced in a wide range of settings including the justice system, employment, education and healthcare. Resolutions 4 and 5 both relate to the preservation of our amazing natural environment- which we’ve all enjoyed so much over the months of the pandemic. The first asks us to create wildlife- friendly communities and the second focuses specifically on stopping the destruction of peat bogs to tackle climate change.
Each member has to vote for one resolution and the votes are tallied nationally to decide the campaign focus. With nearly 250,000 members nationwide, the WI has an important voice. Locally we have decided that there are actions we can take to raise awareness on women’s health and we will be working on this later in the year. Initially our focus will be on helping to create wildlife friendly communities. This fits in well with our ongoing tree project and we hope to involve as many local people as possible (particularly children). Watch this space!
In February we are looking forward to a zoom talk about Fordhall Organic Farm near Whitchurch which is owned by the community and majors on wildlife awareness and education. Our March meeting will also be virtual which allows us to have a guide from Hampton Court Palace to tell us about ‘Sex, Secrets, Scandal and Salacious Gossip of the Royal Court’!
If you would like to join us for these meetings, please contact Victoria on 07773364992 v.gemmell@hotmail.co.uk for the details. We’re always happy to welcome visitors and new members.
Well, here we are again, a little older and a little colder! Happily we’ve managed to stay busy and stay in touch with each other despite the difficult times. On a very positive note, the first of our members has had her vaccination so it definitely feels as if we’re moving forward.
Since the last report we’ve had two zoom meetings and we’re getting quite adventurous, moving into breakout groups for Christmas quiz teams and screen sharing to discuss the topics for the campaign focus later this year. This year we had to hold our usual Christmas party on screen but we managed to distribute hyacinth bulbs and glass jars to everyone to allow us to enjoy the first signs of Spring as we watch them grow.
At our January meeting K guided us through the choice of five resolutions which could become the subject of our national WI campaign for 2021. In a very successful discussion full of ideas and personal stories, we agreed that all five are very worthy issues.
The first two proposals relate to very important, but perhaps overlooked, topics in women’s health: ovarian cancer and coronary heart disease. The statistics are very concerning and much needs to be done on raising awareness of the subtle symptoms and what treatments should be on offer. Resolution 3 asks for the WI to join campaigns to combat the systemic racism and discrimination faced in a wide range of settings including the justice system, employment, education and healthcare. Resolutions 4 and 5 both relate to the preservation of our amazing natural environment- which we’ve all enjoyed so much over the months of the pandemic. The first asks us to create wildlife- friendly communities and the second focuses specifically on stopping the destruction of peat bogs to tackle climate change.
Each member has to vote for one resolution and the votes are tallied nationally to decide the campaign focus. With nearly 250,000 members nationwide, the WI has an important voice. Locally we have decided that there are actions we can take to raise awareness on women’s health and we will be working on this later in the year. Initially our focus will be on helping to create wildlife friendly communities. This fits in well with our ongoing tree project and we hope to involve as many local people as possible (particularly children). Watch this space!
In February we are looking forward to a zoom talk about Fordhall Organic Farm near Whitchurch which is owned by the community and majors on wildlife awareness and education. Our March meeting will also be virtual which allows us to have a guide from Hampton Court Palace to tell us about ‘Sex, Secrets, Scandal and Salacious Gossip of the Royal Court’!
If you would like to join us for these meetings, please contact Victoria on 07773364992 v.gemmell@hotmail.co.uk for the details. We’re always happy to welcome visitors and new members.
November 2020
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November saw us break new ground with a very successful zoom meeting. Our speaker was Alison Utting from Ellesmere telling us about the life and times of Eglantyne Jebb a local passionate and effective philanthropist and campaigner who 100 years ago profoundly shaped international opinion.
Alison was a truly engaging and well prepared speaker. As part of her research she had visited Eglantyne’s homes and interviewed family members, gathering fascinating photos, maps and sketches to illustrate her ‘Lantern Lecture’.
We learned that in 1876 Eglantyne was born in Ellesmere into a gifted and creative family who all strived to improve social conditions nationally and worldwide. Alison painted a picture of an idyllic childhood with staff, animals and extremely capable and caring parents. Her mother, for instance, set up a school in Ellesmere where she taught local children craft skills with the initiative developing to over 500 schools in what became the Home Arts and Industries Association.
As well as opportunities and encouragement she experienced profound grief with the early death of her father and younger brother, frustration with her inability as a woman to graduate despite excelling at university and disappointment in finding herself unsuited to her chosen profession as a teacher.
Her life path became clear in 1919, the year after the armistice but with deep distrust and animosity still rife across Europe, when Eglantyne and her sister Dorothy faced a packed Albert Hall. The crowd had come armed with fruit and veg to pelt these ‘traitor sisters’ who were daring to challenge the nation to consider the enemy as human beings and send aid to the starving population of Europe. Such was Eglantyne’s fiery persuasive style and skilled use of photographs and life stories that the audience rushed to donate and spread the word. Soon her supporters ranged from AA Milne to the Pope and included the Miners’ Union who collected £2 million and Sir Archibald Bodkin, the judge who oversaw the court case intended to silence her.
To pursue her aim Eglantyne set up Save The Children to ‘help children impoverished and displaced by the Great War’. She was determined that it should be entirely humanitarian and not become political so she based it in Geneva, from where she travelled and campaigned tirelessly, walking the mountains to restore her strength. Eglantyne also wrote ‘The Declaration of the Rights of the Child’ which was adopted by the League of Nations, declaring her aim that individual and national attitudes should change to the extent that Save the Children would become redundant. Although she died at only 52 years old her work endured, changing the lives of millions and her Declaration has currently been signed by every country in the United Nations except one
Alison was a truly engaging and well prepared speaker. As part of her research she had visited Eglantyne’s homes and interviewed family members, gathering fascinating photos, maps and sketches to illustrate her ‘Lantern Lecture’.
We learned that in 1876 Eglantyne was born in Ellesmere into a gifted and creative family who all strived to improve social conditions nationally and worldwide. Alison painted a picture of an idyllic childhood with staff, animals and extremely capable and caring parents. Her mother, for instance, set up a school in Ellesmere where she taught local children craft skills with the initiative developing to over 500 schools in what became the Home Arts and Industries Association.
As well as opportunities and encouragement she experienced profound grief with the early death of her father and younger brother, frustration with her inability as a woman to graduate despite excelling at university and disappointment in finding herself unsuited to her chosen profession as a teacher.
Her life path became clear in 1919, the year after the armistice but with deep distrust and animosity still rife across Europe, when Eglantyne and her sister Dorothy faced a packed Albert Hall. The crowd had come armed with fruit and veg to pelt these ‘traitor sisters’ who were daring to challenge the nation to consider the enemy as human beings and send aid to the starving population of Europe. Such was Eglantyne’s fiery persuasive style and skilled use of photographs and life stories that the audience rushed to donate and spread the word. Soon her supporters ranged from AA Milne to the Pope and included the Miners’ Union who collected £2 million and Sir Archibald Bodkin, the judge who oversaw the court case intended to silence her.
To pursue her aim Eglantyne set up Save The Children to ‘help children impoverished and displaced by the Great War’. She was determined that it should be entirely humanitarian and not become political so she based it in Geneva, from where she travelled and campaigned tirelessly, walking the mountains to restore her strength. Eglantyne also wrote ‘The Declaration of the Rights of the Child’ which was adopted by the League of Nations, declaring her aim that individual and national attitudes should change to the extent that Save the Children would become redundant. Although she died at only 52 years old her work endured, changing the lives of millions and her Declaration has currently been signed by every country in the United Nations except one