February 2025

February WI meeting : Comfort Food and Exotic Places

This time of year can be cold, wet and miserable - it makes you want to wrap up warm, eat some comforting food, and plan a holiday somewhere warm and exotic. So we enjoyed a fish and chip supper at our February WI meeting, supplied by Oliver’s in Old Basing before settling down to hear from member Liz Janes who shared the next instalment of her travelog, a second trip around the world made in 2017.  She had taken 988 photographs of the marvels that she saw, too many for us to view in one evening.  So, her slide show of beautiful photographs ran continuously as a background to her narration.

On this trip, the longer journeys were made by flight and Liz, her husband Andy and travelling companion Artie the Bear visited Dubai, Myanmar, Bali, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii, USA, and Spain.  The evening’s talk focused on Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, a land of temples, stupas and pagodas and Liz shared many interesting stories. For example, a journey from an airport to a hotel in Myanmar took 2 hours due to rush-hour traffic. However, the early morning return trip took only 15 minutes.

Myanmar is one of the world’s largest producers of sesame and Liz watched the crop being thrashed and the seeds gathered.

Aptly nicknamed ‘The Golden Land’, Myanmar is known for its countless gold-plated pagodas, shrines and statues. Liz was intrigued to see gold leaf being prepared and sold to visitors who were able to apply their own sheet of gold leaf to the Mahamuni Buddha.  The Buddha’s original shape is hidden under a thick layer of gold leaf which has been added by visitors.

Liz also enjoyed visiting a jade market and watching wood being carved. She was fascinated by a trip to a centre where silk was woven into intricately patterned fabric. Liz’s purchase of a bag, made from the fabric, is a treasured memento of her travels and now accompanies her on all of her holidays.

Genealogy Group

More tales of our great-grandmothers were revealed - and we also shared some tips about how to get started with  research, what to look for, and how to interpret some of the results. Members who have been digging into their family history for years (no, decades!) reminisced about how much harder it was in the days before the internet, with trips arranged to London to leaf through huge indexes of births, marriages and deaths, and hours spent scanning through microfiche and microfilm - often with little or no success.

CRAFTernoon

Our CRAFT-y ladies had a very enjoyable afternoon - this month was a chance to work on their own projects whilst having a good old catch-up.

Tea with the Mayor

We enjoyed tea and cake while we chatted with The Worshipful the Mayor of Basingstoke and Deane in his parlour. We were made very welcome and the Mayor was quite charming.

January 2025

January WI meeting :
Fun, friendship and, occasionally, serious issues  

We all enjoy having fun as part of the WI, meeting up with friends and learning something new. But the WI does have a more serious side. It’s big on campaigning for change and tackling concerns that matter to WI members. This isn’t just a ‘bunch of ladies’ moaning about women’s issues; WI campaigns can and do make a real difference. From Equal Pay for Equal Work to combatting Climate Change, to Ending Violence Against Women, the WI has brought about real change. Every campaign begins as a ‘Resolution’ suggested by members across England and Wales.

At our January meeting we talked about the ones which have been proposed for this year and we each selected our favourite from the shortlist :

• Let’s talk about incontinence – raise public awareness, remove the stigma and reduce the impact on
  people’s lives
• Bystanders can be lifesavers – improve access to defibrillators and increase confidence in and training
  for giving CPR
• Join the repair revolution – make repair and re-use of clothing achievable and available to all
• Eliminate landfill of medication packaging – encourage additional collection points and persuade
  manufacturers to explore simpler packaging

This process happens in every WI across the country and the most popular one(s) overall will eventually be discussed at the National WI meeting in June. The final vote, taken at that meeting, will decide whether the resolution is adopted and forms the basis of a new WI Campaign.

Afterwards, we all enjoyed a little light relief as we were shown ‘How to Draw a Dog’. The results were quite impressive and it was great fun! Here are some of our efforts:

Genealogy Group

At our Genealogy Group get-together, we heard more of what we’d discovered about our great grandmothers.  Doing the research for these presentations had the added bonus of making us re-examine the facts we've already gathered, which often uncovers more detail that we missed first time round.

CRAFTernoon

This month our CRAFT-y ladies had a go at Iris Folding, which is a card making technique that involves layering paper strips across a cutout shape following a printed template. Traditionally the paper strips form a 'swirl' shape similar to the iris of a camera, which is where the technique gets its name.

Iris folding has evolved in recent years and there are now different variations including advanced iris folding, fancy folding and paper piecing. These newer patterns may not have the spiral shape, but still feature the traditional paper strips and numbered pattern.

It can look a little bit complicated when you first see an iris folding card, but don't worry - it's actually super simple to make and only needs basic card making supplies that you probably already own!

It was great fun and there were some very beautiful results.

December 2024

December WI meeting : Annual Festivities

Last year we split our December WI meeting into two separate events; the first being held at Café in the Park where we enjoyed mince pies and a hot drink, the second a festive lunch at Basingstoke College of Technology. It was such a success that we did the same this year. Gifts & cards were exchanged at the Festive Coffee Morning, and members were treated to mince pies and hot drinks from our WI Funds.

Lunch at BCoT was once again delicious and great value; the staff were polite and very helpful and accommodating. There was a table top quiz on children’s presents from decades ago to test our brainpower (and our memories!). It was another most enjoyable and delicious Christmas lunch.

CRAFTernoon

Our CRAFT-y ladies had a very enjoyable afternoon, working on their own projects or just having a catch-up and a good old natter!

Quiz Time

Well done to our team who took part in the Beggarwood Festive Quiz at Café in the Park. We hear they came a very respectable 8th at the end of the evening. Well done! The event raises funds for Hatch Warren and Beggarwood Community Association (HWBCA) which manages the two local community centres (where we hold our WI meetings and our monthly coffee get-togethers).

November 2024

November WI meeting : A Magical Evening

Robin Maddy, a member of the Magic Circle, has always been fascinated by magic and has performed around the world. He introduced himself by performing an amazing illusion with a set of hoops, which could magically link and unlink, and then entertained us with further incredible tricks as his talk unfolded.

and unlink, and then entertained us with further incredible tricks as his talk unfolded.

His talk took us back to the late 1800s and early 1900s when the world of magic enthralled the audiences of the music hall. At that time, variety theatre was the most popular form of public entertainment and great magicians were the big celebrities of the day. Robin explained that, although there had always been an interest in magic, the performance of magical illusions became a particularly popular form of entertainment when John Maskelyne (inventor of the pay toilet!) started performing at the Egypt Hall in London in 1873.

Robin’s highly entertaining talk was well-illustrated by slides and featured many great magicians and illusionists such as George Alfred Cooke, David Devant, Carl Hertz, Harry Houdini, The Great Levante and Chung Ling Soo.  He shared how each of them had delighted audiences with marvellous tricks such as the Levitation of the Lady and Sawing the Lady in Half.  However, as a member of the Magic Circle, he was not permitted to tell us the secrets behind the incredible performances and so the mystery remains!

Genealogy Group

At our Genealogy Group get-together in November, some of us shared what we’d discovered about our great grandmothers.  It was interesting stuff, hearing about what their lives were like.

There’s no Genealogy meeting in December; in January the theme is 'another of my great grandmothers’. Or just come along and listen!

CRAFTernoon

Our CRAFT-y ladies had a very enjoyable afternoon, trying their hands at 'Pop-Up' card-making. It was great fun and there were some very beautiful results.

October 2024

October WI meeting : Astrology - does it work and, if so, how?

Graham Birchmore opened his talk at our October meeting by sharing a horoscope and asking if we believed it was true. In fact, it was one that he had penned for a newspaper and, in common with all that may be found in the media, was designed solely to entertain and was completely false!

Graham went on to explain that he had been studying astrology all of his life, including Indian and Chinese astrology. He now lectures on the subject which dates back over 7000 years to Babylonian times.

In order for a horoscope to be accurately tailored to an individual, a highly structured and complex study is required, employing a skill that takes many years to learn. Graham firstly illustrated how the sun, moon and planets move through the twelve constellations that form the signs of the Zodiac. To work out an accurate horoscope, he uses the time and date of birth and the position of the sun, moon and planets at that time. These determine the facets of a person which may influence their future.

At the simplest level, the key elements of fire, water, air and earth are each associated with three of the twelve Zodiac signs. Those born under the fire signs tend to be lively, ambitious and highly motivated. The earth signs bring a tendency to be practical, supportive and sensible. Birth under an air sign leads to being a good communicator and having a busy mind, while those with water signs tend to wear their hearts on their sleeves and to be controlled by their emotions.

A horoscope helps you to understand your individuality and know where your strengths lie. This, in turn, supports you in making wise choices. Graham illustrated this by sharing horoscopes for King Charles, Queen Elizabeth II, Joe Biden, Boris Johnson and Sir Keir Starmer.

Walking Group

On what threatened to be an awful day weather wise, four members boarded a train to Reading, where they enjoyed a 3 mile walk.

They also met Paddington Bear but, as he refused to share his sandwich, they had to find their own lunch. And the weather wasn’t too bad after all.

September 2024

September WI meeting

Did you know that Malshanger Farm, home to the Colman family (think mustard) for the past 100 years, is home to the “Peppermint People”? It was news to us, even those who have lived in this area their whole lives. Well, we were in for a treat as Ian Margetts who’s the farm manager there gave us an insight into how they grow, harvest, and distil a very special type of peppermint.

They grow Black Mitcham peppermint, a plant originally developed by a farmer in Surrey. Every four tons that’s harvested at Summerdown produces around 12 kilos of peppermint oil. It’s decanted, sealed, and left to mature for a couple years which gives it time to mellow, like a fine wine. Summerdown are very proud to have won the BBC Best Drinks aware in 2022 for their Peppermint Tea.

After Ian’s talk we were able to buy some of the Summerdown products at a really good discount; many of us went home with boxes of chocolates, peppermint tea and some with fragrances and candles. And they brought along some free samples of the chocolates for us to try – they were delicious!

We hope to arrange a visit to Summerdown sometime next year, when we can have a tour and perhaps a bite to eat.

Walking Group

On National WI Day, 16^th September, the weather was glorious. It was a great day for the walk led by Carole and Gill – Whitchurch was the chosen venue this time. Yes, we have pounded the pavements and paths around Whitchurch once before, but this time we took a different route, which included the nearby village of Tufton.