WI Newsletter – September 2010

Our guest speaker, Ashley Smith from The Hawk Conservancy, had our members laughing until they cried (well almost), as he recounted stories of his childhood, mostly involving a variety of animals and their exploits. He started off by revealing that his parents had been married in Abbotts Ann Church in 1947 and then went on to explain firstly how Weyhill Zoo Park came into being, before evolving into The Hawk Conservancy that we know today. There are far too many stories to recount in this newsletter, but Ashley is an excellent speaker and knows how to tell a story, apart from which the writer was laughing so much she was rendered incapable of taking notes!

During this month our swimmers and cyclists have continued with their efforts to complete the WI Tri; unfortunately our President fell off her bicycle into a ditch, whilst taking part in the Historic Churches sponsored cycle ride, but she was undaunted and managed to complete the required cycle miles, although she subsequently had to take two days off work.

Whilst the walking element of the WI Tri had already been fulfilled, the walking group ventured to Hartley Wintney and did a five mile walk around the village with ever changing scenery. Foregoing the more usual public house, they found a delightful coffee shop in which to enjoy their lunch.

For us, of course, the month really began with the annual fete at which our members served the refreshments, which proved a popular venue all afternoon, resulting in record takings. It made all the time spent baking worthwhile and our thanks go to everyone who supported us.

We have had notelets printed featuring the wall hanging created by our members and presented to the new village school in July. Proceeds from the sale of these will be donated to the Countess of Brecknock Hospice in memory of Sheila Lockhart who was an enthusiastic participant in this project.

Our next meeting is on 28th October and our speaker is Lynn Willmott from Mottisfont Abbey who is going to be explaining to us all about the work of the National Trust and the opportunities available.

Diary Dates:

05 Oct – Danebury Group Meeting

09 Oct – Walking Group

13 Oct – Coffee Morning

20 Oct – Hampshire Federation Autumn Meeting – The Anvil, Basingstoke

28 Oct – Meeting at 7.30 p.m. in the Village Hall : Lynn Willmott from Mottisfont Abbey

02 Nov – Reading Group

04 Nov – Evening at Abbotts Ann School

13 Nov – Walking Group 25 Nov – Meeting at 7.30 p.m. in the Village Hall : Annual Meeting

Sharon King