The month of May has gone very quickly, despite there being five Thursdays in the month, and here I am again attempting to reduce our activities to a few paragraphs (you should be so lucky!).
We have done all the usual things, mostly in Longparish, as this was the chosen location for our walk, followed by lunch at the Cricketers and the Supper Club met at the Plough. The Lunch Club, however, ventured further afield and met at the Fox & Hounds in Crawley.
We have also participated in Federation events; firstly the Darts Tournament. Four of us travelled to the Dolphin at Hursley where we met Otterbourne W.I. This match was played in true WI camaraderie, but unfortunately we lost narrowly. Next we tested our brains in the Anton Danebury Group round of the annual quiz and tied for a credible third place.
We have also had a tour of the notorious megashed, now occupied and run by the Co-operative Group. Our guide for the day, Bruce Welsh, gave us an introduction to the company and site and there were plenty of statistics to absorb (or not!).
Our members were particularly interested to hear the building paid homage to the previous use of the site, as it was built to resemble an aviation hangar and each team is named after a fighter plane.
There is every effort to minimise vehicle movements, all waste that can be recycled is brought back to Andover for processing and grey water is used to flush toilets. Although the Co-op does not own the nearby solar panels, they do have access to them and the National Grid purchases electricity at certain times of the day. Thankfully, it was then time to move and see the operation for ourselves. We began in the ambient section where “pickers” were selecting stock for distribution to their many stores, in a temperature of 3° centigrade (very cold) and then on to the chiller where it was 1° centigrade, but we were acclimatised by now and were quite blasé about it all. No time for the freezer (thank goodness) and then it was time to leave.
It was our Annual Meeting this month and thanks were given to outgoing President Sue George and Secretary Cecilia Cotton, who were presented with bouquets as a small gesture of appreciation for all their hard work. Both gave reports of the last 12 months and Sue thanked all members for their support during her term of office. Subsequently, Kate Bennett was voted in as President and she will be ably supported by Lynne Lucas as Secretary.
We also had to discuss the NFWI’s annual resolution, which this year referred to the difficult subject of organ donation. On this occasion our members are being urged to make their own wishes known to their families.
Our next meeting is a touch risqué as Jane Arnold is going to share her experiences as an artist’s model – 7.30 p.m. in the Village Hall on 26th June if you wish to come along.
Diary Dates
12 June – Supper Club
24 June – Reading Group
26 June – Monthly Meeting – 7.30 p.m. in The Village Hall – Nude, but not Rude – Jane Arnold (Competition: A revealing item!)
28 June – Lunch Club
Sharon King
