In my Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake post a few days ago I mentioned that I’m a member of my local Women’s Institue (WI) and today I wanted to talk to you a bit about our group. I’ll be writing a post about each meeting we have in the future and sharing a few photos with you.
My Nan has been a member of the WI for as long as I can remember (long before I was born) and I’ve always fancied joining. WIs have had a bit of a reputation for years now, and whenever I mention to my friends or family about the WI I’m generally met with a sneer or a joke. I did a bit of research into my local groups but they all seemed to have an average age in the 60’s – as a 27 year old I wanted to find a group who had interests similar to my own and who were closer to my age. I also live on the other side of the city to my friends, and thought joining a WI would be the perfect opportunity to meet more friends in my local area.
I heard through the WI that there was a new group being formed in Redfield, Bristol and that this may be a better fit for me as it was being aimed more towards people in my age group.
I registered my interest and soon got an email inviting me to the first ever meeting. The group had been named “WI. RED” – a great play on words for the Women’s Institute, Redfield. Immediately I was interested – the name straight away tells you that this group is different.
I arrived at the launch party, not knowing a single person and feeling very nervous! Luckily, everybody seemed to be in the same boat and I soon got chatting to some girls who were just as nervous as I was. There was a table of cake and tea for sale (as there is every time, and I can’t get through a meeting without sampling what the other girls have baked!), so I grabbed a slice and a cuppa and sat down to listen to what the committee had planned for the next 15 months.
After seeing the calender of events I was sold, and as soon as I was able to I parted with my cash. At £34.70 for 15 months (1 meeting per month), I think it’s a bargain! It works out at less than the price of a glass of wine each month.
The Official Formation Meeting in October was an introduction to the group and a pub quiz (our team won, yay!). At this meeting the committee told us they needed more members to help organise, so I put myself forward.
November’s meeting was a Bath Bomb Evening. Gemma from Ellie’s Delights, a company which make homemade bath bombs and body butters, came along to show us how to make our own bath bombs, then we all had a chance to try it ourselves.
Each table of ladies had a different scent for their bath bomb, and halfway through the night the scents were swapped so that everyone could have two scents each. We all went home with three bath bombs each to use at home. At a cost of £2.30 per meeting it was great to have something to take away!
You can take a closer look at Ellies Delights on her Facebook page here.
This month’s meeting is “A Christmas Feast”. At the November meeting we all picked a slip out of a box to which told us what we would take to the December meeting – something sweet, savoury, or sparkling (booze!). I chose sweet and am currently deciding what to make – any suggestions? Something made with my KitchenAid obviously!
All of our meetings are BYO alcohol so I can’t wait to dress up, and sample all of the lovely food and drink people bring with them.
Look out for my next post about the Christmas meeting in a couple of weeks’ time, and if you’re interested in finding out more about your local WI check out the WI website.
Here are a few snaps from the November meeting!
Eat Sleep Bake Repeat 