WMWI
The National Federation of WIscampaign to improve women’s and family’s lives
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MonthlyNewsletter:January2015: No113
every Month at8pm
President Lynn Coleman - Tel: 557226
Secretary Sue Field - Tel: 557843
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Next meeting
January13th: 8pm
The Modern Japanese Garden
A presentation by
Professor Toshio Watanabe
Professor of History of Art and Design, University of the Arts London
At thismeeting, Lyn will be asking members to consider and voteon a resolution proposing a change to the Articles of the Association.The resolution concerns voting for vacancies on the Board of Trustees.
Food for bank
We are resuming collections for the Kidlington food bank this month. As usual, tins and packets of basic food stuffs, with 6 months expiry date, will be most welcome. However, there is a particular need for instant coffee, teabags and sugar. Small sizes, please. Justone item will make all the difference. Thank you.
to WMWI member, Hannah, and Tom, who were married last month. We would all like to offer congratulations and our very best wishes for their life together.
Annual CouncilMeeting
OFWI’s Annual Council Meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 24th at the Oxford Town Hall. Guest speakers will include Julie Summers and Dr Lucy Worsley. Lyn will be attending as a delegate, and would like the company of other WMWI members.
Cost: £8 Closing date: March 7th
The wmwi website
Sue Mannifield has updated and re-organised our website. Do take a look. The Website address is at thetop of the first page of this journal; just hold your ‘Control’ button and click on the address. From next month, Sue will be adding a ‘suggestions’ tab. The committee welcomes all feedback and suggestions.
Resolutions
If you still have your Nov/Dec edition of WI Life, there is an opportunity for you to select the resolution(s) to be discussed and voted upon at the Annual Meeting. See pages 38-41 for information about each resolution and complete the form on page 41, indicating your choice. Bring this to the meeting for sending on to Tackley, or post it to OFWI yourself. Lyn will bring some photocopies of the form for those of you who no longer have their copy. The shortlist is also shown in a memo on page 10 of this newsletter.
Book group
This group has been transformed into a book and/or film group. The date of the next meeting is February 24th, the topic and venue to be confirmed. If this group sounds interesting to you, and you are not on the list, do please emailHilaryGodfrey, or Liz Jennings,
subscriptions
We need to paysubscriptions this month; if you have not yet done so, please complete a subscription form and provide a cheque, for the sum of £36, made out to Walton Manor WI. These should be given to Liz Jennings. If you pay by standing order, please amend the amount. Bank transfer is also possible. If you pay income tax, completion of a GiftAid form will enable us to recover tax on the amount of your subscription. Thank you.
Last Meeting:
December 8th
This evening was given over to our customary pre-Christmas bring and share supper. A goodly number attended this informal social event where we shared our favourite food, enjoyed a drink and became better acquainted with fellow members.
We also brought along gifts of warm clothing and toiletries for the homeless shelter.
Thank you to all who attended and made this evening such a success.
donations
We have received a letter from Oxford Homeless Pathways, thanking us for the donations of clothing and toiletries which were left at O’Hanlon House following the December meeting. These were greatly appreciated. Thank you all for your contributions.
We were also pleased to give £150 to the Limes Club, which meets at St Margaret’s Institute and provides support and social events for people with dementia. This donation would contribute to a Christmas lunch for the members.
KNITting group
Walton Manor Knitting Group continues to thrive. Knitting may be
for charity, for family, or for self. Above are children in South Africa showing off knitted teddies provided through Cocos Charity; some of these may be knitted by us. Everyone is very welcome, including new members; just turn up. Other needlework crafts are also acceptable. If you want to learn to knit, then we can help you.
The next date is:
Tuesday, January 20th at 7pm
Please do let Lyn know if you are able to come. Her address is 33, Victoria Road in Summertown. 01865 557226 or 07836 687457.
Special occasions
When we have been made aware of members’ special birthdays, anniversaries or achievements, or of less than happy events such as illness, we have marked these with cards, flowers or whatever seems appropriate. If you know of any such occasion, please let us know but, of course, we need to be sure that marking the event would be welcome.
Wi centenary
As everyone is now aware, the WI organisation reaches its centenary this year!
We are pleased to let you know that the Oxford Mail will be highlighting this in their Memory Lane column starting on January 12th, so do look out for itthroughout the year.
THE BATON!
April 16-17th 2015
As Chair of the Cherwell Group Committee, Lyn has been heavily involved in arrangements for the day that this travelling baton reaches Oxfordshire. Details can be found on pages 8-9, and in the centre pages of this month’s News and Views.
CENTENARY BATON CELEBRATION - 16 APRIL 2015
Evening pageant at Henry Box School in Witney
A gallop through 100 years of change and memories: 7.30-9.30pm
Tickets £4 - to include a glass of wine and birthday cake
Walton Manor is part of the Cherwell group and will be involved in
covering 1990 -2015.
We will be presenting it in a format similar to reading the news withlocal, national, international and WI events being covered. We wantto reflect the fact that the WI is moving into the digital age, but alsothat many aspects remain the same. Riverside, Cotswold and Eynsham Groupswill each have a25 year period to cover and each group is doingsomething different.
Please could we have offers of help from 3-4 people, to assist with washing-up at the end of each meeting? If everyone lends a hand, this will only be an occasional duty. Also, please replace your own chair in the store; this makes tidying of the hall so much easier.
There is also a rota for tea and cakes. We hope that many ofyou will feel able to contribute to this. Just once a year is enough.
SOS
– help in an emergency
Are you able to respond at short notice to give support to professional services in an emergency? This could mean care, comfort or catering, and is invaluable in events which occur without warning, such as the recent floods. You may never becalled upon to help but, if you are willing to be included on the list, please let Lyn know.
fund-raising
In order to continue with our activities and invite speakers, etc., we need to constantly raise funds. Subscriptions do not cover our expenses.
It was therefore suggested that we sell a small amount of home-made produce at the meetings. We have had donations of home-made bread, biscuits, chocolates, and marmalade, and some home-grown vegetables. This has raised welcome additional funds.
We know that many of you are talented cooks or gardeners. If you feel able to help with this initiative through your chutney, baking or excess veg from your garden, please let Lyn know.
From time to time, we have also been asked to provide teatime goods, such as cakes and biscuits, for events, particularly at the hospitals. These requests are often at short notice but have been met, much appreciated and given a boost to our funds.
Domestic abuse
WMWI has, for some years, maintained links with Oxon’s domestic abuse co-ordinator, Michelle Plaisted-Kerr. We have recently received the following notice, asking for our support.
Oxfordshire County Council is proposing to reduce funding for domestic abuse services in the county by 40% -- from £331k in 2014/15 to £199k in 2016/17.
Services at risk include
- the local helpline, which provides emotional support, practical information and access to support services for adults affected by domestic abuse.
- the West Oxfordshire outreach worker, who provides support including safety planning, risk assessment and management.
- local refuges, where women and children who are experiencing domestic violence can stay free from abuse.
As domestic abuse has long been a crucial issue for the WI, you may wish to comment on this proposal. OCC has a consultation page where we can have a say as part of the consultation process.
news and Views
We buy a copy for each member. Please collect yours as it will contain up-to-date information about OFWI. A number of eventsare advertised in eachedition. Please take a little time to scan your copy and see if anything is of interest to you. Take good note of the closing date or you might miss the boat.
Booking procedure
There will be booking forms available at the meetings, one for each event. If you are interested in attending any event, please inform the secretary who will enter your details on the form; you will be able to see who else will be going. You must also provide a cheque for Liz Jennings, made out to WMWI. We are not permitted to buy tickets until we have received your cheque. For this reason, it is easier if you bring your cheque book to meetings.
CAMPAIGNS
‘Help for Bees’ Action Plan
Bees pollinate up to 75% of agricultural crops around the world. Last year, the WI joined forces with Friends of the Earth to call on the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs to follow Wales' lead and introduce a comprehensive
bee action plan which would target all the varying causes of bee decline, catalysing stakeholders into taking a positive, proactive stance on bees. The WI responded to the government’s Bee Action Plan; the draft National Pollinator Strategy; thousands of postcards were presented to the Environment Minister. The WI was invited to give evidence to the inquiry, the final plan being delayed till autumn.
Banana Price Wars
A low price for bananas is only achieved through poverty wages and living conditions for the farmers. Help to combat this trend by buying only Fair Trade bananas.
Food Security
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Global and National Challenges of Food Security
During 2013, WI members were invited to hold a nation-wide series of debates that will help get to the crux of some of the questions the global food system faces and build understanding about the role that we all can play. Current discussion appears to be heavily focussed around the concept of'sustainable intensification' which is effectively using GM crops and large scale intensive farms to increase yields and productivity. Whilst this will necessarily inform part of the debate, what other issues should be explored? Considering ways to cut down on food waste, ensuring we have the right policy environment for agriculture to flourish and confronting consumer attitudes to food and sustainability are just a few of the issues that the NFWI believeswarrant further exploration. If you would like to help get the debate underway then get in touch. Action packs are available.
Telephone 01865 553304
End Violence against Women
The UK Government has a declared commitment to an integrated strategy for tackling violence against women (March 2011).
Over 1 million women experienced domestic abuse in the last year, and over 60,000 women are raped each year; it is important to ensure that the Government continues to prioritise this issue.
Organ donation – make your wishes known
Following the over-whelming support for this year’s resolution, we are all urged to make others aware of our wishes regarding organ donation. No one should be left to guess. 7000 people are awaiting the gift of an organ, but this is a personal decision. We are also asked to encourage friends, family and members of our community to make their wishes known to others. It has been shown that donations increase with the raising of awareness.
Action against Plastic Bags
Plastic bag use in England is 6 times bigger than in Wales. A 5p charge instituted by the Welsh Government in 2011 has led to an 81% reduction. Voluntary agreements have had little effect and very few plastic bags are recycled.
The NFWI is calling on members to contact their MP and ask them to push for a charge on plastic bags. An action pack and template letter is available from the public affairs dept. or at
Care not Custody
Theresa May praised the WI’s Care not Custody campaign at an event in July to review progress on the government’s promise to develop appropriate services for the mentally ill or learning disabled persons who come into contact with police, courts or prisons. Up to 20% of police time is spent dealing with mental health issues; funds from the Dept. of Health have been allocated for the support of the most vulnerable people. Pilot services and early intervention have shown promising results.
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CELEBRATING THE CENTENARY
As you know, the WI is 100 years old in 2015 and the Centenary baton is making its way across the British Isles. It will arrive in Oxfordshire on April 14 and make its way across Oxfordshire during the following week.
Walton Manor WI is part of the Cherwell Group and, as you may have read in News & Views, we are part of GROUP 5 that consists of WI’s in the Riverside, Cotswold, Eynsham and Cherwell groups.
Group 5 will receive the baton on 16 April 2015 and hand it over to Group 6 on 17 April.
At the last meeting, I outlined some of the plans that were under discussion. Jean Hammond, our WI adviser, is co-ordinating the plans with the Convenors from each of the groups. I hope members from Walton manor will want to be involved to make it a real success and to have some fun of course.
COLLECTING THE BATON – 16 APRIL 2015
The baton will be handed over from Group 4 to Group 5 on Thursday, 16 April 2015.
The Bus Museum at Long Hanborough is providing a 32 seater bus. It will travel from Long Hanborough to Wolvercote for collection from Group 4 and return to Long Hanborough with the baton. Tickets for the bus will be by ballot and cost £3.
Are you interested in going on the bus? I need 2 names by October 31 for this. Please let me know and I will ballot if necessary.
EVENING PAGEANT FROM 7.30-9.30PM ON 16 APRIL COVERING THE LAST 100 YEARS
This will be at Henry Box School in Witney
200 tickets will be sold by ballot at £4 per ticket.
The ticket will include wine, soft drinks and birthday cake.
The 4 groups to supply one cake each that will be sufficient for 50. Cat Hayer has volunteered to bake for Cherwell Group. Thank you, Cat.
The pageant will be acted out by the four groups as follows covering 25 year each. These were chosen by ballot.
COTSWOLD: 1915 -1940
RIVERSIDE: 1940 - 1965
EYNSHAM: 1965 -1990
CHERWELL: 1990 - 2015
Each group is able to choose how they cover their slot. There are no rules except each group will have a maximum of 15 minutes.
Our group is thinking about presenting it in a news reader format covering items from world events at that time to what local WI’s were doing. Are you interested in being involved? Please let me know. I could do with some help!
A photographer is needed. Can you help us find one?
FRIDAY, 17 APRIL 2015
MORNING
The baton will go on a journey visiting every WI in Group 5. Janet Nattrass( Cassington WI) has kindly arranged for the owner of a Frazer Nash vintage car owner and club member to drive her car that day.
The car will stop at each WI for a photo and change of baton holder. Would you like to be that person?
Can as many of us as possible get together for a photo and to cheer the baton onwards. I hope so.
AFTERNOON
There will be a DIY picnic in The Leys Park for members, family and friends. Members from the WI’s in Group 6 will be invited to join in before handing the baton on to them.
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SHORTLIST OF RESOLUTIONS SELECTED FOR 2015
The Federation Resolution Shortlist Selection Representatives who attended the Resolution Shortlist Selection Meeting on 2 October 2014 chose the following shortlist of
resolutions:
The next 100 years
As we mark 100 years of the WI, we deplore the unacceptable level of gender discrimination that still exists. We call decision makers to remove barriers preventingtoday’s women and future generations reaching their full potential.
Plant a tree for the future
The NFWI urges Her Majesty’s government to start a continuous national broadleaf treeplanting programme to replace vital woodlands lost in previous decades. WIs in
consultation with their local councils and community groups will be asked to plant trees incelebration of their centenary and to benefit future generations.