OLDER NEWS 

2014-2015

Annual Federation Meeting, 25th March 2015
26th March 2015

Ten of our members attended the Annual Federation Meeting-which used to be called the Council Meeting (or even the Spring Council Meeting). Pat was our representative and she will be giving us a report shortly. 
After a slightly controversial request the flowers for the stage were done by Jenny Fleming and Cherry Smith. 
Pat received a certificate to commemorate our 50th Anniversary
Our members had lunch together in town.
Hopefully more will be added when Pat's report is completed.

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Latest Craft Project
26th March 2015

Buttons and Embroidery

Notts Fed sent us out a piece of fabric and asked that it be transformed into a pennant with the name of our WI. Our routine, since the birth of our craft group, is to pass such projects on to our Crafty Members for execution. 
The craft group have come up trumps again and 'our' pennant was displayed and admired at our March meeting. 
Pennants from all the WI's will be made into bunting for use at various events. 

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50th Anniversary of Ravenshead WI
13th April 2015

To mark our 50th Anniversary the members were presented with a commemorative bookmark at the Annual Meeting.

Ravenshead WI Annual Meeting- 18th March 2015
20th March 2015

That was tasty

Our March meeting was our Annual Meeting. It was also the 50th Anniversary of our inauguration. Marjorie, one of  the founder members, was at the meeting. We had our usual business meeting and then the Annual Meeting. We had some changes in our bye laws-led by Pat. These were mostly technical matters and were all passed unanimously. A new committee was also voted in. The members of the old committee were all willing to stand again together with a newly proposed member- Janice. This brings the number to 12 which is our maximum number. No ballot was needed. The secretary, Janet, proposed Moira to be our President. This was passed unanimously. The other officers will be decided on at the first meeting of the new committee.
A vote of thanks to Peter, the caretaker at Centre Point, was proposed and he was given a gift token. He has been exceptionally helpful during our time at the Centre. This was our last meeting at this venue.
 We move back to The Centre @ St Peter's for our April meeting. The hall has been rebuilt and renamed.

The meetings were followed by nibbles and sparkling (non-alcoholic) wine. Our members enjoyed a leisurely chat with their snacks.

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February Meeting
10th March 2015

We had to have a change of plan for the February meeting as Jenny Bailey, our speaker, was not well enough to come. 
There was a lot of business to catch up on as we had missed the January meeting and December was our party. Meg stepped in with a gardening quiz. More difficult than it looked!
Our best wishes to Jenny for a speedy recovery. Jenny wears many hats at Notts Federation so she is normally a very busy lady.

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New Centre is nearly ready
16th February, 2015

Some of the committee were invited to look round the new Centre recently. We were very impressed and have booked our meetings for the next year. We hope that our April meeting will be our first in the new St Peter's Centre.
Existing users are to be the first to use the new facilities but it is hoped that soon new users will be booking the up to date centre.

Meeting Cancelled. It looks pretty but...
15th February 2015

Sadly our January meeting had to be cancelled due to snow. The village bus contacted us to say that roads were so bad the bus could not continue to run. It was decided that it was not sensible to expect members to go out and add to potential traffic problems.
The speaker has been rebooked for a later meeting.

Christmas Party December 2014
22nd January 2015

and the award for the Best Christmas Jumper goes to............Josie

We had a lovely party on 17th December 2014. We opted to have pie and peas as we are still in our temporary accommodation. Many of us travel on the village bus so not easy to bring all the food that we usually bring to share. We had the food delivered from Barlow's of Kirkby and delicious it was too. Desserts came form nearby Morrisons. Dare we confess this on a WI website? Non alcoholic drinks only allowed in the Church.
Alison had done lots of work on extra cracker prizes and a Ding Bats competition.
We had a sing song with a variation on Jingle Bells courtesy of Christmas at the House and a recitation of a poem attributed to Pam Ayres entitled "Fifty Shades of Grey"!
All in all a good time was had by all.

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"Christmas at the House"
8th December 2014

Our hostesses and entertainers

Ravenshead WI members enjoyed "Christmas at the House" on both days. Several members went on the first "sitting" on 28th November- they must have had a large table all to themselves. Just one member went on the 5th December. The trustees really do do a superb job of cooking and entertaining. The turkey was so succulent, the vegetables perfect and the "lighter version" of Christmas pudding was lovely- not only that but the recipe was shared with us.
As one of our members said it was fab-u-lous.
Thanks to all the trustees for all the hard work they put in. I always feel a little guilty at being waited upon. 

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"Every Picture Tells a Story" our November meeting
20th November 2014

David Darby, an art teacher, entertained us with his talk on art. He started with an impression of Peter Cook and Dudley Moor. He had 2 hats as props. He showed us some very beautiful paintings. One "The Kiss" by Hayez particularly impressed us. He compared how some artists e.g. Mark Rothko, described as an Abstract Impressionist, sold his paintings  (blocks of colour) for lots of money whereas other artists, who to us appeared more talented, did not "tell a story" with their paintings and as a result they did not achieve such fame or fortune.
There was one amusing incident when, looking at a portrait of a young married couple pictured on their estate, David asked us why their faces looked alike? Quick as a flash Alison said "incest". We all burst out laughing. The answer was that the artist may not have been very good at portraits! More photos.

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Southwell Apple Day
13th November 2014 

"Items for a Harvest Lunch"

Ravenshead entered the WI competition for a "Harvest Lunch" at the 2014 Southwell Apple Day on 25th October.
Jenny F and Pat were the 2 stalwart Ravenshead members who prepared our entry. The judges liked the hessian and the colours but were a bit sniffy about the cover on the preserve and the (temporary) cover over the cake. We came 4th (out of 4). You can see from the photo that it all looks good enough to eat!
June entered a cake and was awarded 18 marks out of 20 and came 4th. Even a veteran of 3 tray bake workshops wouldn't hope to get such a high score.
Well done to all who entered the competitions.

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November Walk in Clumber Park
5th November 2014

Six of our members enjoyed a refreshing walk in Clumber Park on Monday, 3rd November. The walk was arranged by Alison and she was joined by Moira, June, Chris, Heather and Kathy. The members had lunch at The Thaymar restaurant. This is a mandatory part of any walk arranged by Alison. 

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"Bits and Bobs" our October meeting
16th October 2014

What on earth is it?

Bob Neil and his wife gave us a great evening with "Bits and Bobs", their antiques guessing game. We were in teams of 4 or 5 seated at  the useful coffee tables at Centre point. Twenty items were passed around the teams. Well, it was much harder than we anticipated. When the answers were revealed several teams were heard to say "we said that- but didn't write it down".
The item opposite is a hanger for barristers wigs. Other items included an elaborate gadget for darning socks and a wonderful wooden wheel device to hang your peg bag on a clothes line most of us guessed it was a pastry wheel of some sort. It could be worth Lakeland reintroducing some of these gadgets. Just goes to prove that nothing is new!
We also held the draw to decide our representative at the Centenary Annual Meeting in the Albert Hall June 2015. Names were in a "hat" and Bob Neil drew out June's name. Congratulations June.

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September meeting
18th Sept 2014

Our September meeting was held in the main body of the Church at Centre Point in Kirkby. The room looked very nice when we arrived with the comfortable chairs arranged in a semi-circle by the caretaker-luxury. After the usual business meeting we were entertained by David Brailsford, a Story Teller of Nottingham. He told funny stories-basically elaborately detailed jokes. Judging from the comments afterwards the members enjoyed the tales.We wound up with tea/coffee and biscuits before the Ravenshead bus arrived to whisk its passengers back to Ravenshead. 

Thanks to Kath R
23rd August 2014

Kath was presented with a small gift at the August meeting to thank her for arranging the summer walk around Linby and Papplewick and the meal afterwards at the Horse and Groom- see below. More pictures here. 

Beetle Drive- August meeting
22nd August 2014

June explaining the rules

and the winner is: Kay, our visitor

We had a fun evening for our August Social Evening. We used not to have a meeting in August. We had an August walk instead. This year we had our "August" walk in July. Following last year's successful Kurling evening the committee decided to hold a Beetle Drive for our August meeting.
We kept the business part of the meeting to a minimum. June explained the rules of the game. We played in pairs on tables of 4 but after each game the pairs split up and moved on. The theory was that we would mix and chat to other members.  In truth there was a quick "Hello" and then it was eyes down, your throw, another eye, mouth, quick, quick.... "Beetle".. stop...add up and move on. At the end the person with the highest score was the winner-  and the winner was Kay Cattell our visitor for the evening!!!! Kay was presented with a small prize. There was also a prize for the lowest score.
We rounded off the evening with drinks and nibbles and before we had time to finish the washing up the bus had arrived to take its passengers home.

New (temporary) venue @ Kirkby
21st August 2014

Our members' meeting on August 20th 2014 was the first in our new, but temporary, venue at Centre Point in Kirkby. About 13 of us arrived on the Ravenshead village bus, arranged by Kathy K and driven by Allan Rogers. It was rather delicious not having to park a car, even our large notice board was given VIP treatment.
At the venue we were mainly in the coffee shop area but spilled over into the church area. There was a good turnout of members, despite the change of venue and August being a busy holiday period.
Acoustics were a problem initially as voices were lost in the large volume of the church area.  For future meetings we will probably make a few tweaks to the table arrangements. Overall first impressions of the venue were very favourable.
 

Members settling in.

Joyce and Hazel at the Treasurer's table

Summer Walk 2014
2nd August 2014

Waiting for our dinner

Our summer walk this year was held on 30th July. Kath Rogers kindly arranged the 3-4 mile walk around Linby and Papplewick. It was a lovely summer's evening.  The walkers set off from the Horse and Groom, Linby at 5.30pm and returned around 6.45pm for a meal in the pub. Seventeen members and visitors sat down for a delicious meal. Some of the diners had not gone on the walk but still turned up for the meal- is that cheating??  We shared the venue with around 200 motor scooters and their riders. It was very busy but it all added to the atmosphere.

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The Baton Handover
15th July 2014

Marjorie receiving the Baton

After much organisation and communication with all and sundry the day,Sunday 13th June, finally arrived for the Baton Relay. Ravenshead received the baton from Bestwood Village WI and handed it over to Abbey Gates WI-appropriately at the Gates of Newstead Abbey.
The threatened rain held off but it was a little chilly as our handover was late afternoon.
There are more photos in the gallery.

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Temporary change of venue
13th June 2014

Due to the rebuilding of the Church Hall we are having to move to temporary accommodation from August 2014 until early 2015. For more info click here.

Heritage Walk- Civl War Trail
13th June 2014

June and Chris giving the guide their full attention in the Market Place at Newark.

On 23rd May three of our members, June, Janet and Chris, went on the Civil War trail heritage walk at Newark. As usual it was a top class event-and the rain kept off. 
We started at 10am with coffee and home made fruit loaf and then set off in 2 groups of WI members for a very interesting and informative walk around the town. During the Civil War Newark was on the side of the King and held out during three sieges but eventually had to surrender on instructions from the King (Charles).
After the walk we returned to County House for a lovely lunch of Turkey and vegetables followed by the most delicious apricot torte and home made apricot ice cream and then coffee and mints. All diets were put aside for the occasion. Janet won some candles in the raffle.
The gift shop was also open for us to browse and pick some of the bargains. The goods are really attractive and very keenly priced.
We can thoroughly recommend these Heritage Walks. Do put your name down if you get the opportunity.

Resolutions Meeting-21st May
3rd June 2014

We held our resolutions meeting on 21st May. The resolution was: 
" Increasing Organ Donation"
The NFWI notes that three people die every day whilst waiting for an organ transplant. We call on every member of the WI to make their wishes regarding organ donation known and to encourage their families and friends and members of their local communities to do likewise.
Janet gave a Power Point presentation kindly passed on by Kay Brown, BVWI. The presentation gave lots of interesting information about organ donation and answered some common questions. It was pointed out that even if a person has signed up to the organ donor register it is still common for families to refuse permission if the appropriate time comes. This is particularly the case if the potential donor has not made their wishes known to the family.
Moira read out the case against the resolution which was mainly that other organisations have campaigns on the issue and the issue is a "matter of conscience". 
The vote was carried unanimously. Our wishes have been passed on to our representative for the AGM.
Members found having the presentation much less dull than just reading out the information provided.
After the meeting we enjoyed some nibbles and a chat.

Baton Relay Update
8th May 2014

The Baton will be brought to Ravenshead by Bestwood Village WI on Sunday 15th June and will be handed over at approximately 4.30pm outside the Village Hall. It was to be St Peter's but we are advised that the car park may be full of cars. Ravenshead WI members will walk with the Baton to the Abbey Gates and hand it over to Abbey Gates WI. We will then go into Newstead Abbey and, together with Abbey Gates, Newstead and Bestwood Village celebrate with a picnic in the grounds. We are hoping to get some local media coverage and to take some photos for our scrap book and the web site.
Everybody is welcome-members, family and friends. Bring your own food.

Baton Relay Latest
6th April 2014

In preparation for the 2015 WI Centenary celebrations a baton relay is taking place around England & Wales. The Centenary Baton will be visiting every WI in the National Federation before making its way to the Albert Hall for our AGM in June 2015. 
On 1st April Moira and Janet attended a meeting at Watnall WI Hall with some members from the other WIs involved . We discussed ideas for the handovers and local celebrations.

The provisional plan for Sunday, 15 June 2014  is for the baton will be passed from Bestwood Village WI to the new Lapwings WI who will pass it onto our WI, probably at St Peter's Church. We will pass it onto Abbey Gates WI, at Newstead Abbey Gates. Abbey Gates WI passes onto Newstead WI in the Abbey grounds. We then hope to have a picnic in the Abbey grounds with Abbey Gates , Newstead, Bestwood Village and Lapwing WIs. 
 "LAPWING" is the newest WI in the Nottinghamshire Federation. The name is cleverly made up from Linby and Papplewick WI Ng.
Keep an eye on the website for further information on the baton relay.

Our Annual Meeting
20th March 2014

Liz and Janet

We held our Annual Meeting last night (19th March 2014). There was a good turnout of members including our newest member, Yvonne.
Liz our treasurer gave us her last financial report. She is standing down both as treasurer and from the committee. She is hoping to give herself more free time and be able to enjoy our members meetings without getting any "homework". She was presented with an arrangement of flowers from the members as a thank you for all her hard work over the past 4 years.
We also heard the Trustees' and President's reports for the year 2013-2014. The meeting was followed by light refreshments while we enjoyed some social time.

New Denman Brochure-Feb 2014-Dec 2014
18th March 2014

The new Denman brochure, covering all courses and events from February to December 2014, is now available for download from our website. Click here to take a look.

Amongst the many amazing WI Cookery School courses happening this year there are two on offer from the ever popular Alex Mackay - Everyday Exciting (see page 10) and Summer in Provence (see page 12). Book your place as soon as possible to avoid disappointment, because they are expected to sell out fast!

There are also have some great new Day Schools with a selection of lovely new tutors, such as Strictly Cha Cha Cha and Strictly Waltz (see page 35 for both) and Leathercraft (see page 15), plus a variety of family days during the school holidays (see pages 8, 14 and 34). So why not take your children or grandchildren along for an original, fun and educational day out?

Another highlight for 2014 includes a Literary Lunch with Adele Parks (see page 24), where you can listen to the bestselling author speak about her latest book, Spare Brides, and then enjoy lunch in the beautiful environs of Denman.

Web Site Launched
17th March 2014

Building the website at Tent Bridge House

Today we have launched a website for Ravenshead WI. We hope that the website will help our members keep up to date with the latest news from our WI.
We will also be adding photos to the gallery so have a look through and see if you have been captured on camera.
We plan to add links to the website that will be useful not only to our members but also to other residents of Ravenshead.
If you have any suggestions for the website please use the contact us form to send a message.

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WHO ARE WE?

Ravenshead Women's Institute is a friendly group and you would be made very welcome at our meetings.Our institute has around 40 members.
Our meetings are held on the 3rd Wednesday of the month. 
We will be back in our original venue for our next meeting. the old Church hall has been rebuilt and renamed The Centre @ St Peter's.
To read more about our meetings click here. 
We also have a book group, a darts team and a craft group.         

The Committee
NB- New roles to be announced soon 

President                - Moira Hufton
Secretary               - Janet Bates 
Treasurer               - Joyce Capps
Vice President        - June Freeman
Vice Treasurer        - Hazel Matthews
Vice Secretary        - Pat O'Brien
MCS Rep/Publicity  - Jenny Fleming
Programme Sec      - Meg Croasdale
Refreshments         - Sue Owen
Outings/walks         - Alison Wooffinden
Member                  - Kathy Kings
Member                  - Janice Jackson

Next Members Meeting

April 15th 2015
Chris Weir “Secrets, Mysteries and Curiosities of Nottinghamshire”

NB-To be held at:
 The Centre @ St Peter's,
Ravenshead
More meeting details here

Next Committee Meeting

12th May 2015
@ Moira's

Group Meetings

Click here to go to the group meetings

National Links

 The WI web site
(which now has a search facility for your local WI group based on your postcode)
Denman College
The MOODLE

NOTTS FED WI LINKS

COUNTY HOUSE
The opening times of the federation office at Trent Bridge House, Beastmarket Hill, Newark, Nottinghamshire. NG24 1BN 
are as follows: 
Mon–Wed only 9am – 3pm
Contact Rosemary, Heather & Fiona on :-
Email : nottsfedwi@tiscali.co.uk
Tel: 01636 67 3550

The Nottinghamshire Federation web pages are here:-
Nottinghamshire Federation 
You can download documents & booking forms.

WI ADVISERS
These ladies are on hand to give help and advise to you about all aspects of the WI. 
They can attend your annual meeting or your  committee meetings or just offer help on the end of a phone or email. 
To get in touch on any WI matters :-
wiadviser.nottsfed@gmail.com
or check out their phone numbers in the Year Book.

GROUPS CO-ORDINATOR
Kay Brown is the new Groups co-ordinator. If you have any questions about any matters concerning your WI group you should direct them to Kay using the 
wiadviser.nottsfed@gmail.com
email address.

OTHER NOTTS FED WIs

Abbey Gates WI
Arnold WI
Averham Kelham & Staythorpe WI
Bestwood Village WI
Brookside (Mansfield) WI
Burton Joyce & Bulcote WI
(Nottingham) City WI
Clarborough WI
Coddington WI
Dorewood WI (Balderton)
East Bridgford WI
East Stoke WI
Gedling WI
Granby & Sutton WI
Gringley on the Hill WI
Lapwings WI (Linby & Papplewick)
Newstead WI
Newark Palace WI
Ollerton WI
Plumtree WI
Radcliffe on Trent WI
Ruddington WI
Scarrington WI
Southwell WI
Shelford WI 
Watnall WI
West Bridgford WI
Woodborough WI

Ravenshead Links

The Centre at St Peter's