MONTHLY MEETINGS 2026
These meetings take place in Kelsall Methodist Hall
on the first Wednesday of each month at 7.30 pm
Visitors are very welcome.
These meetings take place in Kelsall Methodist Hall
on the first Wednesday of each month at 7.30 pm
Visitors are very welcome.
Wednesday 2nd September.
Before welcoming our speaker for this evening, we had a quick round up of events past and future. The winner of the silent auction for Margaret's lovely watercolour painting was announced as Mary Diggle. As she was away on holiday the presentation will take place next month. We have now achieved over £500 in fundraising this year for the Hospice of the Good Shepherd, in memory of Jane Pearson, our previous President. Pat has also proposed that we compile a recipe book, with a dedication to Jane, with proceeds going to her preferred charities, the Hospice of the Good Shepherd and the Vestry fund at St. Philips. Both Jane's husband and daughter are enthusiastic and would like a couple of Jane's recipes to appear in the book. This will be compiled over the next few months.
Our Speaker for this evening was artist Gill Adlington, known to some of us through her talks and courses. She was going to do an oil paint demonstration for us and the photos below tell the story. We all enjoyed her demo and Heather was the perfect choice for the Vote of Thanks, having done one of Gill's courses in the past. Afterwards, we all enjoyed tea and cakes as usual with a helping of chat.
Fiona
Before welcoming our speaker for this evening, we had a quick round up of events past and future. The winner of the silent auction for Margaret's lovely watercolour painting was announced as Mary Diggle. As she was away on holiday the presentation will take place next month. We have now achieved over £500 in fundraising this year for the Hospice of the Good Shepherd, in memory of Jane Pearson, our previous President. Pat has also proposed that we compile a recipe book, with a dedication to Jane, with proceeds going to her preferred charities, the Hospice of the Good Shepherd and the Vestry fund at St. Philips. Both Jane's husband and daughter are enthusiastic and would like a couple of Jane's recipes to appear in the book. This will be compiled over the next few months.
Our Speaker for this evening was artist Gill Adlington, known to some of us through her talks and courses. She was going to do an oil paint demonstration for us and the photos below tell the story. We all enjoyed her demo and Heather was the perfect choice for the Vote of Thanks, having done one of Gill's courses in the past. Afterwards, we all enjoyed tea and cakes as usual with a helping of chat.
Fiona
Wednesday 5th August
MEMBERS MEETING
MEMBERS MEETING
RECORD of the KELSALL WI MEETING held on Wednesday 5th August :
Members Meeting: A celebration of the Pudding with Mary Gaskarth and her mother Elizabeth.
The meeting opening with the singing of Jerusalem, unaccompanied. Mary Diggle was in the chair for the brief business part of the meeting. Apologies had been received - see below - but were not read out. There was one visitor - Sarah Duffy (Mary's daughter).
We began with a minute's silence in remembrance of two members - Marion Franks who had died earlier in the week, and Jane Pearson our much respected and loved President.
A box was available for members to make donations in Jane's memory to the Hospice of the Good Shepherd. This money will be added to that collected in two raffles, plus that from the Silent Auction for Margaret Davies' watercolour (postponed until our next meeting). Members were also reminded of the Thanksgiving Service for Jane to be held at St. Philip's church on 20th August.
Pat Symms notified the walking group of her next walk at Marbury on August 18th.
Those members wanting to attend the CFWI Autumn Meeting at Storyhouse on October 5th to confirm with Avril. Georgina Bailey gave notification of the next Forest Group meeting in October.
Then over to Mary and Elizabeth for the highlight -
An evening of pudding heritage, elegant tastings, shared delights and some gentle quizzing.
Mary had put together an excellent presentation, explaining, with illustrations, the history of the Pudding - initially a savoury affair, often boiled in a cloth, before the fashion changed to sweet desserts, like jellies and trifles, and then to more elaborate creations as ingredients like sugar became available. So many famous names were associated with desserts over the years, and many rhymes and sayings remind us of the puddings we know.
Our first tasting was a delicious lemon posset.
Then Lakeland Hackin' pudding (made with minced beef, dried fruit and spices) which Mary had made herself using a pudding cloth.
Then Spotted Dick with brown bread ice cream (or summer cocktail ice cream).
Then Queen of Puddings.
All were truly delicious and interspersed with the tastings we were doing a Quiz - some photographs of famous female chefs, an assortment of kitchen gadgets and lots of pudding related questions. We had all been asked to submit a much-loved pudding recipe, and bring along a cooking utensil, kitchen item or gadget we wouldn't be without. During the evening we all shared memories with those utensils. Some of the members recipes were available on a printed sheet - two were shared for tasting with members over tea - served in our new Kelsall WI mugs!
Jane Holmes expressed our thanks to Mary and Elizabeth, for what was a very special evening.
Apologies: Liz Baskerville, Fiona Calver, Andrea Edwards, Janet Kibblewhite, Lesley Rimington, Ann Tindall.
Words: Mary D. Photos: Fiona B
Members Meeting: A celebration of the Pudding with Mary Gaskarth and her mother Elizabeth.
The meeting opening with the singing of Jerusalem, unaccompanied. Mary Diggle was in the chair for the brief business part of the meeting. Apologies had been received - see below - but were not read out. There was one visitor - Sarah Duffy (Mary's daughter).
We began with a minute's silence in remembrance of two members - Marion Franks who had died earlier in the week, and Jane Pearson our much respected and loved President.
A box was available for members to make donations in Jane's memory to the Hospice of the Good Shepherd. This money will be added to that collected in two raffles, plus that from the Silent Auction for Margaret Davies' watercolour (postponed until our next meeting). Members were also reminded of the Thanksgiving Service for Jane to be held at St. Philip's church on 20th August.
Pat Symms notified the walking group of her next walk at Marbury on August 18th.
Those members wanting to attend the CFWI Autumn Meeting at Storyhouse on October 5th to confirm with Avril. Georgina Bailey gave notification of the next Forest Group meeting in October.
Then over to Mary and Elizabeth for the highlight -
An evening of pudding heritage, elegant tastings, shared delights and some gentle quizzing.
Mary had put together an excellent presentation, explaining, with illustrations, the history of the Pudding - initially a savoury affair, often boiled in a cloth, before the fashion changed to sweet desserts, like jellies and trifles, and then to more elaborate creations as ingredients like sugar became available. So many famous names were associated with desserts over the years, and many rhymes and sayings remind us of the puddings we know.
Our first tasting was a delicious lemon posset.
Then Lakeland Hackin' pudding (made with minced beef, dried fruit and spices) which Mary had made herself using a pudding cloth.
Then Spotted Dick with brown bread ice cream (or summer cocktail ice cream).
Then Queen of Puddings.
All were truly delicious and interspersed with the tastings we were doing a Quiz - some photographs of famous female chefs, an assortment of kitchen gadgets and lots of pudding related questions. We had all been asked to submit a much-loved pudding recipe, and bring along a cooking utensil, kitchen item or gadget we wouldn't be without. During the evening we all shared memories with those utensils. Some of the members recipes were available on a printed sheet - two were shared for tasting with members over tea - served in our new Kelsall WI mugs!
Jane Holmes expressed our thanks to Mary and Elizabeth, for what was a very special evening.
Apologies: Liz Baskerville, Fiona Calver, Andrea Edwards, Janet Kibblewhite, Lesley Rimington, Ann Tindall.
Words: Mary D. Photos: Fiona B
Wednesday 1st July.
Our speaker this evening was Detective Constable Andy Kevan from the Cheshire Police Cybercrime team who gave a talk on staying safe online. His rapid fire delivery and many stories of cyber crimes made for terrifying listening, making us resolve to update our knowledge of methods and tactics so we can be more careful online and protect our identites and money! Then Pat told us that our raffle this evening was to raise funds for the Hospice of the Good Shepherd, and about the silent auction for the lovely painting of Bunbury Locks by Margaret Davies which will take place at the August meeting. We had an update on the mugs we are sourcing for Kelsall WI and learned that the Members Meeting in August will celebrate Puddings!, and a reminder about the Afternoon Tea at Abbeywood on 15th July. Congratulations were made to Mary Gasgarth as she had again won prizes for her entries into the Cheshire Show - and had brought along her Apple and Chilli Jam for us to taste - deemed excellent! Tea and cakes followed to round off the evening.
Fiona
Our speaker this evening was Detective Constable Andy Kevan from the Cheshire Police Cybercrime team who gave a talk on staying safe online. His rapid fire delivery and many stories of cyber crimes made for terrifying listening, making us resolve to update our knowledge of methods and tactics so we can be more careful online and protect our identites and money! Then Pat told us that our raffle this evening was to raise funds for the Hospice of the Good Shepherd, and about the silent auction for the lovely painting of Bunbury Locks by Margaret Davies which will take place at the August meeting. We had an update on the mugs we are sourcing for Kelsall WI and learned that the Members Meeting in August will celebrate Puddings!, and a reminder about the Afternoon Tea at Abbeywood on 15th July. Congratulations were made to Mary Gasgarth as she had again won prizes for her entries into the Cheshire Show - and had brought along her Apple and Chilli Jam for us to taste - deemed excellent! Tea and cakes followed to round off the evening.
Fiona
Wednesday 3rd June.
After singing "Jerusalem" tonight we were introduced to Jane Allison, a horticulturalist and garden designer who was already known to some of our members as she has in the past given talks to Kelsall Gardening Club. She runs Mayfields, a small cottage garden nursery in Middlewich devoted to herbaceous perennials. She was very welcome as our programmed speaker had been forced to cancel so we were looking forward to her talk on Bees and Butterflies; the theme was very compatible with our focus on the environment, coupled with our recycling initiative for old electrical items and cables, which will hopefully earn us a green dot in the near future! See the picture below: the Committee with our electricals for recycling.
Jane told us about some of the many varieties of bee we could see in our gardens and countryside, and was a mine of information on what to plant to help them at all times of the year. Butterflies also rely on our gardens and need the same kind of focus in our planting. It was an interesting and educational talk with some beautiful images to inspire us.
After the business of the evening was concluded, we were very lucky with our cake selection tonight as all the Tea ladies were excellent bakers and second helpings were allowed!
The picture is a free download from Pexels of the Purple Emperor Butterfly.
Fiona
After singing "Jerusalem" tonight we were introduced to Jane Allison, a horticulturalist and garden designer who was already known to some of our members as she has in the past given talks to Kelsall Gardening Club. She runs Mayfields, a small cottage garden nursery in Middlewich devoted to herbaceous perennials. She was very welcome as our programmed speaker had been forced to cancel so we were looking forward to her talk on Bees and Butterflies; the theme was very compatible with our focus on the environment, coupled with our recycling initiative for old electrical items and cables, which will hopefully earn us a green dot in the near future! See the picture below: the Committee with our electricals for recycling.
Jane told us about some of the many varieties of bee we could see in our gardens and countryside, and was a mine of information on what to plant to help them at all times of the year. Butterflies also rely on our gardens and need the same kind of focus in our planting. It was an interesting and educational talk with some beautiful images to inspire us.
After the business of the evening was concluded, we were very lucky with our cake selection tonight as all the Tea ladies were excellent bakers and second helpings were allowed!
The picture is a free download from Pexels of the Purple Emperor Butterfly.
Fiona
Wednesday 6th May.
We had a talk tonight from a couple who had taken an unusual holiday on retirement last summer - they hired a narrow boat but not for the usual week or two, but for three months! Their aim was to get to know the canals of the Midlands and end up in London. They brought maps to show us their route and lots of pictures of their travels and as the weather last summer was excellent, it looked like a relaxing break from real life. However, they found that being on the boat for so long created a routine of its own as they had to factor in all the usual practicalities of everyday life, life making sure they had enough water, that they could empty their toilet and get rid of their rubbish on a regular basis. They also met many fellow canal enthusiasts as they found their way through the canal network, with an added frisson of low water levels in some of them which caused closures and made them reroute. They joined the Grand Union Canal to finish their trip, ending up in London as planned. They enjoyed it so much they may consider doing it again. Mary gave the vote of thanks before our tea and cake.
We had a talk tonight from a couple who had taken an unusual holiday on retirement last summer - they hired a narrow boat but not for the usual week or two, but for three months! Their aim was to get to know the canals of the Midlands and end up in London. They brought maps to show us their route and lots of pictures of their travels and as the weather last summer was excellent, it looked like a relaxing break from real life. However, they found that being on the boat for so long created a routine of its own as they had to factor in all the usual practicalities of everyday life, life making sure they had enough water, that they could empty their toilet and get rid of their rubbish on a regular basis. They also met many fellow canal enthusiasts as they found their way through the canal network, with an added frisson of low water levels in some of them which caused closures and made them reroute. They joined the Grand Union Canal to finish their trip, ending up in London as planned. They enjoyed it so much they may consider doing it again. Mary gave the vote of thanks before our tea and cake.
Wednesday 1st April.
Tonight we were renewing our Subscriptions, collecting used electrical items for recycling, talking about the need for some help for the Committee, and meeting our new WI Advisor; and welcoming our speaker for the evening, Angela Ashcroft. Angela had brought many boxes with her which were shrouded in mystery as they were covered up on the tables; once she began her talk she took them one by one, revealing the little worlds inside the wrappings and the story which went with each one. Angela makes all the small interiors herself, ranging from tiny scones, cakes, books and toys, and she also wallpapers the rooms and furnishes them. They varied from her father's shed to a smart three storey house by way of a charity shop and a pub. She has used her hobby to make money for charities, as well as giving her hours of pleasure; a true enthusiast. Tea and cakes were welcome after Dorothy's vote of thanks. Have a look at Angela's rooms below.
Words/Photos: Fiona
Tonight we were renewing our Subscriptions, collecting used electrical items for recycling, talking about the need for some help for the Committee, and meeting our new WI Advisor; and welcoming our speaker for the evening, Angela Ashcroft. Angela had brought many boxes with her which were shrouded in mystery as they were covered up on the tables; once she began her talk she took them one by one, revealing the little worlds inside the wrappings and the story which went with each one. Angela makes all the small interiors herself, ranging from tiny scones, cakes, books and toys, and she also wallpapers the rooms and furnishes them. They varied from her father's shed to a smart three storey house by way of a charity shop and a pub. She has used her hobby to make money for charities, as well as giving her hours of pleasure; a true enthusiast. Tea and cakes were welcome after Dorothy's vote of thanks. Have a look at Angela's rooms below.
Words/Photos: Fiona
Wednesday 4th March
We began our meeting tonight with an update on our friend and past President Jane; the news was not good and we were all glad we had sent a bouquet for her birthday recently.. Communications are via her husband.
After some notices and a reminder about next month being the time for renewing subscriptions, Pat welcomed our speaker for tonight, the very colourful Bollywood Dancers for Fun. Vivien introduced us to her fellow dancers and began with some very upbeat music and an energetic dance to go with it. As she had threatened previously, she then invited us up onto the floor to dance a routine with them - which we did with varying success! Unfortunately, some in the audience took photos, which you can see below; it was a very good work-out and we wont need to go to the gym this week! After some more dancing and an explanation of the meaning of some of the movements, Audrey gave a vote of thanks, after which we enjoyed our tea and cake while admiring the knitting and crochet items Jane B's Craft Group have produced for the Countess and Leighton Hospitals end-of-life teams. We have also started to collect recyclable unwanted electrical items before our Green Dot Day in June.
Words: Fiona Photos: Margaret/Avril/Fiona
We began our meeting tonight with an update on our friend and past President Jane; the news was not good and we were all glad we had sent a bouquet for her birthday recently.. Communications are via her husband.
After some notices and a reminder about next month being the time for renewing subscriptions, Pat welcomed our speaker for tonight, the very colourful Bollywood Dancers for Fun. Vivien introduced us to her fellow dancers and began with some very upbeat music and an energetic dance to go with it. As she had threatened previously, she then invited us up onto the floor to dance a routine with them - which we did with varying success! Unfortunately, some in the audience took photos, which you can see below; it was a very good work-out and we wont need to go to the gym this week! After some more dancing and an explanation of the meaning of some of the movements, Audrey gave a vote of thanks, after which we enjoyed our tea and cake while admiring the knitting and crochet items Jane B's Craft Group have produced for the Countess and Leighton Hospitals end-of-life teams. We have also started to collect recyclable unwanted electrical items before our Green Dot Day in June.
Words: Fiona Photos: Margaret/Avril/Fiona
Wednesday 4th February.
We started our meeting tonight with some sad news; Pat told us that four of our well known previous members had died recently. Also she read out an email from Jane, our President, who was resigning from her role due to ill health; we held a minute of silence in recognition of those losses which were truly felt by us all.
As we resumed our normal pattern for the evening, Fiona went through the Budget for 2026; there were several items to be discussed and voted on, and Pat then welcomed our Speaker for the evening, Matthew Lepp of TigerMuffin Soaps from Formby. Matthew and his sister Becky (who use their family nicknames as their company name!) have been making soap and body care products for over 20 years and have a wide range of cruelty free and mainly vegan products. Matthew began by demonstrating how to make some mini soaps in glorious pink and scented with essential oils of sweet pea in little moulds; later on he made a bath bomb, and as the mixture stiffened up, it was very hard work to beat the mixture together but the result was excellent. Throughout his demonstrations Matthew regaled us with funny stories and jokes about how our ancestors kept clean - or didn't! While the Greeks liked showers after anointing their skin with oils, scrubbing with sand, then scraping with a metal tool, the Romans are famous for their baths which they used after also scraping their bodies to get rid of dirt and sweat. It seems that we in Britain after the Roman occupation also used scraping - but usually without the benefit of Roman baths! The oldest soap is supposed to have been developed in Syria but it was very harsh and burnt the skin, so it was only used to clean clothes. It wasn't until the 18th century that something like the soap we know today was developed. Matthew brought a large selection of products with him and he was kept very busy once Heather had done the vote of thanks. It was a very entertaining evening!
Words/Photos: Fiona
