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| January | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Today marked the 60th Anniversary of the Hyde Heath Evening WI Institute and Elaine, President, wished all members a very Happy Birthday, which will be celebrated with “Cake and Prosecco” after the talk. Margaret Dunn had made and beautifully decorated a special cake and Memorabilia was on display.
The Evening Institute was originally started to allow Mothers to attend who were occupied with children during the daytime. Eve Brown and Anne Lloyd Jones were two original members present.
Elaine then introduced our speaker for the evening, David Dennis, who narrated a fascinating and informative slide show on “African Mammal Conservation”.
The continent of Africa is about 120 times bigger than the UK and contains a huge variety of wild animals! Tragically, various animals such as the forest elephant, black rhinos and pangolins are being poached close to extinction due to slaughter for their tusks, horns and scales, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine. Loss of habitat also has a devastating effect on the wildlife, 30% of tropical forest has been lost in the last 25 years.
We saw photos and were told about the habits of very many wild animals and were witness to the relocation of about 8 female elephants and 2 young which were transported, under the care of vets, to a less populated area to avoid conflict with humans.
David and his Wife have been on many adventurous trips over the years visiting different parts of the world. He sells cards of his lovely photos in aid of conservation work in southern Africa, ERA, the Environmental Investigation Agency, and World Wide Fund for Nature’s work to protect Antarctic wildlife.
David said he felt very privileged to have given his talk on such a special evening, and we felt his talk lived up to the occasion! He kindly took a group photo of all members then joined us for the celebratory cake and a glass of Prosecco.
The next meeting will be at 7.30pm on 8th February when Mike Grundy will speak about “Queen Mary”. |
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| Gillian O'Flynn | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| February | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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President, Elaine welcomed everyone to the meeting and commented that we all had a lovely time at last month’s meeting for our 60th celebration and gave Margaret Dunn the gift of an orchid plant with grateful thanks for producing such a beautifully decorated and tasting cake.
Gillian has sent a copy of the photograph taken commemorating the event to the WI Buckinghamshire News and the Village Website.
Jamie Carter then gave us a very interesting and informative talk about “Queen Mary (the person)”, who was born in this country, her life, character and all her relatives. She was given eight forenames! She was engaged to Queen Victoria’s eldest son, who sadly died of influenza, and subsequently married his brother, the future King George V. During her reign as consort, she was a great support for her husband. She was mother of King Edward VIII (who abdicated) and King George VI, grandmother to Queen Elizabeth II and great-grandmother to King Charles III.
After the conclusion of the talk, Elaine announced that Jayne would present the four Resolutions proposed for the NFWI Annual Meeting at the Royal Albert Hall in June. 1. Dental Health Matters; 2. Impacts of poor housing conditions; 3. Say ‘no’ to gambling advertising; and 4. Improving Outcomes for Women in the Criminal justice System. These were discussed in detail by members who each voted for one Resolution and these results will go forward to the BFWI.
Margaret Dunn will be heading up the organisation of the teas and cakes at the Village Fete, which is on 11th May. A board was circulated for volunteers to help and make cakes. The Cricket Club now have supplies of cutlery and crockery.
The “Cream tea” 60th Anniversary celebration will be held at the meeting on 9th May as there is no speaker.
The BFWI Jigsaw Challenge is on 28th February and the Quiz on 22nd March. Teams have been selected for both these events.
Unfortunately, the Beechwood Group Meeting in Great Missenden has been arranged for the same evening as our Institute’s meeting on 11th April. Details were given but no members present wished to attend the Group meeting.
Those that wished to go to the 11th Annual Investigation & Discovery Day on 12 March, 10.00-16.00, at the Holy Trinity Church in Aylesbury should apply directly for tickets.
Elaine gave a reminder that the annual subscription will be due at the April meeting. This year it is set at £48 but the Committee had decided to give a small subsidy to reduce it to £45, to which members agreed.
The next meeting will be at 7.30pm on 14th March when a new speaker, Keith Moses, will talk about “Licensed to Thrill – Work & Play in the 1980’s Soviet Russia”. |
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| Gillian O'Flynn | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| March | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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It may have been raining outside, but Elaine gave a warm welcome to everyone in the hall, including speaker, Keith Muras, who gave a talk and slide show entitled “Licensed to Thrill – work and play in 1980’s Russia”.
Keith worked for the British Foreign Service and was based in Moscow from 1982-84 during the Cold War. He travelled there with his Wife and 8-year-old child, experiencing many challenges and difficulties both on the journey and after their arrival.
The accommodation was cockroach infested and they were very restricted in their movements, needing to get permission to travel anywhere. However, when Harold Wilson, in his retirement, was invited to visit by the Russian Authorities, Keith accompanied him on all the trips that had been organised for him. It was a fascinating but chilling story of the Soviet Union of Russia at that time.
Elaine then continued with the business of the meeting congratulating the team of Mary C, Anne Underwood and Pam Ruff who gained second place for the second year running, in the BFWI Jigsaw Challenge on 28 February.
Details were given for the Diamond Anniversary Celebratory Tea being held at the meeting on 9th May at the earlier start of 7pm until 9pm. There will be sandwiches, scones with cream and jam plus cakes served at tables with tea or coffee.
A Raffle costing £1 a ticket and a fun quiz will be held. A table will be available to put any memorabilia on Members may have. It was suggested that members could, for fun, wear a glittery item (diamonds?!) or something white. A commemorative photograph will also be taken.
Laminated copies of the group photo that was taken at the January meeting are available from Elaine for £1, which will be donated to our WI funds.
The Beechwood Group Spring meeting in Great Missenden clashes with our meeting on 11 April and as no-one wished to attend, Elaine will notify the Group.
A board for volunteers to sign to help with cake making or serving teas at the Hyde Heath Village Fete on 11 May was circulated.
The Board Games Group’s next meeting will be at 2pm on 19 March at Elaine’s house. Good wishes for success were given to the BFWI South Quiz team of Avril, Christine and Anne Underwood on 22 March.
Gillian reported on an excellent BFWI Investigation & Discovery Day held on 12 March at Trinity Church, Aylesbury which three members attended. There were four eloquent and eminent speakers whose subjects were connected to climate change and also three BFWI Climate Ambassadors.
The BFWI Annual Council meeting is on 25 April when Helen Fry is guest speaker. Jayne will attend if no-one else wishes to and there are Observer tickets available.
Subscriptions are due in March at the reduced amount of £45, payment to be made to Treasurer, Avril.
The next meeting will be at 7.30pm on 11 April in the village hall when Adam Smith will talk about “Country House Servants”. |
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| Gillian O'Flynn | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| April | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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President, Elaine, gave a warm welcome to all members and to our Speaker, Adam Smith who gave a very absorbing and interesting talk and slide show on “Servants of English Country Houses”.
He described Downton Abbey, which was mainly set in Highclere Castle, as being the most realistic of all the films that had been produced, except there were fewer servants in the big houses in the 18th and 19th Centuries.
Most outside staff worked all their lives on the big estates, but indoor servants, whose ages might range from teens to 30 years old, when they gained experienced could move to other large houses where they could improve their position. Some married and set up a hotel – as Mr & Mrs Claridge did in London!
There was a hierarchy of servants on the land led by the Steward or Land Agent, while inside was a House Steward or Butler in charge of male servants and a Housekeeper in charge of female staff, except the Cook who had her own kitchen maids or scullery staff. All were answerable to the Mistress of the house who managed everyone and everything, including finances.
A huge task for a new wife to cope with! Adam’s talk was illustrated with graphs, photographs and pictures of the era.
The meeting continued with the WI business. Elaine gave congratulations to our team of Avril, Anne Underwood and Christine who came very respectably midway out of 30 teams in the BFWI South Quiz on 22 March.
Details were given of the arrangements for our “Diamond Anniversary Celebratory Tea” at our next meeting at the earlier start of 7pm till 9pm on 9 May. Sandwiches, cakes and cream teas, will be provided, and Lydia has kindly offered to arrange small flower arrangements for each table.
There will be a raffle costing £1 and members were encouraged to buy more than one ticket as the funds will go towards the cost of the evening, which is being funded by our own Institute. There will also be two light-hearted quizzes.
For this special occasion members might like to wear Diamond White or something sparkly! There will be a table for Hyde Heath Evening Memorabilia and photographs, which members may like to bring for display. Elaine’s husband, Colin, will take commemorative photographs.
The next Board Games meeting will be held at 2pm on 24 April at Sylvia’s home.
Margaret Dunn asked for more volunteers and cakes to help with the teas at the Village Fete on 11 May.
Jayne will be our delegate for the BFWI Annual Council Meeting on 25 April at Holy Trinity Church, Aylesbury.
The next meeting is 7-9pm on 9 May the Diamond Anniversary Tea and the following month’s meeting is at 7.30pm on 13 June when Mike Payne will speak about “The History of Pinewood Studios”. |
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| Gillian O'Flynn | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Gillian O'Flynn | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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