Ruth Bond's Blog

Mastermind, 2012 WI Archive year, NIMBY to YIMBY, and the Alan Titchmarsh show

2012-02-03T10:04:00.000Z

The WI has well and truly arrived demonstrated by its appearance as a chosen specialist subject on Mastermind. Congratulations to Sally Mabey of Glamorgan Federation for not only putting herself through what must surely be an ordeal but also for attesting her passion for the WI. There are such vast amounts of social history to be found within the WI; everything that the WI undertakes, at every level – national, federation and most definitely local – is history that is well worth preserving and building upon.

2012 is the WI Archive Year, so please do check if the completed minute books and memorabilia for your WI are logged and stored in the correct manner and place. If you need any help, federations have their own archivist who would be happy to give help and advice.

The WI has always been good at keeping records; it's the ‘where’ that has proved difficult! The National Federation of Women's Institutes archives are housed in the Women's Library at the London Metropolitan University, and the National Needlework Archive has a note and a very long list of all of the WI textiles up until a few years ago. With so many new WIs springing up it might soon need to update its records, especially the tablecloth department as this is more often than not the first craft or textile piece that a WI produces and owns.

Our archives tell us about the huge variety of activities that WIs used to partake in, and they are key to the organisation’s longevity. Every decade of the WI’s archives reflects the varying challenges and popular activities of the time. The essence of the WI does not change, its aims and objects remain constant; it is what is happening in society at any given time that shapes the WI. WIs have always played a role in shaping their communities, whether from within or as a consequence of a national mandate, with both giving rise to campaigning and action in some instances, and sometimes merely raising awareness of a particular issue.

At the top of this post I spoke of one woman's passion. For regular readers you might recall the passion in my posts about my trip to Germany in November 2011. This same passion ensured that renewable energy was powering the electricity and heat facilities that I visited on my trip. Following this, the participants have met, and yesterday we invited Secretary of State for the Environment, Chris Huhne, to join the discussions. He is aiming to take renewable energy from NIMBY to YIMBY, but to achieve this there needs to be much more involvement of and conversations with people. To ensure that we can still enjoy the luxury of turning on the lights with the flick of a switch in the future means that renewable energy needs to be talked about and established.

Mandates on the environment – in particular one from 1977 calling on government to look into the use of renewable energy – gives the WI a voice in this ongoing debate and need.

Finally, I was pleased to see the WI on the television again this Wednesday past, with members making bunting and decorating cupcakes on Alan Titchmarsh's show. "The WI was never like this", he commented when greeting Jazz from Shoreditch Sisters WI. Well, actually, the WI has ever been like this. Thousands of women down the years have become WI members in their early 20s, myself included, and had the media been as it is today I'm sure many of them would have looked as good on TV!

That was a week that was

2012-01-23T17:28:00.000Z

To say that the WI has members in high places, and I mean high places, would be an understatement this week! You may or may not know, but HRH Queen Elizabeth is the President of Sandringham WI in Norfolk, and last week Her Majesty attended its monthly meeting, signed the minutes, listened to the speaker, gave a short address, enjoyed the home grown entertainment and took afternoon tea with the members. I was honoured to be invited to the meeting, together with our Honorary Treasurer Aleathia Mann, who is a member of Norfolk Federation. Our task was to judge two competitions: a Diamond Jubilee card in any medium, and six cupcakes decorated to reflect the anniversary. It was a wonderfully enjoyable and magical afternoon with a touch of the surreal about it, and yet it felt like any other village WI meeting with a VIP in attendance.

Sandringham WI has a prestigious royal history; its first President was Queen Mary. Her daughter-in-law Queen Elizabeth then took over, and now our Queen takes the presidential chair at the January meetings. Queen Mary played a large part in setting up the WI on the Norfolk estate, since she was so interested and intrigued to hear of the organisation that first began in Canada in 1897, but from 1915 was engaging the women of Wales and England.

The rest is history; a synopsis of which can be found on the NFWI website as well as in several books. Within these histories, mention is made of the NFWI’s first national Chair Lady Denman, after whom the WI college in Oxfordshire is named. As a lady of drive and determination, she left such an active legacy from which members have benefited and acted for almost a hundred years.

The essence of the WI is bringing women together to find company; to provide opportunities to learn new skills; make a difference within their communities; and possibly above all, be themselves and have fun. Empowerment and education were the original words much used, and the same is true today, but we may go about it in different ways.

The WI has always provided a place where women can be themselves. Mariella Frostrup, in response to a correspondent who was trying to find a way to cope with daily frustrations and let off steam, advocated the WI as one possible option. Nowadays when so much socialising is carried out online, nothing can beat the face to face interaction with like-minded, or otherwise, people in a safe place for a couple of hours a month. That, combined with the chance to learn something new every time, can begin and become an obsession!

Not much is completely and truly ‘new’ as someone somewhere has usually advocated the same, or a version thereof, years and years before; but having had a look at the Start website, I am thinking of cleaning without modern products enhanced by chemicals. They are offering “new ways” of cleaning with lemon, bicarbonate of soda and other natural elements: nothing new there! There are several WI books on the subject not least the last booklet produced by the NFWI, “Simple Solutions”, which sold in its thousands in 2004/5. Many of these old methods never loose their efficacy, and they were no doubt in use and under possible discussion when Queen Mary was President of Sandringham WI.

Happy New Year

2012-01-11T16:41:00.001Z

A new year causes most people pause for thought - about many things. And the same new year brings us nearer, even closer, to that tipping point I mentioned in my last post. Our desire and determination to ' do our bit' for the environment to alleviate the situation is entirely personal. The WI has always stood firm on its concern for the future of community, whether that future be next week or many years hence. And it stands firm too on caring for communities of that future, not least of the people closest to us; friends, families, children and grandchildren.

On that entirely personal theme, I now have a small grandson who arrived into a world where his utter innocence and trust will be sorely trIed by the time he reaches manhood unless that over arching deal spoken of in Durban is reached and acted upon and not just brought up again next year in some seemingly exotic part of the world.

Pictures of such places are conjured up in many a WI meeting. Within 10 days of the new WI year I have heard of such subjects as Victorian Music Hall. Women's Health and Hyroglifics of Ancient Egypt as the topic for the month. All of interest to me and especially the latter, as this has always been one of my greatest fascinations. My first outing with my husband-to-be in 1972 was to see the treasures of Tutenkamun at the British Museum.

Lord Carnarvon together with Howard Carter who discovered his tomb will no doubt be spoken of by the current Countess of Carnarvon when she speaks about her new book, "Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey" at the literary lunch to be held at Denman College in February. Always remember, the Wi can take you wherever you want to go!

A World Without Jam...and packaging

2011-12-19T16:27:00.000Z

Iam heartened to read today that at last supermarkets must within a year cut downon the amount of packaging they use or else laws will be brought in to ensure theydo. Apparently, a former environment minister has even made the drastic suggestionthat the public should dump packaging at supermarkets – whether stores want it backor not!

Wellminister, you are not the first to come up with this ‘drastic’ action. Back in 2006,when the WI's campaign to reduce packagingbegan in earnest, this was one of the actions members were urged to take. But weused the word return, not dump. Some members did return their packaging and maystill do. I understand this practice is a matter of course in Germany. And what about refunds on glassbottles like we used to have in this country? It is done in Germany, along with plastic bottlestoo.

In2006 we called for cucumbers not to be wrapped in plastic and for the sale of singlefruits and vegetables, rather than the ubiquitous set of four in a double, and sometimestriple, wrapping on a plastic tray.

Iremember taking with me into the Radio 4 studio a pack of four parsnips to illustrateto Jennie Murrie on Woman's Hour exactly what the WImeant by over packaging. Right on cue a liquid oozed from the pack on to the presenter'sdesk!

TheWI has been on the packaging case foryears and I do believe we have made great inroads. I am now able to buy parsnipssingly, even if I need four of them. The option is at least there – in some places.Supermarkets still have a long way to go.

Anotherlong-standing campaign has been the struggle against climate change. I representedthe WI in Poznanin 2008 and Copenhagenin 2009; the latter being classed as a summit. How far did Durban talks progress? I heard a reporter commentthis year that the talks have provided “a roadmap to secure a roadmap of an overarching global deal”. Yet it seems the gap between pledges, and what isactually required, remains vast, while all the time the sense of urgency remainssomewhat lacking.

Andtherein lies the issue. How urgently do we care about the sort of world we leaveto our grandchildren? I tend to think in terms of the next two decades. The WI all along has raised the issue too, of women beingpart of the discussion, decision making and solutions. It's worth taking anotherlook at our award winning film ‘A World Without Jam’, because sadly the messageis the same now as it was six years ago, and the 100 months to tipping point isdown to around 30. How about a new year's resolution to think again as consumers,about all the rubbish we produce and where it goes and what happens to it afterwe put it in the right bin.

WI members make prison journeys

2011-12-12T12:02:00.000Z

Prime Minister Atlee, presiding over many a gathering in the room bearing his name in the House of Lords, must raise an eyebrow at some of the discussions it hosts in the twenty first century. Possibly not on his agenda was the visiting of by ‘wrong-doers’ - folk held at Her Majesty's pleasure in their place of incarceration.

A few days ago, the WI, in partnership with Action for Prisoners' Families, hosted the launch of the report of The Women's Institute Visiting Prisons; a publication of accounts written by WI members who volunteered to visit inmates at prisons across England and Wales. Many people receive no visits or very few visits during their time in prison and this can be due to many factors including distance from the prison to family homes, cost of journeys, restrictions that surround visits, and lack of co-ordination between prison authorities and the families to name but a few. In some prisons, inadequate or poor provision for children of all ages when taken to visit a parent can be a barrier to frequent visits, and some visits, although planned, may never come about. Accounts have also been written by WI members who were unable to make their planned journeys because of insurmountable travel difficulties, non-response from the person requesting the visit and prisoners being moved to different jails at a moment’s notice. One visit was halted as the visitor was in transit because the prisoner was being transferred to another prison there and then.

All of these journeys were undertaken, or not, to highlight the problems, difficulties, frustrations and stresses put upon a prisonler's family in their desire and endeavours to play a major part in the offender's rehabilitation. None of the WI visitors had previously met the people they were visiting and some were subsequently unable to visit unless they gave their age and address. All were apprehensive but all were pleased to have taken part in this project.

My round trip of 320 miles took ten minutes short of nine hours, cost around £121 and was achieved using buses, trains and boats. I have become a seasoned traveller in recent years but even so, this trip, which had to be undertaken in one day to avoid spending more money on accommodation, was no holiday jaunt. I was blessed with sunny weather, but in the dark and cold of mid winter it might have been a different matter. The family of the man I visited live even further away than I do, so their journey would include an additional 226 miles.

It is important to remember throughout this project that at the beginning and end of every visit, including those that did not come to pass, is a person. None of the prisoners taking part had received a visitor for a long time, if at all, during their sentence; they not not projects, but human beings whom society entrusts to the criminal justice system to correct and rehabilitate in order that they may play an active and responsible role in society. Surely society should practice what it preaches; that this is such a huge job should not deter from the mechanisms that will one day make the system a good one – one that works.

Little black dresses

2011-12-05T12:04:00.001Z

Could Men In Sheds - MIS - become the male equivalent of the WI, I wonder? A study coming out of Leeds Metropolitan University confirms that men coming together in sheds for conversation and to share talk and tips on hobbies, in other words interaction, has a positive effect on their well being. No longer one man in his shed but men together in sheds.

Face-to-face conversation and interaction are given elements of the WI and the sharing of knowledge of crafts, and interests and skills have added to the wellbeing of our members for 96 years so far. And nowhere was it more in evidence than last Thursday at the NFWI's Little Black Dress sustainable fashion show at the London Fashion and Textile Museum. The show saw 35 WI models modelling their creations designed either by themselves or another WI member. But these were dresses with a difference.
Members chose to enter one of three categories:
• The Best New Dress, designed from scratch.
• The Best Re-made or Upcycled Dress - made using existing clothes updated, adapted or refashioned
• The Best Eco-friendly Dress - made using any material, fabric or otherwise but must be made to minimise the impact on the environment such as recycled materials, organic textiles and environmentally friendly processes.

The models were accompanied by fellow WI members and supporters, and with competition in mind, the judges were Baroness Lola Young, ambassador for the Ethical Fashion Forum and the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Ethical Fashion in Parliament; journalist Lucy Siegel whose work in championing ethical fashion and exposing the truth behind the high street labels has brought the issues behind ethical fashion into focus; and Marylyn Haines-Evans, NFWI Public Affairs Committee Chair. The competition was the culmination of the current stage of the WI's Fast Fashion Campaign which aims to raise awareness of the environmental and social impact of fast fashion. The modern high street is increasingly dominated by this type of fashion and like fast food; the fashion is low priced, mass produced and designed for instant gratification. However, the surge in demand for cheap disposable clothing produces a range of negative impacts for people and the planet.

The NFWI has called on retailers to be more open about where and how their clothes are made, and it wants retailers to use their influence to improve the working conditions throughout their supply chain. Every year in Britain we throw away 1.2 million tonnes of clothes but only 25% of textile waste is recycled. Most of these clothes end up in landfill contribution to the mountain of waste that our children and our children's children will have to deal with way into the future.

Now onto the dresses – they were all wonderful! Many harped back to the ethos of make-do-and-mend of years gone by, which is highly fashionable. Others chose to use camellia leaves or newspaper, not to mention stinging nettles and old tights, materials from men's suits and ties, video taps and plastic food trays. Imagination ran riots but came up with designer clothes to die for.
The whole event was a celebration of women sharing their talent and their friendship and I feel sure their well being was well and truly catered for. And don't forget, many of the craft skills used by these talented members can be learned in the WI's own college, Denman College, in Marcham, Oxfordshire.

WI Foods are launched

2011-12-02T10:45:00.000Z

"What more do you want? Jam on it?" This is a phrase I recall hearing from my Aunty Mimi when I was a small girl whenever something was not to my satisfaction! Were she here now I could tell her in response, "Well, actually, there is jam in it, on it and throughout it." And it is the WI.

Last week saw the long anticipated launch of the WI's own food brand with three flavours of jam; raspberry, strawberry and blackcurrant; five types of biscuit; ginger, shortbread, chocolate, oat and Shrewsbury; and two pickles; spicy tomato and sweet onion. Plain, self-raising, wholemeal and strong white bread flours will follow shortly in the list. Launched at the BBC Good Food Show in Birmingham, the stand did a very brisk trade with plenty of interest from intrigued buyers. At the moment the jams, pickles and biscuits are available on line at www.WIfoods.co.uk and in the spring they will on sale be in delicatessens, farm shops, corner and village shops and the like. Do have a look on line – there is a discount for WI members.

The jam label has been stuck to WI members for many a year so, of course, we wear it with pride. So much so that we now have what has become an annual WI Real Jam Festival at our own college in Oxford – Denman College – in the Georgian house that used to be known as Marcham Park, and was given the name of Denman after our first National Chairman; Lady Gertrude Denman.That aside, it was a natural and logical step to have WI jam on the market, which is as near to homemade as possible for a product that has to be mass produced. All of the items sport the strap line "Food is our heritage"; what more could we want? Jam on it? I'm satisfied! So much so, the WI has presented Her Majesty the Queen with a selection of jams and biscuits.

I mentioned Denman College above, well as you might know this is also the location of the WI Cookery School. I heard the actress Rachel Weisz saying on Monday that her next project was to learn to cook. The WI would be delighted to give lessons – from basic baking to cordon bleu expertise. Do give the WI a try Miss Weisz!

The many colours of the WI prism

2011-11-23T09:22:00.003Z

From renewable energy one week to restored lives the next; just watch the many colours in the prism of life that is thrown into relief within the WI.

In this entry, I am returning to the issue of the proposed reform of the legal aid system. As regular readers will be aware, the reforms, if accepted, will make a drastic and wholly negative difference to the lives of those women who need access to legal help when they become victims of domestic violence.

Having expressed on our concerns to both Houses of Parliament, I was asked to contribute to a Bar Debate – “Broken Britain, broken families; what next?,” that was chaired by Mr Peter Lodder QC alongside Dr Maggie Atkinson, The Children's Commissioner; Mr Stephen Cobb QC, Chairman of the Family Law Bar Association; and Mr John Coughlan, member of the Family Law Justice Review Panel. I discussed what the WI had learned throughout its campaign, and referred to the WI’s latest report on legal aid in relation to domestic violence. The question was what would be the result of the reforms going through? The answer was simple: more deaths through domestic violence. I’m sure the audience of judges, barristers, lawyers and other interested parties were listening.

But moving on, what do you know about the WI? Indeed, what does the general public really know of the WI? Within the WI, we discuss this endlessly and during the past two weeks we have spoken particularly about perception of the WI in society. It isn’t easy to exactly explain what the WI because there are so many facets to the organisation. The WI prism shows up cookery, craft, campaigning, camaraderie, not to mention opening new vistas of learning and understanding. I could go on and on, but what I do want to say is that the WI is everything you want it to be, the WI is what you make of it and the WI has ever been here to inspire you. And it does inspire. Whether it is holding in your hand the beautiful shawl you have created, tasting the results of a dish you have made in a cookery class or seeing the face of someone whose life has changed for the better after you were part of a national or local campaign – these are all inspirational experiences – and for very nearly 100 years, this inspiration has passed from woman to woman into the hearts of communities.

The WI Inspiring Women. That's how women can change the world, and WI membership can give the journey of a lifetime to every woman.

Reflections on the Community Energy tour

2011-11-14T11:40:00.002Z

Plan A – but there is a plan B & C & D. This we learned in Feldheim, a village in a rural community of 150 people in 36 households who took the decision to become 100% energy self-sufficient.

All households pooled their land, forming a co-operative which in turn rented the land to the energy company. The result was a wind farm which was built on this land in 1995.

Pig farming was a feature in this village and in consequence a biogas plant was also built. It is estimated that 50 - 60 new jobs were created with these developments.

Now in 2011 the statement that there was no conflict between economy and ecology might be true but it did take some time for the whole village to accept the changes. Although harmony now reigns it would appear that this might not have been true at the beginning. And eventually the wind farm company took the precaution of purchasing from individuals all their stockpiles of coal and wood which at first was deterring them from using the new system. Waste not want not, would probably have been the focus at that time.

The carrot for this project was two-fold; rent from the land, and cheap electricity. Once this was established, people in surrounding villages, also with a view of the turbines, wanted to benefit from them. They too bought into this new renewable scheme.

The company offers either to set up a trust fund from which the community benefits or to provide cheap energy. And although not in the original plan, the local grid was finally purchased by the village in 2010. Needless to say, people are much more aware of the energy they consume. A very clear reminder of the WI's own Eco Teams – very active in 2006/7.

One of the main drivers behind this was the need to create economic development in the area. One large industry in the area, owned by the wind farm company, guarantees to use generated energy for ten years and this is the crux of the viability of the whole project. The Feldheim trial was set in motion by the Federal Government looking into how green energy investment might give a boost to the area. And this does appear to have worked.

But back to plan A – this is the wind farm producing much more energy than the village can use; what is not used is 'sold on'. Plan B – if Plan A fails – is the use of biogas. This is generated from a mix of wheat and maize and liquid fertilizer from the pigs. All produced on land within a 10 kilometre area this lessens the transport issue! The biomass is fuelled by wood chips harvested from community owned wood in the surrounding forests. Then if all else fails, Plan C kicks in – two hot water tanks will generate heat for a number of hours. And there is more – Plan D – the adjacent large hall in the factory that produces trackers for photovoltaic cells will provide warmth for four hours.

All this was proudly shown to us by the mayor of the area who then guided us down the bumpy path across the open fields to view the 45 turbines that form the wind farm. A much bleaker day than when viewing the turbines in the Black Forest but, nonetheless, a memorable experience.

Back home and time to reflect on the trip from Basel to Berlin and places in between where renewable energy is a well understood concept and individuals have been motivated into action and backed by government. The Chernobyl disaster colours the background of most conversations concerning renewables.

In the areas of Germany we visited a high proportion of energy companies are owned by communities – in fact, 90% of renewable energy in Germany is generated by communities and over 50 of renewable companies are owned by individuals and communities. Flexibility in the German grid system means it can absorb these small providers. Many farmers are accepting of renewable energy. And here, communities have ownership of solutions.

We talk in the UK of the green deal and of green investment banking but investment conditions in the UK are currently so uncertain.

In 2005 we were told that there were 100 months left before tipping point is reached in the struggle against the changing climate. With approximately 30 months to go aspirations remain totally inadequate.

The experience of this past week; looking at community renewable energy in action, has given a sense of what’s possible. Community is at the heart of the success of all the schemes, underpinned by impassioned individuals at the heart of the movement.

Renewable energy tour continues

2011-11-11T13:59:00.002Z

Wednesday 9 November and I find myself in Freiburg from where a short minibus drive brings five of our group to Freiamt. This is a picturesque rural area north of Freiburg and is one of five renewable energy districts in Germany. Our guide is a passionate man whose knowledge of renewable energy, in particular of wind turbines, is second to none. On our way to view the turbines within the Black Forest we visit farmers to learn about their decisions to diversify into renewable energy.

The first farmer was forced to take steps to continue to make a living some 13 years ago when Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease decimated his herd of beef cattle and pigs. From that time the maize and grass he grew to feed the animals was then used to feed the tanks and machinery which produces biogas. Into the mix goes liquid dung, brought to the site from four nearby working farms. We were told of temperatures and quantities in metres and cubic metres and all about anaerobic fermentation. The residue is put back onto the land which we learned helps to produce sweeter grass and better milk yield. Interestingly, the grass is cut five times a year in this part of the world – fresh short grass is required for biomass; back home the cutting happens twice yearly – in the interests of native flora and fauna.

All the electricity produced goes to the grid with a payback of 17 eurocents per kilowatt. Of the heat that is produced some is piped down the hill to a school – which relies on the farm for its only heat source in all weathers. The farmer and his son make a good living and don’t seem to miss the early starts to muck out or feed the animals!

The journey continues further up the hill to a dairy farm with a herd of 50 dairy cattle. As in many cases in the UK, the price per litre is not adequate to provide a living. The shortfall is made up on several ways. In the cooling of the milk from 38 degrees to 3.4 degrees the heat is used to provide litre after litre of warm water; a heat source pump. What a good and sensible idea! A proportion of this farmland is rented and used as a base to site wind turbines. Their forestry land provides timber (sold) but the crown and branches are turned into wood chips for fuel. 100 cubic metres of wood chippings burns as the equivalent of 800 litres of oil which would cost around €6,000 a year. A cubic metre of wood chips is €20. This all equates to a saving of 1,500 litres of oil a year – that is, if they used oil. This farm also makes use of its own spring water. Both farms have solar panels and photovoltaic cells in abundance on their roofs.

We move higher into the hills to 7,000 feet, to the foot of a wind turbine. A very slight swoosh can barely be heard as the blades go round. This is an 85 metre high edifice and we stand at its base which has a diameter of 70 metres. This particular one is designed to last for between 20 and 25 years. We are invited into the heart of the beast to view the gauges and information boxes. It feels like going up into a lighthouse but as we go nowhere near the top we can't see out. This turbine is owned collectively by 142 local individuals.

A short walk now takes us to a brand new turbine. Installed just 2 weeks ago and made from 1,500 tons of concrete, standing 158 metres high with each wing weighing 10 tons. This ‘beauty’ is huge, has 193 owners from the community and stands in a clearing of the Black Forest.

Looking across the vast and beautiful landscape, two more turbines stand tall above trees decked in their beautiful autumn colours. Do they detract from the scene? Do they interfere with the view? Possibly no more than unsightly power lines or pylons. Are these streamlined monsters an engineering feat of the early 21st century? In the struggle against climate change if natural energy is not harnessed and used in great quantities will there even be a vista to be viewed?

The overwhelming desire not to use nuclear power is a driving force in this area. Will Germany become carbon neutral country? There is no doubt it is taking the first steps.

Discover Community Energy – time for an energy revolution?

2011-11-09T14:38:00.001Z

This week a fact finding tour has brought me to Germany to view successful examples of community energy in action. With the UK at an energy crossroads, facing major strategic decisions about how to generate energy in a sustainable way, the Co-operative, Forum for the Future and Carbon Leapfrog have organised a Discover Community Energy tour to provide insights from the German experience which has reinvigorated communities through clean energy projects.

The first day of the 3 day mission was spent in Schonau where the towns' folk bought the grid and set up a co-operatively owned renewable energy company, currently supplying 115,000 households. This all came about when one mother, Ursula Sladek, was so moved by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster that she was determined to find an alternative way to provide energy and achieve a nuclear free future.

Having its own grid meant power could be purchased from renewable sources. The town was divided, initially, with a local jam manufacturer for the scheme and a local plastics manufacturer against it. But when the Schonau Church decided to set an example and cover the roof with Photovoltaic cells the majority of the town made a contribution providing the catalyst for the whole scheme to get the go ahead. As with so many community driven schemes and projects, impassioned individuals provide the vision and driving force for success. An inspiring first day!

You can follow the tour on twitter: #communityenergy or at: www.forumforthefuture.org

31 October to 4 November – a very full WI week

2011-11-08T09:28:00.003Z

I attended four internal meetings, which took place at 104 New Kings Road, the NFWI head office, and Denman College, where even in early November the grounds are still idyllic and the Georgian mansion inviting. The online launch of the WI's own jams, pickles, biscuits and flour was discussed and it is anticipated that the website where you will be able to buy these products will go live in a few weeks time.

I accepted an invitation from the National Youth Agency to join them at their first National Youth Worker awards ceremony, which was held at the House of Commons. The stories of three outstanding nominees were told by three equally amazing young people who had been helped and completely inspired by them. All of the nominees were truly winners, with dedication above and beyond the call of duty marking the winners out as special. Testimonies given by these young people touched my heart and gave me hope for our future. Too much cannot be put on the good the vast majority of young people do. Unfortunately, "bad press" appears to be the norm these days – as backed up by polling from Barnardo’s that shows many people seem to be at risk of giving up on our children and young people altogether.

One scheme receiving particular attention at the ceremony was the RISE project – Respect Inspire Support Empowe r. Out of RISE and V24V24 (24 hours a week for 24 weeks) comes a project with St John Ambulance to teach young people first aid and immediate life saving actions. The project teaches basic first aid skills, helping young people save lives in areas where they are affected by knife and gun crime. Those who have already been trained are now teaching more young people. Such is the power of peer mentoring and mutual respect. http://www.nya.org.uk/examples-of-community-binding-youth-work

Later in the week I spent a few hours with youth workers and young mentors at the RISE office in Shadwell and heard of the excellent work that is going on there. I also saw the mock ups, in cardboard, of knifed arms and legs used for training purposes. They have also made short films which are well worth a watch. No doubt you will be able to see them on YouTube before long.

It was interesting to learn that on Thursday 3 November the Princess Royal hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace for young achievers. My new friends from RISE were all there, but I must have missed any newspaper articles about this event. I do hope there were some. These are inspiring stories that it is important to share.

Today I head off to the House of Lords to brief peers about the NFWI’s research on the impact of plans to reform Legal Aid. The Legal Aid, Punishment and Sentencing of Offenders Bill will reduce women’s access to justice, presenting obstacles for women trying to access legal aid after experiencing domestic violence. Last Monday, together with three victims of domestic violence, I spoke to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Domestic and Sexual Violence regarding the same issues. These damaging reforms are not yet agreed; further debate will take place when the Bill passes to the Lords later this month. You can read our report, Legal Aid is a Lifeline.

Legal Aid is a Lifeline

2011-10-31T16:17:00.004Z

Travelling to the southern most edge of the WI 'world' – for Cornwall Federation’s annual council meeting – and then on to Gwent Federation to celebrate its 90th birthday, brings October almost to a close. Today, the NFWI's report, Legal Aid is a Lifeline, was launched as the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill returns to the Commons for its report reading. The report states that "the government must include a comprehensive definition of domestic violence in the bill…the proposed eligibility criteria for women to access legal aid in family cases fails to reflect women's experience of domestic violence". As part of the launch, I spoke at a meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group on domestic and sexual violence. Victims of domestic violence who had access to legal aid and survived were invited to share their unique personal experiences and we hope that together with the report, these damaging reforms will not become a reality.

Women of the year

2011-10-21T16:52:00.001+01:00

This week has been full of inspiring women! It began with the Women of the Year lunch on Monday where I was in the company of some very inspiring women, one of whom was a WI member from South Lincolnshire. This woman has done so much throughout her life, not least receiving the Battle of Britain medal! Not many women could claim to have one of those in their possession. Guests ranged from well known celebrities, such as Lulu and Ruby Wax, to journalists and child minders, chief executives of companies, lawyers, editors and chefs, fighters for justice, councillors, and choreographers and inventors – the list is almost endless! And that’s without mentioning the women who strive to bring peace into so many situations.

The winners were all documented but the words of one, Nawar El Saadawi, were particularly memorable. Nawar has been persecuted throughout her life for her views, her books have been banned, and she has received death threats. Earlier this year she was in her native Egypt when the president resigned. Nawar urged women to continue to use their brains to make a difference – because women's brains work differently from those of men. That a young man or woman should say, “Nawar, reading your book has changed my life” has to be the highest accolade.

Closer to home, I visited a federation council meeting in Cornwall where I witnessed many inspiring things within the world of the WI, which is so often the heart of a community. Many awards were given out throughout the evening to reward achievements by WIs and for attainment of members, and it is always important to remember that the WI truly inspires when it helps a member do more than she ever thought was possible; women who help others achieve this are truly inspirational and we are lucky to have plenty of them.

500 bottles of jam on the wall

2011-10-13T15:27:00.002+01:00

More than 500 jars of jam, a sweet tooth required of the judges, cookery demonstrations to tickle the taste buds and a trumpet fanfare to announce the pink geranium jelly as Best in Show – this was the WI Real Jam Festival back for its second year. Held in the WI's own place of learning, Denman College, the festival again showcased the colourful and timeless art of preserving luscious fruits and berries in jams and jellies. Learning to make jam is a frequent request from new WI members and the WI is happy to oblige.

The WI Cookery School is an excellent place to learn how to not only make jam but also to bake cakes and bread, cook up a feast as well as use kitchen knives properly and efficiently. Why not go to the website, http://www.denman.org.uk, and find the perfect course for you.

Back at the Real Jam Festival Dhruv Baker and Rachel Green competed against WI members to make a jam from scratch and to use it in a dish of their choice. The proceedings were presided over by Matthew Collins (writer, teacher and intrepid TV Travel Show traveller) with wit and instruction on how to acquire the Christmas turkey at rock bottom price!

Matthew's course, at Denman College is about freeing one's inner voice through the lilting and profound words of the bard and runs from 2 – 4 November. His easy and relaxed style of teaching is sure to bring out the real you. Not to be missed. Book a place and give it a go today.

From Denman College in Oxfordshire I travel to mid Wales, then to the committee of the Federations of Wales, which will be held at Broneiron, the headquarters of the Girl Guiding movement in Wales – another successful all female organisation!

Reflections on a busy week

2011-10-07T17:00:00.000+01:00

The Annual National Council meeting, the 54th of its kind, was a gathering of every Federation Chairman and Treasurer to discuss all things WI. One of the exciting issues raised was the fact that since the previous council meeting, 20,800 more women have become WI members and 114 new WIs have been established. Indeed, the WI has been inspiring women for 96 years now and no doubt continues to do so. The WI truly offers something for every woman. For many that can begin with new friendships and continues into learning new craft and cookery skills as well as taking part in the many campaigns instigated by members. Part of what makes the WI such a unique organisation is that it is member led at every level.

Early on Monday morning I set off to Manchester and the latest party conference, to chair another roundtable conversation with politicians and organisations with a major interest in the WI's Care not Custody campaign. This time the discussion focussed on how the idea of care is more than a wish and is now in some parts of the system and beginning to have an impact on those who come into the criminal justice system with mental health problems. We call it Keeping the Care not Custody Promise. Police, prison and several mental heath organisations attended as well as representatives from the health sector such as the NHS Confederation and Royal College of Nursing – the NHS has to be involved. So many people need to be understood, made well and diverted from a life of crime, which takes them through the revolving door of criminal justice.

We are involved in this issue because of a mandate that was formed from a resolution put forward by a WI after a suggestion from one of its members – a lady who was very familiar with mental health and the criminal justice system. I mention this because on Tuesday a day long consultation with federation representatives, known as the resolution shortlist selection meeting, took place. The resulting shortlist will be made known in a few days’ time. Watch this space.

Wednesday saw an external advisory meeting with the Equality and Human Rights Commission on what should be reported to CEDAW – The Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women. Sadly, discrimination against women does still readily happen and most recently the WI has been concerned that there will be huge discrimination against women who experience domestic violence if the legal aid reforms, proposed by the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, become law. The WI has been privileged to hear the stories of some women who feel that without access to legal aid they would have had no choice but to stay in abusive situations that ultimately would have led to their deaths!

Again, we work on this issue by dint of mandates passed as long ago as the 1930s but also one passed in 1994.

The WI has always been there for women; it still is and it inspires.

The end of the week – for me, a year older and a family celebration.

Next week I'm off to the hills of Wales to meet with the Federations of Wales committee. Da Boh u.

Excellence in the Third Sector

2011-10-03T10:58:00.008+01:00

We were just pipped at the post! The NFWI, working in partnership with the Prison Reform Trust, came second with a highly commended accolade in the category Charity Partnership at last night’s Third Sector Excellence Awards. I am immensely proud of this achievement and even more so of what the campaign has achieved in many areas; not least in the role it has played in helping to change the minds of so many when considering whether custody can truly work for those with mental illness.

The Health and Justice Secretaries made a promise in March of this year to put £5,000,000 into a 100 diversion schemes across the country by 2014 and we must make sure that this promise is kept, along with the other necessary changes demonstrated in the Bradley Report published in Dec 2010. This very topic was discussed around the table during the Labour Party Conference this week, with Lord Bradley commenting that it is a community issue and not a prison issue. Several MPs and professionals in the field such as the Prison Reform Trust, Prison Governors’ Association, Rethink Mental Illness, Mental Health NHS Conference, Centre for Mental Health, Prison Officers' Association and Turning Point certainly agreed, adding that the Health and Wellbeing Boards would play a critical role in any diversion scheme. A diverse range of organisations, some of which were present at the discussion, need to be part of any scheme to help those in need because of the complex needs of many individuals entering the system. Questions keep needing to be asked because the only way to achieve a result is to keep pestering those decision makers to always keep people in mind when making all of their complex decisions.

Whilst we’re remembering campaign asks from the past few years, the WI will not forget that the regulations for labelling meat products with their country of origin is still awaited. We now have mandatory labelling on meat – sheep, poultry, pork and goat; beef and veal are separate – within the next three years, but constituted products are not yet on the list. A briefing by Defra officials to the food industry this week gave the necessary information that will need to go on to labels, for example the size of space, the size of font and much more, and nutrition labelling issues were also explained as well as information on where and when Food Information Regulation takes over from Food Labelling Regulation. All this under the banner of ‘a regulation on the provision of food information to consumers’!

As another week comes to an end, the WI is on the move once again – this time to Bedfordshire, where the NFWI will hold its annual council meeting. The ANC, as it is known is a two-day gathering of chairmen and treasurers from all 69 federations where the policy, vision and action in the context of growing numbers of members and women wanting to become members is discussed throughout the weekend. The WI is here to inspire women and we are certainly doing that.

And thinking of women, at the awards ceremony last night I met the CEO of the Stroke Association who told me that more women than men experience strokes, and early recognition of symptoms and fast action can save a life. They are always looking for volunteer champions who will spread the word of FAST action.

Quite a week – here’s to the next!

Planning regulations rethink and Celebrity Masterchef

2011-09-20T10:42:00.004+01:00

At the beginning of this week, the WI has called on the Government to rethink the new planning regulations they wish to impose in The Daily Telegraph. The call is to allow communities to get involved in the issue, to talk together, and to make their voices and opinions heard. There is also a concern that too few councils have published development plans, which will offer more protection from builders being given a free hand.

The WI’s involvement in the campaign stems from recent concerns voiced by WI members, as well as the mandates in place from as long ago as 1938. There are also two mandates from 1984 and 1998, looking at the regeneration of brown field sites in urban areas.
The WI has its fingers in many pies – the WI is never far away. And sometimes the pies in question are being created by celebrities for national judging as you may have seen on the latest instalment of Celebrity Masterchef.

Action for Prisoners' Families

2011-09-20T10:39:00.003+01:00

Last week I took a journey to and from the Isle of Wight. My trip involved trains, boats and buses, but I managed to return in one day. While I was on the island I spent two hours with an inmate of Parkhurst Prison. It was the first time we had met and I was there in place of members of this man's family and friends who all live very far away on the mainland and the north of England. The cost of such a journey and the distance prohibit them visiting him on a frequent basis. As previously mentioned, my journey involved a range of public transport to reach the prison and I am used to travelling long distances – especially in my role as NFWI Chair – but many people are not as comfortable.

The visit was one of several undertaken by WI members as part of a project with Action for Prisoners’ Families. Members have volunteered to make journeys from their homes to a given prison to highlight the difficulties that can prevent prisoners from receiving visits. It is argued that visitors play a part in the rehabilitation that a prison sentence is supposed to provide, so highlighting how difficult these trips can sometimes be is an important consideration. Each participant will write a detailed account of their journey to make their visit, and all of the accounts will be compiled in a final report to be launched at the end of the year. The important thing to remember is that at the end of each journey is a person, and hopefully this report will go a long way in highlighting this very point.

Two news worthy events

2011-09-14T12:23:00.004+01:00

On Monday I found myself at two events that were featured in the news. The first was the launch of Bowel Cancer Information; a service that provides helpful hints for spotting symptoms early, and raises awareness of a disease that kills many people. It was fronted by Lynn Faulds Wood who survived bowel cancer twenty years ago and eminent medical specialists at the launch urged the 40 leaders of the attending large organisations to pass on this message to their thousands of members. Visit their website at www.bowelcancer.tv.

The other was the launch of a report from the Make Justice Work Campaign entitled Community or Custody. The project, out of which came the report, was "considering the most effective sentences for the great number of low-level offenders who are currently filling our prisons to breaking point - and who leave prison only to offend again". The report concluded that intensive community sentences do have an important role to play in greatly reducing reoffending rates and play a major part in rehabilitation of offenders provided such schemes set necessary rigorous standards. This outcome mirrors the demand of the WI's Care not Custody campaign. A prison sentence, whether long or short, only serves as at least a holding measure in so many cases, or at worst, an intensification of the mental health and/or other problems that brought the individual into the criminal justice system in the first place.

At the launch I met a woman who was termed as a service user because of mental health issues and difficulties engendered in her childhood. Even though she worked hard and had risen to a high status in her professional life, "when it all got too much" she began to drink and this eventually this brought her to the notice of the criminal justice system. She told me "when it came to sentencing, I could have gone to prison. I was sentenced to an Intensive Alternative to Custody Order for 12 months. This meant I would be attending at least five appointments every week and that I would have some discipline to avoid returning to custody." She added that had she gone to prison, she knew she would not have coped and her entire family would have been torn apart. This is what happens to so many women who are sent to prison.

Sharing of information across agencies dealing with any one case also needs to be the norm. Last Friday I attended a seminar at Salford University at the Centre for Prison Studies where I learned that "information sharing is key to continuity of care". Concrete evidence of this has now been developed in a research project by the Offender Health Research Network and with proof of such initiatives working, surely this has to be replicated across the country. All of this, combined with the promise of that £5 million for 100 diversion schemes across the country revealed last March at the WI's Care not Custody reception by Secretary of State Andrew Lansley, surely send out a strong message to everyone involved: "please get on with it".

Queen of Craft & Care not Custody

2011-09-12T16:01:00.002+01:00

I was interested to read Phoebe Frangoul's piece last week in The Fashion Schmooze about the launch of WI member Jazz Domino Holly's book, Queen of Craft. I first met Jazz some three years ago when she and I, with two other members and a journalist, visited HM Wandsworth Prison. This was at the beginning of what is now known as the WI's Care not Custody campaign, and we were shown around the prison and spoke with prison officers. After this, we visited The St Giles Centre; a charity which, amongst many things, sends people to meet ex-offenders at the prison gate at the time of their release. The operative words here are 'some' and ' few'.

Work on the Care not Custody campaign continues going strong with a variety of projects including WI members mentoring a few women in the Asha Centre in Worcestershire, and establishing a WI in a female prison.

Back to the Queen of Craft and Phoebe's comment that Jazz was instrumental in introducing the ‘new wave’ of WI groups found in London; in fact, the first of the new wave, which includes other major cities across the country, happened in September 2003 when the Fulham WI was formed. This month they are celebrating eight years – long may they continue! The Shoreditch Sisters WI emerged in September 2007 and there have been many others set up in those intervening years. Within London there are now 38 WIs – all welcoming women of any age.

Only last week two meetings were held for officers of the London WIs at the NFWI headquarters at 104 New Kings Road. It was a chance for some to learn about the London WIs Forum and where it could be found on the Moodle, the WI's prize-winning online learners' tool. The forum is specifically created for London WIs to make connections and to tell each other what they are doing. The meetings were also a great opportunity for fellow London WI members to swap hints and tips on good speakers and activities for meetings – there is always something new to learn from the WI!

WI cornucopia

2011-09-02T17:12:00.003+01:00

If you are not in regular receipt of WI Life, by that I mean if you are not a WI member, do take a look at the cover of the latest edition on the NFWI website. I just love that hat, or is it a hatinator? Modelled by the lady who designed and made it, the hat heralds the article, which explains how a talk by a milliner at a WI meeting inspired member Helen Heath-Martin to take up the art of millinery herself.

This is, of course, just one of the many craft skills that can be learned within the WI. Over the years, many members have made a career from a skill first picked up at a WI meeting or from taking a short course at the WI’s own educational institution, Denman College. The college, formerly known as Marcham Park, was named in 1948 for the first NFWI Chairman, Lady Gertrude Denman. The Georgian magnificence of the property remains to this day and students may elect to stay in the house itself, or in one of the purpose built en-suite rooms or cottages dotted throughout the grounds. The gardens are breathtaking with herbaceous borders to drool over, a lake to linger by, and a walk-way bordered on either side by lime trees. It is an idyllic place where the world recedes and learning process are given full reign. You don’t have to be a WI member to attend courses, and gentlemen are very welcome too. Do have a look at the Denman College website to see what is on offer now and in the future.

The NFWI doesn’t take a holiday during the month of August but many individual WIs do not hold a formal meeting; my own WI being one of them. We do however still meet on what would be the WI evening, in either in a member’s garden or, as we did this year, in the local pub. I was fortunate enough to be invited to a couple of cheese and wine events during the month, an afternoon tea by WIs in my federation, and a regular WI meeting in my local area. At this meeting, the guest speaker was novelist Sarah Harrison, and she kept everyone in stitches – myself included. The whole evening was just so positive and happy and it made me think, yet again, that if I wasn’t a member already, I wouldn’t be able to join quickly enough.

Work on our campaigns continues. As part of the Legal Aid campaign I attended a focus group of women who had suffered domestic violence where they spoke of their situations and how access to and the use of legal aid had made a positive difference to them. Those of you who have read some of my previous posts will recall that the WI has told the government, in no uncertain terms, that their proposal to reform legal aid provisions is just not acceptable in cases of domestic violence. More focus groups are to be held presently, from which a report will be presented to government. All this work stems from a 1994 mandate on legal aid; the WI on the case yet again.

The current mandate on keeping local libraries open and fully functioning, Love Your Libraries, is gathering momentum, and if you feel strongly that libraries should remain open, please sign our online petition. Paper copies of the petition are also available from the Public Affairs Department: 104 New Kings Road, London SW6 4LY.

Love Your Libraries

2011-08-08T17:05:00.002+01:00

Last Friday, the WI launched its Love Your Libraries e-petition following the government’s promise of a debate in parliament if a petition receives 100,000 signatures. As I write at 10.32am on Monday 8 August, there are already 1,831 signatures. The premise of the petition is that WI members believe libraries are an essential local education and information resource but with many libraries under threat, the future of the library service is at risk.

The WI wants to see the value of libraries recognised at both local and national levels, and members are calling on the government to honour both its commitment to act as a champion of the library service, and its duty of oversight; to ensure that a comprehensive and efficient library service is provided. If you are in agreement, please add your signature to the e-petition, which can be found at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/1269. It can also be downloaded for written signatures at http://www.theWI.org.uk/loveyourlibraries, or a copy can be requested from the NFWI office.

If you are reading this blog from your iPhone or Smartphone and in the habit of downloading the latest app, there's another one for your collection as of today – “Wild Jam Maker”. The app, created by WI Real Jam Festival sponsor Stoves, has been launched ahead of the festival, which takes place from 8-9 October, and has been designed especially for the country's “budding wild jam makers” and the many people who already make jam. It lists fruits and berries found in the wild that can be used to make jams, and there are also wild jam recipes, from hawthorn and crab apple jelly, to gooseberry and elderflower jam. Incidentally, the latter recipe won the best in show in the first WI Real Jam Festival held last year.

The WI Real Jam Festival is open to all; WI members and non-members, male and female, adults and children. Give it a go; even if you’ve never tried before you could discover a new talent in the process!

While you are about it, why not visit Denman College, the venue for the Jam Festival? Denman College is the WI's educational institution with a proud 63 year heritage of teaching and instructing WI members and non-members in all manner of crafts, cookery, literature, language, music and much more. Visit the superb WI Cookery School and sign up for a course. When you are staying at Denman College the world retreats and you are enveloped in the desire to learn.

Having had another quick check online as I finish writing this at 11.15am there are 1, 901 signatures on that petition.

START with packaging

2011-08-01T12:22:00.004+01:00

Last Friday, I heard the comment, “…it's not that important an issue”, from a British Retail Consortium representative in reference to the number of carrier bags being used and discarded by the general public. It has been five years since the NFWI launched its campaign to cut the amount of packaging on certain foods and goods to reduce waste and its detrimental impact on the environment and wildlife so the fact that 6.8 billion bags go to landfill in a year should be an important issue for all WI members, if not to the rest of society. In our throw away culture where plastic bags still represent 0.3% of all household waste, perhaps the WI should be back on that campaign trail.

In 2006, the main thrust of the campaign was to reduce the number of plastic bags produced and used, as well as the amount of packaging for certain goods, e.g. the WI called for more loose sales for fruit and vegetables, and to reduce the amount of packaging where it was deemed necessary. Reducing the amount of packaging used means that less is sent to landfill meaning less methane gas is produced, which ultimately reduces the effects of climate change. At the time, I was interviewed by Jennie Murrie on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour to discuss the example of over packaged vegetables. I took four parsnips on a polystyrene tray, wrapped in cling film with me, and right on cue they oozed liquid onto the desk, proving that such covering of fresh vegetables was not desirable.

I'm sure we all have several hessian bags – both purchased and given out free – that we can use instead of plastic bags. Until about 30 years ago every household had a shopping bag or two but with the advent of supermarkets, the plastic carrier bag has taken their place. There is no doubt that the WI's 2006 campaign made a big difference to shopping bag habits; the use of plastic bags decreased, but unfortunately, their use has gone up once again.

The reasons for our 2006 campaign remain the same; degradation of the environment and climate change. These are still major issues that the WI continues to tackle.

Those very issues of environment and climate change are behind HRH Prince of Wales' START project who invited the WI was invited into the garden of Clarence House where superb displays of sustainable gardening and growing by the Soil Association, Garden Organic and the National Trust were on show last week. There was a fantastic forest garden exhibit and representatives from the British Bee Keepers Association was also there; I was able to chat for a while with the lady bee keeper there, informing her about all the WI had done with its SOS for Honeybees campaign, which is still ongoing!

Fighting stereotypes

2011-07-25T14:45:00.003+01:00

A Daily Mail reporter ‘reliably’ informed their readers on Saturday that joining the Women's Institute is number 15 in a list of 30 “telltale signs you're really getting old”. This reliable information came from a poll of 2,000 respondents “from a wide age range” put out by a mutual assurance company.

How wrong could they be?! Joining the WI is NOT a sign of ageing – I joined at the age of 23 I am in no doubt that many thousands of current members joined in their early 20s and 30s, and I’m sure that some were even younger; there is some special ingredient in the organisation that keeps its members joining year after year.

The same reporter should have attended the Open Day at the NFWI's headquarters in London only last Wednesday to recognise the young age of members, but let's never forget that the WI is for every woman; there are no other criteria for becoming a member of the largest women's organisation across England and Wales.

The Daily Mail might like to check out the webpages of Buns and Roses WI, Fulham WI and Westcliff WI among many other WI groups of vibrant women of all ages – why don’t you come and join us and fine out how much the WI can offer?

Summer of activity

2011-07-20T17:09:00.002+01:00

The WI has certainly been busy in the fortnight since the COOL vote took place in Strasbourg, with a number of internal meetings and the July NFWI Board meeting taking up several days. All of these meetings deal with the true heart of the WI. The NFWI Trustees consider everything from procedures to opportunities, from costs to plans for the future. We review what has recently taken place and always with an eye to what the next steps must be.

This year we have one new board member who joined us after our AGM in early June. An article in the latest issue of our magazine, WI Life, tells how she balances life on the Board at the same time as balancing a full time job. This is something that has to be addressed by both the National Board and Federation Boards of WIs since so many members work; day time meetings are not always suitable. Are we ready for a paradigm shift and how will it come about? At this stage I am not sure but I do believe it must happen sooner than later.

I am constantly delighted when new members of all ages tell me that joining the WI has been the best thing they've done. I mention this because quite recently I have been told just that by both a 24 year old and an 81 year old member. This certainly goes a long way to prove that there is something for every woman in the WI. In this instance, they enjoyed meeting different people and hearing of so many issues that they could get involved with through the campaigns for the younger member, and the opportunities to attend such a variety of events she would not otherwise have had from the older member.

Indeed, new members are coming in all the time. Where there is a group of women wanting to open a new WI, we have WI Advisers, who are members that have been recommended by their federations to open WIs. They do many other things besides, but in the last few years the demand for new WIs has been exceptional. WI Advisers work tirelessly throughout their federation in all weather conditions, often going to unfamiliar halls and venues, which is never easy in the dark, nor in the light for that matter – I know, I've done it! Last weekend I spent a couple of hours at our college, Denman, in Marcham near Oxford speaking with a group of WI Advisers. They were there to discuss their role and all that it has entailed in recent months, as well as to learn about new initiatives and methods of recruiting and retaining members. These women are particularly passionate about the WI and all their time and effort on behalf of members is appreciated by everyone. We must not forget that all they do for the WI is in a voluntary capacity.

And speaking of working in a voluntary capacity, last week I appeared as a witness at the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill Committee to represent the NFWI. Confronted by questions from 21 MPs from across the parties in Portcullis House, I spoke of the three key areas of concern regarding women who suffer domestic violence: the way the new proposals will disproportionately affect women, how the proposals put women at greater risk of violence, and the fact that women who do suffer domestic violence also usually need help with a much wider range of issues. (For more information see visit Legal Aid 2011 under Campaigns on the NFWI website.)

Closer to home, celebrations are happening for WIs reaching their 25th and 90th anniversaries, and members holding wine and cheese parties to attract new members. These events are wonderful, caring and they really do work – why not organise one for your WI?

I know I say this often but it really is true: the WI really does provide something for every woman.

A step in the right direction to COOL

2011-07-07T09:43:00.002+01:00

The European Parliament voted on regulations on country of origin labelling yesterday. How much of the WI's COOL campaign came into fruition? Our mandate, accepted just a year ago, calls for “HM government to introduce clear mandatory country of origin labelling on all meat, poultry and fish products sold in this country.” Law on food regulation is set at a European level and after years of discussion, MEPs have voted on an agreement to introduce mandatory country of origin labelling on fresh meat. Currently, beef is routinely labelled with its county of origin, but for other meat, such as pork and lamb, ‘country of origin’ often refers to the place in which a food last underwent significant change. This is misleading to say the least.

Is this outcome a win for the COOL campaign then? Well, whilst it is a step in the right direction, we are obviously disappointed that it will not go further. The WI took new research to MEPs in Strasbourg and we have been working hard to build up the evidence base that members need to take this debate forward, particularly in the light of planned future impact assessments.

Back in the UK, our own government has favoured a voluntary approach to county of origin labelling. While this is starting to have some impact, a survey of 6,000 WI members indicates that with substantial variation in the ways that different producers and supermarkets label their products there will still be plenty of room for improvement for some time. Earlier this year, 87 WIs visited 135 supermarkets to take a snapshot look at products on their shelves and the findings were stark. With 50 supermarkets carrying products with no country of origin labelling, it really makes me wonder if a voluntary approach is viable.

Consumers want to know what they are eating and where it comes from for a wide range of reasons. I see no reason to avoid telling of an animal’s place of birth if it is reared and looked after in a proper fashion in ways that conform to legal standards. It is simply not right that consumers are forced to rely on the good will of retailers.

The campaign continues…

Legal Aid Bill, Parliament week and the Big Feastival

2011-07-04T12:09:00.004+01:00

Last week, just hours before the second reading of the Legal Aid Bill on Wednesday afternoon, the WI was invited to a round table discussion by the Law Society about the detrimental effects the proposed new Act would have on those, who until now, have been eligible to claim legal aid. MPs, Lords and other organisations involved with the work that the current Legal Aid Act occasions were also invited. The WI is interested in the impact the new proposal could have on women who suffer domestic violence following a history of campaigning on legal aid since campaigning for the protection of the legal aid system in 1994. More recently, the WI launched a programme of work on tackling violence against women. Only those women suffering an extreme case of physical violence would qualify for legal aid under the new recommendations should they determine to bring a case against the perpetrator.

Those who suffer violent attacks and realise the need to extricate themselves and possibly their children from an abusive relationship have been able to apply for legal aid up until now to help. Under the new proposal, they would likely have to find themselves in intensive care before being able to qualify – such is the type of the injury required to qualify.

The Bill does acknowledge psychological abuse but victims of domestic violence often have far more complex needs, and advice on a range of issues such as housing, debt and much more will be excluded from the system.

The NFWI is not against reform of the legal aid system, but in its current format, the new Bill would adversely affect some of the most vulnerable in society. Alternative models to these proposals need to be pursued urgently.

There is still quite a way to go before the Act is on the Statute book, but how long does it take? The journey of a Bill put forward by an MP and all the stages it goes through to become an Act of Parliament could be just the thing for people to engage with during Parliament Week set for 31 October to 6 November this year.

The history of our Parliament, the House of Commons and the House of Lords is fascinating – not only to historians – and it is well worth taking a tour of the Palace of Westminster if you are in London. I am reliably informed that if you fancy listening in on the proceedings at the House of Commons then it is best to arrive in the late afternoon; settle back to hear and see history being made before your very eyes.

A new chapter in the history of the WI began this weekend with the WI tent at The Big Feastival on Clapham Common. This was an event that combined county shows with village fetes and was expertly coordinated by the Shoreditch Sisters WI. The WI Tent was fully decked out in retro style brought together cookery, baking, clothes, make up, hair styling, sewing, embroidery and so much more, whilst representing what the WI is really about: women. It was a real hive of activity and a superb recruiting event – go WI!

Factory farming debate rumbles on

2011-06-28T10:52:00.000+01:00

There has been extensive press interest in the proposed “factory farming” resolution, both before and after the AGM, and whilst most has positively recognised that more discussion is needed, an article in Farm Business recently caused me to put pen to paper to try to explain the situation to the Editor. I have copied the letter I sent over to him below for your information.

Dear Sir,

I am writing to respond to the recent article “Time to Focus on Jam again” (Farm Business 24 June 2011) which fails to recognise a key factor; the National Federation of Women’s Institutes does not have, and never has had, any kind of mandate to work on the issue of large-scale farming. Delegates at the AGM rejected a vote on one of their resolutions looking at planning permission surrounding large-scale farming units on 8 June 2011, calling on the industry and relevant bodies to open up a rational and transparent debate on the future direction of UK farming.

Every year, WI members put forward a range of issues for national debate at the AGM, which, if passed, go on to become the mandates that form the basis of the organisation’s campaigning and awareness-raising activities in the future. As a unique organisation, the resolution process means that members play a central role in defining policy and bringing issues onto the WI's national agenda; this ensures that the entire process is wholly democratic. Many people from many organisations, both farming and other, were very interested in the large-scale farming resolution before it reached the AGM. That the mention of factory farming of large animal caused such a stir surely means that there is a very big discussion and debate to be had on the very subject.

The WI’s resolutions and mandates are first and foremost a tool to raise awareness of any given issue – a way of educating not only WI members, but the local community as well as the wider population.

What happened with this resolution proves without doubt that the women who were debating it at the AGM are intelligent and they realise that more discussion is needed on the issue of factory farming in the UK including, but not excluding, the issues of local and sustainable food; animal welfare; food security for the future; protection of the countryside; and the concern with slurry and water tables.

The women “deep within the organization” are WI members whose vote holds no more sway that any member in any WI. Might I suggest that Caroline Whibley visit a WI, even join one, to learn just what the WI is truly about.

And as for jam, WI members have never stopped making jam since it’s formation in 1915. In October, we are holding the second WI Real Jam Festival at the WI’s own Denman College in Oxfordshire where everyone can learn to make jam as well as enter a pot into the competition – there are classes for everyone from the connoisseur to the beginner.

Yours etc…

Ruth Bond
Chair of the NFWI

Let's talk

2011-06-22T10:27:00.002+01:00

A headline in the Farmer's Weekly Interactive on Saturday 18 June announced “WI saga highlights need to educate more”. Adam Bedford is so right – the primary reason for any WI resolution is to educate, to inform and to promote discussion around the issue raised. Initially, this all takes place within WI meetings between members, but it's not long before the general public gets to know more too. It does not matter that there wasn’t a vote on the planning permission for factory farming resolution because raising awareness of the whole issue has well and truly taken place. Yes, we do need a public debate; yes, we do need to look more into the whole saga of factory farming, but right now, ‘for’ or ‘against’ is not the answer. The media is still talking about this topic ten days after the AGM, so LET'S TALK!

Talk is what the WI did with the Great Milk Debates in 2007. Across the country, dairy farmers, processors, retailers and consumers, including WI members, held at least 100 discussions, which in a number of cases resulted in better prices for milk. Last November the debate was reinvigorated with the Mission Milk campaign; the WI remains on the case until a goal is reached.

Another case we are still concerned about is Ending Violence Against Women. Following the proposals made yesterday in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, the NFWI believes that vulnerable women are still potentially unprotected. Whilst it is positive that the government has acknowledged the importance of the provision of legal aid in cases involving domestic violence, these proposals do not reflect the reality of women’s lives. Changing the scope of legal aid, as these new proposals have, just serves to risk excluding vulnerable women from the justice they so badly need.

On a lighter note, I spent a very enjoyable and interesting morning with members from the two Kent Federations – West and East – discussing all things WI from badges and the NFWI's centenary, to Denman College and rising membership numbers. 21,000 women have joined the WI since this time last year; the reasons for joining will be myriad but I bet some really wanted to learn to make jam.

More and more members are becoming moodlers too; there are now over 10,000 of us! I urge all members and NFWI Associates to check it out.

Looking back to the AGM and membership, blog readers might be interested to learn that an NFWI Associate from Boston, USA came over specifically to attend the meeting in Liverpool. During her short three-day trip to the UK, she also visited the NFWI office at 104 New Kings Road and Fulham WI. Denman College is on the itinerary for her next visit to these shores; we’re looking forward to seeing her then.

An AGM to remember

2011-06-10T17:12:00.000+01:00

Not since 1992 was there such an instance at an NFWI AGM. During the meeting, a member begged leave "to move to the next business" but it was not granted. In 2011 when the same thing happened, leave was granted and we all moved to the next business. After much discussion and insight from expert speakers, no vote was taken on the issue of granting planning permission for large-scale factory farms. This means that the WI has no mandate on which to act so there will not be a campaign. What it does mean is that the whole area of factory farming, mega farms, environment and animal welfare, not to mention future food security, is now on the nation's agenda.

Over the past few months, WI members have been accused of being ignorant and ill-informed regarding 'mega farms'. Misguided was another adjective I often read in the media. If anything proves such derogatory accolades to be themselves misguided, this outcome does. The membership, represented by 4,587 individual members at the AGM in the Liverpool Echo Arena, clearly saw that this is a subject that needs further discussion and wider debate. This is precisely why the WI's resolution process has stood the test of time; it gives time for research, thought, deliberation, information gathering and expert advice, which, on this occasion, was clearly taken to tackle such a complicated and far-reaching subject.

The vote to save local libraries was passed with a 97% majority but one expert speaker pointed out that new models of library provision should be explored, for instance the National Trust model with libraries within an authority becoming charitable trusts with independent governing bodies drawn from the public, local authorities, educational bodies, etc under the aegis of the Charity Commission. Libraries are currently used by 12.8% adult population once a month; 87.2% do not use them at all. In the saving of our libraries, perhaps there is much to be discussed here too.

Guest speakers at the 96th AGM were Erwin James, writer, who spoke of his life as it led him to prison and beyond; Dr Rita Gardner, Director of the Royal Geographic Society, who briefly spoke of her studies into natural and human induced climate change; and Sir Steve Redgrave, Fairtrade's Chief Ambassador.

Just count how many topics were covered in this meeting alone – one adjective I defy anyone to use regarding the WI is boring!

AGM and Hay fever

2011-06-03T16:29:00.002+01:00

I took a trip down to Abergavenny this week bit did not alight from the train there.No, I continued to Hereford from where I made my way to Hay and the renowned Hay Book Festival. Over the years, I have spent a number of hours in Hay, especially in the book shops, but never have I been to the festival – my loss. This year however, the WI had a presence there and being an avid bookworm, how could I not be there!

WI members were invited to hear Rosie Boycott in conversation with Dame Harriet Walter who was discussing her book, "Facing It, Reflections on Images”. These reflections are beautiful, sensitive, lively, pensive, smiling, old faces of women. A joy to behold, and when studied, these faces reveal so much more than a wrinkle or a blemish. Whether well-known or completely unknown to many people, such faces reflect a microcosm of lives lived to the full, with contentment, possibly with regret but certainly lived. A discussion, with several questions from gentlemen in the audience, was followed by tea and welsh cakes. A thoroughly good way to spend an afternoon – thank you to all at the Hay Festival for inviting the WI.

On Tuesday I shall take another trip, it won't quite take the ferry 'cross the Mersey but I will see that very river on my way to Liverpool for the NFWI AGM at the Echo Arena on Wednesday 8 June. I can almost guarantee a warm day with little wind; as far back as I can recall, the day of the AGM has always been hot and sunny, much like it always seemed to be when taking exams at school!

Over 4,500 WI members are expected to converge on Liverpool; some staying overnight and making a short holiday of it, so I'm getting ready for the tingle I always feel when the untied voices of all those members sing Jerusalem. There certainly is a WOW factor there, I can tell you.

SOS for honeybees

2011-05-30T17:42:00.003+01:00

Look at any new campaign and you may be sure that the WI is already on the case. Today I noticed that the RHS has launched a campaign to urge all gardeners to plant bee-friendly plants. The RHA has compiled a list of plants that will provide nectar and pollen for bees and many other types of pollinating insects. I would urge anyone reading this to download the list of bee-friendly plans found on the NFWI website, www.thewi.org.uk/sosforhoneybees. This list was compiled back in 2009 when the mandate to do all that was necessary to save the honey bee was accepted by the membership.

The SOS for honeybees campaign highlighted the issue of varroa mites, the many diseases that can attack hives as well as the use of pesticides. WI members across England and Wales have put on events of every kind to highlight the plight of not only the honeybee but also the many pollinators we rely on for our food crops and beautiful flora. After months of pressure by WI members, the beekeeping community and campaigners, the Government announced that £10 million would be put towards funding projects researching pollinator health.

One of the first things WI members did in this ongoing campaign was contact their local authorities requesting that they plant bee-friendly plants on all their roundabouts and public spaces where flowers are planted. Members were also urged to plant bee-friendly plants, which they have done in their thousands.

Do take a look at the SOS for honeybees pages on the website and read the blog of the WI's own resident bee-blogger, Martha Kearney. Here you will also see the many other issues that the WI is working on, and if you look back into the history of our mandates (there must be around 500 by now) - you will be amazed, surprised and sure that the WI has been making a difference for almost 100 years. Like I said, the WI is on the case.

The WI in action

2011-05-23T16:33:00.001+01:00

WI history in action
Last week I attended my own WI’s Group Meeting; a collection of between four and six WIs meeting together, once or twice a year, to enjoy a particular speaker – this time we heard about the life and works of William Morris – and learn about the highlights of each WI. Our host WI was celebrating its 90th year and on the front row were two members who were at the inaugural meeting all those years ago. Of course, they were very little girls at the time, but they have been part of this wonderful organisation all that time.

Something that could also have happened all those years ago is gardening in schools. I am interested in this because my father, a young teacher in the mid 1950s, cultivated a garden with pupils taking part and learning the ways of the soil and the best means of ensuring plentiful crops. Gardening in schools really should become the norm and I have a place on a task-force that will do its very best to bring this about. One of the many reasons behind the formation of the WI was to grow food for the country during the years of World War 1. I know many WI members who have shared their love for gardening and green-fingered skills with school children, and I hope that this will continue for many more years to share and promote the benefits of eating fruit and vegetables.

Campaigning update
The WI is hoping and trusting that many benefits will be reaped following the introduction of 100 diversion schemes, promised by the Health Secretary at the WI and Prison Reform Trust Care Not Custody reception in late March. A collection of 22 organisations, including the NFWI as well as the Prison Reform Trust; Prison Governors’ Association; The Royal College of Nursing; Revolving Doors; Action for Prisoners’ Families; and Keyring Living Support Networks will all work together to monitor the progress and outcome of the commitment. I chaired a gathering of this amazing collection of organisations on Thursday to explore next steps – collectively there is the will so there will be a way to ensure ‘diversion’ is a mainstream initiative in the criminal justice system in the future.

And speaking of the future, a swishing session at the NFWI’s first Fast Fashion event saw a new future for one of my once favourite dress and jacket outfits. It has a new owner who might wear it as it is, or even give it a new lease of life either with embellishment or the scissors! The event on Saturday afternoon highlighted the mass production of ‘fast fashion’ items that carry hidden environmental and social impacts, and asked members to consider the demand for virgin resources such as water, oil and cottons when some clothing is produced on such a huge scale, and demand that living wages be paid to the people who make the garments. To find out more about the campaign, visit the website – www.theWI.org.uk/fastfashion or contact the NFWI Public Affairs team on 02073719300.

In the Clink

2011-05-17T15:06:00.002+01:00

Yesterday I had lunch in The Clink. The Clink is a restaurant within High Down Prison, where, as in other prisons, a prisoner can determine "to be better than he was and manage to become whom he was meant to be". These words are based on text by Erwin James, author, former prisoner, and upcoming AGM speaker. Erwin also commented that a prisoner may find a reason to live that is inconsistent with crime if he will only access all that is on offer in any given prison. While it is acknowledged that this might be easier said than done, we enjoyed a talk from a Samaritan Listener in High Down Prison who is a prisoner himself, and is always ready, willing, able, and trained to listen to his fellow inmates, and in most instances avert a disaster or help to calm a troubled mind.

For my lunch I enjoyed a menu of beef osso busso and chicken ballotine, followed by bakewell tart with a difference (I’m sure it contained fresh raspberries). Earlier in the morning I had enjoyed morning coffee with melt-in-the-mouth lemon biscuits. Between these treats, I attended the launch of the latest report from the Prison Reform Trust, “Time Well Spent”; a practical guide to active citizenship and volunteering in prison.

The report has a forward from Erwin James which begins "It is a fallacy that people in prison are content to wallow in a state of irresponsibility whilst lounging around wasting time just waiting for the day when the gates are opened so they can stroll back out into their feckless, crime-sullied lives". The following 62 pages detail the many ways in which prisoners can be active citizens voluntarily giving their time to help fellow prisoners. The NFWI has worked closely with The Prison Reform Trust throughout the Care Not Custody Campaign, and the Trust profiles and promotes all of the good work that happens within our prison system.

Some of the attendees at this event had also attended the Care Not Custody conference in March where both Kenneth Clarke MP, Justice Secretary, and Andrew Lansley MP, Health Secretary spoke and announced that £5 million would be put into 100 Diversion Schemes in the country. I mention this here because three people I spoke to said how moved they had been to hear from the WI member whose son's suicide in prison had prompted the resolution to stop the inappropriate imprisonment of the mentally ill. There is a moving story behind every one of us and not least behind every prisoner, whatever the reason for their incarceration and no matter their circumstances. What is surely needed is rehabilitation with respect, and prison with purpose.

NFYFC annual conference

2011-05-11T14:19:00.002+01:00

Last Saturday morning I visited the famous Winter Gardens in Blackpool and although it was pouring when I came out, I was glad because the plants and crops desperately needed the drink. These same crops were on my mind when I attended the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs (NFYFC) annual conference earlier in the week to discuss the WI's rural connection, its Great Milk Debates and Mission Milk, as well as the ways in which young people might champion British Farming. In the ensuing discussion, it was obvious that these particular young people were passionate about farming – their herds and flocks, crops and machinery – and if their enthusiasm is anything to go by, British farming should be secure, but I think we all know it is not as easy as that. However, there is plenty in the industry to get excited about: the technology and advances that have come with combine harvesters and tractors, and of course, the animals.

Today a young friend of the family is leaving for the USA where he will spend an exciting six months learning more about ploughing and the use of machinery in vast landscapes. Some of the young farmers at the convention have already done this and I know when ploughing and hedging competitions are held in my own area, they attract a lot of attention. British farming is a highly skilled profession to be proud of and cherished.

Although membership of Young Farmers ceases at the age of 26 (and may begin at the age of 10) the keenest can remain as an Associate member. This is somewhat different from the WI's Associate scheme – one way of becoming a WI member without the requirement to belong to a specific WI – please check out the details www.thewi.org.uk/associate for more details: it could be just the introduction to the WI a woman needs!

WI Life guest editors, what you might learn with the WI and the resolution process

2011-05-05T23:14:00.001+01:00

This week I received my copy of WI Life and it was just as I hoped it would be: full of superb articles and features, as well as photographs to drool over. I must say I was very happy to hand over my column to Jenny, Storm, Judy and Pauline, the magazine's Guest Editors for the May/June issue. Congratulations to these four members from Sandon WI in Staffordshire, and also to the home team of WI Life who all took up the challenge such an edition presented with aplomb. Such a copy of WI Life could be yours when you join the WI.

There is no end to what you might learn with the WI. I have always been intrigued by how my mother (also a WI member) can make gloves; not something I assume many folk do very often these days. It was a skill she learned through classes given by the WI when she first joined the organisation in 1950, just at the time when ‘The Country Wife’ mural was being assembled for the Great Exhibition of 1951. Housed in the WI's Denman College until very recently, the mural, which features examples of a myriad number of handicrafts, displays an exquisite and tiny pair of gloves, proving once again that the WI is and always has been of its time.

The same must be said of the WI's resolution process. A resolution is a briefly worded request, on any chosen subject, put forward by a WI or a federation and, if voted on and adopted by two thirds of the membership when debated at an AGM, becomes a mandate upon which all of the WI may work to achieve its goal. Votes on the resolution are cast by a whole WI, which will have discussed the issue, usually and hopefully with input from experts, both for and against the motion. Once the WI has voted either for or against the motion, one member – the link delegate – will attend the AGM, taking with her the votes of four WIs including her own. It is hoped and expected that each WI will also grant their link delegate a discretionary vote on a resolution, having heard further arguments on both sides of the issue at the AGM from more eminent experts in the given field. At every stage, the process is led entirely by WI members – submission, selection from a long list, selection from a short list and adoption or not at the final vote; it is true democracy in action.

Join the WI and get you voice heard.

The Women Reaching Women (WRW) closing conference

2011-04-15T17:05:00.003+01:00

At the closing conference of Women Reaching Women this week, participants learned how communities both in the UK and internationally can be and, indeed, are, engaged with the issues of gender equality, climate change and development; especially in relation to the Millennium Development Goals. Barbara Stocking, Chief Executive of Oxfam GB, and Stephen O'Brian MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development, were two of the speakers, and Mr O’Brien reaffirmed the government's promises that Millennium Development Goal number five focusing on maternal health will continue to be addressed and hopefully achieved. WI representatives who led the project within their federations spoke very movingly of how being part of Women Reaching Women has impacted so positively on their own lives. It has been a unique partnership between the NFWI, Oxfam and The Everyone Foundation. The latter, led by Richard and Dawn, gently drew on human emotion and empathy to help raise awareness of the plight of our sisters across the planet, while Oxfam GB provided the facts upon which members worked. This three year project has widened the WI's work on international issues, which, until now, focused almost solely on an affiliation with the Associated Countrywomen of the World. WI members have collected coins for friendship for over 70 years, which help small-scale projects in the developing world such as providing a well for a village, educational material, milking cows for women and funds to set up a pickling factory. The evidence of the changed climate was explained by two very articulate ladies, Constance Okollet from Uganda and Ursual Rakova from Papua New Guinea, who are living through the repercussions of such change, when they spoke at a gathering on Wednesday evening organised by Climater Wise Women Hearing how flood and drought had decimated Constance's village, caused death and disruption from which some never will recover is truly heartbreaking, and Ursual's story of how the Carteret Islands are very quickly being washed away by the sea is fearful. These stories reminded me of Martina, the Ugandan lady who featured in the Oxfam film which accompanies the Women Reaching Women project; take a look at the video on the Oxfam site - "Sisters Across the Planet". I spoke at this event on the steps that the WI has been taking, and continues to take, to change lifestyles in order to mitigate the effects CO2 emissions have on countries that do not have electricity and where citizens live off the land and from the sea. The WI was concerned about the pollution of the seas way back in 1927; climate change was not a phrase uttered at that time - but what foresight our members had. However, every small action to reduce emissions, using less energy and water is not to be dismissed. It behoves us to reflect on how our actions affect others - thousands of miles away and unknown to us - but we are all intrinsically connected and we must always strive to promote the issue of climate change which is surely an issue of human rights.

Women Making a Difference in Wales

2011-04-07T16:21:00.002+01:00

This morning I was in Cardiff to chair a meeting with a real difference – the awards ceremony for Women Making a Difference. Celebrating its fifth year, Women Making a Difference is a capacity building programme that aims is to educate and imbue women in Wales with skills, confidence and the right mindset to become 'leaders' in their communities, and decision makers at all levels of public and political life. In particular, the programme focuses on those women who are under represented because of their race or religion, disability, age, sexuality and/or their education, social status, and geographic location.

The entire programme is part of Women Engendering Change – a project that aims to develop the confidence and ability for women to get their voices heard. Women who complete the preliminary course can then chose to partake in the Women in Public Life, which builds on these new-found skills, knowledge and confidence to explore further opportunities open to them in public appointments, political life or community development; or even the Women in Management course that covers supervisory and management skills, and career and personal development. Many women from all backgrounds have taken part in the project and formed important friendships that help build a cohesive and supportive community.

It was a truly wonderful experience to see so many countries represented with many of the women involved represented their birthplace through national dress, and their enthusiasm, laughter, confidence gained and commitment proved that Women Making a Difference is a real programme for happiness. Hopefully it will be something that we can offer in England soon.

Care Not Custody

2011-03-31T16:30:00.002+01:00

The WI Care Not Custody Campaign reception was held this week ; you might have seen mention of it in the press and online. It was hugely gratifying to welcome so many eminent people from such a wide variety of mental health and penal services, not least the Prison Reform Trust; the organisation that has worked so closely with the WI throughout the campaign. The Lord Chancellor, Kenneth Clarke MP, and the Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley MP, addressed the gathering with encouraging words, stating that the care of those with mental health problems is now a priority area in order to prevent the possibility of them committing a crime. Money is to be made available, and health and custody services will work closely together for the benefit of any given individual within the system.

In the extremely diverse world that is the WI, Ladies Day at Cheltenham for Gloucestershire Federation members was a highlight I heard about when I was a guest at their annual council meeting in Cheltenham. I always enjoy federation council meetings because it gives me an opportunity to meet members. It was also a chance to explain just how important the WI is, and the level of respect the WI enjoys by decision makers and the many organisations who wish to work with us. WI business has to be done too, so I have attended several internal meetings as well as a trip to Denman College for its committee meeting. Certainly every day is different with the WI.

No.10 Downing Street

2011-03-22T16:56:00.001Z

I enjoyed a visit to No.10 Downing Street on Wednesday 16 March for a reception to celebrate one hundred years of International Women's Day, which was held earlier on 8 March. In latter years, this day has received more and more prominence in the UK, which is great news; women's contributions to society should be celebrated, and their struggles within that same society still need to be highlighted. This is exactly what we focussed on in the discussion panel I took part in for the Women of the World (WOW) festival last weekend.

Back at No.10, I knocked on the famous door to gain entry, which was rather exciting although they obviously know that you’re waiting because you’re on camera! Once inside, I entered a room full of amazing women ranging from Cilla Black to Rebecca Adlington; Dame Shirley Williams to Tanni Grey Thompson; beautiful women whose names are not well-known but who stand up for abused women; women serving in the armed forces, and those who make a major contribution within their field and as such, make an important difference to society. It was a wonderful event and I was honoured to attend to represent all WI members.

There was another cause for celebration on that day too – one member celebrated 45 years of WI membership who has been, and continues to be, a stalwart, persistent and successful advocate of WI campaigns. The WI's mandates are what hooked her on WI membership all those years ago – and the same thing is happening right now. Why women join the WI was a topic of discussion when newly elected Federation Chairmen and Treasurers came together at Denman College for a 'How To' workshop towards the end of last week. As with all leaders, they will put their own stamp on their time in office, and they will deal with all manner of events and situations they would never have believed possible, but above all, there is the guarantee of learning many new skills and having a great time doing so.

WOW

2011-03-14T17:07:00.001Z

Lamb stew and mushroom risotto were on the menu at Clarence House when I attended a luncheon hosted by The Duchess of Cornwall in support of the Women of the World (WOW) Festival last Wednesday. This fantastic festival was organised by Jude Kelly and held for the first time in the South Bank Centre from Thursday afternoon to late on Sunday evening. The achievements and enterprises, art and entertainment of women were celebrated across three and a half days, and I was honoured to speak about the WI’s campaigning work, and shared the platform with Bianca Jagger and Finn McKay, with Baroness Helena Kennedy chairing. It was an excellent event with a good, large audience. Although all three of us campaign from difference perspectives, the aim of any campaign is to realise a goal, which all of us showed could be done. It takes tenacity, and determination; sometimes the iron fist outside the velvet glove might work, but sometimes a softer approach is necessary and there is nothing wrong with the iron fist inside that velvet glove.

I also enjoyed delicious lunches at two federation annual council meetings last week; one in Suffolk East and one in Leicestershire & Rutland. I find such meetings exhilarating because of all the members I get to meet and hearing what excellent things are happening in a federation, and there always seems to be laughter – a real boost. My thanks go to both federations for two great meetings.

Another lunch came my way earlier last week when I addressed the Council Meeting of Soroptomits International in the Midlands East Region discussing 'Women As Leaders in Civil Society' alongside Marianne Haslegrave, National President of British Federation of Women's Graduates, and Baroness Sandip Verma. We all discussed the Millennium Development Goals and the new UN Women's group, as well as girls’ schooling and addressing maternal mortality. All of these goals pertain to women in such a vivid way; it is essential that we all take action to raise awareness wherever we can.

I am a bookworm...

2011-03-03T12:21:00.002Z

I am a bookworm and a book lover because I absolutely love reading. I collect or acquire books, and I can't pass by a second hand stall at a jumble sale or fete without buying "only one”.

So yesterday I was very happy to hear about how the many people who learn to read in adulthood are encouraged to do so by Quick Reads; short stories written by well known authors especially for adult learners. So it's not Janet and John, or Dick and Dora for them, but titles such as 'Kung Fu Trip' by Benjamin Zephaniah, 'Men at Work' by Mike Gayle and 'Strangers on the 16:02' by Priya Basil, just three of the new Quick Read titles released yesterday. I was invited to the launch party of all ten new titles as part of World Book Day on Tuesday and the event got off to a good start. There were exciting activities suggested too and I really like the idea of A Family Reading Breakfast. Take a look at the World Book Day website – http://www.worldbookday.com/ – for more intriguing and exciting ideas.

The WI will be involved in the Hay Festival in June this year and a number of members are currently writing their memoirs with the guidance of Queenbee Publishing. Within the WI, we have our own Lady Denman literary competition and this year, in no more than 500 words, members have to imagine, extol, and speculate on "The WI in 2025".

In addition to all of this, we are holding a Literary Lunch at Denman College on 8 April with Joanna Trollope who will talk about her writing and read extracts from her latest novel: Daughters-in-Law. When I realised her previous novel, 'Friday Nights', was set in the area around our office in New Kings Road we just had to invite her along to the WI – the friends in that book could well have joined the WI together.

A Royal Visit

2011-02-25T17:01:00.003Z

A dull and drizzly day at Denman College was transformed in an instant when HRH the Duchess of Cornwall arrived to take a look at the WI's seat of learning. It was truly exciting to show Her Royal Highness around the ground floor of the magnificent house that is Denman College before escorting her down the gravel pathway to view the accommodation cottages and, in particular, the Gloucestershire bedroom where she signed her name in the visitor's book. Why this room in particular you ask? Well, the Duchess is a member of Tetbury Evening WI in Gloucestershire and this is the room decorated by her federation.

The tour continued on to the WI Cookery School where a demonstration by Dhruv Baker, 2010 Masterchef winner, was in progress. Something chocolately was in the pan and the Duchess joined fellow members around the table to watch the proceedings. Chatting all the time with members, we returned later to the WI Cookery School to view the students preparing a chicken dish that they later enjoyed for their lunch.

This week courses at the WI Craft School included negative and positive appliqué and Italian embroidery, as well as bookbinding and painting with acrylics. It appears the Duchess is a dab hand with the paintbrush as she painted a sunset quite effortlessly and was obviously quite taken with the bookbinding.

At the reception that followed in the beautiful Ferris Theatre, The Duchess of Cornwall spoke to every person present including members of Marcham WI, who hold their WI meetings in that very room. One member told me that to round off this very exciting morning they were going off to lunch together to celebrate.

It was an honour to receive our royal WI member and I do hope the Duchess enjoyed her whirlwind tour of Denman College. Who knows, maybe one day she might even be a student there herself.

From one extreme to another - our Mums Matter petition has only a short time to run before it is handed over to government campaigning on the necessity for money to help mothers in pregnancy and childbirth in the developing world that has not gone away. At a superb Women Reaching Women evening in Suffolk West Federation, the plight of pregnant women and the ways in which they are currently being helped was graphically shown. Every woman from every country is our sister across the planet, and caring about their plight is so much of what our Women Reaching Women project has encompassed. Millennium Development Goal number 5 regarding maternal mortality has a special place in WI members’ hearts and minds and to which thousands have responded.

The WI's Women Reaching Women closing conference is to be held on 12 April – everyone is welcome to attend.

WI Year of the Archive and Aladdin's cave

2011-02-14T13:49:00.002Z

A brief trip to Denman College to speak to more than a score of Federation Secretaries showed me once again why time at the WI college is time well spent. Even in February the gardens provide an idyllic setting for an early morning walk or afternoon stroll ; its just the perfect learning environment. As well as the workshop for the Federation Secretaries, there was a course taking place on archiving for county federations’ and WIs’ archives. The NFWI archives are housed in the Women's Library in London, having been recovered from the garage at Denman College where they languished for many years. In fact, 2012 has been designated the “WI Year of Archives” so I'm sure federations are gathering all those files and bits of paper, minutes and records to be collated and stored properly, or rather, archived. Several such courses have been offered at Denman College for interested WI members over the past few years because it is so important to record what the WI collectively, and the federations and WIs individually have accomplished so much over the last 96 years, indeed, over nearly a century.

Within that time federation offices have been housed in many different types of buildings. In the last decade many have moved the administration of the federation to state-of-the-art offices of all sorts and descriptions – from an eco-friendly pig sty (Cambridge) to a cockpit (Powys Montgomery) and every type of building in between. Some have retained Georgian and Victorian town houses, but a recent move for Hertfordshire has taken them to the Old Curiosity Shop; a delightful old shop, which I should like to think was once a sweet shop, with a beautiful bowed window. Through the window you can be seen all manner of the most delightful and exquisite items: bags and necklaces; cards and pictures; garments and scarves, all made by WI members in the federation, and all for sale. A veritable Aladdin’s cave of craft at its best. Beyond the shop area are the offices and a board room; everything that an office needs. Last week I had the privilege and pleasure of cutting the ribbon at the official opening of the Hertfordshire Federation of Women's Institutes where I was made so very welcome and had a wonderful time meeting the members who had gathered there. Thank you HFWI.

So what will this week bring? An NFWI Board meeting among other things. Watch this space for more news….

Goodbye January

2011-02-04T17:05:00.002Z

The last two weeks of January have been filled with internal meetings and discussions on policy and membership; areas that are right at the heart of the WI. It is very exciting that many hundreds of new members are joining each week, as well as forming brand new WIs; in fact 16 new WIs were formed during the months of December and January. Membership is always high on the WI agenda and by the time we reach our centenary in 2015, our aim is to increase membership significantly so that we can stride confidently into the next decades.

For some women, joining the WI can change their lives – new friends, new interests, new skills, and discovering a confidence perhaps not previously achieved. Not every woman who would like to join the WI is able to get to a monthly meeting, which is why the WI Associate scheme is so ideal because it offers the opportunity to become a WI member without the need to belong to a specific WI. There’s the chance to visit a few WIs in your federation before deciding which one is for you while receiving the membership magazine, WI Life, along with notification of all that is happening in your area and nationwide. And let us not forget that courses at Denman cost the same for WI Associates as for WI members.

Other benefits include the Associate Forum on the Moodle where you can chat to other Associates. A forum is also available to WIs within London. Request a password and you will be able to access the Moodle where there is everything you might want to know about the WI.

Speaking of Denman College, there is currently a fantastic course taking place called ‘Inspiring New Business Women’, and have you seen the upcoming new bridal series; courses on everything you need to know if you are catering for your own wedding from making the invitations to arranging the flowers.

Being a WI member is certainly COOL. As followers of this blog will know, that is also the title of our current campaign on county of origin labelling of meat and fish. Do check out the short film on the NFWI website, www.thewi.org.uk/cool, for more information.

One of our ongoing campaigns is combating climate change and yesterday I learned of an important debate around the opportunities for offshore wind farms in Britain. Chaired by Damian Carrington, it brought together experts from several sectors – energy, politics, finance and activism. Apparently, there was not one woman panellist in sight. This does not surprise me but it does dishearten me: how long has the WI been saying women must have a say in the solutions to the changed climate? Since 1927, that’s how long.

All's not quiet on the New Home Front

2011-01-21T14:27:00.002Z

Yesterday I took part in a panel discussion to mark the launch of a movement and campaign - The New Home Front - headed up by Caroline Lucas MP and Andrew Simms, Fellow of NEF, which calls on the public to take action to mitigate the fierce urgency of climate change. The campaign looks back to the time when the nation came together as one as the Second World War was raging, and while climate change is raging all around us, it is felt that communities could come together in a similar way to make headway as the world rushes towards the tipping point. "This [issue of] climate change goes beyond generations", said the gentleman from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Research, "it makes the 100 years war look like a walk in the park. The science of climate change has not changed in two decades, but the current suite of tools is wholly inadequate to tackle climate change in 2011”.

The WI was active on the home front during the Second World War, preserving foods – of course making jam by the tonne – using every scrap of food in order to prevent waste; making new clothes out of old; conserving energy and water; and recycling rather than throwing away. All of these actions have been championed again in recent years by WIs through their Eco Teams, Love Food Hate Waste, Carbon Challenge, composting and car sharing, and many other worthwhile and commendable activities.

Caroline Lucas coined the phrase 'wisdom in one place' when she spoke of the report and this phrase really fits the profile of the WI as an organisation – the wisdom of the membership together with practical knowledge and know-how should not be ignored.

This was highlighted again at The City Food Lecture given this week at Guildhall by Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever. He too was saying we 'need new tools' in agriculture if the world is to be fed, and products have to be sustainably sourced for sourcing to be able to continue!

Later in the week I had a meeting with the Government Equalities Office in light of the departure of the Women's National Commission. The work of the WNC, set up in 1969 as the national, independent organisation to present the views of women to government, now comes under the banner of the GEO. The priorities for the GEO are civic participation, the launch of a consultation on access to public life and also reporting on the diversity, or lack of it, of people in politics. This office will be delivering an on-line newsletter to which anyone may subscribe.

Meanwhile the week hosted 2 NFWI committees – there is never a dull moment!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-11T12:59:00.002Z

Happy New Year to all blog readers! I begin 2011 with a Victoria Sponge - “the frumpy, floury image of a Women’s Institute Victoria Sponge” to be precise.

A Victoria Sponge, if properly made and presented, is neither frumpy nor floury, no matter who makes it. I’m sure many young WI members who bake would not be happy at the implication of the Victoria Sponge they make being frumpy, and neither would many older members, myself including. If Jane Simon of The Mirror would like to learn how to make an un-frumpy Victoria Sponge, I know many a WI member would be more than happy to show how its done, not least at the WI Cookery School.

But isn’t it great that people want to bake Victoria Sponges (and every other type of cake for that matter!). Baking can be a very therapeutic exercise, especially when the results are so tasty and admired by those who eat them.

Looking towards other WI business; there is plenty going on with the WI throughout January. Snow or no snow, events are planned in Federations across England and Wales, and I see from their websites that several areas will be holding a Burns Night celebration. Amongst other things there are walks and beauty days; science groups and food hygiene certificate classes; New Year sales and resolution meetings; judges information days and speaker selections days – never mind play readings and patchwork and many other craft classes.

The WI never sleeps.

Climate change, local communities and real ale...

2010-12-20T15:27:00.003Z

I was intrigued to read Chris Huhne's comment that "...even the Women's Institutes has better rules" than the UN when it comes to their negotiating procedures when he discussed the Climate Change Conference in Cancun last week. When it comes to the UN's organisational skills, I sincerely hope that they were better in Cancun this year than they were in Copenhagen last year. I was refused entry to the Climate Change talks last year with the entrance in sight, which was not something that endears one to the UN's power of organisation. At the time it was obvious to me that the WI could have and would have arranged that event much more efficiently so it’s interesting to hear Chris Huhne echoing me earlier thoughts! I also attended the previous talks in Poznan in 2008 so know a little of how things work, although the WI was not at this year’s talks despite that fact that women's roles in finding solutions to the changed climate remain important to the organisation. We must all continually strive to make a difference every day through environmentally friendly actions at home, in our local communities and in our wider actions at every level.

Another area of interest in December is The Sustainable Communities Act, originally put forward by Nick Hurd MP, which is now on the statute book. The Act was celebrated last week with a reception for its many adherents and those who worked so tirelessly on the Bill focusing on communities and how they can have more of a say in how they are run. Ron Bailey and Steve Shaw of Local Works deserve a special mention here; I met them both when speaking on behalf of the WI in the big push to put people at the heart of governance through the aforementioned Bill. David Cameron, while he was still an MP, made special reference to the uniqueness of the the WI and the Campaign for Real Ale speaking on the same platform and thus, surely, making the Sustainable Communities Bill one that should be accepted by all.

It might have been unique but since then a WI Real Ale has been produced – you can read all about it in the current edition of WI Life!

And now I raise a glass of the Harmston Heavenly to all you blog watchers; thank you for reading the musings and goings-on of the WI in the last few months. Happy Christmas to you all!

COOL, Jerusalem and climate change

2010-12-13T16:46:00.003Z

Still with food in mind, and in particular the WI's COOL (County of Origin Labelling) campaign, I had an early start today at a prestigious venue in the City. Barbecoa Butchery at 20 New Change Passage provided the setting for a short film to illustrate what the NFWI mandate is calling for – a label on meat to tell the customer where it was reared and not only where it was slaughtered and packaged after it was imported. Voluntary labelling in this manner does happen sometimes already, but it needs to be across the board so that we can be assured that our British sausages are actually made from pigs living and fed in the UK.

In just two days, the WI finds itself in so many parts of what makes our society!

And I hope you managed to download the Harmonies' version of Jerusalem yesterday!

It's worth noting that this time last year, at the very time I am writing this, I was standing outside the Bella Centre in Copenhagen, just a few paces from the door waiting in the freezing cold to get inside the building. No joke. This year I enjoyed a warmer clime in the UK to stand and wait, however, all of the messages coming back from the negotiations say that they are going well. The WI hasn't spoken so widely on the changed climate in the last twelve months but its message is still there urging, nay, demanding that the voices of those women in the countries already affected by the changed climate should be heard. "Sisters on the Planet" and "A world without Jam" are still as relevant as at this time last year, and the message is still there to be listened to and acted upon.

Sunday 12 December - all about the food

2010-12-13T16:41:00.001Z

This morning I presented certificates to three ladies, who, in the space of two and a half days, have studied for and passed stage 1 of their Food Hygiene Certificate. Over the weekend they learned how to cook nutritious and moreish dishes and how to make the perfect cupcake. A short course, very much akin to our Get Cooking and Let's Cook projects, took place in the Cookery School at Denman College, with participants from the Oxfordshire Family Intervention Scheme. I very quickly learned that a great time was had by all when I joined them at the end of all the hard work, but I know that the ladies had a wonderful time as well as learning so much to take back to their family meal times.

Christmas treats

2010-12-10T15:08:00.002Z

You may have recently noticed a competition for WI members on our website under the glorious title of Yule Britannia. This was a competition to produce a Christmas dish using only the best British ingredients, with the delicious entreaty: " We want to know more about what inspires your cooking, so we need you to tell us in no more than 200 words, what inspires you about cooking Christmas food and in particular, using the best of British produce.” A photograph of the masterpiece was also requested.

The four finalists competed at the BBC Good Food Show, cooking their recipe in 25 mins. The final recipes were made on the Stoves stand and judged by renowned chef Brian Turner The winner, Yasmin Limbert, a member of Wirral Belles WI in Cheshire received a prize of £1,500 worth of Stoves appliances and a choice of cookery courses at the WI Cookery School, at Denman College, Oxfordshire.

Yasmin will indeed be taking up her prize of a course before long. Do check out the courses at the WI Cookery School, where there are courses for all interests and for everyone, including gentlemen. We should be learning more about Yasmin and her entry in the next edition of WI Life.

And WI Life was the reason behind an indulgence of a "white chocolate Gianduja mousse with cherry jelly, cherry sorbet and almond tuille" at the Independent Publisher awards earlier this week where our magazine was nominated under the category of ‘best new launch/ best relaunch of the year'. WI Life might not have won the award but its small, perfectly formed team, headed up by Editor Neal Maidment, is a winner with the WI.

Speaking of winning combinations the combined voices of WI members and several gentlemen in a choir sang in Kent West Kent Federation for their Christmas celebration. I'm sure such celebrations will resound across England and Wales in the coming weeks. In my own federation we have 'Words and Music for Christmas', which I always hope will include a few words from Mr Charles Dickens and his Christmases past.

But for Christmas present – a song with a difference. 'The Harmonies – the voices of the WI' are releasing their beautiful arrangement of Jerusalem on Sunday 12 December. Nowadays, to achieve a chart topping hit single, the song needs to be downloaded from the internet. Even if you've never download music before, please do give it a go and download Jerusalem by The Harmonies from http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/jerusalem/id397820151?i=397820155&ign-mpt=uo%3D4. Jerusalem – always a hit with the WI, now let’s make it one for the nation.

Water water everywhere

2010-12-01T11:10:00.003Z

A resolution on flooding was put forward in 2009, and although it was not accepted, it was of great interest to many members and so under the banner of environment it was decided to look further into flooding. The result was the creation of flooding workshops in partnership with the Environment Agency.

I spent yesterday morning in Cambridge at the third of these flooding workshops – the other two had been held in the West Midlands and Devon – discussing floods, their history, their causes and some possible solutions. There was also discussion on issues relevant to the area, including what might happen to excess water where thousands of new dwellings are built. We spoke of the recommended provisions in the Pitt Review, including the active response by communities before, during and after flooding and the recruitment of Flood Wardens. You know, so many of these proposals fit quite naturally with the ethos of the WI.

Householders, parish councils, indeed, anyone, may sign up to receive flood warnings wherever they are. Go to the Environment Agency website, http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/default.aspx if you are interested in learning more.

Not living near a stretch of water Riparian Rights is something I know little about, but, as with all rights come responsibilities. I learned that householders whose land stretches to the bank of a river are responsible for that bank along their boundary and also for that water to the middle of the width. This must surely come from the time of the ancient Franks living on the Rhine between the Meuse and the Moselle and the code they observed for harmonious living.

And this type of discussion I also had yesterday around the ‘Big Society’, in an interview for the Office of Public Management Public Service Futures programme. In many ways WI members are already doing or living the ideals of this ‘Big Society’; being engaged in their own communities and coming together within their WIs to make a positive difference to their lives and the lives of others. The ‘Big Society’ is about rights and responsibilities too and as such will mean commitment at all levels.

Footnote: I learned of Elton John editing The Independent newspaper today. Where WI Life leads others follow; the WI has a guest edited edition of our membership magazine coming up in 2011.
And congratulations to WI Life Editor Neal Maidment for his nomination from the Periodicals Training Council as ’new editor of the year’ - an accolade in the big society of periodicals.

The WI Real Jam Festival went down a treat

2010-11-23T16:03:00.003Z

You know, I wonder if we should ask ourselves why it has taken almost 100 years for the WI to get around to holding a Jam Festival! Over the last weekend people came to our WI college in Oxford, Denman College, to view jars of jam - in fact, over 500 jars of jams in 12 classes, including one entitled 'Man Made' and another especially for children. The Jam with a Difference class did attract a very high number of entries - one of my favourite being "Traffic Jam", a glass jam jar full of small plastic cars! A Winner!!

Prizes were awarded in each category with for the best in show prize winner receiving not only a jam making kit and lots of goodies but £700 worth of Stoves electrical kitchen equipment of their choice. Stoves was only one of the sponsors of the event which also included Billington's Sugar, The Jam Jar Shop and World of Glass.

As well as examining jam for clarity and colour, visitors could buy from stalls locally produced foods and goods. And during the two days cookery demonstrations, with jam as a common theme, were given by Rachel Green, Pam Corbin and the WI's own Anne Harrison, Chair of Denman College, whose idea the jam festival was. The fourth demonstrator was Dhruv Baker. Winner of Masterchef 2010 and no stranger to Denman College, Dhruv took part by cooking for a crowd using Denman's own catering kitchen.

Look out for the next WI Real Jam Festival – get boiling and stirring and that Best in Show title could be yours.

And now, for the next few days it is back to meetings, not least a National Board meeting, the final one of the year. We are looking forward to the Harmonies joining us all at the end of the two day meeting where I have a hunch they will sing their new version of 'Jerusalem'.

You can download Jerusalem from the internet on 12 December, and the more folk who do the closer it gets to being a possible Christmas No. 1.

Too much to fit in a title

2010-11-19T16:56:00.002Z

What began as a debate has grown into a mission. On Tuesday, Mission Milk, the WI's conference and debate hosted jointly with the NFU, took place in central London. Attendees came from every sector of the dairy industry including the WI member whose resolution back in 2006 set the nation's mind on the low and unfair prices that dairy farmers were receiving for their milk, as well as a dairy farming WI member who had been able to leave the milking to others that morning to make sure they could attend!

Over 100 Great Milk Debates, organised by WI members, took place across the country in 2007, with representatives from the whole of the industry including the retailers and processors of milk, as well as dairy farmers themselves. At the time, the situation did improve somewhat, but three years on, WI members again realised that although some dairy farmers are now receiving higher prices per litre for their milk through dedicated supply chain contracts with some retailers, many thousand more were not - discrepancies again! So the NFWI decided it was time to revisit the milk campaign and raise awareness once again of the difficult and unfair situation the dairy industry is still facing.

There was the odd contented voice among the crowd, which was great news, but as custodians of the countryside, the dairy industry along with all other farmers is hugely influential in the way our countryside looks and is managed, and as such, deserves the country’s support.

The panel of Peter Kendal, NFU President; Mike Coupe, Sainsbury's Group Commercial Director; Neil Kennedy, Milk Link Chief Executive; Andrew George MP for St Ives and the Isles of Scilly and myself each spoke from their perspective which raised questions and comments from the audience.

Recent evidence would suggest that the supply chain is not functioning properly and many farmers are missing out on their share of pounds in additional earned revenue to milk buyers. Perhaps it is time that the retailers change the way in which they buy dairy products by moving away from short-term tendering to long-term contracts, with greater partnerships with processors and farmers - would this not give a stronger foundation for a more stable and transparent supply chain?

We all need to work together.

Two days with the WI can seem like a week – especially when they are as busy as Tuesday and Wednesday were! On Tuesday we were on Mission Milk, and on Wednesday, the WI found itself in a whirlwind!

The first thing on Wednesday was a “keynote address on equality” given by Theresa May, Minister for Women and Equalities AND Home Secretary - how does she manage both roles??

I think of that meeting with a wry smile for as people were being allowed in with “photographic identification and prior registration only” cemented with a tick next to those registered names, women with babies and toddlers in pushchairs were being sent in the same direction for what I presume was a playgroup session, while others asked where the NCT class was to be held.

Once the Minister began her address there was anticipation on my part to hear of engagement and representation, the question of what would be put into place for the women’s sector. This is most important with the Commission on the Status of Women coming up at the UN in the spring of 2011. Regrettably, no information on this was forthcoming but we did hear about the scrapping of laws made by the previous government and that from now on the Equalities Policy would be to work with the ‘grain of human nature’. Flexibility and fairness were much quoted when mention was made of working hours, parental leave, retirement and may other causes of inequality. Many areas still need more work, especially changing the opinion of people who still see there is equality for others but not for them. Equality of opportunity is there for all, and fairness should always run alongside equality.

So from Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre to Clarence House and lunch with the Prince of Wales or, more accurately, with the past and future partners of His Royal Highness’ initiative - Start. This is a programme of simple steps that everyone can take to make better use of our natural resources. Millions of people confused by percentages, targets, science and conflicting advice want to do more to live sustainably and Start aims to make that sustainability simple, positive and inspirational. And all in a language the public understands.

It would seem that quite a lot of initiatives have already taken place this year and one event we know of was the Garden Party held in Clarence House’s garden when The Harmonies gave their first public performance.

The starting points are easy to understand and do something about: Start thinking, Start eating seasonally, Start insulating, Start doing it smarter, Start energy saving at home, Start recycling clothes, Start knowing your food and Start using your water wisely.
Now those of you reading this and knowing the WI will say, I hope, this is what the WI has been advocating and doing for years and years. So who better to get on board the Start bus than the WI?
Prince Charles told me, indeed, who better than the WI to take this on board at local level and he would be very pleased if we were to become part of Start. We have yet to discern if and where and how we might be involved but many thousands of WI members might think to quietly call it Start II.

So from Clarence House to BBC TV Centre in Wood Lane to take part in the Alan Titchmarsh Show along with The Harmonies and to talk about the WI’s Jam Festival at Denman College this coming weekend – 20th and 21st November. A six minute slot had a couple of sentences from me on the ‘history’ of the WI, followed by a further few sentences on jam and the festival from Anne Harrison, Denman’s Chair, a piece on flowers and flower arranging and then The Harmonies sang their own new version of Jerusalem, live, for the first time. There was the added bonus of seeing Westlife perform their new single and briefly meeting Ainsley Harriot before he recorded a piece for the next day’s programme.

Quite a day!

And please, don’t forget to download The Harmonies single on 12th December - a number 1 with a difference perhaps.

Begin November with a bang

2010-11-09T13:36:00.001Z

November has begun with a bang or two, or at least sparklers, as many a November does, and the same can be said of the world of WI. Three committee meetings in 3 days; one for Denman College, one for WI Enterprises and one for Finance. Finance pertains to most things we do, of course; where it comes from and where it goes to. WI Enterprises is the trading arm of the NFWI and Denman College always has so much going on, not least this month with our Real Jam Festival taking place on the 20th and 21st. Jars of jam have been arriving daily at the college and I hope many of you blog watchers have entered a jar in one of the 11 categories. It should be a super event.

During the week I went to a discussion on Climate Change hosted by Oxfam, with whom we work on our Women Reaching Women Project. The discussion asked the question, ‘Is the upcoming 'meeting' in Cancun the answer to the issue of the changed climate?’ Several experts gave their opinions and as I have thought and understood for some time now, climate change is not like any problem the world has ever faced before. We have to decarbonise the world's energy system by the middle of the 21st century and keep the rise in temperature below 2 degrees. Beyond that and the problem becomes unmanageable. Domestic policies need to tackle this issue as much as international endeavours and it is politicians who bring about outcomes not processes.

From the discussion it was on to the opening of a brand new cookery school in London. Then I was off to the House of Commons for a reception hosted by the Girl Guides on the eve of the presentation of their 25,000 names petition to Downing Street. The petition called for airbrushed photographs of sylph-like, beautiful, unblemished girls and women to acknowledge if they have been airbrushed. This campaign was requested by the girls during their centenary year as the issues it raises affects girls and young women, in particular, nowadays, when youth and perfection is applauded and anything less is 'sad'.

The week then ended with a meeting with a representative from Start – the Prince of Wales sustainable living imitative.

Never a dull moment and every moment a sparkler!

End of another busy week

2010-10-29T17:04:00.003+01:00

So have you heard it yet? Of course I am talking about The Harmonies - Voices of the WI – a truly beautiful collection of songs. I am so proud of you girls – Doreen, Gemma, Jan, Jennie and Naomi. I am sure they just had the best time making this CD - for them it must have been even better than the auditions, which was such a memorable day too for the rest of us who were there. One of the highlights of the entire process was definitely the whole choir of WI members - all those who sent in an audition tape - singing the new version of Jerusalem – a truly inspiration moment!

This is just one example of the opportunities that come with belonging to the WI, proving that membership is so much more than eleven meetings a year, raffles and cups of tea. These are all part of that great jamboree of course, but there is so much more on offer! Opportunities from your own locality, within your federation, and much further a field; you will have read here that the proposer of this year's resolution that has become the NFWI's COOL campaign (county of origin labelling) went to Brussels to state the WI's case in the European Parliament. Members can be involved in the campaigns they empathize with; they can enter competition, locally and nationally; and they can even send in audition tapes when they are called for - check out www.theWI.org.uk - and also your federation websites to find out what’s on offer. The world of WI really is your oyster.

While the girls were on television on Tuesday morning, I was in the Isle of Ely at the federation’s autumn council meeting where I was giving members an insight into what I do as Chair of the NFWI. I said that just like them, the WI keeps me very busy!

After this I made my way to Worthing to speak at the West Sussex Autumn Council Meeting; this time telling them more about my trip to Malawi earlier in the year. The Mums Matter petition is still available for signing but sheets of signatures are coming into our office in their thousands – keep them coming! Check out www.theWI.org.uk for more information on this too.

And something that I presume must sell in their thousands are cookery books by James Martin. I had another dose of this superb chef at this very meeting. Remember, he came to demonstrate at Denman College in July? I did ask if he would come again – just imagine a masterclass with this motor-bike-riding, fast-car-loving chef…!

A busy week

2010-10-21T16:19:00.003+01:00

A week ago I was in Bishop Aukland; this week I was in Ulverston in the Cumbria Westmorland federation to celebrate their ninetieth anniversary. I shared the bill with Gyles Brandreth, the very person who shared the bill ten years ago with a certain Prime Minister. He was as hilarious, as intelligent and as clever are ever; it is always such a treat to see him perform.

I always marvel at how swiftly we can travel around our country, and what beautiful scenery we can view at leisure from a train window. I had the pleasure of travelling past Morecambe Bay and the flatlands, which are now covered in grass with sheep grazing. The smooth dips and hollows of magical shapes full of shimmering water were really quite delightful and completely justified such an early start.

Yesterday it was back to 104 for a meeting of the Public Affairs Committee where bees and fast fashion, the next stage of the milk debate and ACWW were discussed, along with a whole host of other fascinating issues.

We met with the new World President and Treasurer of ACWW last week, May Kidd and Alison Burnett respectively; to discuss the many projects WI members had funded during the last year, and future involvement with the UN Women's Commission.

It never ceases to amaze me just how many other organisations the WI has been involved with at their inception over the last ninety five years. The British Standards Institute recently revealed to us that the WI was one of the founders of the original committee on standards some 60 years ago in 2011, which is just another string to the bow that was fired at the time of our Keep Britain Tidy era in the early 50s.

I was lucky enough to hear Bill and Melinda Gates speak at the Science Museum about international aid on Monday evening. Their latest venture, “Living Proof”, aims to demonstrate that international aid really does work, for example vaccination to prevent measles for children has to be a positive. I am eagerly awaiting the rest of the talk; unfortunately technological problems meant that it had to be cut short. I will, of course, share more when I can.

P.S. By popular request, here is a photograph of my daughter’s wedding.

Brussels to Birmingham

2010-10-12T08:56:00.002+01:00

We arrived in Brussels via the famous Eurostar train and after a hair-raising taxi ride; we were dropped off at the European Parliament. The WI contingent was made by myself; Marylyn Haines-Evans, Chair of the Public Affairs Committee; Enid Gratton-Guiness, the WI member who proposed the resolution on Country of Origin Labelling (COOL); and Rachel Barber, Head of the Public Affairs Department at NFWI.

The first task was our ID photographed at the security check-in, which appeared to be much more flattering than the ones one has to bear in our own Houses of Parliament, and after this, we were ushered into a smart cafe area to meet with Renanta Sommer, the rapporteur for the legislation pertaining to our COOL campaign. We spoke to Renata for an hour; a meeting that revealed differences of approach. She maintains that it is too difficult to track the route of any lorry load of meat or poultry due to the many loads arriving at huge slaughter houses across Europe every 24 hours, and that keeping a check is next to impossible. We countered this argument by discussing the paper trails that legally have to follow any sheep or cow, and any other animal, wherever it goes, for example, a paper record must be made to move a cow from one field to another. We were told that fact-finding programmes have to be put in place before anything can be decided, meaning that voluntary labelling seems to be on the cards at this time.

We also spoke with MEPs Jill Evans and Chris Davis, from Wales and the north of England respectively. They are fully behind the WI's call, but other MEPs are not, and many MEPs will not have encountered the discussion or legislation just yet. The WI mandate calls for mandatory labelling so do get lobbying those MEPs and MPs – they need to know what the WI is calling for!

From Brussels to Birmingham for me, as 24 hours later I found myself in Sutton Coldfield Town Hall speaking to members of the West Midlands Federation. I then enjoyed a short break before travelling on to Barry in South Wales to address the autumn council meeting of the Glamorgan Federation.

Yesterday I headed to Denman College for the beginning of the Women Reaching Women's final year and then I travelled on to Darlington in readiness for the Durham council meeting. Today it's Bishop Aukland!

Meetings, ANC and Brussels...oh, and a wedding

2010-10-05T12:09:00.002+01:00

My last entry was several days ago because life, both with the WI and otherwise, has been rather hectic of late. A spate of internal meetings followed by the September Board of Trustees meeting took up some of this time. A Board meeting is always important because that is where the 'running' the NFWI really happens. 13 members of the Board of Trustees only meet five times in a year so this is the place where all of the organisation’s activities are discussed; approaches by other individuals and organisations are brought to the table; and issues are voted on and decided. Money is also discussed as in any organisation, and offers and opportunities for all 207,000 members are heard and deliberated, resulting in a packed programme across the two days.

This time, we also finalised the format and contents of the Annual National Council. This is an annual forum/conference for all Federation Chairmen and Treasurers from across the 69 Federations (the areas roughly denoting the county boundaries in England and Wales). 138 leaders come together for discussion of the many issues that affect and inform the whole of the WI, and the exchange of information and ideas. This year we discussed how to expand our organisation, how we are perceived, and how we truly are as we begin the five year countdown to our centenary in 2015,

My time was well and truly taken up with meetings but right in the middle of these two big events was an even larger one; my daughter’s marriage. Anyone who has been the 'mother of the bride' will understand the many last minute things to suddenly need to be done or, at the very least, considered.

And now I'm off to Brussels to speak to MEPs about out Country of Origin Labelling campaign (COOL). I'll tell you how I get on very soon.

...A Wonderful World...?

2010-09-17T11:40:00.003+01:00

So now we know, Jan, Gemma, Doreen, Jennie and Naomi are "The Harmonies: The Voice of the WI." And what voices they have! I told you the standard was high, didn't I? Their version of Jerusalem is particularly beautiful: I love it, and I don’t think it’s in competition with Parry's version; it's just a different stance musically, giving it a more soulful, thoughtful aura. It’s also a huge thrill to know that they are to sing for Prince Charles. Being a member of the WI really can make it "...a wonderful world"

You know, before the girls had even left the BBC Breakfast studio yesterday morning, we were receiving calls at head office from women wanting to know how to join the WI. So heartfelt congratulations to The Harmonies! We can't wait for the CD to be released and of course you are all invited to sing to your fellow members at the AGM in Liverpool next June - with bells on.

But on the other side of the world there are some harrowing tales to be heard. At an Oxfam reception earlier this week I was introduced to "The Circle ", an initiative set up by the singer Annie Lennox with Oxfam. The WI' s own Women Reaching Women project is run in conjunction with Oxfam and, of course, has women's rights, their education and their heath at its heart. However, The Circle, with many female celebrity supporters, throws up salient facts to ponder:

- Two thirds of the 72 million children denied school are girls.

- Sixty four percent of the 771 million illiterate adults worldwide are women.

- Women work two-thirds of the world's working hours, yet earn only 10% of the world's income.

- Women hold only 14% of the world's parliamentary seats.

- Every minute a woman with no medical help dies in pregnancy or childbirth.

- Domestic violence is the single biggest cause of death and injury to women worldwide.

A wonderful world?

Northern Inspirations

2010-09-15T12:28:00.000+01:00

Something has to be truly inspiring to cause that intake of breath and the moistening of the eye, which was how I felt yesterday evening when I stepped through the portals of Carlton Towers in Yorkshire for the opening of 'Northern Inspirations'. This is a celebration of crafts, including flower arranging, from six northern Federations: North Yorkshire East, North Yorkshire West, East Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Humberside and Lancashire. It is a wonderful collaboration of talents, abilities, and sheer genius, all in one place, representing patchwork, textile art, embroidery (hand and machine), bead work, lace making, painting, gold work, encostic art and, I should think, any other craft ever devised.

In the magnificent setting of this stately mansion with its foundations dug in medieval time, each exhibit is an heirloom to be cherished, and every craft is a treasure that was created to be enjoyed now and savoured in the future. The kaleidoscope of colour, presented in the perfect and amazingly beautiful flower arrangements, demonstrated nature's beauty and the craftswomen's artistry working together to create stunning effects.

If you find yourself in the north of England this week, do take a trip to Carlton Towers for the opportunity to see the WI at its best.

Persuasion at Denman College

2010-09-10T12:42:00.004+01:00

Be persuaded that taking a course at Denman College; it could change your life! I have alluded to this phenomenon several times in past blogs but this time I'm thinking of the people you might meet; you could make lasting friendships while learning something new. While I was visiting Denman last week, they were running a course entitled "Persuasion" where I met a lady who had travelled from Canada to take part. A fan of Jane Austin and looking for some activity pertaining to the author while she visited England, the course came up from an internet search. She then took a look at the Denman web site, honed in on the college and grounds, and decided she had found the perfect combination; Jane Austin at Denman College.

I am told a similar course was held last year and a lady travelled from the USA to attend. She is still in touch with a fellow student she met and they have become firm friends. Who knows which country might be represented on next year's course when Northanger Abbey will be discussed?

My reason for staying at the college earlier in the week was to attend a Denman committee meeting, which was followed by a Finance Committee meeting at the National Headquarters in 104 New King’s Road. National Treasurer, Aleathia Mann, reported on a recent meeting she attended at the Payments Council to discuss the abolition of cheques. 71 charitable organisations were represented at the meeting, where the discussion centred on the importance of cheques to each of those organisations – all receive money via cheques and make payments too, with many of the alternatives requiring either mobile phone or internet access. However, a paper based option is being investigated but two main issues were not addressed: the cost of cheque alternatives, and the security of personal data. Further consultation meetings will be taking place and a report will be provided after these meetings.

NFU, cows, the Great Milk Debate and COOL campaign

2010-09-03T15:05:00.004+01:00

Children back to school on Thursday in many parts of the country so the sun came out and I spent the day in the sunshine standing in a field surrounded by dairy cows inquisitively looking at me while I, in turn, nonchalantly looked out across a Norfolk landscape. I had been asked to “star” in a photo shoot and interview for the NFU’s Countryside magazine, which brought me face to face with Holstein calves, cows and a magnificent, huge and, sometimes frightening, three year old bull. The cows were completely unfazed by our presence and equipment; many of them were lying down and lazing in their stall on sand - which I learned helps to keep them cool – while others were scratching their backs with a brush fixed at just the right height – it was idyllic, and I’m so glad that it wasn't raining or things might not have turned out quite so well!

My morning on the farm was to do with our upcoming return to the Great Milk Debate. In 2007, Federations held Great Milk Debates where not only members but the general public were invited to question dairy farmers, processors and retailers in a bid to raise the price that dairy farmers actually receive per litre of milk. The sharing out of pennies for that litre was not quite 'fair', and the WI had the mandate to raise awareness of the low prices dairy farmers were receiving for their milk. At the time, this did change in part but in the ensuing years, the margins are unfortunately slipping back, so along with many members, I felt it was imperative to raise this issue once again and stand behind our back dairy farmers.

Our recent campaign on county of origin labelling – COOL – comes naturally into this debate too, and imported milk, labelled or otherwise, is not, hopefully, the way our milk should go.

Concentrating on milk once again always reminds me of my very early childhood and my great aunts hand milking their small herd of cows, then taking it in churns on their milk cart, pulled by Dolly, around their village. People would come out of their houses with their jugs to be filled with fresh milk. It is always amazing to see how times change and how technology is changing our world.

Six-O Group and Climate Change

2010-08-27T15:03:00.004+01:00

This week I've taken part in the second of our biannual meetings of the Six-O Group. This meeting is an informal gathering of the leaders of the six largest women's organisations in the UK, which are: The National Federation of Women's Institutes, Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland, The Townswomen's Guild, Business and Professional Women Foundation, British Federation of Women Graduates and National Council for Women Great Britain.

The meetings are a chance to catch up on what each organisation is working on at any given time with a view to strengthening the message, but also to learn from each other. One of the big issues we tackled was the huge but illusive problem of Human Trafficking. With the Olympic Games now in haling distance this issue will grow. Is that something many people would think about with the excitement of the Olympic Games coming to our country, I wonder?

We also discussed the environment, something that is never far away from the conscience of many a WI member. Have you seen our latest Climate Change Action Pack on how you can be involved in actions to improve that very environment? Which reminds me, the government and the media both seem to have gone very quiet on the issue of Climate Change? What is happening there I wonder Mr Huhne? At the Copenhagen summit the wealthy counties pledged to provide $100 billion by 2020 so that the poorer countries might adapt to the impact of climate change. What is happening there, I wonder. And all we marched for in the Wave on 5 December last year has not changed – well, hardly at all. That's the trouble. There has to be a way forward by the time the Mexico summit happens.

I've been doing some clearing of papers in the last week and amongst them I found a booklet, put out in 1999 by the then Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions. The opening line from "Climate Change – Draft UK Programme Summary" reads, "In the last decades of the old century, the world has learnt some hard environmental lessons". We can equally well say that in the first decade of the new century those lessons have been compounded with the result of inaction. The summary of a decade ago is more or less the summary of today. But I know members have been taking action for the last 10 years that does help the situation; don't stop. We have to change to halt the changes that have sadly already happened with the climate of their land for many millions across the world.

Holidays, memories and the year of the archive

2010-08-20T13:33:00.001+01:00

Holidays very often provide the 'free' time we feel we need to visit the past. I'm thinking of visits to museums, art galleries, and special exhibitions. One set of memories that I experienced a few days ago was that of the world of circus. Housed backstage at the Hippodrome Circus in Great Yarmouth are the props from years gone by, photographs too, and literally, the roar of the crowd and the smell of the greasepaint greets the intrepid searcher who wishes to delve into circus history. This venue boasts 1 of the 4 remaining amazing water features still operating throughout the world today – a circus ring that drops down and pours water in, showing water spectaculars.

This set me to thinking of what we all do or don't keep; stuff, really. And in the WI world there is so much stuff. Every federation office will have artefacts and books and the like going back to the beginning of the life of that federation. I am a hoarder, so disposing of anything takes me ages since I fear I might need something that I no longer have because I threw it out! Many of you will probably know that feeling. Mind you, the NFWI possessions from the formation of the organisation, the archives, are now housed in the Women's Library in London having been rescued from the garage in our WI College in Oxford, Denman College.

A few years ago a great inventory was taken of all the textiles in the possession of WIs and federations and this is kept by the National Needlework Archive.

Throughout the federations many a County Records Office houses the minutes and paper archives of individual WIs. I know the photographs of my own WI are held in the records office too and they are "borrowed back" every time we have a special event when we want to look back at what the WI has done over the years. Many an album will have photographs behind the pages of self adhering plastic. I have learnt that this is not good as chemicals in the mix turn the photographs brown over time. We should all be using albums with the old fashioned photo corners and filmy tissue paper dividing the pages.

Quite a number of WIs now have their committee minutes and WI meetings records online. Others use this method but also keep a paper copy. And, of course, many WIs still use paper copies only. I wonder, though, in say 50 years from now, if many or our archives will be on memory sticks.

In my own federation we had quite an array of written pieces from the past and I recall one such, "A History of the federation", presented as a speech at the Autumn Council Meeting on 18 October 1952 - the month I was born! I quote the final paragraph:
"1938. The local authorities called on us to find billets for evacuees, and in 24 hours the committees of 70 villages had helped to get promises of accommodation for 5,000. Then we knew and rejoiced in our strength, and could go forward undaunted, secure in the confidence that so long as our great movement holds fast to it principles , and is based as if on the "spiritual ideals of fellowship, truth. , tolerance and justice" there is perhaps no limit to what it can accomplish for our home and our country".

2012 is to be the Year of the Archive. I know many federations have archivists but if all 69 of them had just one archivist each, then our history would be taped and tidied for the future. It is said the WI is one of the major custodians of our heritage, the social history of England and Wales. This we should never doubt.

Annual August garden meeting, WI Life and memories

2010-08-12T10:32:00.004+01:00

I had the tables, decked out with cloths, and the chairs all ready, and the punch was rippling gently in the bowl alongside the mugs. The lime and coconut cake was on its stand and I'd even managed to acquire an urn for the evening. I suppose I was tempting inclement weather since it had been raining on and off, more on than off, all day. This very quickly turned to on, rather than off, and very reluctantly I had to take the decision to cancel the annual August garden meeting of my WI. Most unfortunately, the message did not reach several members who turned up on the doorstep, surprised to find everywhere seemingly very quiet.

It was disappointing and, of course, by the time everything should have started, the rain had stopped, but everywhere was damp and not suitable for an outdoor soiree. However, during the phone conversations to cancel, I leaned that a friend who used to live in the village and is a WI member in Suffolk East now, had returned especially to come to our garden gathering, so happily I was able to meet up with her, which was some kind of compensation.

Being a member means you have even more in common with your friends than just friendship. We immediately started discussing the latest edition of WI Life, the AGM, WI book clubs, I know many WIs have these nowadays, as well as theatre groups and many more. My own WI has a thriving walking group too; hardly a month goes by without an organised trek, finishing up at an hostelry for lunch.

We also talked about writing down our memories or, indeed, our memoirs. More and more of us want to do this; some are more proactive but others need a helping hand to begin. Just the other day I was telling my youngest son about my father, whom he never met since he died when I was 19, and I realised just how much I had not imparted to all my children. Another snippet I had forgotten; for the first 15 years or so of living in this house, a dairy herd would be taken by morning and evening for milking - with all the mess you would expect! But by the time my son was old enough to have understood what he was seeing, the dairy herd was no more due to EU-related regulations. The farm land now belongs to the Countryside Restoration Trust. His three siblings remember the cows going by but he is just too young.

“Tiger! Tiger! Burning bright..."

2010-08-10T09:57:00.004+01:00

I was very pleased to be asked to go on a radio show on Sunday afternoon to chat about everything to do with the WI for half an hour. Interspersed with the local travel news and a beautiful 1923 rendition of Jerusalem, I was free to discuss whatever I fancied with presenter and journalist Christopher South, who is well known for his page in the Cambridge News and for his shows on Radio Cambridgeshire. He has a great admiration for the WI and I asked him to chair a “Question Time” style event on climate change we held in Cambridgeshire in 2008, where he did a superb job. We touched on the topic of climate change during our discussion, along with the age range of WI members, whether ladies from ethnic minorities are becoming members, and the plight of the honeybee, referring to our 2009 mandate.

Of course jam was discussed, not to mention Jerusalem as I have already mentioned, but, as I have always maintained, the skill of jam making is good to have or acquire, and to know the words of that great four stanza poem by William Blake does no harm at all! Our WI signature might well have been “Tiger! Tiger! Burning bright..."; as that too is set to music.

But not content with a Sunday slot, which Mr South very kindly said he'd like to repeat some time, yesterday morning Radio Newcastle wanted to hear about women's social groups and why there is obviously a need for them. The WI is the biggest voluntary women's group in England, Wales and The Islands, and its long 95 year history speaks for itself; women have always liked to come together in groups. I'm sure strength and safety in numbers, empowerment and education and so much more, are all reasons to form a WI.

The world really is an oyster for any WI member; and I hope all 207,000 of them out there realise this and revel in it.

Holidays, weddings and James Martin

2010-08-06T10:59:00.003+01:00

The month of August has always been real holiday time. I remember my French pen-friend, Joelle, saying that the world is on holiday in August because the whole of Paris is on holiday, which to me, at the age of 15, seemed to be the case. Of course, I know now that this is not strictly true, but it does seem so at 8am in the morning when getting to the railway station means a ten minute journey rather than the usual 35-40 minutes. That doesn't help me too much though because, as I said last time, the WI tends to slow down in this month and the meetings are not so many or frequent for me.

As well as July, August is the month for weddings too; and not only have a couple of the members of staff married but I too have the joy of a few to attend. In fact for one wedding in the Cotswolds I found that the hotel I am staying in is actually advertised in WI Life. There don't seem to be as many such adverts lately as there used to be, which is odd, since there are so many more people who now see this magazine. Anyone out there, with a hotel or B&B to fill could do a lot worse than putting an ad in WI Life.

I meant to record earlier that one of the very nice WI events I have been to recently was a cookery demonstration by James Martin. He came to Denman College and his demo was one specifically using canned foods. Canned beans, tomatoes and similar were his most used ingredients and seeing him demonstrate live was even better than seeing him on screen. The audience were, of course, entranced - not least because he is a superb cook - or should that be chef. Suffice it to say, he definitely knows how to cook and his tips alone were worth the trip to our wonderful college in Oxford.

Indeed, why not take a course in the WI Cookery School at Denman College; think of it as a mini-break and the chance to learn something new at the same time. And gentlemen, you are most welcome on these courses too.

2010-07-30T14:41:00.002+01:00

The last couple of weeks have been filled with meetings, meetings and more meetings! I know that's not what the WI is thought to be about, but someone has to make arrangements for everything to happen, which is just what the Board of Trustees has been doing throughout July. The first board meeting after the AGM was held in June and there was so much to look back on, and even more to look forward to!

In September, the WI celebrates its 95th anniversary so the real countdown to 100 years will begin in earnest. I'm sure most of the 6,500-plus individual WIs will be planning special meetings or events for 2015, but in the meantime, I expect many a member, like me, will be making sure that the garden is tidy and the chairs plentiful in readiness for the extra garden meeting. If yours is like my WI, it meets in a member's garden in the month of August. Of course, we have the 11 formal meetings during the year but my WI has August as the holiday month, rather than, say, January, as I know many WIs do.

Anyway, I am bemoaning the lack of green grass – we need a deluge of rain to transform the garden’s scorched earth appearance before early August! As for the chairs, we have a few now; it's just the table that we need now for the bring and share supper dishes that will appear with each member. Perhaps there is one more ingredient – a fine evening! – otherwise the garden meeting becomes a house meeting. I'll keep you posted.

WI members visit HQ

2010-07-16T15:47:00.001+01:00

120 members visited the NFWI's head office at 104 New King's Road over two days this week for the very first time, bar a couple of members who had visited before. Some of the visitors had been members for many years, while others were relatively new to the WI.

Open Days are an ideal opportunity for members to see, first hand, just what work is going on in Headquarters on behalf of the 207,000 members, and also see just how 31 members of staff manage in what is a relatively small office space. Every department presents its work to the members in open presentations, and their is a brief overview by all departments including Public Affairs, Public Relations, Finance, Central Secretariat, WI Enterprises (generating income from advertising, sponsorship etc.), WI Life magazine and Human Resources. Denman College was also discussed, as was the increases in membership that those at 104 keep an eye on every day. At the moment, about 300 to 500 new member packs are being sent out every couple of weeks.

Participants in the days were shown alternate versions of the front cover for the next issue of WI Life and amazingly, each choice had almost the same number of "votes"!

If you are a WI member and would like to visit 104, I'm sure there will be more Open Days to look forward to in 2011 and beyond.

2010-07-13T11:15:00.002+01:00

By now you will have heard of The Harmonies - the voice of the WI - a group of 5 WI members, names yet to be announced, who will begin recording a CD that will hopefully be climbing the charts just in time for Christmas. As I said on countless broadcasts throughout the whole of Friday last week, the standard of singing of those who auditioned was just so good; it was truly inspiring. Hearing some of the ladies truly made me tingle. As you know, I think that all WI members are great, and these members were no exception. So watch this space and fill in the pre-order details – I guarantee you will love it!

But I do want to point out that the WI has not made a million pounds deal. This is the sum that the record company, Universal, is purported to have invested in the project. The WI has only provided the voices.

Every day is different with the WI; I was recently lucky enough to have a trip around the Olympic site immediately following a television interview, which certainly made it a day with a difference. If you get the chance do take a guided tour of the site, you will see all about the different buildings and learn about how some of them are permanent while others are not. The roof over the swimming pools must almost be a wonder of the world; it is supported by a girder measuring 160 metres, giving the entire structure the wow factor. Congratulations to the engineering team! There are many opportunities to volunteer in one capacity or another during the Games in 2012, check out the website to see what catches your eye.

2010-07-06T12:51:00.002+01:00

On a glorious sunny day a week ago hundreds of members and friends flocked to Denman College, the WI’s own college in Marcham Oxfordshire, to see something of what the WI has on offer. Set in beautiful gardens, lake and all, for the past 62 years Denman’s doors have been open to WI members to learn all manner of skills, from cooking and craft to literature and language, with music and history in between, not to mention fashion and food.

The college has a cookery school – food and the WI just go together so well, don’t they! And if you have a secret desire to know how to make that ubiquitous jam - Denman College is not only the place to learn how to, but it is also the place to show off your jam making prowess by entering our Jam Festival in November this year.

Following our 2009 national mandate, SOS for Honeybees, Denman has acquired its own hives, and I do believe Denman honey is now for sale in the college shop.

Body Fit Camp has also come to Denman - you could shed the pounds or just keep fit and healthy with this specially tailored course.

You do realise, don’t you, that you don’t have to be a WI member to have a place on the courses offered? Not so long ago a gentleman flew in from New York to attend an embroidery class.

In 1948, when the college was opened and named after the first NFWI National Chairman, I wondered if the members then expected that it would not only thrive into the 21st century but that hen weekends would be offered; a weekend where brides and friends can dip into different crafts or cookery, indeed, your choice of any of the courses on offer. Check it out – a hen party with a difference.

2010-07-05T09:54:00.003+01:00

Two weeks ago in London the NFWI launched it new campaign petition – ‘Mums Matter’ calling on the UK government to keep its promises to reduce maternal deaths, especially in the developing world. The issue of actions to achieve these Millennium Goals, in particular no. 5 – the reduction of maternal mortality – is being championed by the WI with Oxfam. You can sign this petition on line at the www.theWI.org.uk/mumsmatter.

Last Thursday I was in Cardiff, Wales to launch the petition again, this time in the auspicious surroundings of the Welsh Assembly Senate, once more with Oxfam Cymru. Many agencies that already work in this area of maternal health were present as well as the first minister of the Welsh Assembly Government, Carwyn Jones. Angela Gorman spoke of her work with www.hopeforgracekodindo.org which helps many, many women during maternity.

Another organisation that gives women in this country help and a listening ear is Breast Cancer Care whose House of Commons reception I attended to launch their summer fund raiser of Strawberry Teas. I met several WI members – in any gathering of women it is a rare occurrence when none of them belong to the WI – who are volunteers and give their time to this cause. How refreshing to see so many women of every age, all in summer dresses and only a very few dark suited men; albeit men who care equally as passionately. I’m sure many WI members know of Breast Cancer Care, but it is always hoped that many more should know of its existence.

2010-06-30T16:47:00.004+01:00

This morning I sat in the lecture theatre at the Royal Institute of British Architects listening to Lord Adair Turner explain why the 2nd progress report of the Climate Change Committee to Parliament is not as positive as it might have been. Note, this presentation was delivered to interested parties, (the WI acknowledged as one of them) including one or two MPs, I suspect, but still very few women to be found among the dark suited men.

Anyway, since the first progress report, at least, in essence, little progress has actually been made. Any cuts in CO2 emissions that have been made are in great part due to the recession rather than the implementation of policies from the committee. But, whatever this committee decides it needs to happen now; whatever policies government champion, the requirements now, and in the future, will be incentives for lifestyle changes across the population. Now isn't that just what the WI has been advocating and putting into practice for years? Of course it is! Incentives from government and local authorities and better, simpler information on 'green living' might help, of course.

In the meantime, how about NFWI federations putting on eco driving lessons? That is, learning how not to drive using the usual break and accelerate method when travelling from A - B; driving in a more sustainable fashion, using less fuel, resulting in fewer traffic jams!

2010-06-28T14:49:00.005+01:00

A long overdue return to the Blog. The WI is certainly a busy place to be! We’re into another WI year now, the 96th, having held the AGM at the beginning of June. Cardiff was the venue this year; perhaps you’ve seen the photographs and read of the highlights on our website – www.thewi.org.uk – an entertainment.

I had the privilege of being elected for a second year to serve as the NFWI Chair and indeed, all committee chairmen remain as last year.

WI members will have read in the magazine, WI Life, some of what I have been up to in recent weeks. A particular treat was going to the V&A Museum to view the beautiful quilts in the museum’s latest exhibition. This is because the V&A boasts its own WI and the curator of the 1700 – 2010 exhibition is the president of that WI. The 30 London WIs were invited and we really did have a great time.

All I do on behalf of the WI is a pleasure but some is tinged with sadness and nothing more so than the launch of our latest petition campaign – Mums Matter. Based on the desperate need to attain Millennium Development Goal No.5, this petition calls upon government to keep its promise to reduce maternal deaths with funding and midwifery and health training in countries where it is most needed. I speak about my trip to Malawi, whenever and wherever the opportunity presents itself. Do sign the petition, download one from the WI website and ask everyone you know to sign it.

2010-04-26T11:43:00.003+01:00

Federation Council Meetings are still happening but in between I also gratefully accepted invitations to attend the reception in Guildhall to mark the centenary of Girlguiding UK, and the launch of British Food Fortnight held in the Grand Hall, Westminster Cathedral.

When it comes to the former, Girlguiding UK, I was thrilled to be there not only as NFWI Chair but also an one of the first Guiding Ambassadors, being appointed in 2000, and as a Vice President in Cambs East. It was superb evening to celebrate such a great achievement; 100 yeas and looking forward to the next 100. I absolutely love the idea that at 20:10 on 20th October in 2010, everyone involved in guiding will affirm their promise across the world; a true example of sisters across the planet. I know many WI members are also involved in the world of Guiding.

British Food Fortnight, held from 18th September to 3rd October, will once again highlight local, seasonal and sustainable food from the British Isles. Set around the time of the traditional harvest festival, many organisations and institutions and individuals, WI members among them, take up the baton for British food. This will be partcularly important during the Olympics when the torch for British produce will shine even brighter when BFF celebrates during the fortnight of the Games in 2012; what a great event to look forward to already!

2010-04-09T09:32:00.005+01:00

A very long time since the last blog - my excuse is completely WI. The month of March is always a busy month as many Federations hold their Annual Council Meeting. This year I have been invited to speak at a number of these meetings and they have taken me from one end of the country to another. It is a great privilege to attend these meetings and for me to speak to my fellow members. I learn of all the fun and exciting things on offer in each Federation as well as their triumphs over the past year. My travels have extended to Northern Ireland, where I offered greetings from NFWI to the Federation of WIs in Northern Ireland, and to Wales, where I spoke at the Conference of the Federations of Wales. The former is a separate organisation whilst the latter is very much part of the NFWI.

During this same month of March, I have spent several nights at our own Denman College. First I was a tutor at the workshop for new Federation Chairman and then I was at a conference on The Rainforests - a day organised to help delegates understand the plight of the indigenous peoples. A further day conference on the Honey Bee was especially interesting, with lashings of honey to taste too.

So much going on! I'm off again now, to the northern most part of the WI world - another Annual Council Meeting beckons.

Fair's Fair

2010-02-25T22:29:00.003Z

Went to an event this evening and met a Fairtrade certification officer named Diane. She comes from Ghana and is travelling in Europe during Fairtrade Fortnight telling what difference receiving fair prices for products really means. She comes from a pineapple growing area and the fair income recieved from selling these fruits benefits the workers on the plantation and thier communities. It has enabled one community to install a stand pipe for fresh water, a lavatory block and a school room. And that is only the 'tip of the iceberg' of change for the better.

Fairer prices for milk in this country are still desperately needed. I attended the 150th anniverasry celebration service of the Royal Agricltural Benevolant Institution earlier this week and learned of the help that this excellent organisation can give to our farmers. One farmer who had to give up his dairy herd and then his milking goats because more money was needed to increase numbers, was helped by the RABI with a grant to retrain as a heavy goods driver. This enables him to earn extra money while continuing to farm on a small scale.

Perhaps Great Milk Debates are called for once again.

The Ministry of Food

2010-02-14T16:19:00.003Z

Just over a week after returning from Malawi and the atmosphere of the country and the memory of the people I met are still very much with me; perhaps they will never disappear.

The daily struggle of many in that country to provide food for themselves and their families was also with me early last week when I found myself at the Imperial War Museum for the opening of its latest exhibition "The Ministry of Food".

How did our grandparents' and some parents' generations find enough food to eat in a beleaguered country and yet remain healthy enough to withstand the deprivations? Well, it's all there - this delightfully direct and nostalgic exhibition tells us what to do; there are many lessons in domestic science and gardening that we can learn today which would help us all to fulfill the criteria of home grown, locally produced, sustainable and healthy food. And it could mean no bananas.

No war time history of food would be complete without the WI, of course, which provided the willing and able workforce to produce tons and tons of jam from the fruit grown in this country. Canning machines from the USA were provided by government to 500 WIs so that jam could be canned and stored for distribution around the country. The sugar was also provided. I wouldn't be surprised if there is still a canning machine hidden somewhere in several federations still. The one on show is loaned by Buckinghamshire Federation.

Guests at the exhibition opening sampled mock goose and mock cream as well as uniform sized potatoes stuffed with stilton as well as potatoe biscusits. Being a child of the 50s I was brought up with mock goose and mock cream both being familiars in my mother's repetoire menues.

In 1939-45 the people were told to keep calm and carry on. A maxim to be followed still I think.

2010-02-04T14:40:00.004Z

It appears the WI arrived in Malawi at a most auspicious time, just as President Bingu was elected to the Presidency of the African Union. This afternoon he returned home to much pomp and ceremony. Of course, his Vice President was there to greet him; The Right Honourable Joyce Banda, African Union Goodwill Ambassador for Safe Motherhood. I could not see if she was still wearing her WI brooch during the ceremony on tv, that she immediately pinned to her beautiful bight blue and white dress when I presented it to her this morning.

A meeting with this lady would brighten any day. She sees every glass half full rather than half empty. Maternal mortality rate has decreased since 2004 even though Malawi has the second highest death rate in Africa. But she begins with hope, the hope of saving more lives. As a wife and mother from a Malawian village, in her combined roles, she is determined to not only give the issue of maternal health high priority in government but she is also doing her job understanding completely the many difficulties women may have during pregnancy and childbirth.

At the meeting with her we told her of all we had seen and heard in the last 3 days; the issues of decision-making within the household, that the birth is imminent, the broken down bicycle ambulance, the lack of space and care when a woman gets to hospital and the abrupt ending of the funding for nurse midwife training. She was more than familiar with all we said and explained how she had set in motion programmes to teach the leader of a village the necessity for women to go to hospital as soon as possible in order to avoid complications, and that she should be helped to get there and cared for generally. This change of culture has already made an impact on maternal mortality numbers but there is still some way to go. When the women do go to hospital in time for the birth, sometimes 4-6 weeks before, there is nowhere for her to stay because the holding shelter is already overcrowded. Mrs Banda issued a plea for more holding rooms like this and at the same time, more midwives. As the funding for training has come to an end she wonders if there could be a sponsorship scheme to train the young men and women who would come forward but cannot afford the three thousand five hundred pounds required for the three year training. She genuinely seemed as bewildered as everyone else we had met when it came to the cutting of funds. She concluded by saying that overseas aid is still crucial to her country, thank you and please keep it coming.

After the photo session I invited the Honourable lady to become an Associate member of the WI to which she replied, "Yes, please".

Before our conversation with Mrs Banda we had met the Minister for Health who told us quite categorically that of course he knows the situation with maternal mortality was bad but it is getting better. He too is grateful for the aid that comes but also asks for its continuation. We raised issues of women's decision-making power, transport, enough and adequate hospitals and the lack of midwives. The majority of health aid comes from DFID (the UK Department for International Development)and we were left in no doubt that they hope after our election this will continue.

During a final meeting with DFID they explained that the allocation of the aid they give is determined by priorities set by Westminster. The current budget is 75 million pounds with plans to increase it to 80 million next year with maternal health being one of their top priorities. Crucially, we hope that after the election it will still be a priority for whichever party is in power. However with climate change impacting communities here and now, a budget must also be allocated to address these challenges, while keeping their committed funds to achieve the MDGs.

After all we're learning about the Millennium Development Goals and gender equality being vital to achieving each and all of them it was disappointing to say the least to learn that gender was not on DFIDs priority sheet which they presented to us, and when questioned about this they referred to one or two unnamed projects. We had hoped to see a stronger commitment to gender equality from our government.

So the trip is over; we have met some wonderful and dedicated people to whom the issue of maternal mortality is so important. Malawian people are so friendly and caring and they have been so pleased to see us. They say it has been an honour but I would say quite the contrary as we have been completely honoured to meet them in their beautiful country. We felt the welcome from "The Warm Heart of Africa".
The WI is coming home both informed and inspired as well as humbled.

2010-02-03T17:46:00.004Z

A Journey to the interior - down desperate roads, across fields of puny maize, to meet a family beleaguered by HIV/Aids. Husband and wife and youngest son of two years all need ARVs every month. Mister was very ill but there is a marked difference now since receiving the drugs. His wife and son appear well. To collect these drugs for all three at once (which thankfully does happen now) he must walk back the way we came in our trusty 4x4, then pay the sum of $2 for the bus to take him to clinic.

This family live in abject poverty. Their food yesterday, some maize, of which there is enough left for today, was earned from a day's work in someone else's field.

A volunteer community worker, Ruth, who goes to five outlying villages over a two-week period and whose job would be eased if she had a bicycle, is seemingly this family's only hope at the moment. Her enthusiasm and her care of these people and obviously many more, really is a beacon of hope. This does remind me of our great organisation and all the voluntary hours that we put in.

This afternoon we visit the National Organisation of Midwives where its deputy, Harriet, reiterates the despondency they all feel at the abrupt halt in funding from government for training nurse/midwives. There are currently only 25% of the needed midwives in Malawi. Also their problem in retaining the midwives is many-fold, not least the high-risk aspect of their jobs as many have contracted HIV themselves. Also their fears around housing, electricity, transport and providing schooling for their own children. Solar powered electricity is part of the answer, as we saw at the health clinic on Monday did sport one of these, and the clinician had the best house in the village.

All this may go if maternal health isn't prioritised in the next health SWAP - more on this tomorrow.

2010-02-02T17:06:00.004Z

2nd February

Another day, another destination within this beautiful country. This morning we set off to visit one of Oxfam's projects which addresses the issue of HIV/Aids in a remote rural area but one that also is concerned with maternal mortality.
On the way we pass by huge tea plantations. We see a sign which reads "You are entering a child labour free plantation"! We see the tea pickers with huge baskets on their backs picking the shiny fresh green leaves of the tea we so love to drink. They truly are huge baskets. Pickers seems to be all men or all women but not both together.

Now we take a right turn off the main road and encounter people everywhere at a roadside market but only a few yards further on we pass Thyolo hospital sporting the sign on the gate "This is a Child Friendly Hospital" with a painting of a breast feeding woman at its side. A left turn past the hospital and we are on a dirt track which passes through an extensive tea plantation, "owned by someone in the UK" we are told. It is gated and we have to pass through with the permission of the two guards. Right in the heart of this plantation is our destination. The road is tortuous, and driving in anything other than a 4 wheel drive vehicle would be unhealthy never mind uncomfortable. We pass people gathering macadamia nuts from the many trees on the way.

As we arrive in the village we are greeted by many, many children all waving and smiling and a group of women welcome us with song. We are ushered into a low, darkish, building where seated in a line are the people who are in involved in the project. The welcome is delightful and long and everyone is applauded for their position and for what they do. The village head man gives an address and then the officer with the community based organisation working with Oxfam gives us a full run down of statistics and people in the HIV/Aids programme. Finally we come to the issue of maternal mortality and the women in the group begin to speak. One of them was a Traditional Birthing Attendant who is no longer allowed to work according to a government directive. And in his final address the village leader states categorically that there will be heavy penalties imposed on anyone continuing to work as a TBA. We are told later that the TBAs had only received basic training and would often take on more complicated births than they were able to cope, resulting in high mortality rates.

However, one of the main difficulties for pregnant mothers in labour is the ability to get to the hospital. The nearest is only 3 miles away, we passed it, but the road is so treacherous no pregnant woman, nor one in labour, should look at it let alone drive down it. The only mode of transport is a bicycle with a stretcher attached. One man says it is dangerous for the men to ride this bicycle down that road, especially in the dark night because that is when most women go into labour!

Unfortunately, the bicycle is no longer in working order, the back tyre needs attention and we are told later, when viewing the famous bicycle, that the last time it was used the poor lady lying on that stretcher died before she reached the hospital.

Transport is not the only difficulty when it comes to giving birth. A second problem is the question of who takes the decision that the woman should go to hospital and when. It is usually the husband and if he is not there, waiting can be too long and too late; at the same time no one else in the village might know a woman is pregnant - witchcraft of old is still thought of and not knowing whom might be your enemy causes you to hold your tongue! A third difficulty is that very often when a woman does reach the hospital ready to give birth there is no one to attend to her.
One broken down bicycle for the women of 11 villages. It is sad!

After handing out WI pens we move on to visit another hospital with a maternity wing.
Also the site of a college of midwives. This is St Joseph's hospital, a hospital set up in the 1950s by the Catholic Church. We meet one of the two doctors who works there; his colleague is GP trained. In the welcoming group there is also the chief nursing sister (both a nun and a nursing sister).

Here, women from a designated area are treated 'free of charge' and their particulars on the relevant form must come with them to be passed to the government who will then pay the costs. Any woman from outside the area would be treated but payment would be expected. Dr Banda who trained in tropical medicine in the west tells us he came back to work in Malawi because he wants to help those less fortunate.

We are shown the maternity wing beginning with the check in room and the delivery suite. Our standards at home seem sky high in comparison! Then we go to the ward where tiny newborn babies lie in the middle of the beds with their mother. They are to stay for several hours only and while they are there their families must feed them. There is a compound outside the ward where families stay.
With the rain finally falling we are shown across the yard to the school of midwifery where Rose, the principal tells us that in the third year they have 54 pupils but in the first year the have only 3. This is because the government has withdrawn funding as of September 2009. Now students have to pay their own fees. This means that would-be students have to find over 1,000 pounds per year. They cannot do this. Speaking later with 4 third year students, two of them, young men of 22 and 21, tell us that they wanted to be midwives because they wanted to do something to stop the deaths of mothers and babies, wanting to help those less fortunate and one whose twin brother died of asthma who wants to be able to help avoid such deaths. The three year course qualifies them as a general nurse too.

The day is over. We drive back in torrential rain - thank goodness, the rains will help the maize to grow. May it pour all night.

Hello Malawi!

2010-02-01T14:41:00.005Z

31st January 2010

Hello from Malawi!

27 hours of travel and we arrive in Blantyre. The Sunbird hotel awaits at the end of our 4 hour road journey from Lilongwe, passing through the most deprived and poorest of areas. Of course, the heart is tugged by barefooted, beautiful children in rainbow hued clothes and young women holding out bowls of their home-fried insects which come with the rainy season to sell to passing travellers. Yet we all thrill at the sight of artistically piled turrets of tomatoes, potatoes and mangoes in the roadside markets.

Maize is planted in every available space within the deep orange earth of the lush green landscape which reminds me of the Brecon Beacons - without the gorse. And the villages of grass roofed huts speed past as well as hundreds of rectangular buildings - homes, looking as if deserted but not so; and there is the very odd smart one too. But everywhere, familiar signs - "Blueband, the spread" and "OMO for good dirt" Incongruity and beauty - an adventure waiting.

1st February 2010

We hear it is snowing back home but here in Blantyre it is very warm and humid and before long it is HOT. Our day begins with a visit to the Oxfam office, just beside the hotel. We are given a brief overview of the work it is carrying out and hear of the earthquake that struck Malawi in December- 6.3 on the Richter scale. Malawi is used to dealing with flood and drought but earthquakes of this magnitude is new. 3,000 people are in camps and house rebuilding is desperately needed.

We learn that the rate of HIV/Aids is still very high here but that it has fallen from 14% of the population affected to 12% as antiretroviral drugs are now available and free. This and a lot of education has helped the situation and continues to do so.
But we also learn that 1 in every 100 women still die in childbirth and this is the crux of why the WI has come to Malawi.
Maternal mortality is an issue within Millennium Development Goal no 5 - Female Health. So we set off to a village where we are to meet pregnant ladies. We are so graciously received with the sleeping mat put down on the bare earth for us to sit.
Our hostess has 3 little boys, the youngest not much more that a year old and baby number 4, whom she hopes will be a girl, is due - she does not know when! She goes to a hospital close by every month, but she has to take a taxi as she is still breast feeding her baby and walking is not easy. For a fee she could go to a nearer hospital.
She wants no more children after her baby is delivered and will take contraceptive advice after the birth. She didn't want her husband to know. We are invited into the family hut which is pitch dark even when our eyes become accustomed to it. We are told her older child sleeps with the grandmother across the way. Very happily the family pose for photographs.

A very short walk to another village and we are introduced to a second lady, a first time mother of 18. She brings out the upholstered dining chairs on which the men usually sit as well as the sleeping mat. I sit on one of the chairs with our hostess. She seems somewhat bewildered by the whole process of maternity but is glad that she has learned what it all means from the health worker in the hospital as she had been frightened by what she had learned of giving birth from the women in her village. When asked what her hopes for her baby might be she said first that she hoped it would be a boy and that he would grow up to be a male nurse. She had hoped to be a nurse herself but had to leave school, having reached Grade 5 only, when she became pregnant and married. Perhaps she will return to education one day. I hope so.

And finally today, off to a Health Centre proudly welcomed by the Health Worker and his caretaker/assistant. Daily 500 patients are expected and received - and treated. A few patients were in the waiting area - an open-sided room with hard benches. One small boy looking unwell was led from the surgery by his mother. We were told that now is the time when there is much Malaria. Mosquito nets had been given out in the past but this year they had not. To this health centre people come for diagnosis of HIV/Aids but they are treated at the hospital some distance away.
Everyone seemed so very pleased to see us and were happy to welcome us into their homes and work place. The day's excursions felt positive - but where we found ourselves was remote by our standards and there are people living in far more distant places who do not have access to much healthcare at all and certainly not anti-natal or post-natal services.

There is one exciting thing I have to tell you - we have our first WI in Malawi! Well, not strictly, but in one village, with the dedication and foresight of one man in a voluntary capacity, he has set up a place for the women, with their children, to go. This group were saying that they have time to meet together and they want to talk about all sorts of subjects, but they need a leader. Needless to say, I easily identified the president and the committee! And through the translator it was felt that the WI model was for them. Who knows where this might lead but if the structure of the WI can help these women find their voice then no one is happier than yours truly, Ruth

2010-01-27T22:50:00.002Z

The snow stopped even the WI in its tracks earlier this month but at least my part of the country seems to be back on the trail again.
One of the first events I have attended in 2010 has been the City Food Lecture, promoted by the Livery Companies of the City of London and held in the Guildhall. The lecture was given by Sir David King, formerly Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government but now Director of Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford.
And what a lecture; “Managing the Earth’s Resources to Deliver Food for Nine Billion”. Sir David has been a keynote speaker at our own Climate Change Conference a couple of years ago and so much of what he said in this lecture could have been a synopsis of our environmental and health mandates over many years. His set of challenges for the world and the feeding of those nine billion as the 21st century progresses include mineral resources, climate change, safeguarding ecosystems, food security, water resources and energy supply; he also added conflict and terror to the list. And, he reckons that “if we work hard on female education, we can manage”.

Sir David also spoke of the deforestation that is still taking place but that if governments know the people are “behind them” they will take action to stop. We’ll be learning more on this in our Rainforest Conference to be held at our own Denman College in Oxford, on March 15th. when Tony Juniper, former CEO of Friends of the Earth, will be one of the eminent speakers.

And, then, a week from now I shall be in Malawi representing the WI to see just how far the world has gone in achieving its Millennium Goal No 5, maternal health; all linked with our Women Reaching Women project. From the cold of Denmark to the heat of Malawi – worlds apart!

2009-12-17T13:20:00.000Z

I have sampled my first Twitter party; and what a fantastic experience it was. Invited by Sarah Brown to No 10 Downing Street, I mingled with individuals and organisations, all as surprised as I was at being invited, whom the Prime Minister’s wife follows on Twitter. Sarah hosted this party to raise the profile of Million Mothers campaign, which raises awareness of the many women across the world who still die in pregnancy and childbirth. Highlighting this issue must eventually lead to better care – one day.

As I went upstairs in No 10 to that event the Prime Minister himself came down the same stairs exhorting me to “enjoy the party”. That party I did enjoy, but I certainly did not enjoy the party in Copenhagen he is attending right now. In fact, the WI cut short its stay in the Danish capital because it could not gain access to the Bella Conference Centre to attend the UN climate change talks. Many hundreds of people, no, thousands, were in the same position and the organisation of the whole event left a lot be desired. To have the right cards in one’s possession to allow entry, entry first had to be gained. Once in the centre, after waiting for more than five and a half hours in the freezing cold, and with no explanation as to why, (no facilities either!) the collection point for said cards was closed. Hence no opportunity to collect them before our proposed 9.30am meeting the next morning with Joan Ruddock MP. The collection point would open at 10.00am!

I could go on, but discourse at this stage will not change a disastrous situation. Even though we were in telephone contact with relevant people inside the Centre they could do nothing to change the entry criterion. So the whole WI delegation – the Head of the Delegation (me) and the WI’s climate change campaigns officer (Emily) – decided to cut its losses and return to England, complete with head colds brewing and looking forward to a proper meal.

Now, from a warmer distance the whole experience was as bad as it felt at the time. I am completely confident that the WI would have done a much better job of organization. But the real point is that by not even being allowed into the conference, ordinary women’s voices were ignored and the role of women was undermined. We were left feeling humiliated at being ignored along with the many other NGOs there and annoyed at the cost and CO2 emissions perpetrated by the thousands who, like the WI, did not gain entry to the most important conference in a long time for the future of this planet. Lets hope that this will not be an opportunity missed.

The WAVE

2009-12-10T15:01:00.000Z

WI members from around the country attended The Wave event in London on Saturday 5 December – I asked Joy Thompson, a fellow NFWI Board member, to give her account of her first ever march.

The Wave, London, December 5th 2009 – unbelievably my first but hopefully not last, protest march – and what’s more over 40,000 others agreed and joined me including a wonderful band of WI supporters. I say supporters because we had daughters, children, and young men with us – mum or gran had obviously put out the three line whip!

What a great day – how exciting it was to see members pouring in from all over the UK, some coming down on special buses and trains, others making their own way into central London. After our pre-event in the Mayfair library gave us the opportunity to meet with other WI members who had come from round the country, we set off towards Grosvenor Square to gather with the thousands of others who had congregated there.

Every side of Grosvenor Square was packed with people, virtually all in varying shades of blue, including faces and hands – our blue Marigolds making it difficult to miss the WI contingent!

Along with hundreds of other organisations hoisting aloft banners and carrying placards, we set off towards Parliament through the ‘posher’ areas of London (despite the nightingales I’d never been to Berkeley Square!), past the Connaught Hotel, Claridges, the Ritz and Fortnum & Mason, down Regent Street to Westminster where we encircled the Houses of Parliament over Lambeth and Westminster Bridges ready for The Wave at 3.00pm. There were so many of us that we had to stop between the bridges as it wasn’t safe to let any more through.

What an amazing experience, no trouble at all (as far as I could see), support from passers by, redundant policemen lining the route and smiling us through, fantastic dragons, pandas, costumes and an incredible atmosphere from start to finish. More importantly, the paramount feeling that we were all there to publicise a vital cause and encourage the governments of the world to come together at last to reach viable decisions that will affect all our futures but especially those of our children and their children. Now let’s see exactly what they can come up with at Copenhagen – and pray that it is something substantial that will make a difference.

Campaigns, Party Conferences and Inspirational Women

2009-11-02T12:08:00.008Z

Since I last signed in much of my time has been taken with attending talks and discussions on our different campaigns.

Together with some of our Bee Ambassadors I paid a visit to the Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA) in York. We were introduced to its Bee Base and also saw the veroa mite close up, as well as the devastating effects of its infestation in bee hives.

The visit to FERA was swiftly followed by a day of lobbying the three main political parties, including, government Minister Joan Ruddock MP, on climate change. In particular, this conference identified the WIs concern around the disproportionate consequences climate change can have for women – this should be a major issue in the Copenhagen talks in December.

Next was a round table discussion at the Equalities and Human Rights Commission on issues of gender in the upcoming Equalities Bill. Then, on to a meeting with Philip Sellwood, Chief Executive of the Energy Saving Trust – always with a view to adding different activities to our environmental campaigns.

A talk on the Care Not Custody Campaign at the Action for Prisoners’ Families Conference in Birmingham came just before we handed over 1,550 signatures from WI members to Ed Miliband MP, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, at his office in Whitehall Place. Both he and Minister Joan Ruddock have agreed to speak with the WI in Copenhagen so that our voice can be heard.

And last but by no means least, lunch with the Calendar Girls, original and current theatre cast, at the Women of The Year Awards. What a great event it was, full of inspiring women from all over the UK.

This action packed month has once again made me feel very proud of our great organization and the impact members are having in all parts of today’s society.

The Party Experience

2009-10-12T10:05:00.000+01:00

During the last two weeks I’ve had The Party Experience – conferences, that is. The WI has travelled to both Brighton and Manchester having been invited to the Labour and Conservative party conferences. We were invited to add our voice to debates on the Equalities Bill and the inappropriate imprisonment of the mentally ill.

At the Labour conference, a crowded room listened to Vera Baird MP and Trevor Phillips from the Equalities and Human Rights Commission as well as a representative of the Fawcett Society (who hosted the event) and Unison extolling the virtues of the Equalities Bill.

I told them that the WI had been waiting since 1921 for successive governments to address many gender inequalities, not least that of pay which the WI raised directly way back in 1943. I could only concur with the sentiment of ‘get on with it’ put by an audience member who reminded us all that in the mid 70s it was decreed that women’s pay from then on would be set at a minimum of 80% of a man’s wage for an identical job!

At the Conservative conference, many of the participants at the round table discussion set up by the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health were really encouraged to see the WI there too.

The merits of the Bradley report were acknowledged. It’s implementation is a major undertaking that needs all relevant agencies to work together. When this joint working practice does occur then imprisonment for crimes committed after agency ‘neglect’ from a young age will drastically decrease.

The WI’s involvement in a mentoring pilot project for vulnerable women based at the Ashe Centre in Worcestershire could prove a vital step in helping vulnerable people stay out of prison and the WI’s suggestion of training prison staff, who are right there, to listen when offenders need to talk, is a step forward (incidentally, currently used in Manchester).

However the ghost at the banquet remains the lack of money for diversion services compared to the creation of new prison places. The time for talk is over and everyone must now work together to help the people at risk of slipping through the system.

Saving our honey bees

2009-09-17T10:54:00.008+01:00

Last Wednesday I met Sarah Brown in the garden of 10 Downing Street, with representatives from other organisations, to discuss the plight of our honey bees.

The Prime Minister’s wife is very interested in the issue and has planted bee friendly plants in No. 10’s garden. This is something we all can do and the suggestion of asking local authorities to do the same – as the WI has already done – is the obvious next step.

The veroa mite has destroyed many hives. Habitats of many species of bees and insects are also being lost because of some pesticides, lack of planting and less planting of the right vegetation. Insects are the best monitors of our environment so when the beetles, bugs and bees are not there, something is wrong.

The pollination of apple trees depends upon the bees sourcing the sweetest of pollen otherwise the apples will be made into juice rather than apples for eating.

The £10 million promised by government for research into the demise of all pollinating insects has not yet been distributed. According to the British Beekeepers Association, the same sum is still needed to reverse the plight of the honeybee according to the BBKA.

You can help by planting bee friendly plants or attending a bee keeping course at Denman College in Oxfordshire - there is always a need for more trained bee keepers.

If you want to do more, get involved in our Bee Aware Action Week: 24 – 31 October. Visit the WI website for more detilas.

Women Reaching Women project update

2009-09-15T14:06:00.006+01:00

A 2008 poll asked which Millennium Development Goal issues the government should focus on. Promoting gender equality and empowering women ranked last.

Our three-year Women Reaching Women campaign aims to raise awareness of world poverty, inequality and climate change, focussing particularly on how women are affected.

We want our communities to know why promoting gender equality worldwide is of vital importance to achieving sustainable development. Then together we can send a message to the government that empowering women should be at the top of our international development agenda. It is through this work at the grassroots level that we can contribute to lasting change in the lives of women around the world.

This time it’s not about fundraising. Instead, WI members are doing what they do best: bringing a marginalised issue to the forefront of national concern, to change the terms of the debate and ultimately achieve government commitment, support and funds allocated to this issue.

WIs are holding events for WI members and their communities around the country. Events so far have taken place at dinner parties, town halls, universities and even the local zoo! The main aim is to get people together to learn about global poverty and particularly how women are affected - and then spread the word.

The campaign is part funded by the Department for International Development we are working closely with Oxfam and the Everyone Foundation.

10:10 Campaign launched at the Tate Modern

2009-09-02T14:59:00.002+01:00

I’ve been at the launch of or part of many climate change campaigns in recent years but the most recent 10:10 campaign has high ambitions that calls on everyone and every organisation to get involved and make the difference. Well, they did.

We all descended on Tate Modern yesterday: local authorities and primary care trusts rubbed shoulders with school children and the NFWI (of course); churches and museums met student unions and energy companies, Royal Societies and theatres. A few celebrities were there too.

This campaign comes from the filmmakers behind the Age of Stupid.

10:10 has much in common with the WI’s own Carbon Challenge, which encouraged individuals to reduce their carbon emissions through a change in lifestyle. The campaign lists 10 simple actions that any person can take to cut their emissions by 10% during 2010, starting now. And if individuals can do it so can any organisation.

The launch was like a pop concert with wrist bands and a 10:10 tag to hang around our neck, made from an old 747 plane. The bands were there too.

If the people of the UK not only pledge to cut their emissions but actually do cut their emissions then the Government will go into UN negotiations with other countries in December in Copenhagen with a real groundswell of support from the people.

The challenges facing women in Zimbabwe

2009-08-26T11:30:00.001+01:00

Women’s rights around the world is an issue that WI members feel very strongly about. In June 2007, members attending our AGM voted to send a letter to the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband about women’s rights in Zimbabwe.

Based on our Women’s Human Rights resolution of 1999, the letter expressed our concern at the Zimbabwean Government’s actions and urged the Foreign Secretary to use his influence to take action to help women in Zimbabwe access affordable sanitary protection without threat or intimidation.

While the government’s response to our letter highlighted various initiatives it supported in Zimbabwe, none directly addressed the issue of women’s sanitary protection.

Since Zimbabwe’s economic decline began, the price of sanitary goods has increased to three-quarters of a woman’s monthly salary. Most Zimbabwean women simply cannot afford this.

In late 2005, the Dignity! Period. campaign was launched by Action for South Africa (ACTSA). This was to support the rights of Zimbabwe women to have access to safe and hygienic sanitary protection every month. You can read more about the impact that lack of access to sanitary products has on women and girls by visiting their website.

Recently manufactures that have supported the Dignity! Period. campaign for the past two years have withdrawn their support. Sadly, despite the power-sharing agreement within Zimbabwe’s new MDC-Zanu PF unity government, basic sanitary protection is still completely unaffordable to the vast majority of women in the country. To find out more and get involved, please visit the Dignity! Period. campaign website.

You can find our more about the WI’s work on women’s rights issues worldwide on our website.

Welcome to my blog

2009-08-25T09:51:00.002+01:00

In recent months I have posted on this blog as Chair of the NFWI’s Public Affairs committee, the part of the WI that takes on most of the campaigning.

But I was elected Chair of the NFWI in June which means my ‘area of responsibility’ is now the whole organisation. Wow! Together with many other members, I work to achieve the WI’s objectives of enabling women to make a difference in their communities and to provide a setting for learning. This can be within an individual WI, in a federation, at our adult education centre, Denman College, in Oxfordshire, or from campaigning action.

There is a niche for every woman in the WI with lots of opportunities to make friends and to have fun. I know this is true. I joined the WI more than 30 years ago at the age of 23 and have made so many friends and had the best times; and I still love being part of the WI.

I will be blogging on a range of subjects and issues in the coming months and look forward to hearing your comments.

WI samples life inside Wandsworth prison (Guest blog)

2009-07-20T10:25:00.005+01:00

Living less than half a mile from Wandsworth prison I have always been curious about its inner workings. An austere, Victorian place, I walk past it often and my local pub, the County Arms, sits in its shadow and is a favourite with prison officers.

Through the NFWI’s Care Not Custody campaign I was offered the opportunity to visit the prison, alongside several WI ladies from other federations and a journalist from the Independent on Sunday.

After you hand over your mobile phone and passport, the first thing you notice upon arrival is the friendliness of the staff. We met the acting-Governor, who told us in glowing terms how happy she is to work for the prison service. She was joined by two staff from the vocational skills team and they were also friendly and very happy in their work.

Having half imagined an austere and forbidding atmosphere I was pleasantly surprised by the warm atmosphere of the place. Of course as guests we would be given somewhat special treatment, but the rapport between guards and inmates seemed jovial and there appeared to be a lot of trust invested in the inmates.

When you think of a prison you automatically think of Porridge and sitting on a bunk ticking off the days: But not here. Wandsworth Prison has some excellent vocational initiatives, especially designed to help the inmates get jobs “on the out”. Dave, a guard and our guide around part of the prison, said the prison tried to mimic the outside world, where people must be productive and not just go to the gym or sit around all day.

To that end prisoners can sign up to study brick-laying, plastering, sewing, computing and even motorbike maintenance. Everything is geared towards gaining skills that will make the inmates more employable once they are released, and hopefully break the cycle of re-offending. There is even a small garden and chickens in one corner of the complex, with plans to expand.

For me, the most fascinating part of the tour was E Wing, the original Victorian part of the prison. In E wing we went to the “first night” accommodation on the ground floor (alcoholics are housed one floor up and drug addicts separately – for good reason – on the floor above).

This is where new prisoners are brought to be assessed and monitored during their first night. The prison psychiatrist explained that this is when inmates are at their most vulnerable and likely to self harm or worse. This is a real risk in prison. Just the night before our visit, we were told, a Chinese man who spoke no English had been hospitalised after pouring a kettle full of boiling water over himself.

No one ever plans to go to prison and inmates will often arrive at Wandsworth after a whirlwind trip from the police station, to Court and on to the prison. Shock, resentment, stress and anxiety are then at their peak. The prison psychiatrist told us this is why she believes diversion schemes should be favoured over custodial sentences – a key goal of our Care Not Custody campaign.

The prison psychiatrist estimated 80% of inmates have at least one mental health issue. It seems logical that a prison environment is going to exacerbate these underlying problems and make not one iota of difference towards rehabilitation and treatment. There must be another way.

Despite this, my overriding impression from the prison visit – apart from resolving always to avoid a more permanent trip inside – is that there is a dedicated team of people working to do a tremendous job within a system they know is not perfect.

Jill Grieve, Wandsworth WI (Guest blogger)

Let the digging begin...(Guest blog)

2009-07-20T09:40:00.006+01:00

Wandsworth WI has found a novel way to combine the No More Violence Against Women campaign and the WI’s commitment to environmental sustainability by planting a vegetable garden for a women’s refuge in south London.

It really hit home to me what being part of the Women's Institute is all about last week when we did our first 'official' WI project together. We are a fairly new WI in Wandsworth and I am a very new President in this world of fabulously established, intelligent, beautiful and terribly witty women of the WI. It must be said that I formed the Wandsworth branch because not only did I aspire to be a Calendar Girl but I saw this as a way to campaign for things I truly believe in and genuinely do good things for the community I live in.

Our chosen charity is the Wandswoth Women's Aid, a fantastic organisation that houses women and children that have experienced domestic violence (which is obviously one of the WI's biggest campaigns). We thought long and hard about how we could add just a small something to enhance their lives after having been through such an ordeal. So we applied for a grant from Capital Growth to plant a kitchen garden in their backyard and were lucky enough to get it!

So the work began.... We prepared for a couple of months prior to the planting and finally on a(thankfully sunny) Sunday we embarked on mission one - clearing the garden. A big thanks to Fiskars for getting us some of the most fabulous tools any of us have ever used as they made the gardening easy and fun, not a chore at all!

The photographs show how much work we did, clearing, digging and planting yummy veggies for the ladies and children to grow and eat. We have began creating a manual for the house so they all know exactly what is growing and how to look after it as well as delicious, simple and easy recipes too. Hopefully if this project is a success we can roll it out nationally as the WWA is just one of hundreds of shelters throughout the UK - maybe there is one that could use the same care near you?

I can tell you there were a lot of emotions felt by all of us girls throughout the day and there were a few tears of joy as the sun went down over the beautiful garden we had created. Even more tears came as we watched the children's excitement once we had finished. They all swore they would love the garden as much as we do and according to the WWA they have been guarding it ever since and when the first tomatoes were red and ready to eat last week, well it was like Christmas had come early!

Rebecca Sullivan, Wandsworth WI President (Guest blogger).

Mili-band sends message to Ed: coal is not the answer

2009-07-06T16:46:00.001+01:00

Standing as part of a human chain on the edge of a field in Hoo is not the usual way to spend a Saturday afternoon. But I was truly glad to give up part of my weekend to reiterate the dire message to Ed Miliband that the country does NOT NEED a new generation of coal fired power stations and just one on that field in Hoo would go a long way to negate all that the government promised it would put on the table at Copenhagen.

That “Eastenders” actress, Nina Wadia, should give up her Saturday afternoon, and on her wedding anniversary too, to join in the rally and walk a long distance round a field as well, indicates that people do care what happens to our country and to our world. Dirty coal is NOT the way forward in cutting emissions.

The NFWI‘s postcards to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change were signed by many people on Saturday. Ed, you have to listen.

Ruth Bond, NFWI Chair

WI join 'Mili-band' against 'dirty' coal power station

2009-07-06T16:18:00.004+01:00

On Saturday 4 July, representatives from organisations including the Woodcraft Folk, the RSPB, Oxfam, and the World Development Movement went to Kingsnorth power station in Kent to form a human band around the site of a proposed new coal fired power station. The NFWI was part of the coalition, with members from across the country coming to take part. The NFWI believes that climate change is one of the most momentous challenges to face this generation, and that this is the year in which serious action must be taken. With the UN Climate Change talks in Copenhagen in December seeking a global deal on emissions cuts, the decision in the UK to create a new generation of coal fired power stations which do not capture their own emissions would clearly show that our government is not serious about tackling climate change at home.

After the event, we spoke to one of the members who went on the march to tell Ed Miliband (Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change) that he should say “no” to new dirty coal.

Was this your first experience of being on a protest march and what inspired you to become involved in climate change protesting?

My first experience of a protest march was the Stop Climate Chaos event in London in December 2008. It took me a number of years to get to where I am now; looking at news articles, reading a little more into the science behind the arguments, listening to experts talking about the issues all led me to believe that climate change is a real threat that we cannot ignore. I think it was the sheer magnitude of the threat that we face which made me want to get involved in actually protesting. At first, you can’t believe that nobody’s acting on the urgency of the situation, then you realise that the only way to promote such a sense of urgency is to stand up and make your voice count. The threat is so far removed from people’s everyday lives that it difficult to see how it relates, but the threat is so great that there is a real need for big events like this to push the urgency of the message home.

I’m really pleased to see that the NFWI is involved in things like this because, as an organisation, it has so much credibility behind it that can only help to further the cause of tackling climate change. It was also good to see other organisations like the RSPB, Oxfam and others at the event, as all of those organisations have the credibility and mainstream audience that will be really important in making a different to our climate.

What was it like being at the event on Saturday?

The atmosphere was really good actually! It was inspiring to see so many different people there, particularly families with children. Everyone was clearly so committed to the cause that it really made you believe that someone else out there cares as much as you – really inspiring for me. The speakers during the rally in the afternoon were also excellent – the Bangladeshi speaker who spoke about such traumatic experiences during her life, all as a result of our changing climate, had a huge influence on me. As I went home on the train from the event, I kept returning to think about her story and it did really make you think about what we’re doing.

Will you be coming to any of the events we’re involved in during the rest of this important year?

Yes! I’ll be coming to the Stop Climate Chaos march in London on 5 December and am trying to coordinate a group to travel there together from our local area. I’m involved in the Transition Towns initiative, alongside Friends of the Earth, so I’m trying to get a big contingent together.

I think it can be a little bit frightening if you don’t know what to expect from events like these, but I would honestly encourage people to attend as in my experience there is nothing to worry about. Even if it’s just to meet other people and find out what they think, it is so important to find out more about the issues. I would really encourage everyone to find out more about climate change, particularly about the scientific evidence, as that was what really convinced me that it was happening. Now I am so convinced that it is of the utmost importance that we all come together and tackle this issue, which really does matter to everyone as it will impact on all of our lives in the future.

Celia Carter, Terriers Evening WI, Buckinghamshire Federation

Earth Hour 2009

2009-04-01T14:08:00.002+01:00

As Big Ben’s illuminated face went dark on the evening of Saturday 28 March at 8.30 pm, so did the lights in many WI members’ homes; and as a gesture of support Cambridge Federation hosted a supper for members and friends in its office, lit with candles and light jars.

Now, some might say it was a waste of time because the emissions of the cars that brought the people there cancelled any saving made by turning off the lights. I think this can be offset though by the knowledge that was shared between the participants. Many more will now take further actions in their homes to lessen the effect they have on the changed climate. Some will make alteration to their lifestyle as a consequence of hearing of what other people do.

There are so many facets to this climate change issue. The food we ate – pineapple, strawberry, melon – enjoyed by all, but it was brought into this country by airfreight. We now expect exotic fruit to be available all year round and for that to be so it has to be brought into the country by some means. If, however, we do not buy such fruits then what of Fairtrade and the livelihoods of those in the countries where these commodities come from? And recycling was an issue also spoken of at length – all very much to do with the changing climate which was at the heart of this event.

We showed The WI film “A World Without Jam”, which looks forward to a world 20 years from now. Interested? Anyone reading this blog, please do have a look at the film – you can even download it without going leaving this site!

People who did not know each other before this evening will now make a difference to their lives but, not only that, they will make a difference to the changing climate.

Whatever ways we choose to alert people to the necessity of doing something urgently to slow down climate change can only be good – and if Big Ben can do it, so can the WI.

Ruth Bond

Fairtrade Fortnight Launch

2009-03-24T10:17:00.007Z

When I posted “Leaving the Fairtrade Foundation” on the Public Affairs Blog in July 2008 little did I think that at the launch of Fairtrade Fortnight this year I’d be giving away over 3,000 pieces of chocolate cake made with Fairtrade cocoa and sugar!

On Sunday 22 February London South Bank hosted a Fairtrade themed family sports day, highlights including making Fairtrade smoothies under pedal power and a Harry Hill look alike competition.

NFWI had been offered a promotional stand and I persuaded 3 of my friends (and I hope I can still call them my friends!) to made 45 chocolate cakes measuring 14"x 11" and weighing over 1 kilogram, the ingredients for our WI Fairtrade Chocolate cake was given to us by Sainsbury’s Supermarkets and Divine Chocolate. All 45 cakes were transported from Cambridge, Oxford and West Sussex by very varying means of transport to the South Bank. They were unpacked and cut up on site, over 3,000 pieces in all and placed in paper bags with a label bearing the WI logo and a quote saying –

“Bake for change, use the Fairtrade range”

Around 10,000 people visited the launch and this was a great opportunity to promote the WI and support Fairtrade as NFWI was one of the founder members of the Fairtrade Foundation.

It was an exhilarating and exhausting day spreading the word about WI, about our campaigns and interests and lots of women wanted to know how they could become WI members. The cake, of course, was delicious and a huge success with all the visitors – the recipe is on the WI website.

Many thanks to those who helped Emily (Boost) and I with this venture – would we consider doing it again? Well ………………

Janice Langley