WIs in the community

East Hunsbury WI had their pop-up cafe at the Christmas Fayre at the Library East Hunsbury on 30th November, around 1300 people visited and they sold out.

WI member Jenny John (left) and her sister with a craft stall at the Hunsbury Library Christmas Fayre.

Great Doddington WI Committee members sold homemade cakes and produce at the Great Doddington Club craft fair.

On Thursday 8 August 2024, they held an unveiling ceremony when the ribbon was cut by Councillor Tom Partridge-Underwood, with Councillor Martin Griffiths and Councillor Jon-Paul Carr (Mayor of Wellingborough)  President, Jill Russell, gave a short speech thanking the councillors for their incredibly generous donations.

It is hoped that the Bleed Control Kit will never need to be used as a result of knife crime, but it is available as a life saving measure to stem the flow of blood in any context.

Decorated by Hunsbury Hill WI Knit and Natter group for the 80th celebration of the D Day landings

Blisworth WI  Meet Betsy Bun and Bertha Baker (in real life long-serving committee member, Jane Underwood!), just two of the 35+ scarecrows around the village. Despite inclement weather the scarecrow festival was a great success.

NDAS (Northamptonshire Domestic Abuse Service) gave an inciteful presentation to Irchester WI about domestic violence and the role of NDAS in supporting survivors and educating perpetrators. The proceeds of a monthly ‘bring and buy’ stall go to support NDAS, and members were delighted to present them with a cheque for over £220. Members were very generous with their donated toiletries and sanitary products, to support those who have to flee their homes with nothing.
Pictured, left to right: Lynda Ridpath, organiser of the bring and buy stall, Gemma Sharmer, NDAS - holding the cheque, and Sheila Walker, President

The Great Big Green Week 8-16 June*

Towcester Evening WI had a very successful Great Big Green Week.  The WI used money raised from their Show the Love Environmental Fair, held earlier in the year, to help various local projects:

· purchasing compost for Life @ no. 27 (helping people with their mental health) based in Towcester https://lifeatno27.com/

· purchasing electrical equipment for the Towcester Repair Shop at the Renew 169 Café. https://www.renew169.org.uk/

· donating money to Towcester Community Larder to help with the fight against Food Waste https://www.towfood.org.uk/

· donating money for a Theatre Production of “Rita Ranger’s Animal Amble”, held at the Towcester Watermeadows, to educate young children about our environment https://www.facebook.com/TowcesterEveningWI1971/

The theatre performances on Saturday were certainly a challenge with the weather – thunder, lightning, hailstones and heavy showers - but the show must go on and it was a great success!

Our thanks go to West Northamptonshire Council for leading this event and for the Laugh Out Loud Theatre Company https://www.loltheatre.co.uk/  for engaging the children and adults in an informative and amusing way. We would also like to thank the Rotary Club and CA-WN (Climate Action West Northants) for joining us to help deliver the green message.

All these local projects encompass many of the WI‘s Campaigns on issues that matter to women in our community:

Ø Clean Rivers for People and Wildlife

Ø Climate Change

Ø SOS for Honeybees

Ø End Plastic Soup

Ø Food Waste

Ø Repair, Recycle, Reuse

Ø Make Time for Mental Health  https://www.thewi.org.uk/campaigns * https://greatbiggreenweek.co

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Stowe Nine Churches WI
Standing with Giants is installing 1,475 silhouettes across the wild flower meadows of British Normandy memorial - called
‘For Your Tomorrow’ - between April and August 2024. The 1,475 silhouettes reflect the number of servicemen who died serving under British command on D-Day itself. Sharon Henley, Felicity Prior and Helen Kirby from Stowe Nine Churches WI contributed to the People’s Tribute for the 80th Anniversary of D-Day. Visiting the Oxfordshire workshop they helped paint and assemble a number of figures. Members were extremely impressed with the slick, organised workshop and enjoyed the challenge of using a range of tools, enabling them to contribute to this commemoration. If you’d like to see more about this extraordinary installation and the amazing team of volunteers making it happen, visit https://www.standingwithgiants.co.uk

Blisworth WI answered the call from an Oxfordshire WI and sent 137 knitted and crocheted Poppies, to complement the 1475 soldier silhouettes installed in the fields of the British Normandy Memorial, marking 80 years since the D Day landings.

Long Buckby WI In November 2023 members planted a tree in each of the village pocket parks to commemorate their 100th  Anniversary, and the Queen's Green Canopy.
The annual Craft Fair was very successful. We sold bulbs using recycled baskets which the Craft Group had decorated. The Craft Group also made paper angels and homemade star shaped biscuits to decorate a Christmas Tree for the village Christmas Tree Festival. Our entry was entitled 'A Homemade Christmas, Christmas as it used to be'

Evenley WI President Susan Lilley (centre) created a permanent Coronation commemoration to hang in the Village Hall which was presented by Deborah Davis (left), Evenley WI President, to Joyce Stevens (right), Evenley Village Hall Trustee at their February meeting. The commemoration was created from samples of the 350 metres of bunting that members knitted, crocheted and sewed to encircle the Village Green for the Coronation.

Warkton Village WI Toiletries and women’s essential items were collected over a 3 month period to donate them to the Salvation Army for distribution to those in need. Jennie Willis, Norma Williams and Janice Hyde delivered these items, which were gratefully received by Salvation Army member, Colin.

Bozeat WI  Pre Christmas got crafty, and held our Sparking Winter Fayre, to raise money to benefit our local village community. 2024 will be a very busy year, celebrating 75 years of Bozeat WI.
We also made a beautiful friendship tree created by members as their entry into the St Mary's Christmas Tree Festival.

Blisworth WI  Members are delighted to report that the total by weight of their regular donations (delivered by Alison) for 2023 was 189.3kg, the second highest of the WIs that supply this foodbank in Towcester.

Christine, from the charity Eve, gave a thought provoking talk at Barton Seagrave WI about the support they give to survivors of Domestic Abuse and Violence. Members donated items of food and toiletries along with a cheque to help with their valuable work.

Well done CHIPPING WARDEN & EDGCOTE WI which presented a cheque for £450 to Mark Lawson of Northants Search & Rescue (NSAR). (Northamptonshire Search & Rescue (NSAR) is a group of trained volunteers who are on call 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. NSAR provides assistance to Northamptonshire Police in the search for vulnerable, high risk, missing persons with the use of personnel, drones and search dogs. Example classifications of people searched for include suicidal, Dementia, depression or children. NSAR also support Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service with major flooding incidents providing water rescue personnel and equipment.)

Lois Weedon & Weston WI
Treasurer, Edwina Kidd, initiated a collection of shoeboxes, parcels and clothes for the children of Ukraine, to be delivered for Christmas. WI members and friends from local villages contributed donations and deployed wrapping skills! 101 shoeboxes and parcels, along with several bags of clothes, were presented to Iryna King, the Head of the Coventry branch of the 'Organisation of Ukrainian Women' at a concert in November. Chris Farmer and Anne Seckington kindly came along to join the celebrations. We enjoyed music and songs, both Ukrainian and English, and a delicious selection of cakes (no calories of course!) baked by our Ukrainian visitors. A collection raised £260 to go towards the transport costs for the parcels. The presents are being sent to Nikopol in south east Ukraine. The town is close to the front line and is frequently under attack. The children's care department will distribute the presents to children who have lost a parent, and the baby boxes will go to a maternity unit.

Nether Heyford WI  Members took the theme of Clean Rivers for the Christmas Tree Festival at St Peter and St Paul Church, and got busy making decorations. Imaginations ran wild and there were many species of fish, a whale, dragonflies, a kingfisher, along with pictures of otters and a water vole.

Hunsbury Hill WI  One of our members made hundreds of knitted squares during lockdown and didn’t know what to do with them, so we started a Knit and Natter group to make items for charity. Members can sew, knit or crochet any items we think charities might appreciate. Before Christmas we donated a bag of knitted toys, hats, scarves and gloves to the local Mothers Union, who were kind enough to distribute them to those in need. The ten blankets that we have made so far went to 'Project Linus'

Earls Barton Millennium WI  Nicola West, from Project Linus UK, attended our meeting at Earls Barton Methodist hall to collect a donation  of approximately 15 blankets knitted  and crocheted by WI members.  These will go to local charities for children who are going  through difficult times.

Cranford WI held a splendid Christmas Party and, instead of a "Secret Santa", decided to donate toys and toiletries to the Food Bank and the Soup Kitchen in Kettering. The response was amazing!

This is Wootton WI tree at the Christmas Tree Festival at St George the Martyr Church, Wootton. The hats and scarves were then given to The Hope Centre, Prem Babies unit at Northampton General Hospital and EVE Domestic Abuse.

Roade WI had a busy and very enjoyable summer.   In June they entered a stall for Cakes, Jams and Spin the Jennie at the Roade Village Gala.The funds raised amounted to £367.50 which was presented to the local dementia group “The Sunflower Cafe”. Our President, Chris Jackson, presented a cheque to Diane Frost, a member of our WI, and one of the founders of the group.

Chipping Warden and Edgcote WI enjoyed a visit to nearby Edgcote Gardens and the Church. Lindy Van Welie was our guide and furnished us with a history of the Edgcote Estate and Church.The members each donated to collection for the Katharine House Hospice which was matched by WI funds. Irene Clapp presented Lindy with a personal gift of flowers and chocolates as a mark of our thanks.

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The WI village planter in Roade was given a colourful freshen up by Chris Jackson, Kathy Spokes and Lesley Armstrong. It makes the village green look most welcoming.

Towcester Evening WI were honoured to be invited to talk to Year 1 at the new Marie Weller School in Towcester, to paint a picture of the life of the suffragette after whom the school is named. The children were enthusiastic and knowledgeable about Marie and, after sharing their work with members Sue Hamilton and Pat Nelson, put on a short drama portraying the timeline of
Marie’s life. They played the part of smashing windows with gusto!!

East Hunsbury WI took part in a Health and Well being event at our local library. Our brief was to make healthy alternative cakes for people to sample. So as ever we were up for the challenge, from Weetabix cake, Pear and almond cake made with wholemeal flour, pork and lentil sausage rolls, and banana loaf with wholemeal flour and more.  All the samples were eagerly devoured, we also provide recipe cards for people to take with them. We had enquiries form a few women about joining the WI so a good day all around.

Mawsley WI has made a generous donation to the Lewis Foundation, which is is a local cancer charity working in partnership with the NHS to provide gifts and support to adults receiving cancer treatment in hospitals across the Midlands. If you would like to help the charity contact:  https://www.thelewisfoundation.co.uk

Long Buckby WI members were inspired by the article in a recent County Newsletter from Project Linus and decided that they would knit hats for premature babies. The pattern was downloaded from their website and knitting began. The total result was 136 hats and 2 baby blankets! It was a staggering response. Congratulations !

Well done litter pickers on Saturday 22 April. Thank you to Pauline Fairly and Linda Law who represented Barton Seagrave WI .It was good to meet our MP Philip Hollobone.

Thrapston WI has a walking group which does an 'easy walk' every other Thursday. The route of the walk passes through land which is being developed into a nature park: the Nene Valley Park Project. https://www.thrapstonnenevalleypark.org/

The ladies wanted to contribute to the project so, with the agreement of the park making team, they donated and planted 150 snowdrops during their walk. They planted them in key areas around the riverbank and Daffodil Hill ready for next spring. Winter sunshine can awake insects from their hibernation including bees, and Snowdrops are one of the few sources of pollen and nectar available.

Welford WI had a very interesting talk from Natriece Wittich from Northampton Domestic Abuse Service explaining the services they provide for victims of domestic violence. They raised the huge amount of £1000 for NDAS and also collected a large number of toiletries, make up and costume jewellery items.

Sincere congratulations to Welford WI for supporting this worthwhile charity. A wonderful achievement!

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Over 2 months Warkton Village WI collected several boxes of toiletry and other items which were delivered to Major Rena Litchfield of the Salvation Army foodbank,

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Towcester Evening WIs Gardening Club planted daffodils on the Brackley Road verge in front of the Wharf Distillery. Thanks go to Laurence, at the Wharf Distillery, for sponsoring this project which, hopefully, will help to brighten up this corner of Towcester in spring time.

The Towcester Waitrose store presented the Gardening Club with a cheque to help them with their aims to make Towcester a “Green and Pleasant Town” for residents, workers and visitors.

Thanks to Blisworth WI for supporting the Cynthia Spencer Hospice Christmas Fayre with a donation of delicious cakes.

Ten members of Milton Malsor & Collingtree WI supported a lunch at ‘The Lane Restaurant’ at Northampton College; it was a convivial occasion with good food and service by the catering students.

Cranford W.I. ‘Triumph with a Tenner’

Cranford W.I. are always ready for a challenge and so began 6 months of fun, inspirational ideas and
of course a chance to make money for the W.I. and the two charities which we would like to support.
We started off with a very small coffee morning making £12.50. This followed by a larger one for the
whole club. We made an incredible £225.20p. and from this we were able to give each member £2,
asking them to have fun making as much money as possible.

Well, our members had some very ingenious ideas. Lunch was provided for an Art Study morning held
in the village hall, our President was expecting a new grandchild and she made £24.50 by asking people
to guess his weight.

Some members are very ‘crafty’ so, knitted chickens were filled with easter eggs and other
decorations. Tissue Pouches made from scraps of material sold really well as did a beautiful Lap Quilt.
We had to guess the name of a handmade toy, how many buttons were in a jar, a royal quiz and buy
beautiful handmade cards.

Other members held coffee mornings, opened gardens, took part in a ‘Garage Sale’, walked dogs,
made jam and chutney, had a plant sale and held a very impressive “Italian Supper Party ‘
Altogether, when we added up the money from the 23 events members had taken part in, we found
we had made an amazing £2380 and we had all had a lot of fun.

We sent £1190 to the Northamptonshire W.I

We are all very aware of the hardship so many people are experiencing at the moment and felt ,with
the money we had made from ‘Triumph with a Tenner’ ,we could help in a small way.
At our October meeting we presented £600 to Jane Calcott from the Kettering Food Bank and £600 to
Kathy Webster from The Soup Kitchen. Both very worthy causes. They were delighted to receive the
cheques and we will continue to help both of them in the difficult times ahead.

Bozeat WI held a "Sparkling Winter Fayre". The event was very well supported and the profit made will enable them to buy another book hut for the village and donate to other ventures taking place in Bozeat. Well done Bozeat WI.

Chacombe WI is a small and elderly group but does not shy away from a challenge. Their local hospital Mental Health Unit asked if they would help to "tidy" up the garden in front of the building. Chacombe WI consider "mental health" very important as a group, especially after Covid which has had a serious effect on us all. They, of course, said yes!

As you can see from the before and after photos, members had to dig the whole plot to remove the weeds and bring the soil back to life. They were very lucky to have several donations of money and garden items without which they could not have completed the project to the extent that they did.

Just before Covid hit, Chacombe WI embarked on a project to create a recipe book of their favourite recipes to raise funds for local hospice, Katharine House. A local professional photographer came to their February 2020 meeting and every recipe in the book was presented, photographed and tasted by the members. Unfortunately, the group photo didn’t get taken before lockdown and it has taken two more years to get this completed, during which time costs have rocketed. However, members kept faith with the project and the book will be published on 2 April 2022. To order a copy (£7.50 plus £3 postage) please email chacombewi@gmail.com

Stowe Nine Churches WI was delighted to hold another community breakfast in March. Always looking to keep the event fresh and relevant, the Chair of the local Parish Council, WI member, Sharon Henley, planted a Rowan Tree as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative.
The breakfast was delicious and very well attended by residents. Cake sales generated £200 for Hearing Dogs for the Deaf and the Gardening Club handed out sunflower seeds for the children to grow.

Bozeat WI Secretary braved the heavy rain to help plant a Magnolia tree on the village green to celebrate the 70 year reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Brigstock WI members all had a packet of Smarties. After eating the Smarties they were asked to fill the tube with loose change. A volunteer from Air Ambulance visited theFebruary meeting. They handed over a big bucket of Smartie tubes and have just been notified that the Smartie Tube collection raised £276.06.

East Hunsbury WI produced a display to ShowTheLove with a Teddy bear's picnic with the theme of "The good, the bad and the ugly".

It shows the "good picnic with homemade sandwiches and drinks.  Then the bad" with all bought items and lots of rubbish left behind, with a poster detailing how long these items take to decompose. Display is at Hunsbury Library for all to see.
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Wootton WI has planted a crab apple tree on the Green, joining in the HM The Queen's Tree Canopy to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee.

Blisworth WI supported HM The Queen's green canopy at their village playing field on a damp and muddy day.

At Welford WIs Carol Service on they collected toys for the Toys on the Table charity in Market Harborough.

East Hunsbury WI had a pop up cafe at the Christmas fayre held in East Hunsbury library. It was attended by 1300 residents.They were kept busy and sold about 98% of their cakes. Members also had their own craft tables. It was standing room only!

Bacon butties again! Stowe Nine Churches WI autumn breakfast was so successful, they decided to do it again for Christmas. The community came out in force, suitably attired, for their bacon buttie/danish & warm cuppa. A great way to meet up.

Bozeat WI entered their village Christmas Tree Festival, theme 'Inspiring Women'.  They included a huge range of women who have inspired others: HM The Queen, Mother Teresa, Indira Ghandi, even Marilyn Munro, and of course the Suffragettes.

Weston Favell Evening WI collected a wonderful array of Christmas goodies for the local Food Bank.

Rushton Village WI took part in a community project to produce a tribute to all who have fought for, and died for their country. WI members, alongside everyone at the village school and many members of the community worked together to knit, crochet, weave and sew over 4000 poppies and attach them by hand to a net. The cascade was hanging from the church tower in Rushton. If you missed it this year, it will be back

For Stowe Nine Churches WI's birthday celebrations they hosted a Community Breakfast. Everyone in the village was invited and over 70 long-standing and new residents enjoyed WI hospitality. Nationally members were encouraged to focus on friendship and this was Stowe Nine Churches WI's way of extending the hand of friendship.
Their President welcomed residents while members supplied teas and coffees, danish and bacon butties. £80.80 was generated by the sale of homemade cakes.

Stowe Nine Churches WI supported the annual Police Unity Cycle Ride by supplying cakes for the 120 riders who stopped off at Towcester Police station for refreshments as part of their marathon ride from London to the National Arboretum in Stafford.  The charity event raises money for COPS – Care of Police Survivors and riders cycle in memory of police colleagues who have died in the line of duty.  The event culminates at the National Police Memorial with a service of remembrance.

Northamptonshire Health Charity thanked Roade WI for raising a wonderful £1,161 for the Do it for Dementia fund. They met Chris Jackson (President), Margaret Smith (Secretary) and Lesley Armstrong (ex President) when they presented the funds.  https://northamptonshirehealthcharity.co.uk/

An idea that mushroomed - with magnificent results!
Roade WI wanted to support NHS Day in a positive way that would really make a difference, so chose to support "Do it for Dementia" and to raise funds for dementia friendly spaces around Northampton General Hospital.

They put a call out on Roade local Facebook page.The local pub offered their garden. Local shops and businesses donated raffle prizes. Members family friends and villagers donated cakes, jam, plants, raffle prizes and organised three children's games.The whole community came out to support which turned out to be a tremendous day.  An outstanding amount of £1161 was raised in four hours.Thanks are due to all who contributed to this successful day.

To celebrate NHS day Great Billing WI asked their members to nominate a local NHS worker who deserved a reward for their hard work and dedication over the last year.

President Diana Johnson made a presentation of a bouquet of flowers and spa voucher to Louise Case, a nurse who works in a local medical centre, to say "thank you".

East Hunsbury WI have contributed to a community display outside Hunsbury Library for “Thankyou NHS” day. The WI knitted the yarn bomb and painted some green stones the rest of the stones were painted by local school children.

A massive thank you to all NHS, Social Care and Frontline Workers. Stowe IX Churches WI members baked a range of cakes to say thank you to some of our frontline workers to demonstrate thanks and appreciation to the teams working in Longlands Care Home, Brownlands Nursing Home and Wheatsheaf Court Nursing Home all in Daventry.

President Audrey Mason and committee members Lynne Ashby and Lou Stockwin enjoyed a chat and a giggle with staff when out delivering.

Towcester Evening WI delivered home baked cakes to NHS staff and key workers at Greens Norton Vaccination Centre, Towcester Medical Centre, Brook Health Centre, Towcester Ambulance Station, Greens Norton Medical Centre and Ridgway House Care Home. It was their way of saying a big thank you to them all for the care they have given to our community during the pandemic. We hope they enjoyed all the treats.  #NHSBigTea

Bozeat WI members enjoying the sunshine on the village green while celebrating the wonderful NHS with wine, water and a blue cake!

Twenty five members of Moulton Evening WI celebrated the NHS with a Tea Party, their first large gathering after lockdown. Members took the opportunity to dress up, the weather was great and a good time was had by all.

Towcester Evening WI has been able to raise the sum of £350 from the sale of handmade facemasks and these funds are going towards the creation of a Reflective Garden at Northampton General Hospital.  This garden will provide a safe and quiet space in the grounds of the hospital and will be dedicated to staff and patients who have died there from Covid-19.The WI also took along 50 facemasks for non-medical staff and patients at the hospital.  These were all made by Jenny Liversidge, a member of Weedon Lois WI, who also made all the facemasks that raised the funds for the Reflective Garden.Towcester Evening W I has been in partnership with Jenny since the start of the pandemic and, along with our own members and members of neighbouring WIs, we have also provided facemasks for the non-medical staff at our local doctors’surgeries and dental surgeries too.

Featured in the  photo is Zoe Finch from Northamptonshire Health Charity and Sue Hamilton, President of Towcester Evening WI, along with donations of toiletries for patients at Northampton General Hospital collected from WI members.

The other photos feature the facemasks made for the hospital and the toiletries donated by members from Towcester Evening WI for patients at Northampton General Hospital.

Towcester Evening WI
Thanks go to our members who made these drawstring bags for NHS staff. They were delivered to Northampton General Hospital  and were very much appreciated- in fact pounced upon!
It has been great that TEWI has been able to help the NHS in a practical way during this pandemic and it is not just those that have the sewing skills that have contributed but members who donated fabric and did the collecting and delivery of the bags. Great work from Inspiring Women!

Towcester Evening WI collected hand creams from their members and delivered to the hardworking staff of the NHS

Towcester Evening WI learned that the local Care Home residents were missing seeing fresh flowers, so the Gardening Club delivered a few!  Such kindness.

Great Houghton WI shows support for the NHS
A display of blue hearts and pom-poms in High St, created by the WI to show support for  the amazing NHS staff and key workers.