Uncategorized – WHITLEY WI

Our Latest Tree Invaders

Ten of our craft group ladies helped dress the tree with yet more new residents.

Murray Jacobs, a Cambridge Green Badge Guide, gave us a fascinating Zoom virtual tour of a ‘Must See Street in Cambridge’. His talk about King’s Parade, which is in the main tourist area of Cambridge, included stories of a rather eventful visit by a monarch, student antics that hit the front pages, and intriguing details of King’s College Chapel, to name just a few. The Corpus, or Grasshopper clock, outside the Taylor Library is a gold plated stainless steel work of art. The grasshopper, or Chronophage meaning “time eater” at the top of the clock devours every minute as it…

JULY WALK…Its good to walk and talk!

Five members of Whitley WI’s walking group, dressed suitably for some inclement weather set off from the Hatton Arms to enjoy their July walk. They turned right down Goose Lane then followed a path straight ahead towards the Appleton Reservoir. Walking along a well-marked trail, passing different fields planted with Oats, Barley and Wheat all waving in the wind to the walkers and waiting for the sun to arrive to help ripen them. Further along the track they entered a wooded area where all had to dodge quite a few puddles after the rain that had fallen over the last…

FUN IN THE SUN…. JUNE 2021 WALK

It was a lovely sunny day for 5 Whitley Wi walkers to make their way through the Beechwood Estate Runcorn and head for the pathway that skirts the top of the steep slopes of Floodbrook Clough, nicknamed Garlic Wood because of the pungent smell that floats in the air. Reaching the end of the path they made their way, passing a pond with beautiful yellow iris and commented that the ducks were suitably abiding to the COVID rule of socially distancing. After crossing Beechwood Avenue, they took the path towards Clough Wood, a mature broadleaf woodland, eventually arriving in Sutton…

WHITLEY and DUTTON WIs …TIPTOE THROUGH THE TOMBSTONES TOGETHER

A year later than expected, Whitley WI and Dutton WI finally got ‘together’ to enjoy what is traditionally a biennial joint meeting. It was good to see the familiar faces of our near-neighbour WI, even if it was in the boxes of a Zoom Screen.Our speaker Rina Tillinger usually accompanies holiday makers on various cruise ships. For our meeting she had found herself ‘land locked’ in Germany. This made no difference as it seemed her broadband was better than the members sometimes unreliable local ones. When back on dry land, Rina enjoys spending time on one of her hobbies. It…

ALL ABOUT MERINGUES

By definition, a meringue is ‘an item of sweet food made by baking a mixture of stiffly beaten egg whites and sugar until crisp’.Whitley WI baking beauties group were given the challenge of making a dessert using meringue.Meeting in Jonty’s beautiful garden, in delightfully warm and sunny weather, 15 members of the group brought along and displayed their carefully constructed exhibits. Such a delicious collection, and all so different. Members talked through their recipes, disasters, and experiences, with the final products making the group’s name of ‘baking beauties’ so relevant.Pavlova, roulades, macarons, a secret nutty/fruity recipe from a favourite cake…

Whitley WI May Meeting

At our May meeting Janet Patterson, one of our members, gave us a fascinating talk about her 24 years volunteering for the Save the Children charity. Her work started when she was a member of Greysouthen WI in the Lake District. Some of the WI members there volunteered at the Save the Children shop in Cockermouth and this prompted her to give it a go as well. The Save the Children charity was started in 1919 by Eglantyne Jebb and her sister Dorothy Buxton as a one off response to the starving children in Austria and Germany after the First…

“IN AND OUT THE DUSKY BLUEBELLS” of DUTTON

In the Middle Ages, bluebells were thought to be a cure for Leprosy and Spider Bites. They were also thought to stop nightmares if bunches were hung above people’s beds.This wasnt the plan for Whitley WI’s walking group which under the leadership of Sheila, and hoping for good weather set off to enjoy a walk of about 5 miles. Their second bluebell walk, this time in May.Walking under the railway bridge in Dutton, up Long Alley, then across the field to Bird’s Wood at Aston they saw stunning carpets of bluebells. Annette educated them with the names of various types…

ITS BLUEBELL WALK TIME! APRIL 2021

A group of 5 members of the walking group met up for Whitley WI’s spring bluebell walk – not as sunny as the weather had been but a very pleasant walk, dry underfoot and nicely level.They walked from Jean’s house past lots of beautiful gardens full of unusual tulips and other spring flowers and up to the Pewterspear area of Appleton. They then continued along the Pewterspear Green linear park and across parkland/woodland until they reached Green Lane. Carrying on through Julia’s wood and into the Lumb Brook Valley where they enjoyed the picturesque woodland of Fords Rough, full of…

Whitley WI April Meeting

At our April meeting on Zoom we had Angela McIntyre talk about her career working with the Homeless. It started thirty years ago when as part of an organised group, she would go once a week to help feed the homeless in Manchester with sandwiches etc. This led to doing voluntary work at Cornerstones in Salford; a day centre for the Homeless. Very soon after starting she was persuaded to apply for the post of Deputy and stayed working there for 25 years. People in need are given a welcome breakfast of tea and toast together with the option of…

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