Good morning ladies
It’s cold and grey outside and the rain is beating against the window while I’m writing this month’s newsletter. I always try to find things for which to be grateful as I go about my daily life and today I am deeply grateful for the warmth and cheerfulness of my kitchen. I’m also grateful for you lovely lot as I know my life would be so much the poorer without the friendships and the sense of purpose that I get from WoSWI. Thanks to all of you for enriching my days.
Next week’s meeting
So, next week we have a speaker. Deb Hart is a willow artist who undertakes commissions creating living outdoor rooms, garden structures and sculptural work and she’ll be talking about the history, traditions and uses of willow. I would imagine a great many of us have marvelled at the beautiful willow structures in the Winter garden at Hyde Hall so it will be fascinating to find out how they are made. Like last month, we’ll Facebook live the meeting so you can join us from home if you’re not yet ready to come along in person.
Many thanks to Susan for recommending her daughter Helen to lead last month’s workshop. Everybody seemed to really enjoy the mindful activity of making our inspirational tags; I know I did.
Sub Groups
Sub groups are a great way to meet up with other like minded members of WoSWI and, being a much smaller group, it’s easier to get to know people better. We are aware though that our number of sub groups had dwindled somewhat over the last few years so we are working to remedy this. Sarah has recently launched a craft group which has been most successful (the next meeting is on Feb 28th at 7pm in the naval club) and I’m also proposing a games club, where we meet at members homes to play board/card games, and a ‘going out for lunch’ club. I’ll talk more about these at the meeting next week. If anybody else has any other ideas for sub groups, please do let us know.
Resolutions
After all our votes were collected in a winner has emerged. This will be put forward for the vote at the annual national meeting and then the new resolution will be announced. Our choice is:-
Equality in Law for the Menopause
Too many women are experiencing discrimination at work and in wider society during the menopause. The NFWI calls on the Government to strengthen equality law by including the menopause as a protected characteristic alongside pregnancy and maternity under the Equality Act 2010, in order to provide better protection for women and to help tackle the stigma around menopause.
Next month
Our March meeting will be led by a practitioner of Medau, which is a type of rhythmic movement training. It incorporates music and organic movements to engage the mind and allow each person to take greater control over the body and their thoughts. It sounds to me like a sort of Tai Chi to music, but I could be completely wrong. It’s possible that balls and ribbons may be involved but I might be wrong there too. Just come along and see! (I do love all the new and unexpected experiences I get from the WI)
See you all next week.
Much love
Vanessa
February Newsletter
