February meet: quick round up

In our February meeting we had a lovely talk from member Alessia, a part time beekeeper. She spoke to us about bees, beekeeping and honey.

Pictures from February's meeting including our infamous knitted tea cosy!

If you are interested in joining the London West End WI or finding out more about what we do send us an e-mail on londonwestendwi@gmail.com .


Kieren, London West End Secretary

18th September meet: Geraldine Beskin

Established in 1922 Atlantis Bookshop is the oldest independent Occult bookseller in the world

Geraldine Beskin from Atlantis Bookshop will give a talk on Women of the Golden Dawn.  The Golden Dawn was a magical order established in Bloomsbury in 1888, Geraldine Beskin is an expert on the Occult World and along with her daughter is co-owner of Atlantis Bookshop in Bloomsbury www.theatlantisbookshop.com We will be at our usual home of Upper Vestry Hall at St.George's Bloomsbury (Bloomsbury Way). Use the rear entrance to the church on Little Russell street between Museum St & Bury Place. Look for the iron railings & gate.  Guests very welcome if you would like to come try us out!  6.30-8.30pm, doors open from 6pm.  Guests pay £3. Kieren London West End WI Secretary

March Meeting

hello ladies!

We have an exciting few months of activities planned over the next few months! This month, on Tuesday the 17th, we'll be learning about NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) and we'll be learning some exercises to better our mental, emotional and physical states of well being.

Looking into the future, in April we'll be learning about the benefits of Aromatherapy, In May we'll be visited by the founders of Persephone Press, in July we'll be having our annual garden party (and hopefully we'll be graced with better weather than the last three summers!), in August we'll be talking about campaigning opportunities, and in September we'll be having a beer tasting.

As always, we meet on the 3rd Tuesday of every month at 6:30 in the Upper Vestry Room of St. George's in Bloomsbury, entrance on Little Russell Street. We looking forward to seeing you!

October Meeting

Hello! This months meeting will be taking place on Tuesday the 16th at 6:30 and the speaker will be Richard Wiseman whose talk will be "From Notepad to Screen – how TV Programmes are Made'. Remember that our meetings now take place in the Upper Vestry Room of St.George's in Bloomsbury on Bloomsbury Way. Enter via the gate on Little Russell Street. Looking forward to seeing you!

September Update

We have a new home! Now that we've had a chance to try out our proposed new venue - The Upper Vestry Room at St Georges Bloomsbury, we've taken a vote and it has been agreed upon that we will move there permanently. We also decided to make this month's meeting a Planning Session to cover the next year or so, deciding who does what jobs, what speakers we'll invite, how we recruit new members and so on. So please come along with lots of bright ideas! And lets hear it for Viv who can play the piano at the more musical events we've planned, starting with a Christmas singalong.

Unfortunately, the fair we signed up for in September has been cancelled. There's going to be a Bloomsbury Festival over the weekend of 19-21st October sponsored by Allied London and we've also been asked if we would like a stall at Queens Square Book Fair on 20th October, which would cost £40. Let's discuss the whole "Fair thing" as part of the planning session. Some questions to consider could included: do we have to make cakes or could we sell something else? Is there another way we can fund raise ? How much are we prepared to pay for a stall?

Fancy Yourself as a Brown Owl? Dragon Hall are starting a Brownie Pack for local girls aged 7-11 , and they are looking for a leader. Full training and on-going support will be given and this could lead to a formal volunteering qualification. This is a great idea, much needed in the local community so if you could find time to get involved please contact Helen at Dragon Hall helen@dragonhall.org.uk . Even if you don't fancy leading, it would be worth asking Helen if there were another way to get involved.

St George's needs volunteers too! The church has been magnificently restored recently and now has one of the most beautiful Hawksmoor interiors in the country. Consequently, lots more people want to see it and the church is now in need of volunteers to greet them and make sure they get the most from their visit. Enthusiasm and the ability to communicate with members of the general public are more important than the ability and experience and people from all religious faiths (or none) are welcome. If you have any spare time and would like to get involved, please contact Alexandra Talisadoras 020 7242 1373, or email at stgbalex@hotmail.com .

Anyone feeling artistic? Dragon Hall has asked if we would like to design a Perspex panel. We are assured it will look like a stained glass window for the entrance of their building. Any Ideas?

As always, we meet every third Tuesday of the Month from 6pm. Here's a list of our upcoming meetings.

16th October - "From Notebook to Screen" : How TV Programmes are Made

20th November - AGM & craft evening

18th December - Christmas singalong

15th January - The Blitz in the West End

hope to see you all soon!

Welcome to London West End WI!

Welcome ladies of central London! This is the inaugural post of the London West End Women's Institute website. Please check back frequently to find information about our forthcoming meetings, current campaign issues and ongoing activities. We meet on the 3rd Tuesday of every month in the upper vestry room of St.George's Bloomsbury on Bloomsbury Way, so please come and join us - the more the merrier!

Our next meeting will take place on the 19th of June Kusuma Barnett, the head of the volunteers program at the British Museum is going to come and talk to us. Originally hailing from Sri Lanka, Kusuma trained as a nurse with the intention of becoming a lady of leisure upon her retirement. However, in 1989 she visited the British Museum and enjoyed it so much that she became a volunteer and has been awarded an MBE for her efforts over the past 20 years. Come and hear Kusuma's stories and insights into one of the most fascinating collections in Britain.

On the 17th of July Richard Knight from the Camden Local Studies & Archives Centre will be coming to dazzle us with his knowledge of the St Giles and Bloomsbury areas, and looking ahead, our Summer Garden Party will be held on the 21st of August in the Vicarage garden on Gower Street, where we won't have to worry about any repeats of last year's close shave with an ASBO. Members of the Islington and Fulham WIs are also being invited, but in order to put on a good shindig we'll need some volunteers and good ideas, so have your suggestions ready at the next meeting.