A Review of 2023
9 October British Sign Language Karen and Brian Jackson
Karen and Brian Jackson, our speakers, started the CSSEF (Chloe’s and Sophie’s Special Ear Fund). The charity was set up by them 13 years ago as both their children are deaf, as is Brian. Just4Kids on the London Road is their fund raising shop. The charity’s aim is to raise deaf awareness, help the wellbeing of deaf children and provide equipment and technology for them. They also fund parents to learn BSL.
Brian spoke about his experiences as a child being deaf and how his hearing equipment was a lot more visible in those days. He was known as the child with the radio stuff at primary school. As he got older he stopped using his hearing aids for a while. He said that all deaf people have their own experiences and need to be treated as individuals.
Karen explained the differences between Makaton and BSL. BSL has long been used by deaf people, though its use was once banned as ‘deaf people should use their own voices’. In 2022 it was recognised as an official language. It can only be taught by deaf people. Makaton is an invented language, BSL has a history and culture. It also has regional accents with different signs meaning the same word.
Karen and Brian shared some BSL words with us, including gin, tonic ice and lemon! We also sang happy 90th Birthday to Isobel in BSL.
It was a very enjoyable and informative talk.
11 September History of Brookwood Cemetery Kim Lowe
Kim Low is the chairwoman of Brookwood Cemetery Society and she gave a very informative talk. The idea for the cemetery started in the mid1840s when the population of London was increasing and there had been 2 outbreaks of cholera. The land at Brookwood had already been identified as a possible site and with the advent of the railway line it became accessible. 2200 acres were purchased initially though only 450 acres was used as the cemetery. The purchase was approved by parliament in 1852. The cemetery was divided into two parts, Non-conformists and Anglicans, each with its’ own chapel. The site was planted with redwoods and some monkey puzzle trees producing avenues. There were different types of graves ranging from paupers to the mauseleums of the rich. The paupers’ graves did not have headstones and now it can be difficult to locate some of these graves. A quarter of a million people are buried there including many notable people like John Tiller (director of the Tiller Girls), the artist John Singer West and Alfred Bestell, the illustrator of Rupert the Bear. At its peak 3000 to 4000 were buried there each year. It is still possible to be buried there and you can choose your site providing it has not already been used.
The extra land was sold off by the Necropolis company that ran the cemetery and Woking is partly built on this land. As cremations became more popular ‘Glades of Remembrance’ was set up in 1946 for remembering those cremated at the St John’s crematorium. The crematorium now provides a relaxing are to wander around and enjoy the natural surroundings. Kim had many interesting anecdotes and facts about the cemetery.
10 July The Livery Companies of London Jo Mabbutt
Jo explained the background and history of how the Livery Companies came
about and what they did and still do. The Companies started 900 years ago, and are still
going, carrying out a lot of charitable works today. The amount given to charity every year ranges up to 77m. They also have 71 Alms Houses. The Livery Companies were monopolies when they started and maintained standards in their trade. The word Livery came from the royal/noble household that the company belong to. Each has its’ own colours and gowns. The first 12 livery companies are known as the Great 12 and Jo talked about the Order of Precedence. There are 110 Livery Companies today with 50,000 liverymen. Some famous saying, such as 6s and 7s and a Bakers’ Dozen originated from the Livery Companies
Some street names in London also relate to Companies, such as Cloth Fair, Honey Lane and Bread Lane. Jo talked about the various Halls, Artifacts and Silverware that Companies own. Today many Companies support education through
schools, colleges, and universities. They also supporting the Armed Forces and Reserves. Qualifications such as the City and Guilds were started by the Companies. They have been involved with Coronations, and photographs of Gloves that have been used were shown. The Royal School of Needlework decorated them with intricate gold thread and wire. It was a fascinating talk.
12 June Pre-Loved Evening
Members brought clothes and accessories to sell and enjoyed the evening. There were 4 rails of good quality clothes at very reasonable prices. Unsold clothes were sold on Vinted or donated to charity. A donation of £125 was made to Katcando. Judy provided a quiz which was enjoyed and everyone had a good evening of socialising. Thanks go to Annie, Shirley and all the others who helped with this evening.
15 May A Talk by Amanda Pink from Evelyn’s Funerals
A light-hearted and informative talk by Amanda Pink from Evelyn’s Funerals based in Heatherside. Amanda gave a fascinating and amusing talk about being a funeral director. She first explained how she had reluctantly got involved in the company, having been a policeman and book keeper. Her husband has been in the industry for 35 years and she has been involved since 2015. They offer a personal service and are independent. She explained about death certificates, the paperwork needed, coroner’s involvement and embalming (she is not in favour of this). She talked about the different sorts of services, cremations and burials, the music people choose and how you can choose whatever style you want. She had examples of a My Living Wishes Form where people can say what music etc they would like and this makes it easier for the relatives when planning the service. If you want to give your body for medical research it has to be perfect! Her talk generated lots of questions and we all learned a lot.
17 April Savill Gardens Michelle Cleave
Michelle Cleave is the head gardener at the Savill Gardens and her talk was about the ‘Design and History of the Savill Gardens’, the 35 acre site that is part of the crown estate. The gardens started in the 1930s and successive keepers have developed new areas. Recently they have had to react to the effects of climate change and have started a dry garden. Many trees have been lost in the park recently and so there are many new trees being planted. They are trying to be make the gardens more sustainable by cutting down on bedding plants. The water for the garden comes from the lake. The garden is on Bagshot sands and so the soil is free draining which causes some watering problems. Each year some plants are killed by the weather but this gives the opportunity to try different plants. The talk was accompanied by wonderful photos of the plants and gardens at different times of the year.
The new jigsaw borrowing scheme was introduced and the Resolution was voted on. We also agreed that our representative at the NFWI AGM could vote on our behalf on the standing orders and financial statement.
13 March Cheese Rosemary Horton
Rosemary Horton gave us a very entertaining talk about how different cheeses are made. She talked about familiar cheeses like Stilton and Cheddar but also told us about the many artisan cheeses that are being developed. We then had the opportunity to sample some.
13 February A talk by Dr Neil Stanley, a sleep expert
Dr Neil Stanley gave a very interesting and entertaining talk. He explained the importance of sleep and gave some good tips for getting a good night’s sleep. He also debunked a lot of myths – some dating from over 500 years ago. Dr Stanley kindly donated 12 of his books for members to buy, to raise funds for our WI.
Members enjoyed the talk and stayed awake! We were very happy to follow his advice by stocking up on ‘brain food’ in the form of some delicious cakes and savouries.
9 January Hand Reflexology Debbie Thomas
Debbie explained what reflexology is and how different parts of the feet or hands are mapped onto different organs and systems in the body. She showed a video of someone having a reflexology treatment and explained what you could feel after a treatment. Debbie then answered questions and gave a demonstration on the hands of two of the members. With the help of some useful cards, members were able to practise reflexology techniques on each other’s hands. More information is available on the association of reflexologists website https://www.aor.org.uk
A Review of 2022
12 December Christmas Social
Despite the very cold weather, the hall was warm and we had lots of fun. The committee and other members had decorated the hall beforehand with lights, tinsel and a pretty Christmas tree.
Members made wonderful Christmas table decorations under the instruction of Judy, using greenery from the garden and other accessories. This was followed by delicious refreshments, a toast to 2023 and a bumper raffle, all accompanied by festive music.
14 November Annual Meeting
Our committee was elected for another year. Judy Campbell, our President, stood down after 4 years and Annie Ward was elected as our new President. Thanks were given to Judy and all the committee for their hard work this year. Following the AGM, Julie Watson, the owner of HQ hairdressing salon in Frimley Green, talked about her 35 year long career from apprentice to owning her own salon. She had wanted to be an actress but was steered away from this by her careers teacher who suggested hairdressing! After her talk, Julie answered members’ questions and gave tips and advice on such things as using mousse and conditioner, different shampoos, growth promoters and hairdryers. She also generously donated 3 raffle prizes for her salon.
10 October Farnborough Air Sciences Trust (FAST)
Peter Buckroyd gave a very enjoyable and interesting talk about the history, location and background of the site and Trust. FAST was founded in 1993 by three campaigners who formed a charitable trust both to enable funds to be raised and gain credibility to stop developers after the M.O.D. had sold the site After some time and a great deal of effort and determination a Provisional Listing was granted and later Listed Building Status given. This is a fascinating museum to visit where children can climb into cockpits and be at the controls.
Before various mergers of Government departments and agencies, this was the site of the Royal Aircraft Establishment (R.A.E.) from 1908-1992. From balloons, airships through to designed, built, and tested aircraft engines, aircraft systems and wind tunnels and centrifuges, this site has played a pivotal role in the history of aeronautics. One of the many inventions that came from the R.A.E. establishment was carbon fibre. The wind tunnels tested aeroplanes from the first World War onwards including Spitfires, the earliest jets and Concorde.
Peter talked about the buildings, including The Farnborough Centrifuge, which has Listed Status, and The Farnborough Balloon Shed. The oldest building, dating back to 1905 has always been used for aviation purposes. Various Accident Investigation Agencies are located within the boundaries of Farnborough Airport. He also gave an insight into some famous pioneers of aviation, the most well-known was Samuel Franklin Cowdery, later known as Samuel Franklin Cody, who started working on kites, and then built planes, a very colourful character, who modelled himself on William Frederick Cody – “Buffalo Bill,” of the United States. He gave a history of Samuel Cody’s attempts at flight at Farnborough, and his various journeys to find engines. The site of the Aviator Hotel in Farnborough is where Cody took off from, photographed on 16th October 1908. Cody died when his plane crashed on 7th August 2013.
Other people associated with the R.A.E. and the site were Hilda Lyon, a mathematician, who worked on airships and submarines, Anne Burns, who worked on the effect of winds buffeting on air structures and was associated with Concorde. The Tilly Shilling pub in Farnborough is named after Tilly Shilling, who was an aeronautical engineer, who designed and developed “Miss Shilling orifice.”
Peter passed around the (well-washed) skin of a cow’s intestine, which is used to line inside of balloons so hydrogen could not escape.
12 September KatCanDo
Our meeting started with a minute’s silence in remembrance of the late Queen Elizabeth II. Following this, members shared memories of when they had the privilege of meeting the late Queen Elizabeth II. Interesting and warming tributes were shared and Annie read a tribute from Judy, oour President, and then a poem “Philip Came to Me Today.”
There was a last minute change to our programme and our speakers were Steve Coles and Kendra Cardy from KatCanDo, a local charity, founded in 2004 by Kate Coles who was diagnosed with cancer in 2003, but sadly died in 2006. Steve gave a history and background of how and why the charity came about, and recalled how, during Kate’s treatment, she decided to raise funds for much needed equipment to assist in cancer treatment which was not available under the NHS budget. Steve also talked about the aims of the charity, how the mountain logo came about (from Kathmandu), and the sourcing of the charity’s T-shirts. The first fund raising event was the Shalford Walk.
Kendra explained how funds are raised from local shows, such as the Surrey Heath Show and Frimley Green Carnival, to sponsored walks and bike rides. Family members of Steve are very much involved with the charity helping to organise events. Kendra also talked about equipment that had been bought through the fund raising, one item being a Sentinel Node Probe. Another piece of equipment was a DNA Sequencer, where funds were contributed from the charity.
KatCanDo have been offered a courtyard garden at Frimley Park Hospital and work on this is on-going. The garden has a beach theme and Kendra explained how they got a disused small boat into the courtyard and is now named ‘Kate.’
9 July Camberley Diamond 10th Anniversary Lunch
Members and guests from Camberley WI and Camberley Athena WI attended the garden party lunch held in Christine’s garden to celebrate 10 years of Camberley Diamond WI. We enjoyed a delicious lunch of salmon, coronation chicken, ham and quiche, accompanied by various salads and potatoes. Strawberries and desserts followed. The sun was shining and the garden provided the perfect backdrop to relax and chat.
13 June Your Sanctuary
Our speaker was Fiamma Pather from Your Sanctuary, Woking. During the 1970s the need for refuges was first conceived and started by a group of women. As well as physical abuse, many women suffer emotional and psychological abuse and their homes are no longer a safe place. Before 2015 only assault was an offence but then coercive control also became illegal. Fiamma gave us some staggering statistics about abuse. 1 in 3 to 4 women will experience abuse in their adult lives. 1 in 5 children live with domestic abuse and therefore don’t know what a good relationship is. 1 in 6 to 7 men also experience domestic abuse. 2 women per week are murdered by their partner or ex-partner just in England and Wales. Your Sanctuary aims to give women a safe space. They have a help line operating 9 to 9 seven days a week. They also provide an outreach service with support workers, 2 refuge houses, specialist children’s services, specialist male outreach worker and outreach workers connected to St Peter’s hospital, some police stations and housing departments. They are continuing to expand their work. Last year they had 360 referrals from Surrey Heath and nearly 10000 from the whole of Surrey. Fiamma then answered the many questions members had.
After the talk our 10th Anniversary cake was cut and eaten!
9 May Bees at the Bottom of the Garden
Our speaker, Elizabeth Knight, keeps bees in Elstead. We learned many interesting facts. Honey bees are incredibly well organised with each bee having a job to do. The workers collect the nectar, sort out the hive, create draughts and account for 98% of the hive. The nurse bees tend to the developing bees. Male drones account for the rest and suffer a nasty fate after mating! There is one queen and she is larger than the rest. 80% of her abdomen is taken up with her ovaries and she can lay up to 2000 eggs a day.
Bees see flowers in UV light and some flowers have been adapted for different sorts of bees to pollinate. Bees can fly up to 3 miles to find something they like. Their antenna can sense the temperature and also they know when it is going to rain. The type of flowers they get the nectar from affects the colour and texture of the honey. They have developed a waggle dance which tells the other bees where to find nectar.
These are just a few of the fascinating facts we learnt from a true enthusiast. Elizabeth ended by telling us of the threat from the Asian Hornet which has got as far as the Channel Islands and causes decimation to honey bee colonies.
Members had many questions.
11 April Easter Craft
We all had a very entertaining evening trying decoupage and ended up with sticky fingers, plus some lovely butterflies! Thank you Annie!
14 March Bronzefield Prison
Dee Flarry is the Administrator at Bronzefield Prison and President of the in-prison WI Group, Bronzefield Bees. She gave a fascinating and informative talk about the organisation of the prison and answered many questions about life in the prison. Afterwards we struggled to find room in her car for the many donations of wool, fabrics and other craft items.
14 February The Lumberjills – Britain’s Forgotten Army
Joanna Foat’s interest in researching Lumberjills started when she worked with the Forestry Commission. She met with 60 former Lumberjills and heard about their experiences during the war. It was a very interesting talk with lots of photos and anecdotes from the girls. The UK had imported over 90% of the wood it needed before the war and so to keep the mines going, build ships etc, during the war it was necessary to fell our own trees. Obviously there were not enough men around to do this so women had to be used. The Lumberjills worked alongside men who were conscientious objectors, POWS and some Canadian lumberjacks. They did all the jobs the men did such as sawing, trimming, haulage, working in the sawmills and planting replacement trees. They lived a life very different from their previous ones. They had much more freedom than they were used to, they became very fit and formed lifelong friendships. As one of them said “I would not have missed it for the world” At the end of the war they were not recognised and had to give their uniforms back and return to their previous lives. It was not until 2007 that they got the recognition they deserved and later were able to take part in Remembrance parades. Statues have now been put up to remember the work they did.
10 January Sarah Jane Croke Mayor of Surrey Heath
Sarah Jane gave us very interesting and entertaining talk about her career and how she became involved in local politics. She comes from Newcastle and initially wanted to be a vet but decided after her work experience it was not for her. She instead followed her other passion, the stage. This involved being an extra in Byker Grove, working with underprivileged children and as a redcoat at Butlins. She decided that she preferred backstage work. She did make up for CATS and then worked for Estee Lauder. Finding London too expensive, she finally moved to Frimley and started her shop on Frimley High Street. Eventually she had to close as the rent charged by the private landlord was too much and so she started the Frimley Business Association to try and fight the rent increases. She realised that they needed a voice on the council and so applied to be selected by the Tory party and got elected in 2019. She told us a little of what she does as both mayor and councillor and how she wants to represent the people of Frimley and Surrey Heath. Her charities as mayor are the NSPCC, Crossroad Care and Merge Advocacy. She has so far raised £6500.
A Review of 2021
13 December Festive Food, Fizz and Fun
The theme for the evening says it all. We had fun! As well as eating, drinking, a secret Santa and a raffle, Judy our president demonstrated how to make some brilliant Christmas table decorations, an inspiration to us all. Annie organised the really attractive hall decorations and Christmas tree and many others helped set things up. Members contributed to the delicious selection of food. A very successful evening.
8 November ‘Life as a prison governor. A unique experience’
Roger Monksummers gave an entertaining and informative talk about his life in the prison service. Roger was brought up on a farm and started his working life with pigs. He joined the prison service after visiting a recruitment tent at an agricultural show. He was put on the accelerated prison officer scheme and worked in a variety of prisons. He told us about the principles he used and that the most accurate media portrayal of life in a prison was Porridge!
11 October Flower Design Demonstration by Carol Ferris
Carol visited us before a few years ago and we were delighted to welcome her back. We were enthralled as she chatted away and demonstrated 12 stunning and very different displays, all of which were raffled. Many of us took photos and some feeling inspired promised themselves a visit to Longacres as soon as possible!
Carol’s demonstration lasted approximately one hour after which cakes and refreshments were available, in spite of the fact that because of the covid restrictions the kitchens weren’t fully open. Free raffle tickets were given to the delighted surprise of everybody. A thoroughly good time was had by all.
13 September
Michael Woolard spoke about his life as a journalist. He started at the Barnet News Group which had Margaret Thatcher as its local MP. As well as covering her political meetings, he also covered WI meetings. He then moved to the Derby Daily Paper followed by a spell with Reuters in East Africa where he encountered Idi Amin who he described as the most frightening man he had ever met.
He returned to the UK to work for the BBC in their news department initially at Alexander Palace and later at the White City. He gave us his thoughts on various journalists and news readers that he had met. He told us about covering events in Northern Ireland and Princess Diana’s death. He then discussed the future of the BBC with respect to changing viewing habits and the licence fee. He emphasised how many parts of the world relied on the BBC World Service for accurate news.
9 August How fashion changed in the 20th century
This was our first face-to-face meeting for more than a year and we weren’t put off by the torrential rain! As the speaker was delayed, we were able to start socialising again (while staying socially-distanced, of course). We also enjoyed the selection of delicious cakes provided by the committee.
Sadly our speaker had problems finding her way to the hall and was unable to come. The raffle rounded off the evening.
It was good to be able to get together, despite the lack of speaker.
8 June Picnic in the Park
The weather was kind and it was a treat to meet in person and catch up on news. Lots of chat and laughter and a very enjoyable afternoon.
10 May Talk by Michael Woolard
Before he retired, Micahel was a journalist for 40 years. He started work with a local newspaper in Barnet and Finchley where he encountered Margaret Thatcher. Next move was to Derby, meeting Jimmy Saville and then onto East Africa and Idi Amin! In 1968 he joined the BBC as a trainee editor and continued to work with them. His talk was full of interesting stories and opinions of the people he had met. Unfortunately his internet connection was not good and so after several stops and starts the talk had to halted and will be resumed in person later this year. We look forward to hearing more!
12 April Simply Chocolate
Jane Napier from Simply Chocolate, Whitstable. gave a very interesting talk and demonstration about making chocolates. Jane was inspired by a course she attended and she then started workshops locally. Since lockdown she has been giving talks to WIs all over the UK via zoom. This worked well as we were able to see everything she did very clearly.
Jane showed us how to melt chocolate in the microwave and then how to temper the chocolate. She demonstrated ways we could decorate the moulds with coca butter colours, nuts sprinkles etc. The tempered chocolate was then put into the moulds to form shells. Once these had set, they were filled with salted caramel. and topped with more chocolate.
Jane also showed us how to make chocolate shards. She used chocolate transfer sheets which are made of plastic and already have a cocoa butter design on them. These are covered in chocolate and then the chocolate can be decorated with sprinkles, different coloured chocolate etc. Blobs of different coloured chocolate can be used and then feathered together. These can be broken into shards, put in boxes and given as presents. Jane made everything look reasonably simple and very delicious!
8 March Tom Wray ‘Wildlife on your Doorstep’
Tom gave a fascinating talk on the subject ‘Wildlife on your doorstep’ Tom is a wildlife photographer living in Iver, Bucks. Although he spends a lot of time overseas, especially Africa, his talk concentrated on the animals he has photographed in the UK.
He described how he often spends a week in a hide or stream or up a tree, getting used to the wildlife and the flight paths of the birds in order to get the best pictures. Light plays an important part and he usually takes pictures around dawn and sunset. He tries to capture the character of the animals. It was a fascinating talk and his photos were amazing..
8 February Roger Cansdale ‘Heroes and Villains’ of the Basingstoke Canal’
Roger gave a very interesting talk about the history of the Basingstoke Canal. It took 6 years to build and in 1794 when it was completed it didn’t attract many customers as not that many people wanted to go to Basingstoke, especially once the railway service started. The section up to Woking was used more. In 1869 it went bankrupt and from this time there was a series of owners most of whom ended up as villains! Due to the canal being formed by an act of Parliament most of the sales were in fact illegal.
By 1884 it was used more for recreation and boats were hired out. In 1913 one of the heroes of the Basingstoke canal tried to take a boat down it so that the government wouldn’t close it.
In the 1960s it went into ruin and people started to look at ways to restore it. In 1970 Surrey and Hampshire County Council bought it and gradually the mammoth task of restoring was started using volunteers, army personnel as well as experts.
In May 1991 it was reopened and a lot of the work to keep it open is done by volunteers and money is made from the boat trips towards this. It’s future is still uncertain as both the county councils do not have a lot of cash to spend on it, although it is a very popular feature of the area
11 January Stephen Wells ‘The Curious Incident of Agatha Christie’
In this very interesting talk, we heard about Agatha Christie’s life, her disappearance and her books. Stephen also talked about the characters she created and their portrayal in film and on television. There were so many fascinating facts including that her main plot device in her first novel was that the one person who couldn’t possibly do the murder did it!
Stephen’s top 5 Agatha Christie novels are:
1. The ABC murders
2. And then there were none
3. Murder on the Orient Express
4. The murder of Roger Ackroyd
5. A murder is announced
Following the talk we voted on this year’s Resolutions.
A Review of 2020
14 December Christmas Fun
We enjoyed an online evening of chat with a Christmas quiz, Christmas Dingbats, jokes, videos (minus the sound owing to technical issues) and a poem. It was a cheering way to end our year. The committee also delivered Christmas treats to everyone – a mini iced Christmas cake, a chocolate orange and a card. An unexpected surprise which was appreciated by everyone.
9 November AGM and Quiz
The Treasurer’s, Secretary’s and President’s reports had all been circulated beforehand and there were no questions arising from these. The accounts had been independently audited and signed off by the SFWI recommended independent auditor. The membership supported the adoption of the accounts.
The President talked about the forthcoming meetings and how they would have to be done via zoom. She thanked Alison for her work on the programme as it had involved a lot of rearranging of speakers.
The committee and President are staying the same as last year except that June is standing down as Treasurer. She will remain on the committee. Shirley is taking over as Treasurer. This was approved by the members present unanimously.
Bobbi thanked the committee and Judy for all their hard work.
The members then enjoyed a quiz naming the top ten of various topics.
12 October Poetry to amuse, entertain and illuminate
Robbie Sprague, a retired primary school head teacher entertained us with anecdotes about his life and poetry readings. These included verses by a range of poets from Spike Milligan to Shakespeare. Some were well known, others not so. Some were funny others more thought provoking. Our first Zoom meeting was success!
9th March A Year in the Life of a Mayor
Robin Perry, the Mayor of Surrey Heath, explained that he attended over 300 events in the year. He is firstly a councillor representing a ward on Surrey Heath Borough Council. He is elected to be Mayor by his fellow councillors and chairs the bi monthly council meetings. He holds office from May to May. As an ambassador for the Borough he attends various events as the Borough’s representative. He also raises funds for local charities.
His chosen charities for this year are Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care, Surrey Young Carers, Frimley and Camberley Cadet Corps and Surrey Heath Tree Wardens. He hopes to raise about £15000 for these charities by organising events such as a bowling tournament and Charity Ball.
Robin then answered questions about his work and the development of the town centre.
10th February Surrey Search and Rescue
Rosie Jordan has been a volunteer for 9 years. She described Surrey Search and Rescue as Lowland rescue, similar to mountain rescue but without the mountains! They mainly deal with searching for missing people, such as people with dementia those with mental health problems or children. Last year they were called out 123 times but this year they have already had 23 callouts. They are the busiest team in the UK and have 66 qualified members, 5 support staff, 3 search dogs and 11 trainee search dogs. They are equipped with 5 vehicles which include 2 incident control vehicles. They also are able to search in water and use drones.
They are 100% volunteers, 100% professional in the way they are trained and 100% funded by donations. It takes 6 months to train a search technician. Rosie explained the work they do and how they help the police.
Rosie answered questions and then the treasurer thanked her for a most interesting and informative talk. She also gave Rosie a donation of £100 raised for the charity during the meeting.
13th January Dinah Warnock – ‘Fashion through Time’
Sadly bad weather meant that our speaker was unable to come. All was not lost as June Phillips, our Treasurer, gave a talk about her life. She has done so much! It was fascinating to listen to her recollections of her childhood in Hartlepool and her move to Frimley to work at Marconi on the Ariane space project. The thing she noticed most when she moved to this area was all the trees! After meeting her husband Fred and having 2 children, she trained to be a physics teacher and taught at both France Hill and Tomlinscote schools. She has always enjoyed voluntary work and has helped with adult literacy, scouting and Activity Extra. Her latest role is being a governor at Kings International College. She also enjoys walking and organises our walking group.
A Review of 2019
9th December Christmas Fun
We all enjoyed a sociable, festive evening to end our year. Carols, delicious refreshments and secret Santa added to the fun. The table decoration competition was won by Chris Hitchmough. All the leftover food and drink was taken to the Camberley all night café where it was much appreciated.
11th November Annual General Meeting and Quiz
Our AGM opened with the Treasurer’s report and the accounts were presented to the membership by our treasurer June Phillips. Accounts had been independently audited and signed off by the SFWI recommended independent auditor. The membership supported the adoption of the accounts.
The Secretary’s report was presented to the membership by Annie Ward on behalf of the secretary Mary Glauert. Generally it had been a good year for membership, activities etc.
The president, Judy Campbell summarised the year emphasising the interesting range of activities, trips and visits and speakers during the year.
The election of the president for the forthcoming year was overseen by the tellers from Camberley WI and Judy Campbell was unanimously re-elected. Patricia Wray joined the committee and the rest of the committee remained the same.
Refreshments and a fun quiz followed.
14th October ‘Look Fabulous Forever’
Our speaker was Tricia Cusden from the company Look Fabulous Forever. Tricia explained how she had started this company at the age of 65. Her newly born granddaughter had been very ill the year before and nearly died. This made Tricia realise that she wanted to make the most of what was left of her life. When she retired from her job as a management training consultant she thought about what she could do. She had always been disappointed with the cosmetics available for older women and decided that she would like to develop her own range.
She found someone who could make them for her and invested £40,000 in the brand. She launched in October 2013 thinking that she would sell to friends and parties. After a very good response, she made promotional videos using her friends as models. She put the videos on You Tube and this increased her sales through her website greatly, including orders from overseas. In the summer of 2014 her daughter joined her and the company was short listed in the Guardian start up competition which led to more orders. She was introduced to the head of Google UK and this led to her going to Brussels to talk about how You tube can help your business grow and a piece on BBC breakfast with Steph McGovern. The response to this was so great that the website nearly crashed. With the increase in orders the company expanded and moved out of her front room into offices. They have also opened two shops in Guildford and Wimbledon. Her products are designed to cope with the skin changes in a woman after the menopause.
Annie Ward was then given a makeover while Tricia explained what was being done and why. There was an opportunity to ask questions and to buy products.
9th September Health and Beauty
This evening we welcome three speakers.
James Everett from Camberley Chiropractor clinic explained the workings of the spine and talked about some common back problems. He showed us the best positions for sleeping and sitting, how to lift heavy objects and which foods and drink are good to encourage recovery from injuries.
Maggie Ryan from Chic beauty gave a demonstration of an anti-aging micro-current therapy facial. During this she explained how it works and gave the benefits of facials plus some tips on skin care.
Jade Carey from Doterra oils talked about the medicinal benefits of essential oils. We were able to experience the effects of peppermint oil and hear about the uses of other oils such as lavender and frankincense.
All the talks were very interesting and members were able to ask the speakers questions later in the meeting.
8th July A Summer Surprise
Our ‘Summer Surprise was the arrival of the Surrey Fringe Singers, a Barber’s Shop octet, who sang to us while we had drinks and nibbles. They sang a variety of songs such as ‘When I’m 64’, ‘Under the Boardwalk’, ‘Alleluia’ and ‘Do you feel the love tonight?’ the music was most enjoyable and afterwards they joined our tables and talked about their group and the songs they sang.
Some of them had the pleasure of judging our Victoria Sandwich competition. There were 7 entries and congratulations went to Helen Whapshott for her winning sponge. Everyone then enjoyed sampling the cakes as part of our refreshments
10th June Carol Ferris – ‘Wish you were here’
Flower designer, Carol Ferris, made 6 flower arrangements under the title ‘Wish you were here’. These were inspired by various trips she had made. The first reflected Jaipur, with predominantly pink flowers. The second Venice, with red and green flowers in a vertical arrangement and the third Kerala, with mauve and orange flowers imitating the heat.
Carol entertained us with anecdotes about her trips while making the arrangements and also explained what she was doing! Each of her displays consisted of 2 arrangements, 2 of which she had prepared earlier. We all agreed that the arrangements were beautiful and attractively presented with appropriate props to reflect the places they depicted.
Carol kindly donated the 6 arrangements for raffle prizes. It was a very enjoyable and fascinating talk.
13th May Around the World
A cheque for £668 was presented to Clare Watson who is the Head of the Physiotherapy service for neurology and strokes at FPH. This will go towards the expansion of the stroke unit to provide more space for families.
The meeting then continued with our speaker, John Fairley. He shared with us his experiences of racing a yacht around the world against the prevailing winds as part of the BT Global Challenge. We heard about the training and selection process and saw an exhilarating video of part of the race. The 12 crew faced storms, hurricanes, a sea swell of 250 feet, the doldrums and icebergs to mention just a few of the many challenges. It was a fascinating insight into the world of ocean racing.
8th April Bring and Buy
The Bring and Buy sale was in aid of the Stroke Unit at Frimley Park Hospital and raised £168. Unsold items were donated to local charity shops. Adding to the fun of the evening was a quiz which taxed us all – identifying famous people from their photos and cryptic clues to the names of pop groups!
11th March A Passion for Pearls
Frances Carlaw’s talk ‘A passion for Pearls’ was very informative and interesting with several amusing anecdotes. Frances used to be a musician but has always had a passion for pearls since she saw her grandmother’s pearl necklace when she was 7 years old. She makes jewellery from pearls she buys from various parts of the world. These she sells and gives any profit to charity. She gives a lot of talks to WIs (about 35 a month) and runs courses at Denman. She is retiring in April and will then live in her renovated farmhouse in Burgundy running courses called Pearls before Wine!
She explained that there were 3 different types of pearls. Faux is the largest group and made from glass beads covered in varnish. Natural is a much smaller group. These pearls are formed inside the bodies of some bivalves without any intervention and are rare and expensive. Cultured pearls, the last group, are helped to form by man on pearl farms.
The process of pearl formation has only been found relatively recently. Frances explained the process and how different shapes of ‘seed’ give rise to different shaped pearl and how the type of bivalve alters the colour of the pearls. The seed is formed from the mummified remains of a burrowing parasitic maggot!.
Frances kindly donated 2 sets of earrings to the raffle. There was also a very impressive and tempting range of items she had brought with her which were available to buy.
11 February – Neil Stace the Sewing Soldier
Lt Col. Neil Stace gave a very interesting and amusing talk about his career in ‘sewing’ and the army. He ffirst started sewing at Primary school when girls were allowed to join the football club so he and his friend asked to join the sewing club. He used to make clothes for his action men and this then continued into making things for his girlfriends. He is incredibly talented and can make clothes, even wedding dresses, without using a pattern.
During his army career, he used sewing and knitting in places like as Belfast, Bosnia and Basra. Teaching women to sew in Afghanistan completely changed their lives.
He then went onto give us the inside story of when he competed in the Great Sewing Bee and to tell us about his latest project. This is called Flags of Thanks. Anyone can make 30cm squares which will be joined together to make items for homeless veterans. Information about this can be found at https://www.alabare.co.uk/event/flags-of-thanks
14 January Part 2 The Balkans
This was a second visit from Gareth Bonner and followed on from his talk last year about Bosnia which was very well received. This time he told us about his experiences in Kosovo. Gareth worked in military intelligence and is now retired although he does consultancy work about many aspects of military history. He recapped on his work in Bosnia and then went on to talk about the situation in Kosovo from 1998 to 1999. Gareth gave a very informative and interesting account of events both on a political and personal level. After refreshments members voted on the NFWI Resolutions.
A review of 2018
A review of 2017
A review of 2016
A review of 2015
A review of 2014
A review of 2013
A review of 2012