Marie., Pat, Anne, Michelle, Brenda, Ros, Yvonne and Wendy. (Pam S. not present)
December 8th Meeting and Christmas Party.
CHRISTMAS CRAFTS WORKSHOP 2.12.22
Our October 13th WI Meeting
Our centenary pear tree looking very healthy and bearing 7 beautiful pears. Long may it live!Eccleshall Show: Saturday 3rd September 2022.
Thank you to everyone who helped and contributed in any way for today’s Eccleshall Show … what a team! It was a great success, lots of hard work but done with smiley faces. Congratulations to the talented members who entered the competitions and won prizes and to Pat K who was judging for the first time in the Produce & Handicraft marquee. We had lots of lovely comments from members of the public and several potential new members. Lastly, but not least, … how lovely were the table floral decorations created by Mandy & Wendy with beautiful flowers from their allotment plot. Thank you again everyone!
Thanks to Pam Trafford for collecting the empty blister packets at our WI meetings and taking them to Superdrug in Stafford for recycling.Theatre Trip … to the New Vic to see
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Staffordshire Federation WI: Carol Service (12.12.22).Thirteen Broughton WI members attended this lovely service which, for the first time, was held in Stafford and not at Lichfield Cathedral.
‘50 Years of Carols for WI’. On a bitterly cold December day there was a warm welcome at the Collegiate Church of St Mary in Stafford when SFWI held their 50th Carol Service. The Rev. Danny Payne led the service with Trustees giving readings that told the Nativity story. Margaret Outen provided the organ music to accompany well known carols that filled the church. SFWI Chairman, Helen Newman, commented, “Our Carol Service is a well-loved tradition and it was lovely to see so many WI friends and dignitaries at this great church. Coming together to celebrate Christmas is always a highlight in our calendar of events and it is wonderful to think that the Staffordshire Federation has achieved half a century of Carol Services. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I wish everyone a peaceful, happy Christmas”. Funding received for the 2023 Well Dressing FestivalOn 26th November '23 we were presented with a cheque for £400 to help with the funding for the 2023 Croxton Community Well Dressing Festival from the SBC Community Foundation in Stafford Market Square . Ros thanked SBC Community Foundation and gave a brief resume about our lovely project. The Well Dressing Festival takes place on July 1st 2023.
The speaker for our 10th November meeting was John from the Buddy Bag Foundation, a charity founded to help make a difference to children entering emergency care. Wendy wrote thanking John for his very interesting and at times shocking talk saying “it’s hard to imagine the emotional trauma that those children face, - but their little bag of essentials must be such a comfort, particularly the teddy pre-loaded with a hug”. As a result some of our members are planning to knit or sew items to fill the bags. The patterns for these will be shared at the December meeting. The Buddy Bag Foundation charity was founded in 2015 to help make a difference to children entering emergency care.
48,000 children require emergency care every year in the U.K. These children are supplied with a Buddy Bag containing essential items to help restore a sense of comfort and love. More information and knitting patterns can be found on: buddybagfoundation.co.uk (click on the link to the left) or at the bottom of this page.
November was a very busy month starting off with our very first Crafts Stall in Eccleshall Thanks to everyone who contributed in any way, but in particular to Yvonne, Anne and Pat. We raised an amazing £408 for our WI funds.
A 'Poppy to Remember'
Our Annual Dinner
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Ros has written a proposal for a Resolution to be put forward for 2023 which proposes a ban on the sale and use of single use disposable BBQs. The proposal was put to members at the August 11th meeting where it was unanimously supported and has now been sent to SFWI to be confirmed and forwarded to NFWI by the September 9th deadline. It was then put forwarded for scrutiny and voting at the NFWI shortlist meeting in early October but didn't make the shortlist.
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AUGUST 11TH MEETING
'WEST AFRICAN DRUMMING'.
At our lively 11th August meeting members explored the excitement and rhythms of West African drumming led by David from ‘Joliba’ who are based in S-o-T. Everyone had the opportunity to play two different types of drums or percussion instruments made from materials (trees, hide, seed pods, wood etc.) from The Gambia in West Africa, as well as songs and some even got up to dance! A really great evening. We welcomed new members and it was lovely to see Judy Rowlands again who was back visiting family. Ros had prepared a submission for a Resolution which called for a ban on single use disposable BBQs and members voted for our WI to support this. Planning for the 2023 Well Dressing starts with a meeting on Monday 12th September, and a MacMillan coffee morning being organised by the Benbow family is to be held on September 17th from 10am to 12noon in the Parish Room. Next month Marie Poole encouraged us to sort out our lingerie drawers and bring in any unwanted bras which will be used to raise funds for Breast Cancer research and support women in Africa.
25.6.22. Eccleshall Street Market
What a team!
Thank you to everyone who had donated cakes and filled jars for our ‘Jarbola’ stall. The sun shone, and we started setting-up early at 8.15am. Gazebo erected and anchored (very necessary as it was a windy day). Stall dressed and prettily decorated with a ‘Jubilee’ theme and hundreds of jars lined up alongside the tombola all ready for our first customers who started to arrive just after 9.30 am. Our ‘sales team’ looked great in their Jubilee crowns and red Broughton WI aprons. “Roll-up, Roll-up to our wonderful Jarbola stall… 3 tickets for a £1” … was the sales pitch and we even enlisted the Newport & Stafford Town Crier to ensure everyone on Eccleshall High Street knew about our stall!
We had such a good sales patter that we sold-out by 2.15pm, - well ahead of everyone else, and we were able to pack up (and put away the gazebo) before the rain fell at 3pm. Good timing!
Thank you to everyone who helped on the stall during the day - you were all amazing. We had a continuous run of customers, with children in particular returning many times to try their luck at picking a winning ticket.
Let’s hope we have made a good profit now to boost our WI funds.
We had such a good sales patter that we sold-out by 2.15pm, - well ahead of everyone else, and we were able to pack up (and put away the gazebo) before the rain fell at 3pm. Good timing!
Thank you to everyone who helped on the stall during the day - you were all amazing. We had a continuous run of customers, with children in particular returning many times to try their luck at picking a winning ticket.
Let’s hope we have made a good profit now to boost our WI funds.
A stunning ‘Best of Britain’ marquee and Broughton WI entries at the County Show 1.6.22
Photos by Pat Kennedy.
Broughton WI Meeting 12th May 2022.
After saying our sad farewell to Stella Day at St Paul’s Church in the afternoon, members remembered her at the start of our May meeting … a wonderful lady who enriched all of our lives - and was described in the eulogy as ‘The mother of Croxton’. We thanked Pat Kennedy and Judy Glover who had assisted with the refreshments after the funeral as they must have been exhausted by the start of our WI meeting.
Business was very busy this month with lots of events in the next couple of months to plan and be involved with. We also voted unanimously in favour of the Resolution to be debated at the NFWI Annual Meeting in early June, and our delegate, Wendy, was given a discretionary vote.
We welcomed another new member and after a short break for refreshments started crafting poppies. We hope to create sufficient numbers of these in the coming months to be able to make a poppy installation in November. Members chatted whilst knitting, sewing and crocheting, - often with great concentration on faces!
A humorous tale was recounted of Audrey and Ruth’s escape having inadvertently been locked in a room - which they initially thought was funny until they realised they had no other means of escape or alerting anyone. Their perseverance was rewarded some time later when they managed to use a knife and spoon to dismantle the lock… much to their relief!
The ‘Gastronomic-gals’ meet for dinner at the Riverside Restaurant on 17th May followed by the Broughton Bimbler’s next walk on 20th May. Members also signed up for a Defibrillator training session in June and voted to have a trip organised to Arley Hall in August and a Flower Arranging workshop in the near future.
Another happy meeting. Our next meeting is on June 9th when we will be in Jubilee-mood.
After saying our sad farewell to Stella Day at St Paul’s Church in the afternoon, members remembered her at the start of our May meeting … a wonderful lady who enriched all of our lives - and was described in the eulogy as ‘The mother of Croxton’. We thanked Pat Kennedy and Judy Glover who had assisted with the refreshments after the funeral as they must have been exhausted by the start of our WI meeting.
Business was very busy this month with lots of events in the next couple of months to plan and be involved with. We also voted unanimously in favour of the Resolution to be debated at the NFWI Annual Meeting in early June, and our delegate, Wendy, was given a discretionary vote.
We welcomed another new member and after a short break for refreshments started crafting poppies. We hope to create sufficient numbers of these in the coming months to be able to make a poppy installation in November. Members chatted whilst knitting, sewing and crocheting, - often with great concentration on faces!
A humorous tale was recounted of Audrey and Ruth’s escape having inadvertently been locked in a room - which they initially thought was funny until they realised they had no other means of escape or alerting anyone. Their perseverance was rewarded some time later when they managed to use a knife and spoon to dismantle the lock… much to their relief!
The ‘Gastronomic-gals’ meet for dinner at the Riverside Restaurant on 17th May followed by the Broughton Bimbler’s next walk on 20th May. Members also signed up for a Defibrillator training session in June and voted to have a trip organised to Arley Hall in August and a Flower Arranging workshop in the near future.
Another happy meeting. Our next meeting is on June 9th when we will be in Jubilee-mood.
11th May Eccleshall Community Centre:
Our Broughton WI team at the EPC Community Forum - putting out the word about our fantastic WI.
STELLA DAY who sadly passed away 26.4.22.
A tribute for a very special lady and WI member.
Past Broughton WI President and active member of the Church and local community groups, … Stella was a supportive, kind, positive and really lovely lady, full of energy, with a great sense of humour and admired by all. She will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with John and the family.
A tribute for a very special lady and WI member.
Past Broughton WI President and active member of the Church and local community groups, … Stella was a supportive, kind, positive and really lovely lady, full of energy, with a great sense of humour and admired by all. She will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with John and the family.
Broughton WI : 14th April meeting
Subscriptions paid; 2022-23 programmes handed out; competition entries and ‘Jarbola’ jam jars submitted, - members looked forward to an evening on the theme of ‘Recycling’. However, for the first time in years, our speaker (from S.B.C.) didn’t t turn up, so we discussed ways in which we personally and the Community do/could be more eco-friendly. Audrey Hind won the members’ vote for a repurposed 3L plastic milk bottle and her entry will go forward as the Broughton WI entry in the SFWI Garden Festival Trophy competition. Well done to all those who took part.
Entries were finalised for the County Show at the end of May, and preparations were made for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Afternoon tea on 4th June and the Eccleshall Street Market on 25th June. Delicious refreshments were provided by Carol, Christine and Ruth, and many of us will be meeting up again for the Broughton Bimblers walk at Loggerheads, Craft Club at Pat’s or for a Gastronomi- gals lunch at the Wayfarer.
Next month we will be crafting poppies in preparation for a poppy installation later i in the year.
Entries were finalised for the County Show at the end of May, and preparations were made for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Afternoon tea on 4th June and the Eccleshall Street Market on 25th June. Delicious refreshments were provided by Carol, Christine and Ruth, and many of us will be meeting up again for the Broughton Bimblers walk at Loggerheads, Craft Club at Pat’s or for a Gastronomi- gals lunch at the Wayfarer.
Next month we will be crafting poppies in preparation for a poppy installation later i in the year.
Broughton Bimblers’ enjoyed their 19th March walk on a lovely spring morning.
Carol Benbow writes ….
“Another very successful walk on a lovely sunny spring day which saw Jayne Frawley joining us for her first walk with The Bimblers. We set off from the Lych Gate at Eccleshall church, through the churchyard, and across the fields to Pershall. On our way back to Eccleshall we were able to admire the stunning panaramic views over the surrounding hamlets. Once back at base it was off with our boots and then 5 of us made our way to The Flour Cafe for lunch, which we all agreed was very enjoyable. Many thanks to Brenda Howe for organising this walk and for booking the cafe,.and also to Mandy Moore and Pam Trafford for the photos.
“Another very successful walk on a lovely sunny spring day which saw Jayne Frawley joining us for her first walk with The Bimblers. We set off from the Lych Gate at Eccleshall church, through the churchyard, and across the fields to Pershall. On our way back to Eccleshall we were able to admire the stunning panaramic views over the surrounding hamlets. Once back at base it was off with our boots and then 5 of us made our way to The Flour Cafe for lunch, which we all agreed was very enjoyable. Many thanks to Brenda Howe for organising this walk and for booking the cafe,.and also to Mandy Moore and Pam Trafford for the photos.
March 10th Annual Meeting
A welcoming roaring fire in the Broughton Parish Room greeted current & new members attending our March Meeting.
Lucy Gleave had made her first WInnie, - a beautifully knitted corgi created as part of the WI ‘Where’s WInnie’ campaign to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June. Lucy and other members will be making more WInnies which will then be secreted around the community in late May for people to find/keep/donate.
Lucy’s first WInnie took pride of place on the top table. (See photo).
The business part of the meeting saw members decide that the Annual Dinner will be held in September, the October ‘fish & chip’ event for the 2022-2023 programme was finalised, and decisions were made on what to create and sell at the Eccleshall Street Market at the end of June.
All members of the committee were happy to continue for 2022-23 and Debbie Hill also volunteered to join the team, swelling the numbers to ten!
The Centenary Photobook was available for collection, and updates were given on our 3 social group’s events: Craft Club, Broughton Bimblers, and Gastronomi-gals, as well as upcoming SFWI events and competitions.
The Annual Meeting then commenced with the presentation of the Financial Report by Pat Kennedy; the Report on behalf of the Committee and the President’s address. Sue Dixon, our SFWI Adviser then over saw the election of the President and after voting, Ros Langford was returned as President for 2022-2023.
Members then enjoyed social time and delicious refreshments made by Pat Wright, Eileen Heal and Linda Mifflin.
The evening was concluded with members recounting an interesting event from their past… which included ‘Saving Prince Charles’, an induction into the police force during a terrorist attack, and being ‘put right’ by a grand daughter.
Members meet up again on 14th April with instructions to create a re-purposed plastic milk bottle for the monthly competition.
Lucy Gleave had made her first WInnie, - a beautifully knitted corgi created as part of the WI ‘Where’s WInnie’ campaign to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June. Lucy and other members will be making more WInnies which will then be secreted around the community in late May for people to find/keep/donate.
Lucy’s first WInnie took pride of place on the top table. (See photo).
The business part of the meeting saw members decide that the Annual Dinner will be held in September, the October ‘fish & chip’ event for the 2022-2023 programme was finalised, and decisions were made on what to create and sell at the Eccleshall Street Market at the end of June.
All members of the committee were happy to continue for 2022-23 and Debbie Hill also volunteered to join the team, swelling the numbers to ten!
The Centenary Photobook was available for collection, and updates were given on our 3 social group’s events: Craft Club, Broughton Bimblers, and Gastronomi-gals, as well as upcoming SFWI events and competitions.
The Annual Meeting then commenced with the presentation of the Financial Report by Pat Kennedy; the Report on behalf of the Committee and the President’s address. Sue Dixon, our SFWI Adviser then over saw the election of the President and after voting, Ros Langford was returned as President for 2022-2023.
Members then enjoyed social time and delicious refreshments made by Pat Wright, Eileen Heal and Linda Mifflin.
The evening was concluded with members recounting an interesting event from their past… which included ‘Saving Prince Charles’, an induction into the police force during a terrorist attack, and being ‘put right’ by a grand daughter.
Members meet up again on 14th April with instructions to create a re-purposed plastic milk bottle for the monthly competition.
Pat Kennedy’s up-cycled LFT seed labels … ready to go!
BROUGHTON WI MEETING 14.1.22
Resolutions - Making a Difference!'
We welcomed 14 members to tonight’s WI Meeting via Zoom. After business was
concluded, Michelle Bugliarello generated a very thought-provoking discussion on
the five shortlisted 2022 Resolutions and we reflected on how each of these could be actioned in the local and wider community as well as Nationally. Michelle talked
about how the WI provides us collectively with the opportunity to ‘make a difference’
and finished with a quote (by Mother Teresa): ‘I alone cannot change the world, but I
can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples’.
Wendy Benbow concluded the evening with an uplifting humorous poem. Votes for your preferred Resolution should be sent to Ros by the beginning of February. We look forward to being able to have a face-to-face meeting on February 10th when we will celebrate our 101st birthday and be entertained by comedian Pat Hall for ‘A Good Laugh’.
concluded, Michelle Bugliarello generated a very thought-provoking discussion on
the five shortlisted 2022 Resolutions and we reflected on how each of these could be actioned in the local and wider community as well as Nationally. Michelle talked
about how the WI provides us collectively with the opportunity to ‘make a difference’
and finished with a quote (by Mother Teresa): ‘I alone cannot change the world, but I
can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples’.
Wendy Benbow concluded the evening with an uplifting humorous poem. Votes for your preferred Resolution should be sent to Ros by the beginning of February. We look forward to being able to have a face-to-face meeting on February 10th when we will celebrate our 101st birthday and be entertained by comedian Pat Hall for ‘A Good Laugh’.
26.1.22 'The End of an Era'.
"Tonight’s Annual Council Meeting was my last stint as an SFWI Trustee
having served on the Board since 2013, and as Vice Chairman since 2015.
It’s been a wonderful experience with many, varied challenges and lots of fun - times and memories to treasure. Sad to be leaving the team but time for new blood to step-up. It’s been an honour and a privilege! Will still have input as admin of the SFWI Facebook page and continuing with the E&PA
subcommittee.
Think WI runs through my veins". Ros.x
having served on the Board since 2013, and as Vice Chairman since 2015.
It’s been a wonderful experience with many, varied challenges and lots of fun - times and memories to treasure. Sad to be leaving the team but time for new blood to step-up. It’s been an honour and a privilege! Will still have input as admin of the SFWI Facebook page and continuing with the E&PA
subcommittee.
Think WI runs through my veins". Ros.x