BOGNOR REGIS WI

SECRETARY’S REPORT 2014 

Here we are again – another year has flashed by in a whirl! Our monthly meetings have been a range of great entertainment, thought provoking and educational.

We were kicked off by Gill Parker giving us an insight into the Life of a Playboy Bunny Girl. Andrew Elms entertained us with a lively talk on the trials and tribulations involved in setting up Lordington Lavender and gave us an opportunity to buy his products. Then Alexandra Loske opened our eyes to the effect King George and his Giraffe had on society at the time.

Barbara Foster led us in an evening of making heads from tights – with surprisingly satisfying results. Two local charities – Accord and Connecting Communities told us about their work within the local Eastern European community – we also had a taste of Polish food.

We had an evening of homegrown talent with members informing us “I have this because” – which proved to be a highly entertaining evening, and then last month, due to our speaker’s non-appearance other members told us about their “Claim to Fame”.

The Resolution Meeting centered around an emotional and thought provoking talk from Angela Fisher from the West Sussex Health Trust who shared her personal experience of the organ donation process. Lesley Guppy followed this with an excellent summary of the organ donation resolution which we went on to fully support.

On a lighter note the Bubbly Tea Party proved to be a very successful afternoon with catering provided by all of you and organised by the committee. We all drank our bubbly, chatted, played games, ate savouries and cake and washed it all down with lots of cups of tea, and we even managed to find time to have a raffle.

But a lot goes on outside of our meetings. The various groups have visited the theatre, lunched and dined in various pubs and restaurants. We have walked miles in all weathers, always admiring the views as we went. Members have nattered as they knitted, discussed the books they have read, made jewellery and then there is of course the SciFi group who have boldly gone were no WI members have gone before.

Another Dimension has taken members to the South Down Planetarium, Canine Partners, Nymans, Bignor Villa, Parham House and Lordington Lavender.

There were County and National Events including learning to play Mah Jong, The Great Food Debate and we had four teams entered in the Quiz. A number of us made entries for the South of England Show and two of our photographers had their entries selected for next year’s calendar.

Our WI has also been busy in the community with a group of crafters demonstrating in C&H Fabrics in Chichester. Many of you baked what appeared to be a mountain of cake for our stall at the 10K run which raised money for the Chestnut Tree Children’s Hospice as well as our funds. 3 members went to a meeting of Bognor Regis MIND providing jams and cake for tasting and a brief history of the WI. A few of our members went into local schools to explain how bread was made and also provided the childen with a chance to get their hands on bread dough and then bake it. Bognor Regis also had a stall at the Big Bite Festival providing a taste of homemade jams and chutney, and giving out recipes so that anybody interested could have a go at home.

A major fundraiser was the Garden Event in July when we were blessed with perfect weather to view five members gardens.

The Face Book page and our website have been a success this year with people using it to contact us to enquire about joining and offering various services.

Finally Bognor Regis WI has this year succeeded in providing us all with friendship, support, laughter, a chance to have a go at all sorts of different activities and lots of fun. Next year we can all look forward to doing it again!

Rosemary Coleman