May Meeting: Wed 20th May

Want to be ahead of the younger generation and know more than your kids? Or maybe you are one of the younger generation, and just want to play with some gadgets!

 

Joining us for the evening will be a speaker from Dragon Hall in Covent Garden, who will be bringing along lots of gadgets for us to play with. Think 3D printers, augmented reality glasses, 3D doodler pens, and lots of other toys that aren't just for the boys! Join us for what promises to be a fun and interactive evening of discovery.

For more information go to our our This Month page

 

Find out more about Dragon Hall's tech days here:

http://www.dragonhall.org.uk/innovation/

St George's Bloomsbury, 6 Little Russell Street, London WC1A 2HR. Doors open at 6:00pm for a 6:30pm start.

Next Meeting, Wednesday 20 August : Morris Dancing

This Wednesday, Tish Collins will be giving us a brief talk on the origins of Morris dancing and the 4 main styles. Then the real fun will begin, when we all get to take part in a Cotswold style stick dance, and maybe a handkerchief one too if there's time.  She'll bring her partner Mick, who plays the melodeon (squeeze box), so we have some music to really get into the spirit of it!

As well as being a member of LWEWI, Tish has been dancing with the Dacre Morris, a women's side based in Lewisham (http://dacremorris.smallcogs.com/) for 17 years and for the last 3 years she's been in Three Spires Morris, a women's North West clog side based in Lichfield (http://threespiresmorris.com/)

Mick has been dancing for over 30 years, originally with the Earls of Essex, and is Squire of the Blackheath Morris Men.

June: Children's Literacy

At Craft Club, Victoria showed members how to make wonderful earring display stands out of old picture frames and fabric. Why spend a fortune when you can upcycle? Step aside Kirsty Allsop!

 

turning these...

 

into this

The monthly meeting began with an impromptu photo session outside the vestry hall, to provide Helena with some new images to update our publicity leaflets with. Hopefully we can share her work at the next meeting.

The NFWI Resolution, Organ Donation – Time to Talk, which we voted to support at our May meeting, was passed at the AGM with a 98% majority vote.   

 

More information on how we as a WI and as individuals can support this can be found here: http://www.thewi.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/84931/AM-Resolution-Briefing-Notes-Increasing-Organ-Donation-March-2014-web.pdf

And so on to our speaker!  Harriet Watson from Beanstalk spoke to us about the work they and their volunteers carry out to improve children’s literacy, through working in primary schools on a one-to-one basis with children who need help with their reading skills.  Our committee member, Jenny, also spoke about her experiences as a Beanstalk volunteer. 

If anyone is interested in finding out more about becoming a volunteer, please go to http://www.beanstalkcharity.org.uk/reading-helpers  or contact us at Londonwestendwi@gmail.com and we’ll be happy to give you Harriet’s contact details.

May - Advice for the Future

Apologies for the lack of updates recently!

We started May with card making at Craft Club, where Nicky taught us the intricate art of tea-bag folding for card making.  It's not the actual tea bags that get folded, it started with the pretty wrappers they used to come in.  We had a great time, and got some wonderful results

Our main meeting began with us taking a vote about whether to vote yes or no as a WI to the NFWI Resolution at the AGM. Toto, President of Fulham and Chelsea WI came along to collect our vote, as she is representing us at the AGM.  The resolution was on promoting more discussion of organ donation (more about it in notes from our June meeting) and we voted a resounding "Yes".

Our main speaker was Edwina Dunn, founder of the What I See Project. She talked to us about the project, and how it looks at what it is to be a woman today, globally, and what advice we'd give to young women today, and then it was our turn to be photographed with our words of wisdom! 

You can find out more about the What I See Project here: http://whatiseeproject.com/

More pictures of us with our whiteboards can be found here: http://whatiseewomensinstitute.tumblr.com/

August Meet: Round-up

In August, we turned our hand to floristry with the help of Rosie Folkes, and after a demonstration of wiring techniques we all had a go at making rose and carnation buttonholes, with some very successful results! 

You can find more photos on our Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/LondonWestEndWomensInstitute

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 .

Pam,
London West End WI President

July meet round-up

In July Andrew Humphrey, aka the Tupperware Man, gave us a fascinating talk about the history of Tupperware and the role of the Tupperware lady, as well as demonstrating some of the current range of products.

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 .

Pam, London West End President

June Meet: quick round up

In June chocolateer David Greenwood-Haigh from Divine Chocolate came along to tell us all about how wonderful chocolate is!

Divine Chocolate

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

16th June: The Wilding Festival Make a Modern Suffragette Hat

No one went out without a hat in the 1900s including the suffragettes. Even chaining herself to the railings, every woman wore a hat.

Member Helena will be running a workshop to help you make a modern day suffragette hat using every day materials, as part of the Wilding festival this weekend. 

When? Sunday 16th June at 4pm to 6pm

Where? Lower Vestry Hall, St George's Bloomsbury, WC1A 2HR

Cost? £5.00

There are a limited number of places, if you are interested you can book your tickets on the Wilding Festival website.

Click on image to enlarge

18th June Meet: Divine Chocolate

source

Clear your diaries!

In our June meet chocolateer David Greenwood-Haigh from Divine Chocolate will be coming along to talk us about all the lovely work Divine Chocolate do, along with teaching us how to taste chocolate using all of our sense and showing us how to make chocolate truffles!

Where? We will be meeting at our usual home of St George's, Bloomsbury. Upper Vestry Room, St George's Bloomsbury, 6 Little Russell Street, London WC1A 2HR. Doors open at 6:00pm for a 6:30pm start.

Please bring along refreshments to share with the group, (they don’t have to be home made!)

The meeting will be free for LWEWI members and £3 for guests. If you would like to come along to the next meeting then email us at londonwestendwi@gmail.com.

See you there!
Kieren
London West End Women's Institute Secretary

May Meet: quick round up

In May Persephone Books came to speak to us about the amazing books they reprint and some of the interesting stories behind them.

Persephone Books

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

21st May Meet: Persephone Books

source

Shades of Grey?

In our May meeting Persephone Books will be coming to speak to us about their work reprinting out of print fiction and non-fiction written by women.

Persephone Books in Lambs Conduit Street was established in 1999 by Nicola Beauman with the aim to resurrect forgotten and out of date novels written by women. With their distinctive grey covers the books covers a wide range of subject matter and reflect the lives of women throughout the late 19th and 20th century.

Where? We will be meeting at our usual home of St George's, Bloomsbury. Upper Vestry Room, St George's Bloomsbury, 6 Little Russell Street, London WC1A 2HR. Doors open at 6:00pm for a 6:30pm start.

Please bring along refreshments to share with the group, (they don’t have to be home made!)

Membership for 2013 is £33.00. Membership is non refundable and will expire at the end of the year. Guests are very welcome (£3 for non-WI members) If you would like to come along to the next meeting then email us at londonwestendwi@gmail.com.

See you there!
Kieren
London West End Women's Institute Secretary

April Meet: quick round up

Do you know the difference between Best Before and Sell By? We do!

This month Sarah from Camden Council came to speak to us about Love Food Hate Waste and gave us lots of lovely ideas to help us become more savvy when it comes to food.

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

16th April Meet: Love Food Hate Waste

Every month some households are throwing away up to £50 of food shopping. That’s a lot of food and drink!

Most of our wasted food and drink ends up in landfill sites where it rots and releases methane, a damaging greenhouse gas. The food and drink we throw away is also a huge waste of the energy, water and packaging used
in its production, transportation and storage.

Reducing food and drink waste is a massive opportunity for your community to reduce waste, save money and minimise your impact on the environment.

This will be an interactive session with activities where we will discuss what we can all do to cut food waste and share recipes and tips


Where? We will be meeting at our usual home of St George's, Bloomsbury. Upper Vestry Room, St George's Bloomsbury, 6 Little Russell Street, London WC1A 2HR. Doors open at 6:00pm for a 6:30pm start.

Please bring along refreshments to share with the group, (they don’t have to be home made!)

Membership for 2013 is £33.00. Membership is non refundable and will expire at the end of the year. Guests are very welcome (£3 for non-WI members) If you would like to come along to the next meeting then email us at londonwestendwi@gmail.com.
See you there!
Kieren
London West End Women's Institute Secretary

March meet: quick round up

In our March meeting we were introduced to Iris Card Folding and had mixed results!

Pictures from our March meeting, including a finished tulip!

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

19th March Meet: Cardmaking

Source

In our March meeting Sister Gloria will be helping us to perfect our card making skills! Bring along any paper, card, scissors glue and bits and pieces that you would like to transform into amazing cards.

Where? We will be meeting at our usual home of St George's, Bloomsbury. Upper Vestry Room, St George's Bloomsbury, 6 Little Russell Street, London WC1A 2HR. Doors open at 6:00pm for a 6:30pm start.

Please bring along refreshments to share with the group, (they don’t have to be home made!)

Membership for 2013 is £33.00. Membership is non refundable and will expire at the end of the year. Guests are very welcome (£3 for non-WI members) If you would like to come along to the next meeting then email us at londonwestendwi@gmail.com.

See you there!

Kieren,
London West End Women's Institute Secretary

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

Community Preview BM Pompeii and Herculaneum

The London West End Women's Institute have been invited to the next British Museum community preview on Sunday 24th March between 11am and 5pm. 

The LWEWI have been given a limited number of tickets, if you are interested in coming along please get in touch using the usual e-mail londonwestendwi@gmail.com.

source

In Spring 2013 the British Museum will present a major exhibition on the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, sponsored by Goldman Sachs. This exhibition will be the first ever held on these important cities at the British Museum, and the first such major exhibition in London for almost 40 years. It is the result of close collaboration with the Archaeological Superintendency of Naples and Pompeii, will bring together over 250 fascinating objects, both recent discoveries and celebrated finds from earlier excavations. Many of these objects have never before been seen outside Italy. The exhibition will have a unique focus, looking at the Roman home and the people who lived in these ill-fated cities. source

Helena,
London West End Women's Institute Committee

2013 Membership

source

London West End Women's Institute membership is still open for 2013!

Meetings
We meet on the third Tuesday of every month from 6:30pm – 8:30pm at the Upper Vestry Room, St George's Bloomsbury, 6 Little Russell Street, London WC1A 2HR

What to expect: Our Meetings run for two hours. Don’t worry about coming on your own, most of our members do! We usually start our meetings with mingling, drinks and food then sit together for a speaker or activity.

We also meet on the first Tuesday of the month for Craft Club from 6:00pm at the Seven Dials Club in Covent Garden from 6:00pm. 42 Earlham Street, London, WC2H 9LA. Whether your passion is cross stitch or crochet, feel free to bring along any WIPs or forgotten projects. All levels of experience welcome!

There is something for everyone here at LWWI, regardless of what your interests are.

Annual LWEWI Membership for 2013 now open for new members! Current members can renew membership in January.

Membership for 2013 is £33.00, this can be paid by cash or cheque at our next meeting or via paypal (you can find the handy link on the side). Membership is non refundable and will expire at the end of the year. Guests are very welcome (£3 for non-WI members)

If you would like to come along to the next meeting then email us at londonwestendwi@gmail.com.

See you soon,

Kieren, London West End WI Secretary

January meet: quick round up

We started 2013 with a uplifting talk from Elaine Mace, a motivational speaker, author and life coach. She came to speak to us about how she changed her life for the better.

Pictures from January's meeting

Elaine has created a simple and effective structure called The MACE Pathway to underpin her work:Me – Focusing on yourself first. Attitude – Consider your attitude. Commit – Take action.Enjoyment – Have fun along the way. Which she talks about in her new book, The Time For Freedom.

To find out more about Elaine please do visit her website www.elainemace.com.

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

Happy New Year!

source

Happy new year from the London West End Women's Institute! 

Now that we have officially started 2013 it is the perfect time to start something new, like joining us! We believe in offering women fun, fellowship and friendship. We meet in the heart of the West End, surrounded by some of London's most famous landmarks and areas.

We were formed 7 years ago by a group of women living locally who wanted to get local women together. Our members mainly live or work within close proximity to the area, but we welcome members from all areas (even the other side of the river!).

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 (from the other side of the river)