Camberley WI
Meetings in 2022
More photos may be found by clicking on the date of the meeting.
12th January 2022 - Sleep Expert
We enjoyed a highly entertaining talk from sleep expert Dr Neil Stanley with a talk entitled "Everything you wanted to know about sleep, but were too sleepy to ask". Neil has spent most of his working life “watching people sleep” and gave us a light hearted explanation of how to get a good night’s sleep. The biggest myth he busted was that we all needed 8 hours sleep. It seems that sleep time is individual to all of us and we need to work out for ourselves how much is enough. We also learned that good sleep is important for good health because our immune system is boosted during sleep, while poor sleep is linked to obesity and feeling grumpy! If our sleep partner is preventing us from getting good sleep with all that snoring, we should put ourselves in a different bedroom!
9th February 2022 - Textile Art Picture
We were treated to a fun filled evening when around 70 members turned out to play with fabrics under the guidance of Karen from local company Sunflower Stitches. Using a pre-prepared kit of fabrics we busied ourselves creating a picture which could then be framed inside a greeting card. As with every new technique it required concentration but that didn’t stop plenty of chat, an encouraging sign that things are slowly starting to get back to normal.
9th March 2022 - History of the Basingstoke Canal
We had a very enjoyable and interesting presentation from Roger Cansdale of the Basingstoke Canal Society at our March meeting. Roger spoke about the characters who built and ran the canal in the early days, most of whom seemed to have been swindlers who subsequently went bankrupt! He showed us photos of the awful state it had fallen into, with trees growing out of the lock walls, broken banks and no water, until a dedicated group of volunteers lovingly spent many years restoring it to the amazing place we have today. We will certainly look on it with renewed respect the next time we walk, cycle or jog along the towpath, and will be forever grateful that they made this possible.
13th April 2022 - Being Custodians of our Garden Space
What a good idea to incorporate a plant sale into our monthly meeting talk by member Lesley Urquhart on the topic of “Being the Custodian of our Garden Space”! Lesley’s enthusiasm for encouraging us to view everything we think of as pests with different eyes - insects, animals, and weeds - was matched by the enthusiasm for our ‘plant swap’ table afterwards. We made £66 from the sale of plants donated by members which will go to Phyllis Tuckwell hospice. We hope they can use it towards the development of their own garden.
11th May 2022 - 10th Birthday Party
Wow! What a great evening! Michael J Fitch certainly entertained us with some amazing magic and illusions, and even close up you were left wondering how he managed each trick! Pine Ridge came up trumps with a delightful set of nibbles to complement the welcome glass of fizz, and the cake, made and decorated by new member Stacy McEvoy, was a triumph! Can you spot all the symbols relating to our activities – book club, gardening group, tea & cake, walking groups, ….?
A big THANK YOU to founding President Liz Hughes for starting us on this incredible journey 10 years ago, and thank you for cutting the cake for us!.
8th June 2022 - Social Meeting
We decided to hold a social meeting in June, to help our 27 new members get to know us, and also to find out what suggestions all our members had for future meetings, outings and sub-groups. The new ladies really appreciated the chance to chat with our established members, and we had some great ideas, with members asking for talks from a magistrate and on bat conservation; outings to a vineyard and Jane Austen's house; and the chance to have a go at different activities, like paddle-boarding and open-water swimming. Watch this space!!!
13th July 2022 - Flower Arranging Demonstration
What stunning flowers! Members were treated to a fabulous demonstration by Daisy Chain florist Julie Hare at our July meeting. Inspired by soaring summer temperatures outside, her first arrangement had a tropical theme. In contrast, the second arrangement showed us how to create a summer garden using a different shape and colours. At the end of the evening two lucky raffle ticket holders won themselves a beautiful floral display to enjoy at home.
14th September 2022 - Former Mayor of Surrey Heath
We had the pleasure of welcoming Sarah Jane Croke to our September WI meeting to share her ‘colourful life’ and experiences as former Mayor of Surrey Heath and as a Frimley Councillor.
Sarah gave a heartfelt talk on experiences that have shaped her life; from makeup artist for theatre show Cats, to why she dyed her hair red! From being a Red Coat to why she entered the world of politics. An exuberant, proud, independent woman with a passion for life and commitment to helping others - she was an inspiration to us all.
Thank you, Sarah, for a very enjoyable, informative evening.
12th October 2022 - Vintage Handbags
Sarah Delves, from Bags of Glamour, is an expert lecturer in vintage bags for the V&A Museum – she kept us well entertained as she took us through a history of handbags, and showed us items from her own collection. We saw functional pockets, intricately decorated beaded purses, tiny chain-mail affairs, and more modern handbags made of acrylic, see-through plastic, and leather. Bags have always been a status symbol, but in previous times, the smaller the purse the higher up in society you were, whereas larger bags indicated that you were poorer, as they were designed to carry all you needed for a day spent labouring in the fields. At which point we all looked at the size of our bags!!
9th November 2022 - Annual Meeting and Bring & Buy Sale
What a busy night we had at our November meeting! We had a good attendance for our Annual Meeting, and once the business was over we settled down to the serious matter of our annual Bring and Buy sale, raising funds for charity. Thanks to everyone for the super items donated which helped us raise £249.55! A great result. Also attending were a couple of independent charity stalls selling cards and jewellery, and crafts and sweets made by our talented members.
We all said a big THANK YOU to the committee members who were standing down from their roles, and are looking forward to working with those stepping in to their shoes. Your time and effort is very much appreciated.
13th December 2022 - Xmas Social
The weather was bitterly cold outside, so well done to the members who braved the cold weather to come to our Christmas Party! Lots of fun & games took place, including committee parading items for the The Generation Game, and trying to pass around a box of chocolates using directions hidden in a story. The nibbles, wine and non alcholic refreshments also helped the evening along. Happy Christmas everyone!
