Happy New Year from West Ealing WI! We’re so excited to start the year, find out what WEWI are getting up to in 2018!
At our January meeting, Tuesday 23rd January 7.30 pm at Northfields Community Centre, to get us in the mood for Burns’ Night the Chiswick Scottish Dance Club will be doing a short performance and guiding us through a few steps. Don’t worry if you aren’t too flight of foot as it promises to be a fun filled evening with a mix of demonstrations and a chance to join in. Why not come along and have a go at a jig, reel or hornpipe!
Membership
We would very much like to welcome back our members and hope that a few more of you will join us this year. The membership fee for 2018 is £41 which is less than £4 per meeting! Please note our visitor fee has increased to £5 for 2018.
However, membership gets you access to so much more than just the meetings, you can join us at the Pub Quiz, Craft Club, Book Club and get first dibs on our excellent Culture Club. You get to have your say on how WEWI is run and what the WI campaigns for each year. You get a lovely WI Life magazine each month which is full of interesting information, recipes and so much more! Furthermore, you get to be part of an organisation which has over 100 years of history of amazing women, life changing campaigns, fantastic friendships and great new experiences!
So how do you join? Well if you are new member fill out a WI Membership form 2018, and email it back or bring it to the next meeting. If you’re an existing member we will just ask you to confirm your details are still correct when you renew.
You can join (or renew) your membership by paying £41 one of the following ways:
- Cheque (payable to West Ealing WI)
- Bank transfer (contact us for details)
- PayPal (there will be a transaction fee of £1.85)
Refuge Donations
Ealing Women’s Refuge had a fantastic Christmas thanks to all of your wonderful donations. The Refuge has just opened a new relaxation hut for the women to spend some quiet time in to focus on their wellbeing. They would like donations for the relaxation hut but have asked that the items are new rather than used or second hand, so that it feels extra special for the ladies when they exercise or have some chill out time. They would specifically like new yoga mats, throws, cushions, yoga or gentle exercise dvds, fairy lights, battery operated candles, relaxing music or meditation music. We understand that at this time of year not everyone can contribute new items, but don’t worry we will have plenty of other collections and fundraising activities throughout 2018.
Bake off – Scottish Treats
In honour of Burns’ Night and our Scottish Country Dancers we would like people to bring Scottish themed bakes! Whether you make shortbread, ginger cake, tablet, oat cakes or something with a wee dram of whisky it would be fantastic to show our dancers that the Sassenachs can whip up some Highland fare.
Resolutions – time to vote!
NFWI AGM 2017
The Resolutions short list for 2018 has been released and it’s time for WEWI to have their say. Here is the short list
- Positive body image in a digital age
- Stop female genital mutilation
- Raising awareness of modern slavery in the UK
- Mental health matters
- Healthier Mouth, Healthier Body
You can find out more about all the shortlisted resolutions at https://www.thewi.org.uk/campaigns/news-and-events/current-news-and-events/resolutions-2017
Please note that only members can vote for resolutions. Cast your vote easily in a couple of minutes by heading to our online survey Vote Here!
Owl and Pussy Cat Social – 30th January
WEWI ladies enjoying a bevvie
As there is a 5th Tuesday in the month we are starting the year as we mean to go on by heading to the pub for a members social! This time we are venturing to pastures new and will be visiting alternative local Micro Pub The Owl and the Pussycat on Northfields Avenue. Fear not if you’re not a massive beer fan, they also serve wine and prosecco! If you’d like to join us for a beverage let us know by emailing westealingwi@gmail.com so we can book a big enough table.
Craft Project – Suffragette Banner
Modern Suffragettes with our current WEWI banner!
In honour of the centenary of women’s first right to vote West Ealing WI will be making a Suffragette Banner! Find out more about the project here. After a brilliant suggestion from WEWI member Janet, our banner is going to be focused around Marion Wallace Dunlop. Marion Wallace Dunlop was the first Suffragette to go on hunger strike and lived on Montpelier Road in Ealing. We’re going to be holding a couple of workshops to help make the banner, dates tbc. Craft club will be busily designing and creating the banner this month so if you are interested pop along to the next Craft Club on 16th January at the Star and Anchor or if you want to lend a hand putting it all together let us know at the next meeting!
West Ealing WI 