Art Group Our Art group enjoyed a sunny day at Walton Gardens – our annual ‘en pleine air’ trip. An enjoyable session giving a good overview of the park – the Hall, the Greenhouse, the Water, Lavender and a lady enjoying the view of children playing. Craft and Garden Group – Afternoon Tea at Abbeywood Gardens Our afternoon at Abbeywood was most enjoyable. Some ladies had a walk around the gardens before tea and some after tea when the heat of the day had passed. Although the gardens were not at their best – the dry heat has certainly played…

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We welcomed 38 members to our July meeting. Jean, our President, thanked Dutton for their warm welcome last month, and sent thanks to Jonty for organising our very enjoyable garden party. Our speaker, Maureen Fearon gave us a very interesting and professional talk and we all went away some very good tips for how to get a good night’s sleep. Helen H thanked Maureen for her talk. Hopefully we all followed her advise and slept well the night of the meeting! The competition – ‘What you do before you go to sleep’ was won by Jean W. She advised concentrating…

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Jonty opened her beautiful garden in June for Baking Beauties and other members of the WI to enjoy an afternoon tea and a stroll around the flowers. No rain to contend with, just extreme heat! Jonty had set out the seating in the shade of the trees and even provided a lovely breeze so the weather didn’t stop our enjoyment of the event. Those present enjoyed the delicious refreshments made by our members and a very sociable afternoon. On behalf of us all Pat L thanked Jonty for her hospitality.

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Walking Group A sunny day for members of both Whitley and Dutton WI to walk around Little Budworth Common following the Woodpecker Heathland Trail. We walked through beautiful woodland, past ponds and met a lady rider on a lovely grey horse who stopped for a chat on the bridle path. We passed the infamous log carved like a dragon which is looking rather weather-beaten now A lovely walk followed by an enjoyable lunch at Tarporley Garden Centre. Book Club Our book this month was Transcription by Kate Atkinson. Most of our members found it very difficult to get into and…

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Every 2 years we have a joint meeting with our friends at Dutton WI – this year it was their turn to host it. They gave us a really warm welcome and an excellent speaker, Ma Baker (Liz Wilson) who talked to us about making our own bread. She mixed together all the ingredients at the beginning – you only need strong flour, salt, water and dried/fresh yeast. She then ‘talked as she kneaded’ as this process takes 20 min to move from a very sticky mix to smooth, stretchy dough. Liz explained how she fell in love with breadmaking,…

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Thanks to Pat for arranging our May outing to the museum at Warrington Police Station. Pat anticipated CFWI’s Green Month in June – the trip was arranged to fit in with the No 9 bus, with members joining at Whitley, Stretton and Hatton. A slight hiccup with roadworks, but a great idea. Volunteers showed us round the museum which is spread over many rooms – a very interesting display.funded by voluntary donations We learned about how the police force developed, and its history – the Warrington Police force was established in 1847. We heard about how the role and equipment…

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Baking Beauties Our theme for May was Choux Pastry. Members brought along an interesting and tasty selection of bakes – sweet and savoury. Jonty, as ever, kept us entertained. She not only brought along a very tasty looking choux ring but also her first attempt – rather flat! Craft and Garden Group At our last two meetings we have been busy building Mr H and Mrs L Whitley. Our two scarecrows are now in situ by our Sorbus Tree at the Nature Reserve in Raddel Lane. The few members of the craft group (and Archie) that joined in the fun…

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Our May speaker was David Poppit talking about Christie Hospital. He had worked there as a senior doctor for many years, and described the special atmosphere at ‘The Christie’– a place where all the staff interacted well, without the hierarchy that exists in many hospitals. He reminded us how the understanding of Cancer had developed – the introduction of Xray images and scans enables specialists to have a much clearer picture of what they are dealing with. An interesting and informative talk – the vote of thanks was given by Chris, whose experience in the NHS gave her a good…

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Whitley had a good turn out at this annual event and all enjoyed good company and an enjoyable hotpot lunch followed by a delicious selection of deserts provided by different WIs in the group. Our own Melanie opened and closed the event as Chair of the Village Group and guests included the new Chair of the Cheshire Federation, Ann Beckett. The event included a Bring and Buy stall – there wasn’t a lot left on that at the end of the meeting!

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Book Club – Our novel this month was ‘The Queue’ by Alexandra Heminsley. ‘The Queue’ was for the Lying In State of Queen Elizabeth II. Four strangers met in the queue, each with their own reasons for being there, and each facing issues in their personal lives. They got to know each other as they queued and walked past many significant landmarks in London and established a good relationship with each other that we agree would continue – everybody enjoyed the book, an interesting light read. Walking Group – Several ladies joined the walk for this month in the wonderful…

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