MONTHLY MEETINGS 2024
We meet at Kelsall Methodist Church Hall at 7.30pm on the first Wednesday of the month. Find our Facebook page "Kelsall WI" for information on our speakers.
Visitors welcome, we are a friendly bunch!
We meet at Kelsall Methodist Church Hall at 7.30pm on the first Wednesday of the month. Find our Facebook page "Kelsall WI" for information on our speakers.
Visitors welcome, we are a friendly bunch!
Wednesday 3rd April.
Tonight we had expected to welcome a singing duo but due to illness they were unable to entertain us so we were very lucky to secure at short notice Anne Naylor. She told us the story of her mother, the 6th child born in the 1930's to a very poor family; so poor in fact that she and one of her brothers were sent by the parish to live with a spinster nearby. Her treatment while there was cold and lacking in every way and it was not until she began working as a teenager that she was properly fed. She gradually moved from working as a maid to nursing, where she eventually became a midwife. She was clearly an impressive and inspirational woman and Anne made her story live for us all. Anne also went on to a career in nursing so her mother was obviously for her a real role model. Marian gave the vote of thanks on our behalf.
We not only had our speaker tonight but also the subscriptions for the year were due, and we had our Spring Sales Table as well, so it was quite a busy night. Marian and Jane were excellent sales ladies as you can see from the photo, and we all enjoyed talking to our speaker over tea and cake.
Words and photo: Fiona
Tonight we had expected to welcome a singing duo but due to illness they were unable to entertain us so we were very lucky to secure at short notice Anne Naylor. She told us the story of her mother, the 6th child born in the 1930's to a very poor family; so poor in fact that she and one of her brothers were sent by the parish to live with a spinster nearby. Her treatment while there was cold and lacking in every way and it was not until she began working as a teenager that she was properly fed. She gradually moved from working as a maid to nursing, where she eventually became a midwife. She was clearly an impressive and inspirational woman and Anne made her story live for us all. Anne also went on to a career in nursing so her mother was obviously for her a real role model. Marian gave the vote of thanks on our behalf.
We not only had our speaker tonight but also the subscriptions for the year were due, and we had our Spring Sales Table as well, so it was quite a busy night. Marian and Jane were excellent sales ladies as you can see from the photo, and we all enjoyed talking to our speaker over tea and cake.
Words and photo: Fiona
Wednesday 6th March 2024
This evening we were very pleased to welcome several visitors as Dorothy mentioned in her Notices, following which we welcomed Tony Bostock, a local historian, who was our speaker for this evening. His talk was about Mary Fitton of Gawsworth Old Hall, a Cheshire historic house well known to many of us. From Tony's account it was clear that Mary had a full and interesting life, was a Maid of Honour at the court of Queen Elizabeth 1, involved with many prominent men of the time, and married to some of them, and with whom she had a number of children. There has been speculation that she may have been the inspiration for William Shakespeare's references to the Dark Lady in his sonnets; Tony definitely feels that this is quite possible given various literary references he quoted. It was an interesting talk about a scandalous lady who despite her challenging life lived into her 60's, ending her years at Gawsworth. After the talk we admired and voted on the competition for tea-cup spring floral arrangements, photo below, brought in by some of our members; Liz won and took home a pretty cyclamen plant to prove it. We had tea, cake and a chat before we went home. Words and Photos: Fiona |
Wednesday 7th February 2024
The February meeting was our first meeting of 2024, following on from our successful coffee morning in January. The meeting was very well attended and we welcomed three visitors. After some notices and the Budget presentation for 2024, Dorothy welcomed our speaker for this evening, ex police officer Judith Walmsley OBE who spoke about "Working with the Homeless in Manchester". It was a serious topic but Judith spoke with a lively sense of humour and with real kindness and empathy about the people she was trying to help. Judith was talking about the 1990's when she worked with a multidisciplinary team consisting of housing specialists, social services and medical personnel. Many of the people begging on the streets had drug and alcohol problems or mental health issues and often became homeless to escape complicated home circumstances. But we also learned about some success stories: one young man turned his life around after going into rehab and one who, after having his leg amputated due to his drug addiction, became a successful wheelchair basketball player.
It was a riveting talk and was well received by all. The meeting rounded off with the usual coffee, tea, cakes and chat. It was a great start to the year.
Words: Avril
The February meeting was our first meeting of 2024, following on from our successful coffee morning in January. The meeting was very well attended and we welcomed three visitors. After some notices and the Budget presentation for 2024, Dorothy welcomed our speaker for this evening, ex police officer Judith Walmsley OBE who spoke about "Working with the Homeless in Manchester". It was a serious topic but Judith spoke with a lively sense of humour and with real kindness and empathy about the people she was trying to help. Judith was talking about the 1990's when she worked with a multidisciplinary team consisting of housing specialists, social services and medical personnel. Many of the people begging on the streets had drug and alcohol problems or mental health issues and often became homeless to escape complicated home circumstances. But we also learned about some success stories: one young man turned his life around after going into rehab and one who, after having his leg amputated due to his drug addiction, became a successful wheelchair basketball player.
It was a riveting talk and was well received by all. The meeting rounded off with the usual coffee, tea, cakes and chat. It was a great start to the year.
Words: Avril