Hannington W.I.
www.hanningtonladieswi.weebly.com
Contact: Mrs Pat Wythe 01635 297609

WI Ladies 1958

WI members & guests 2008 

We would love some more Hannington ladies to join in with us at our interesting meetings.   Yes, we do have some mature ladies, who are young at heart, but we really need some new and maybe younger blood to join us for more ideas to take us on through this new millennium.

We are fairly informal; we do not sing Jerusalem at the opening of the meetings, we have theatre and cinema visits, go walking, ending in a pub lunch; enter competitions with other local WI’s such as skittles and quizzes.   We also band together and help each other out if needed and you also have an immediate new group of friends.

                                                        Why not come and give us a try, we don’t bite!

                                                         You would be most welcome.

                                                Contact: Pat Wythe on 01635 297609

 

Programme 2009


5th November

A.G.M.


3rd December   Christmas Celebration

We believe in being active and that a good walk deserves…

 

 

 

A small group of us

on the

Nuthanger walk

Ecchinswell

in April 2009







…Lunch and a drink at a pub

 

 

 

 

And then

enjoying lunch

and a

drink afterwards

Jack the Ripper Walk
with David Padwick as our guide
(Maggie Hughes son)

We started our evening off at the Blind Beggar pub in Whitechapel Road where in 1966 Ronnie Kray shot George Cornell, a member of the Richardson Brothers gang, as the duke box played “The sun doesn’t shine anymore”   As we sat with a drink, we listened to the story of the Kray brothers who used to frequent the Blind Beggar as their local.

Reginald "Reggie and Ronald "Ronnie" Kray were twins and were organised crime leaders dominating London's East End during the 1950s and 1960s and were involved in protection rackets, arson, torture, armed robberies and also the murder of Jack "the hat" McVitie and implicated in Frank Mitchell’s death.   As night club owners they mixed with celebrities such as Barbara Windsor, Diana Dors, even Frank Sinatra, and became celebrities in their own right in television interviews.   Arrested in 1968, convicted to life imprisonment in 1969, Ronnie in Broadmore where he died in 1995, Reggie was released on compassionate grounds in 2000, a month before he died of cancer.

There was a strange incident while we were in the pub; some of us used the men’s toilet!   As there was only one ladies toilet and nine ladies, and all having had a drink and a two hour walk ahead of us, it would have taken a long time for everyone to visit the loo, so David very kindly offered to guard the door to the men's so that Ollie, Maggie, Pauline and myself could use it.

We then set off for our Ripper walk with David giving us very good information on the local sights, as he started his police career in Whitechapel and knows the area well.   David believes that “Jack the Ripper” was only responsible for five murders, Mary Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catharine Eddowes and Mary Kelly.   We visited each place that these murders occurred and David gave us all the gruesome details of the victims, the people who discovered them and the police action at the time. 

On the walk  we visited the Ten Bells, a victorian public house in Spitalfields that is notable for its association with two victims of Jack the Ripper; Annie Chapman and Mary Kelly, to see the copies of the ripper articles from the London Illustrated News that were on the walls of the staircase leading to the toilets in the cellar

We then walked down Brick Lane to the Clifton restaurant for a delicious curry which we all enjoyed and discovered that the Clifton is a regular haunt of Ken Livingstone, the ex mayor of London.

Barbara Macmurchy

Hannington W.I. Report for October 2009

We were delighted to welcome talented Hannington resident, Patricia Collins to our October Meeting. She brought along her spinning wheel, and various items of spinning equipment, and not only gave us a demonstration of her spinning skills, but also told us a little of the history of spinning. 

October was a busy month for members. We entered The W.I. Group Competition in Basingstoke, which involved producing four different desserts using apples, and also the Group Skittles competition. On October 15th, nine members enjoyed a fascinating evening in Whitechapel, London, on a Jack the Ripper Tour. Our guide was David Padwick, Maggie Hughes son. 

If you think you might be interested in being a member of The W.I. Do come along to one of our meetings, you can be assured of a warm and friendly welcome. We meet at Hannington Village Hall on the first Thursday of every month.   

Pat Wythe

 

Hannington W.I. Report for September 2009

The WI met on September 3rd in Hannington Village Hall.
Judith Emtwiste treated us to a very informative presentation about the Jubillee Trust, an organisation which provides working holidays for able and disabled people, on the Lord Nelson, a tall ship. Happy hour is the time they clean the decks and the heads; clambering up the masts to stow the sails was the fun time, so it all sounded rather onerous.

We are involved in numerous interesting activities, for example trips to the Isle of Wight and "Jack the Rippers" London, also a visit to the "Watermill Theatre" and a local cinema.

If this is the sort of thing you like to do why not join us.   The next meeting is on October 1st at 7.45pm in Hannington Village Hall, when Patricia Collins is talking to us about "Spinning".

Elisabeth Cubbin

Hannington W.I. Report for August 2009

All were entertained and educated during our meeting in August.   Our speaker (a larger than life character) arriving in the uniform of a beefeater – not the ceremonial dress but the day to day black and red with a large hat to match!   This he had worn when on duty at ‘The Tower’.  

He gave us great insight into the history of Medieval Bishops and their promiscuity, to the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Poll Tax.   He surprised us when telling of the origin of Nursery Rhymes such as when fair maidens put chalk on their faces, they were said to be ‘Goosed’ – hence the wording of the rhyme ‘Goosey, Goosey Gander’!   Another example being Mary Tudor’s background, which gave rise to the rhyme ‘Mary, Mary, quite contrary’.   In his own inimitable way, the Speaker brought us up to date history wise, ending with a reference to the Ravens – when Blue Peter named one ‘Ronald Raven’!

Pauline Baldwin

Summer Walk on the Isle of Wight

A group of W.I. ladies set off from Hannington to catch the train to Yarmouth, Isle of Wight via the ferry from Lymington.    It was a very blustery day and everyone wondered if the ferry crossing would be rough but luckily, with the new larger ferry, the sailing was very smooth.   Once in Yarmouth, we set off on our walk, following the former railway line past the old mill house to Freshwater along the edge of the Yar Estuary, over the causeway and past All Saints Church, one of the oldest churches on the island, and to the lovely Red Lion pub on the edge of Freshwater where we stopped for lunch.

After lunch we set off via the Afton Marsh nature reserve to Freshwater Bay where we sat on the seafront and watched a lone wind surfer fighting the rollers and coming off worse.   Although the wind was strong, the sun was very warm.   Catching the hopper bus and sitting in the open air on the top, we passed the Needles and Alum Bay and alighted at Totland for a walk down to the sea.   As the tide was in, we could not go for a swim, a great pity, so walked along the prom and had refreshing ice creams while watching out for the sea spray coming over the wall.  We returned to Yarmouth via the bus and caught the ferry and train back to Basingstoke.   Arriving back in Hannington, we found that we had been very lucky to have missed all the rain that had fallen during the day here.

Barbara Macmurchy

Hannington W.I. Report for July 2009

In June, twelve members visited the lovely Watermill Theatre for an excellent buffet style lunch and afterwards, duly sated, saw the production of one of Noël Coward’s best comedies, Blithe Spirit, which he wrote in seven days while on holiday in Portmeirion, Wales in 1941.   The play is about a couple who invite a local medium to supper but they get far more than they bargained for.   It soon appears, however, that the briskly fantastic and madly sincere medium, has inadvertently summoned up the spirit of Charles' first wife who makes herself scandalously at home in her husband's pleasant country house, and intends to cause as much mischief as possible.
Blithe Spirit remained the longest running comedy in the history of the British theatre for three decades.

Our July meeting saw pairs of members walking around Kingclere trying to answer clues in a quiz walk.   It was a very hot evening which everyone just about managed to cope with, especially with the thought of refreshments at the end.   Although no one got all the questions correct, everyone enjoyed it and now has a different view of Kingsclere.

After finishing, everyone returned to Hannington Village hall where they were greeted with a glass of Pimm’s and a buffet of hams, cheeses, pâté, salad, bread and strawberries and cream.  

Barbara Macmurchy


 

Hannington W.I. Report for June 2009

The WI met on June 4th in Freemantle Farm by kind invitation of Mary Brown. Mr and Mrs M Sheppard treated us to a very informative presentation about "Beatrix Potter". Unfortunately the timing of the meeting meant that we missed the television programme about the "Calendar girls".
However, whilst our group may well be reluctant to take off our clothes for charity, we are nevertheless involved in numerous interesting activities, for example trips to the Isle of Wight and "Jack the Rippers" London, also a visit to the "Watermill Theatre" and a local cinema.    If this is the sort of thing you like to do why not join us on July 2nd at 7 pm outside the "Crown Pub" in Kingsclere for a summer quiz walk around the village, followed by a ploughman’s lunch in Hannington Village Hall.

Elisabeth Cubbin

Hannington W.I. Report for May 2009

Richard Pettifer gave a talk with powerpoint slides outlining the rewards and challenges of keeping honey bees.  He is relatively new to bee-keeping but his enthusiasm was evident as was his fascination with the lives of these crucially important insects.  A typical hive houses 1 queen, approximately 40,000 sterile female workers, and a few thousand male drone bees.  Unsurprisingly, it is the females that do most of the work.  In the summer they live for around 6 weeks, involved at first with housekeeping, then nursing, feeding the pupae, guarding the hive and finally out foraging for pollen and nectar.  Their sting doesn’t develop until they are 4 weeks old.  The drones’ single purpose is to mate, although they do work at keeping the hive warm and ventilated.  Much still remains to be discovered about how bees communicate and navigate and there is now great urgency with regard to finding out why they are dying in large numbers.  Richard talked about Colony Collapse Disorder, Varroa mite and other diseases and he also felt that climate change could be affecting which pollens and nectars they are able to collect to feed themselves through the winter.   He de-bunked some theories such as mobile phone masts causing lack of navigation skills.  Members of the WI then discussed what they had learned and voted in support of the Resolution that will go forward to the annual conference – “This meeting urges HM Government to increase funding into research into bee health”.   

Marion Hughes

WI Walk

On a lovely sunny spring morning, a few members met and set off to do the Nuthanger walk in Ecchinswell.   It was a most enjoyable walk with wonderful views of Watership Down, lots of new lambs and swathes of bluebells in the woods.   We stopped at the Royal Oak for coffee before returning to the Vine in Hannington for lunch.   Later in the month we visited the Hexagon theatre in Reading to see the Sainsbury singers present an amateur production of Blitz!   Set in the East End of London in 1940 amid the bombing, it told of the life around Mrs Blitztein, her family and neighbours, through many situations, many humorous, some tragic.   It featured many hit songs including The Day after Tomorrow and Mums and Dads.   The musical director of the Orchestra was Tony Wythe of Hannington Silver Band and also there playing with the band was WI member Shelagh Wythe.

Barbara Macmurchy


About the WI

The WI movement began at Stoney Creek in Canada in 1897 when Adelaide Hoodless addressed a meeting for the wives of members of the Farmers' Institute. The first British WI meeting took place on 16 September 1915 at Llanfairpwll on Anglesey in North Wales. The WI was originally set up in the UK to revitalise rural communities and to encourage women to become more involved in producing food during the First World War. 

Since then the aims have broadened and is now the largest women’s organisation in the UK. The WI celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2005 and currently have 205,000 members in 6,500 WIs.

The WI has close international links through affiliation to the Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW), and through this has links with several million women in 70 countries.

All kinds of opportunities for all kinds of women

The WI is as relevant today as it was when it was launched in 1915. And it's just as radical. The WI is here to enable women like you to 'make a difference' - to the life you lead, to the community you're a part of and to the world you live in.

The WI is a diverse and multifaceted organisation. Its concerns range from climate change to cooking, from crafts to community projects, from healthy eating to fairtrade fortnights, from traditional values to new friendships.

Membership of the WI offers a whole range of benefits including:

•          Membership of your local WI and access to county and national federation activities

•          Eight issues a year of the WI membership magazine WI Life

(In keeping with our eco-friendly philosophy, the magazine is printed on 100 per cent recycled paper, using vegetable, rather than chemical-based, inks. The magazine wrapping is completely biodegradable.)

•          The chance to attend a wide range of courses at Denman College, the WI residential college    near  Oxford

•          having your voice heard: making a real impact on local, national and international issues

•          The opportunity to learn, develop and pass on new skills

•          Belonging to something special: making friends, working as a team, having fun.

 
WI History in Campaigns

Over the years we have campaigned on a wide range of issues that matter to women and their communities, including Equal Pay in 1942, Breast Cancer Screening in 1975, Aids in 1986 and the introduction of new legislation EU to reduce the threat of hazardous chemicals in everyday products in 2006. Today our campaigns range from climate change and food waste to ending violence against women.

Every year WI members have the chance to put forward issues or ‘resolutions’ that they would like the national body to campaign on. These resolutions go through a year long debating and consultation process by the membership. Once the resolutions have been short-listed by the membership a select number are chosen for discussion at the AGM in June. If passed, these then become mandates and form the basis of campaigning activities in the years ahead. This process ensures that our campaigns have been through a democratic process involving all members and come from the grassroots of the organisation.

Current Campaigns and Projects

                                                No More Violence Against Women Campaign

The WI is part of the End Violence Against Women campaigning coalition which aims to create a world in which women and girls are afforded their basic human rights and can live free from violence and its threat.    

                                                    Love Food Champions Project

The WI's Love Food Champions are working in their communities to help individuals reduce food waste.

                                                Women Reaching Women Project

The NFWI is bringing global poverty back to the top of its agenda. Together with Oxfam GB and the Everyone Foundation the NFWI is running a three-year project on the links between development, women and climate change.

                                                     Climate Change Campaign

Climate change is already having an adverse impact on women across the world. Find out how you can take action to secure a clean, green future for everyone.

Other Campaigning Issues

                                                        Community Hospitals

At our 2007 AGM, the WI passed a resolution calling on the Government to stop the closure of community hospitals. WI members are calling for measures to protect these services and support our local communities.

                                                         Renewable Energy

The Energy Saving Trust (EST) has joined with the NFWI to offer WI members support on all aspects of domestic energy efficiency and renewable energy.    

Hannington W.I.

Jam and Jerusalem?

Contrary to what some believe, we do not sing Jerusalem at our
meetings, but we could…If you wanted to

We do not teach you to make jam at our meetings, but we could…If you wanted it

We have not posed naked for a charity calendar yet, but we could…We do have game ladies

We believe in being active and that a good walk deserves…Lunch and a drink at a pub

We believe we should keep up-to-date with the world of film…We visit the cinema monthly

We believe in laughing by entering competitions…Such as skittles and quizzes

We believe in being entertained…By having interesting speakers at meetings

We enjoy days out…having dinners…garden parties…and having fun

Would you like to see if you would enjoy our company…go on…give us a try…we don’t bite