"Do you think Bruce Springsteen would fancy me?"

~~~~~

Publisher's note: This is sadly the last "blog" written by our dear friend Carol, before she left us and moved to pastures new; it was written, loaded up and ready to publish when Carol handed the blog over, but the wonders of  IT security meant that it was not possible to publish someone else's report other than by re-inputting it word by word!  So here it is at last, in Carol's original words, with many apologies for the delay, and many thanks to Carol for this report and all the other work that preceded it.

~~~~~

Our October meeting was held at All Saints Church in Milton and it was a slightly different format to other meetings, in that a group of our existing members volunteered to be "The Committee" and host proceedings for the evening.  Thus, after a break of some six years, we had a 

"Members' Meeting".

Marie and her stalwart fellow committee members, Christine, Tina, Sue B, Linda, Pat and Helen, met on several occasions before the evening to plan their agenda.

There was Frank Sinatra's music,  I Did It My Way, playing as friends arrived and everyone was at their stations, with sleeves rolled up and hats akimbo.

A competition was held to bake two scones from a given recipe (or own if preferred) and the results were:

1st - Angela

2nd - Sue B

3rd - Margaret N

During the tea break, later in the evening, scones were buttered, plated up and handed round and then they disappeared rather quickly!  Well done to everyone who entered the competition and to those who bought sufficient scones along so that everyone could enjoy them.

Our guest speaker for the evening was Angie of Cambridge Women's Aid, who described the work of this Cambridge-based charity to support women and their children who have suffered from domestic violence in its wide range of behaviours.  This was an inspirational address and informed our members of so many issues that this type of work supports and provoked quite a lot of discussion afterwards.

Our thanks go to Angie for her valuable time spent talking to us; it is much appreciated.

The usual Committee, Gill, Bridget, Nathalie, Jan, Ann, Sue, Sue and Carol AND all those who attended would like to say a HUGE thanks to the special team of volunteers who put in so much work to make this particular meeting such a great success.  There was a wonderful atmosphere amongst the members and several new guests and the poem and anecdotes below provided to us with our Diary Dates probably sum up what the evening represented:

"We have been put to the test

And tried our best

But make no mistake

We could never replace

Our brilliant hard-working committee"

FRIENDS

"Friends are like bras, close to your heart and there for support"

"Good friends are like stars - you don't always see them, but you know they are always there"

"It is one of the blessings of old friends, you can afford to be stupid with them"

Nothing stupid at this gathering..... it was all WONDERFUL - YOU'VE GOT THE JOB!

And back to the heading - Marie did a brilliant impression of the lovely Pam Ayres, providing, in her poem, the answer to the question:

"Do you think Bruce Springsteen would fancy me?"

~~~~~

Congratulations Christine!

Our dear friend, Christine recently entered three classes in the Handicraft Section 

at the annual Milton Produce Show.

A Knitted Item - Christine produced a covered coat hanger for this class, which was created by adding wadding to the coat hanger, then double knitted wool as a cover, with lace knitted in at the same time.

A Greetings Card - This entry featured an applique of “Tea Bag Folding” style of paper, mounted on a card which Christine then added a star and other decorations in each corner and lettering to form the words “Happy Birthday”.

Any Other Handicraft - Christine entered “Foxy” which was made out of fur fabric, mounted on a covered wire frame and stuffed with acrylic fibre.

For her efforts Christine was awarded 

“Best in Category - Handicrafts”

So, congratulations from all of us Christine, it is wonderful for your beautiful work to be recognised in this way.

“My mother put a needle in my hand when I was aged 6 or 7” was the reply when Carol asked how long Christine had been interested in creating handicrafts. She has no particular favourite type of craft, just “delves into all sorts!”

You may not be aware that Christine started her working life in 1957 in the secretarial service within the Home Help Team of the Public Health Department of Cambridgeshire County Council. Then in 1960, she became Assistant Organiser of the team, rising to Deputy Organiser and finally in 1976 she was promoted to the position of Senior Organiser of Home Help for Cambridge City. Later, the department went through some management changes and eventually came under the wing of Social Services but Christine remained in her senior position until 1991 and then became the city’s Community Care Coordinator in 1992, a role which she enjoyed until her retirement in 1999.

After serious illness earlier in her life, Christine attended The Mackenzie School of Music and Dramatic Art, which encouraged it’s pupils to rebuild confidence after a break from school. The school was founded by Emily Lewis who converted her sitting room for classes. The children were always encouraged to perform to each other at the end of classes and also publicly. When standing on the stage of the Main Hall at the Guildhall, they were expected to project their singing or poetry reading voices to the back of the hall! While at the school, Christine won The Marlowe Society Cup for Elocution at The Cambridge Music Festival. Some classes were also held in the hall at the end of Covent Garden, off Mill Road in Cambridge and Christine recalls thinking that "this is a really large hall at the end of a very long road!"

Christine is also quite a talented artist and still enjoys attending art classes provided by U3A in Cambridge. She lives with her sister, Helen, and has two close cousins who also live nearby with their families. During the evening, you might find them viewing an assortment of  history and geography programmes on tv, and their absolute favourite show “Strictly Come Dancing”, while Christine exercises nimble fingers, creating lovely craft items to lively dance music!

Here is Christine with her winner’s cup and three entries 
and examples of some of her other work which she often sells at local craft fairs.

Knitted Christmas Trees

Cross stitch tapestry and a birthday card, both winning first prize at Milton Produce Show in 2011

Mr Policeman - A glove puppet which Christine created as Milton WI's chosen entry
at the 2012 Group Meeting at Landbeach!

Thanks Everyone!

We held a Bring & Buy Breakfast this morning at Milton Park Golf Club and raised a total of £115.35 for our chosen local charity for 2012 -  Cam Sight.

As usual, this event provided plenty of time to catch up over our excellent cooked breakfast and we all had plenty of time to view a good number of items for sale. There was a choice of home made cakes and biscuits which hardly touched the table before they were snapped up! We also had a clothes rail, bric-a-brac, and a huge selection of books.

 Our thanks go to our wonderful members for donating all the items for sale and giving so generously to this fundraising effort.

"Cam Sight relies on personal & financial support. 

Supports people with visual impairment & their families to maintain independence & quality of life.  

Works to prevent avoidable sight loss & raise awareness of the reality of living with sight difficulties. 

Donations would support their Centenary Appeal to redesign their building & add a Technology Centre of Excellence for Cambridge"

For further information on this very worthwhile appeal, click here.

May we also give a huge thanks to John, Paul and Jane who made us all feel so welcome today at Milton Park Golf Club.

Daphne & Christine

Jean, Judy, Margaret, Lorna,  Anne & Cathy

The Seaside Girls!

Everyone was delighted that the clouds disappeared as we arrived in Cromer in early July and we were bathed in warm sunshine for the whole day on our 2012 Summer Outing.

Morning refreshments and later, a lunch at The Hotel de Paris, free time to shop or wander along the beach, then we all took our seats for the matinee performance of the the Seaside Special Show at the Pavilion Theatre on Cromer Pier. This is the 35th year of this variety show being staged at the theatre and judging by the lack of any empty seats and laughter, it should continue for some time to come.

Here are a few photographs taken on the day.

Elaine, Rozz and Gill

Erica, Margaret, Dorothy, Carol, Cathy & Diana 

Marie, a picture of summer loveliness!

Elaine and Cathy

Judy, Lorna, Sue, Bridget, Diana & Margaret

What an extraordinary woman!

 At our May meeting, one of our members, Jill Hanks, provided details of a forthcoming BBC radio play, which continues after the wartime experiences of her late mother, Joan. Joan used flying skills gained in Singapore to become a member of The Air Transport Auxiliary during WW2.

The play will be broadcast on the following dates:

11 - 15th June 2012 on BBC Radio 4 "Woman's Hour" from 10.00 to 11.00

The actual play is on at 10.45 for 15 minutes each day and is entitled 

"Tiger Wings".

Here is some information provided by Jill, along with some charming photographs of Joan and further information on the history and activities of the ATA:

"I had a great afternoon in London sitting in on the recording of the last episode. Then I had a 2 minute slot doing an epilogue!!  I got to meet Honeysuckle Weeks, from "Foyle's War", who is playing my mothers part. All thecast were so lovely and appreciative of the massive achievement Joan's Soloflight was in those days, when commercial overseas flights, had only justbeen started after the war!The play focuses on this flight in March 1948, (taking 26 days!!) from UK toSingapore in a small two seater, single engine plane.  Joan was living in Singapore and when the Japanese invaded in early 1942, she escaped on an American evacuation ship on Jan 30th (another story in its self) and Joined theATA (Air Transport Auxiliary) in the April."

                                                                                

                                   

                                                                          

Jill has spent a great deal of time researching various records and this acknowledgement by the BBC can be viewed as a fitting and worthwhile tribute to her mother. 

Our grateful thanks go to her for providing this fascinating glimpse into her mother's flying activities.

If you miss the programme on the above dates then click here to go to the BBC iPlayer for Radio 4 to hear the programmes after 15 June 2012.

Tiramisu, Springy Rambles & Those Fabulous Stowstoppers!

A large group of WI members from our county had a wonderful time at Denman College
during the recent Cambridge Federation Weekend.

We had a choice of three courses, "Italian Dessert Cookery", "Showstoppers" and "Gentle Spring Rambles".

For some of us, this was our first "Denman Experience" but on chatting to others in our group and members from other Federations staying at the college, it was obvious that this is quite the place to visit  -  and often!

And the food........."wonderful!"

The company...."really friendly"

The accommodation......"comfortable and quiet after a busy day"
The Tutors......"passionate and so knowledgeable"

Here are some photos and videos to record our time there, hopefully they will provide a flavour.......did I mention the food?...........of how much we all enjoyed our weekend.

Despite having limited time to rehearse several complicated routines,  these lovely ladies and the rest
of our Federation  Showstoppers, put on a wonderful show for us all in the evening. Well done!

Ramblers at lunch

Oh...those desserts.......

Looking in on one of the other courses

Sally - multitasking!

Ann and Angela - Chief Tasters

The Gentle Spring Ramblers and Jan, our Denman Ambassador

Details of the many courses available to members, non members and students can be viewed by clicking on this link to Denman College. where you will also find details of available gift vouchers. (Good idea for birthday and Christmas presents from your loved ones!)

Alternatively, just speak to Jan, our Denman Ambassador, at next month's meeting or make contact via this website for enthusiastic feedback!

Our Spring Lunch Together at The Olive Tree Cafe!

Wonderful, home made food as always, lots of catching up to do, 15 of us enjoyed our recent lunch at The Olive Tree Cafe at Oakington Garden Centre.

After the lunch there was time for a little gardening retail therapy in the warm spring sun.

Melanie, Tamsin and Sonya - perfect hosts!

Stuffed Roast Peppers, with Dressed Salad & a Side of Coleslaw