Dear all
Our next meeting will be on the 21st of Jan at St Georges Bloomsbury. The talk will start promptly at 6.30pm and we are being joined by Soundcastle, a new community focused music collective who have just become Associate Artists at St George's Bloomsbury. They would be especially interested to meet the WI with a specific prospect in mind. In 2013 they plan to stage a 10 day festival marking with 100th anniversary of the death of Emily Davison, the suffragette who lost her life under the King's horse. It has particular relevance to the site as her funeral took place at St George's in June 1913. They are currently researching all sorts of possibilities but we would love to hear the views of women who use St George's today.
This will be followed by a social and pancakes with other users of the St Georges. So please come along for another enjoyable evening with fellow members and interested potential members of the West End WI.
A note from the February speaker who is coming to speak to LWWI.
I am writing to you on behalf of Soundcastle, a new community focused music collective who have just become Associate Artists at St George's Bloomsbury. We are four women who choose to create new music and cross arts collaborations by focusing on the people and the place with which we are working. Our first piece to be created for St George's was Acoustic Architecture, a musical experience made specially to highlight the building both outside and in, which was staged as part of the Bloomsbury Festival this year. Our next aim is to engage with as many groups and organisations as possible who inhabit the sight.
We would be especially interested to meet the WI with a specific prospect in mind. In 2013 we plan to stage a 10 day festival marking with 100th anniversary of the death of Emily Davison, the suffragette who lost her life under the King's horse. It has particular relevance to the site as her funeral took place at St George's in June 1913. We are currently researching all sorts of possibilities but we would love to hear the views of women who use St George's today. It is looking hopeful that we will partner with other local venues as well the church itself for the festival. Is there a possibilty to come and present ourselves and our ideas to your group?
You can read about us in a bit more detail at www.soundcastle.co.uk and find us on facebook and twitter.
Obviously I am also very happy to send on any further information you may need.
Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert ticket offer
To apply visit the website https://www.jubileeconcert2012.co.uk/ to enter the ballot to win a pair of tickets to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert. There will be 5000 concert tickets available to be won. The concert occurs on June 4th. 2012. Final date to enter ballot is March 2nd 2012, apparently you stand as much chance of being selected regardless of when you apply as long as you do so before the closing date of March 2nd.
Let's cook local training day March 2nd 2012 in Surrey
Dear all
Let's Cook Local is a scheme whereby WI members go into children's centres for 6 weeks to teach basic cookery skills to upto 6 parents from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Surrey Federation is part of this scheme and any member interested in helping/supporting this project would be welcome to attend a Training Day at Surrey hq on Friday 2 March 2012, 10am - 1.30pm. Lunch, tea and coffee will be provided.
Please let the office know if you would like to come as places are dependent on numbers which are limited by the space of our room downstairs.
Yours
Jo Vooght
Surrey Federation of WIs 6 Paris, Parklands, Railton Road, Guildford, Surrey GU2 9JX 10am - 3pm Tuesday - Thursday Tel: 01483 233230 e-mail: sfwi2dr@talk21.com web-site: www.theWI.org.uk/surrey Company Limited by Guarantee No 2836301 Registered Charity No. 1026988 VAT No. 212 0615
New Study Days at University of London. (limited Places) from Richard Barritt
The Writings of Ancient Egypt Saturday 18 February 2012
Warfare in Ancient Egypt Saturday 31 March 2012
Please email richard barritt whose email address is study.egypt@virginmedia.com
if want the booking forms and further information
Subscriptions are due for 2012.
This year WI membership fees will be £31.50 you can pay via the blogspot or you can pay via the london westend wi website. Please ignore the fact the londonwestendwi.co.uk website says £30.00 when you go to pay it automatically corrects to charge you the £31.50 via paypal.
Otherwise please pay Jane our treasurer via cash or cheque at the next meeting
Weekend Devon - London room swap offer from a WI member.
We have had the following email from Lesley:
Hello
I am a member of the WI in Devon (south Milton) and am wondering if any member in London would like to exchange bed and breakfast. I have some cousins coming over from Italy and we have arranged to meet in London some time in February for a weekend. It is so expensive I came up with the idea that we could exchange a weekend in Devon for one in London. Is anybody interested?
If you are interested in swapping with Lesley please email Londonwestendwi@gmail.com and we will send you her email address so you can contact her. which is acually a brilliant idea.
The Terrence Higgins Trust was one of the first charities to be set up in response to the HIV epidemic and has been at the forefront of the fight against HIV, and improving the nation's sexual health, ever since.
The Refugee Mentoring Project is a service offering targeted one-to-one support to HIV positive refugees, asylum seekers and refused asylum seekers living in London who need practical help and emotional support.
This project has requested knitted items to be given to their service users. In a society where these people often feel ignored, such a gift will mean an enormous amount.
The items required are hats, gloves and scarves for a mix of about 60 women and men. Many of the service users also have children, and we are able to accept knitted items for them too. One lady has even made a special request of a white hat!
Knit-a-Soc is the knitting and crochet society at Queen Mary, University of London. Established in September 2011 with only three members, the group rapidly grew and by Christmas the same year at least another twenty knitters had joined the ranks.
Around the same time the group became affiliated with Knit for Peace, and have since been busy making scarves for the Robes Shelter and blanket squares for various other causes. The latter have been especially popular amongst the self-proclaimed “knitwits”; particularly for those new to the craft.
The group meets weekly during term time and revels sharing a fantastic skill as well as contributing to the wider community through its charitable connections.
Emily Nash
How to get involved
For details of how to get involved just visit:
www.knitforpeace.org.uk/
NB We are always looking for donations of knitted items, knitting materials and also for volunteers.
Cook clubs – A League of Meals– a community project
Hello,
My name is Johanna and I'm a product manager at Sidekick Studios, a social innovation company. I'm currently starting a new community project in different parts of London. Our project is called 'League of Meals', and aims to bring different generations together around food. We have a specific focus on including retired people in the project.
We hope to set up community cook clubs, that bring (retired) people (and people who have time during the day) who are interested in food together to cook and eat. The idea is that these cook clubs cook not only for themselves, but make a few extra portions of food, that can then be given or sold to members of the local community. This could be families with small children who care about home-cooked meals, but are short on time. Or carers looking after a family member, for whom receiving a hot, hearty dinner once a week could be helpful.
At the moment we are trying to find people who might be interested in taking part. Do you think WI members would find this interesting, or be able to spread the word? If yes, that would be so helpful. Let me know what you think, I'm happy to answer any questions (and general feedback is more than welcome!).
Thanks so much!
Kind regards,
Johanna
--
Johanna Kollmann, Product Manager | Sidekick Studios
johanna@sidekickstudios.net, http://www.sidekickstudios.net
twitter.com/sidekickstudios, twitter.com/johannakoll
+44 (0)207 490 4573
+44 (0)7766 778826
Third Floor, 124-128 City Road, London EC1V 2NJ
Comedy Show pilot recording attendance invitation.
Lisa Kirk lisa.kirk@zeppotron.com sent us this
Hi there,
My name’s Lisa Kirk and I’m working on a brand new TV comedy show. We’re looking for people to take part in the show and I’d really appreciate it if you were able to forward the below info and attached documents onto any of your WI members who you think might be interested!
Here’s a bit of info about the show:
‘Is It Just Me?’ sees comedian Micky Flanagan plus four celebrity guests present a feature-packed entertainment show celebrating the bizarre opinions we have, the weird things we think, the ridiculous things we do, and the embarrassing things we think about doing!
We’re looking for a select few people to be part of our very own Is It Just Me? special Audience Panel.
As a member of this group you’ll be bantering with our celebrities before interrogating them and voting on whether you agree with the nonsense they’re spouting. On top of that you’ll be asked to reveal your own bizarre thoughts and opinions so we can find out if it is in fact just you.
So if you’re vivacious, lively, up for a bit of laugh and have a story or two up your sleeve then we want you!
We’re recording the pilot show on 26th February 2012 – so if you’re free and would like to take part and think you could help make this show a memorable one we’d love to hear from you!
Auditions start next week so email us NOW on Getinvolved@zeppotron.com for more information.
I’ve attached our advert and application form. Please share this with friends and colleagues – we’d love to hear from as many people as possible!
Many thanks,
Lisa
Chelsea College of Art Student project request about giving women a voice.
She said
Hello I am a female fine art student in my second year of a degree at Chelsea College of Art & design, London, UK. I am working on an art project in which my aim is to give women a voice & explore female experience.
I feel passionately about feminist issues and explore this within my art practice.
Through my own life experiences I have realized the importance of sharing with other women and empowering myself by having a voice in the world. I wish for other women to experience the joy and relief of finding her own voice and passing this on to other women. This I will do by means of artwork. I work mostly in film and video but also do sound pieces and installations. For this particular project I haven’t decided which form this piece will take, I will take inspiration and vision from the women who take part.
For the project I am collecting pieces of written work from women around the world on their experiences of being women in society. The aim is to make them into an art piece to be exhibited in London. I am collecting the pieces and posting them to the ‘We Voice’ blog site I have set up. Each piece of writing is anonymous, this gives each woman the freedom to express anything she wishes without fear of revealing herself, being judged, laughed at or exposed.
I am writing to you, Women’s centre’s around the world as this is a great place to start. If you are interested in this project I would love to hear from you, maybe you could put the poster up that is attached to this email in your centre, maybe you could talk to clients, colleagues, friends or family about the project, get them interested and let these women have the chance to join the project and share their experiences, give them this gift of having a voice in the world.
I look forward to hearing from you all
Harriet
harriet.voice@gmail.com http://www.we-voice.blogspot.com/
We have an invitation from the British Museum to a community evening to see Hajj on Saturday 24th of March 2012.
We are delighted to invite you to the Community Evening View of Hajj: journey to the heart of Islam at the British Museum, Saturday 24th March 2012. The exhibition preview will take place between 6.30pm – 9pm (last entry will be at 8.20pm), and all community groups who wish to bring group members to view the exhibition for free are welcome.
The Community Preview is a ticketed event; tickets are limited so please ensure you request the exact number of tickets you require. These will be distributed on a first come first served basis.
If you wish to attend please either email londonwestendwi@gmail.com or speak to Ruth at our February WI meeting
If you wish to attend please either email londonwestendwi@gmail.com or speak to Ruth at our February WI meeting
Advance notice about Phoenix Garden’s Fair in September this year:
Phoenix Garden's Fair will be held on Saturday 1st September - noon - 6pm. They have already booked; Punch&Judy, Morris Dancers, Brass Band, Fancy Pigeons, and London West End WI
The People’s Supermarket:
The People's Supermarket are going to produce "The People's Cookbook" and want recipes, & would be especially pleased to have WI members contribute (with or without illustrations & comments) I can co-ordinate if anyone wants to contribute a recipe ask then email Kate via LondonWestendWI@gmail.com
Website of the month
Stumbled upon excuse the pun a fabulous website called stumbleupon.com
Also came across this site which I thought was fun www.domesticsluttery.com
