Welcome to London West End WI

Wednesday 20 January 2010

Women at the Well needs volunteers

Our WI links with a local charity called Women at the Well based at Kings Cross. It provides a drop in centre for women who have been trafficked or are working as prostitutes. Some of our members volunteer in the drop in centre.

More volunteers are needed to help at the drop in centre, if you think you would like to help then get in touch with them to find out more. CRB clearance will be needed and there are lots of ways to help them including fund raising, baking for the drop in centre, filling in forms.

Email info@watw.org.uk or phone 020-7520 1710

2nd February WI social

Update from Tuesday night social - A very successful social/mixer hosted evening was held at Imagination. We knitted, sewed, crocheted, chatted and put the world to rights. New member Laura discovered the delights of knitting under the expert help of Jenny who was onto her 5th cosy crocheted jumper for the battery hens... lucky hens. Georgia and Carrie started the prep needed for a WI resolution on Body image, diets and the media. The WI has a long history of making change happen and we wonder if you would be interested in our projects on this and climate change. More information will follow... watch this space. Thank you to Claude & her employer for gifting us the use of this comfy meeting space ... we will be back. If you have something that you would like to do as a social thing with fellow WI members. Pls do let us know. Other suggestions have been maybe a book club, or a museum/gallery trip, or maybe a trip out to a shopping village.

At the moment we just meet once a month as a group and if I miss a meeting it feels like a long gap till the next so we are organising an in between social hosted by Claude at her great workplace which also has a socialising area that we can use for the price of a drink each. Warm & welcoming and it's even possible to buy a meal too. If you want to come along then you will need to email londonwestendwi@googlemail.com for more details & invite.

The first one of these evenings will be on Tuesday 2nd February starts 6pm till 8pm. This friendly venue is close to Tottenham Court Road - just 5 minutes walk from the Tube. There will be a knitting surgery for anyone needing help getting started with the Jumpers for retired battery hens project or bring along other knitting or craft projects. Bring your own knitting needles & wool for the battery hen jumpers - pattern available. Or just come for a some friendly chat.

PS Members - your What's on Stage membership is ready for collection when you sign up for this year's membership. Kate has the details.

16th February Meeting - History of the World in 100 objects & pancake supper

Our February meeting speaker will talk about the History of the world in 100 Objects - a joint project between the British Musuem and BBC Radio 4 from another of our multi-talented members Pam an archaelogist by background though now working on this project at the British Museum. Pam says Archaeology is less Indiana Jones & more mud & backache. Come for an insiders view of how they chose the objects for the programme and how museum objects can be used to tell a variety of stories. Find out more about the project and how to get involved at www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld

We also had an offer from our friends at St George's Bloomsbury to join their Shrove Tuesday Pancake supper. We said Yes please. So members & visitors if you are planning to come on 16th February, please remember to bring your favourite pancake topping with you and rsvp to let us know you are coming along. Helena is going to make the batter and let it stand (hot cooking tip for a great pancake from one of our culinary whizzes). We are starting promptly at 6.30pm with talk soon after this time followed by a Pancake supper. Be prepared to stay a little later this evening and note that we are breaking with WI tradition and inviting the gentlemen attending the Shrove Tuesday service & Pancake supper... to our talk/meeting. A first for LWEWI and perhaps for the gentlemen too!

2010 Members subscriptions were due at the January meeting £29.50, cheques or cash to London West End WI via our Treasurer Maggie.

January's monster making

As usual Helena inspired us to find our creative side, providing a positive aladdin's cave of delights to make our monsterts. She had raided her craft boxes and we had two tables full of embroidery threads, socks, lace, ribbon, buttons and beads to choose from. I forgot to bring my camera so we no photo's at the moment. Bring your finished monsters to the February meeting for a photo shoot.

Friday 15 January 2010

19th January 2010 - Monster making craft evening

Tuesday 19th January @ 6.30pm Upper Vestry Hall

Existing members renew your WI membership tonight.. cheques or cash welcomed. See our Treasurer Maggie Carville at the Welcome desk.

As we come out of hibernation after the snow, we are whiling away the dark evenings with creative projects... SOCK MONSTERS. Bring your sewing & craft bits & bobs to the next meeting. Helena Roden our resident artist & long standing committee member will be leading this very sociable and fun session. If you have never got crafty before this is your chance or just come along to say hello to 'old & new faces'
If you have any of these items bring them along
Socks (old without holes recommended)
Bits & Bobs... Buttons, ribbons, anything that takes your fancy
Needle & thread
Wool
clean holey tights for stuffing your monster,
Scissors

Who knows these could be a fund raiser for us or just a celebration of new & rediscovered skills.

We welcome visitors and say come along to a meeting and find out if you like us and our style... friendly & informal. If you do decide to join us... do so as soon as possible because we will soon have a year long membership waiting list!

The next meetings are 16th Feb & 16th March though we expect to organise an
in-between Social evening hosted by Claude near Tottenham Court Road. Look out for details on this blogspot.

Best Wishes
Carrie Graham

December Meeting

We started the evening with our brand new President Heather Willensky welcoming visitors & new members. Heather was our secretary and blogspot designer and has now moved into leading our WI out of the Noughties into the second decade of the 21st Century

This was our 4th Christmas celebration and we ended the year style with a great quiz night testing our knowledge of the WI, London Underground, famous faces from past & present and a music quiz. Thankyou to our host Steve Wickham who had clearly put a lot of time & effort into creating this event for us. It was helped along with mulled wine & nibbles.

We were so busy that night that every chair in the house was occupied with new members and visitors joining in the fun.

Thank you to all for making it such a fun evening.

We meet again on 19th January 2010 and remember the annual subscription is due that night, bring cheques or cash ( approx £29 for the year). For those women who joined between October & December your next payment is due January 2011 you canny folk!

If you came along for the first time in 2009 and want to join us then January 2010 is the time to join and get a full year's membership of the WI.