Women's Institute
STONY STRATFORD WOMEN’S INSTITUTE
We meet in the afternoon on the first Tuesday of the month at 2.15pm in the Scout Hall, Vicarage Road.
We seem to have been busier than ever during the past year. Our speakers have included Leukaemia survivor, Hazel, who travelled overland to China inspired by Gladys Aylward of the Inn of the Sixth Happiness, Yvonne Bell showed us her wonderful hand painted silk vestments, Peggy Verral convinced us that we all could paint and draw and we learned about local and World War II history. At our garden meeting in August we played petanque (or boules) and ate scones with strawberries and cream.
In July our speaker, Philip Warner, told us about Florence Nightingale and Claydon House, followed later in the month, by a visit to Claydon House, and in September we had Sally Botwright, a blue guide, who gave us a potted history of the Olympics as a prelude to a day in London with her, touring the 2012 Olympics venues. In May we filled a coach to visit Waterperry Gardens on a lovely sunny day, we almost filled the luggage compartment with plants for our own gardens on the return journey.
Some members helped with the campaign to save Stony Stratford Library which tied in well with the resolution passed at the National Federation AGM supporting local libraries. Our Craft group held an exhibition in Stony Library in May and hopes to hold another one next year.
We were invited to take over one of the garden plots to the rear of York House and a few of our more energetic members dug and planted vegetables with excellent results. We are looking forward to more successes in 2012. Some of our members are volunteers with Stony in Bloom so we have honed our gardening skills this year.
In June we organised the teas for Stony Open Gardens, we must have made thousands of cups of tea because the weather was almost overwhelmingly hot. This gave us practice for the tea and cakes afternoon which we provided for the Bucks Executive Committee Roadshow in July.
All these events, combined with participation in County events and outings, our “Ladies who Lunch” and the Three Counties Quiz, have meant that time has flown by. We are working, now, on next year’s programme and have already some ideas for speakers, events and outings. Why not come along to one of our meetings as a visitor and perhaps you may decide to join us.
Contact Janet Baxter (01908 313677) or Gill Williams (01908 563684) or e-mail Gill.williams@fsml.co.uk for further details.
