Our speaker Dave McClure, a volunteer at the Walton Lea Partnership, told us about the work they do with Adults with Learning Disabilities in the beautiful Walled Garden adjacent to Walton Gardens. The learners gain skills and accreditation in a variety of activities including Gardening, Upcycling furniture, bike repairs, hospitality and Arts and Crafts. Dave’s specialism is teaching learners and the public about resuscitation and the use of a defibrillator. It was a bonus that he shared this training with us. He brought along a number of Manikins and we all had the opportunity to learn what to do if…

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On what proved to be a very popular venue for Whitley WI’s August Outing, 35 members headed off to The Apple Barn at Dunham Massey. We were given a warm welcome from owners Chris and Alison Hewitt and samples of two varieties of apple juice were enjoyed – Jazz and Smiths. During the sampling owner Chris talked to the group about the history of this ‘hidden-away’ apple farm. The family have run the farm for over a century and now grow 76 varieties of apple on the 33 acre site, owned by the National Trust. After sampling the apple juice…

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Our Art group decided to have a go at painting an outdoor view and we met at Walton Gardens in July. The weather was kind and we gathered around the pond area, set up our equipment, and had a go at interpreting the lovely scene of the lily pond – we even had a heron posing high up on one of the trees. Most of our group chose to paint in Watercolours, but we did have one artist using Acrylics. We have a variety of skills and expertise, but it was good for everyone to have a go, and to…

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Hats off to our very own Pat S for organising a wonderful Literary Lunch at Nunsmere Hall on 17th July for 199 ladies! Seventeen of our members enjoyed the very sociable 2 course lunch. The sun even honoured us with its presence and we managed a stroll around the beautiful grounds before our guest author, Milly Johnson regaled us with her tales of how she got into the world of publishing, starting with writing verse for the Purple Ronnie range of greeting cards. Milly has just published her 22nd novel, all of which are based in the North of England…

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Twelve enthusiastic members of the craft group came along to learn the art of quilling from one of our own members. Sue had organised the afternoon so very well. We each had a pack of all we needed to make a card and we had splendid instructions so everybody was able to complete a card to take home. It is quite simple, but one does need patience and nimble fingers. After a time we all managed very well and had great fun choosing our flower colour and plant pot shape. It was amazing to see the difference in each card,…

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The Book Club met to discuss The Library by Bella Osborne. The Craft Group had another really good meeting on the topic of Quilling and the Art Group painted outdoors in Walton Gardens – see separate posts for these. Walking Group went on one of their favourite walks from Acton Bridge – along the canal and the River Weaver, with a lunch at the Riverside. Baking Beauties experimented with baking Gluten Free, Helen C visited to give us some tips.

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Julia Young spoke to us at our July meeting with tales of sex, violence and adulteration in the life of the honeybee. Members got to look first hand at the intricate honeycomb made from beeswax that the bees use to store their food and raise their grubs. Julia is also a registered ‘swarm’ collector and is on hand to remove honeybees that have swarmed in the most peculiar places, including the back window of a car! Julia had brought some of her pure honey to sell and informed us that not all honey is equal and the vast proportion of…

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Several of our members joined the Village Group trip to Yorkshire at the end of June. We visited Saltaire and had time to wander around the unique village of Saltaire – a world UNESCO site built by Titus Salt to house the workers for his woollen mills. The old mill now houses a permanant display of works by Bradford born artist David Hockney. An added bonus was the 1940’s festival taking place in the village with a tea dance at Victoria Hall and people dressed in 1940’s fashions. For those of us who walked over the river Aire to Roberts…

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Most of our subgroups took a break this month – a popular time for holidays! The Baking Beauties did meet to share their ‘Something Fruity’ bakes.

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The theme for this year’s show was ‘The Olympics’. Despite a reduced space/number of classes this year Whitley WI still submitted a number of entries as well as providing helpers for refreshments and stewarding. Our main ‘team’ entry was in the ‘Teams’ section. The Craft group have been working hard for months on their entry – to depict ‘Team GB’. We included a range of items representing each of the 4 countries, with the items for judging being Whisky Marmalade for Scotland, a needle punched shamrock for Northern Ireland, a knitted guardsman and sentry box for Engand and a Bara…

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