David Collins, a retired solicitor, came to speak to us about Wills, Powers of Attorney and Probate. He spoke about “things you may not know – pitfalls and the like “. Members of the group also passed on information from their experiences. Information is available from the Age UK website.

Did you know that estimates of the number of colloquial names for arum maculatum range from 90 to upwards of 150? And that one of the folklore names for viola odorata is Kiss Her In The Buttery? From geranium to galanthus, Caroline Broome gave a delightful talk about the origins, oft dubious medicinal uses, superstitions and folklore surrounding our most popular garden plants. 

We welcomed Rosie Fletcher from Slipstitch, the yarn shop on Alexandra Park Road. In addition to running the shop she holds classes and events including the knitting doctor, meet and make and knitting projects. Rosie is passionate about she does and ‘living her dream, at her wonderful shop.

There was a lively debate regarding the current NFWI resolutions – dental health, poor housing conditions, gambling advertising and criminal justice which are topics that we feel passionate about. Voting will take place at the next meeting. Member’s also gave reviews on books they recently read which included Still Life by Sarah Winman, In the Dark by Deborah Moggach, Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, The Book of Lost of Found by Lucy Foley, Mystery in the Channel by Freeman Wills Croft, A Strret Cat named Bob by James Bowen, Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Stout and Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce.

We had a lovely Christmas party with member’s enjoying playing board games, a cartoon quiz, raffle and of course mulled wine and mince pies!

A late change in our programme resulted in a flower arranging session led by WI member Chris. Members brought what greenery they could find in their garden and Chris supplied everything else one could possibly think of. What a creative display we had!

What a fabulous evening we had with Charlotte, owner of Astrid Bakery. Charlotte started out during lock down baking from her own kitchen with a delivery only service. Three years later she is now looking forward to opening her own place early in 2024 at 118A Alexandra Park Road. We were more than delighted to sample her baking, the doughnuts were amazing!

We had a lovely evening. Elise gave a very interesting account of her life, travels and career. Her enthusiasm and her many activities inspired and amused us all.

Fiona talked about jury service she had undertaken during the summer and Jacque told us about her sister’s 100th birthday. The group then discussed topics for the 2024 programme.

We were delighted to have Mike Priaulx from the Islington Swift group to tell all about swifts. These are endangered birds that migrate from sub-Saharan Africa to Britain and across Northern Europe/Asia/Russia. Such interesting information also, such as when they are not nesting they are in a constant state of flight. They even sleep and mate on the wing! We were told about Swift boxes and tips in general what we can do for swifts and other birds. For further information checkout Facebook – Haringey Swifts Group / Islington Swifts Group, http://www.islingtonswifts.wordpress.com, Swift Conservation and RSPB Swift Mapper

We had a chance to learn about the history and operation of our local brewers, the Muswell Hillbilly Brewers. We also had an opportunity to taste a range of their products which brewed in small batches using locally sourced ingredients including N10 hops! This session went well an encouraged some of our members to visit their taproom in Muswell Hill, a summer pop taproom is also available in Palmers Green.

The AGM was overseen by Liz Morrell from Middlesex Federation WI. The current committee was re-elected with the same roles. Gill is also taking on the role of Vice President. Members were also encouraged to support the committee when needed.

There was a flower arranging competition with the displays presented in a jam jar with flowers picked locally (from your own garden or a friends) and not purchased. Congratulations to Ching for her winning display. We all tested our knowledge with the Cornation quiz. This was followed by some bubbly and a Cornation cake made by June.

We were very pleased that Richard Kaplan, a local beekeeper, rescued this event when the original speakers could not attend. Richard, at his first speaking event, gave a fun and informative talk on beekeeping.

June Lewis arranged for Gay and Caroline from the North London Motor Neurone Disease Association to tell us about the nature of the disease and how they help those suffering from it. Our President, Rosemary presented a cheque for £250.

Oonagh Gay gave us a fascinating talk about famous women who lived in or around Crouch End.  They included politicians, musicians, entertainers, writers and many more!  

Oonagh also gives guided walks to see the places related to the women she had been talking about and hear more about them in the appropriate settings. As the response from members was so positive a walk for members has  been arranged for Saturday 17th June at 11:00 am. A sign-up sheet will be available at the April meeting. As the cost per person is dependent on the number of participants this will be confirmed when this is finalised.

Delicious cake from June was served with the cuppa!

At our last meeting we had an evening of light verse with Catherine Osborn. Catherine shared her observations on relationships, politics and travelling on public transport with humour and affection.

Catherine was also impressed with all the things we get up to at the WI!  Perhaps she will write a light verse about us!!

It was a fun evening, and thanks to Chris for the delicious cakes!

A new year already! This month we discussed the WI resolutions. Each resolution was presented by one of our members. The resolutions were:

• Save our water: – every drop counts
• Women to Women – turning over a new leaf in the lives of women tea workers
• Online gambling harm – time for action
• Clean rivers for people and wildlife 

The resolution with the most votes was ‘Online gambling harm’

Diane and Gill also gave interesting feedback on recent Denman courses they attended. Perhaps not the best promotional feedback but did keep us amused!

The charity knitting continues to flourish and will restart on 10th January. There is also an opportunity to support premature babies at the Royal Free and Barnet Hospitals by knitting Orange hats. Patterns and yarn available for those interested.

We had a lovely evening with guessing games, quizzes, charades, a reading of The Twelve Days of Christmas as rewritten by John Julius and a raffle with wonderful prizes from local shops. Of course there was mulled wine and mince pies to round off the evening.

Many thanks to Loraine Reed for leading the craft Christmas star craft activity. There was lots of fun choosing beads to make the stars. Eliza provided an amazing selection of cakes for the evening to go with the tea. A lovely evening was had.

This was a lovely meeting hearing from two members. Jane Stevens talked about her career mainly in education both the public and private sector and the number of changes she has seen and developed over the years and continues to do so.

Nina Jewell talked about her background, working as an accountant and living in Malaysia and Vietnam for a number of years when her husband was posted to those places.  A very different lifestyle from living in England! 

It was an enjoyable time together and a good way to know a bit more about one another – whose turn next year?

Trip to Herne Bay

October also saw four members taking a trip to Reculver Beacon WI in Herne Bay. The group received a very warm welcome and enjoyed a lovely buffet lunch. The ‘Cobble Together’ activity kept everyone busy. More tea followed before the trip back to London.

We were delighted that Stella Dadzie, an educationalist, activist, writer and historian was able to speak at our September meeting. She sympathetically told the stories of women slaves and their struggles to make life a bit more tolerable. Seldom heard, these stories deserve to be told. Stella’s latest book title is A Kick In The Belly – Women Slavery And Resistance.

We had a delightful evening at Hornsey Bowls Club. Some members had bowled before but to most it was an introduction to a new sport with new terminology and some pretty impressive shots. Rosemary made some lovely scones (with the trimmings) which were enjoyed afterwards with tea in the evening sun.