It’s October. The leaves have turned brown and there’s a distinct chill in the air, which can only mean one thing – it’s time to renew WI membership. At Seven Hills WI, members have both October and November meetings to bring their cheques or cash (exact money please!) before we open up the doors to the numerous ladies of Sheffield who’ve been on the waiting list to join South Yorkshire’s largest group.
On Thursday, Treasurer Vicky P-M and Assistant Treasurer Leanne were ready and waiting to collect payment before the meeting began. They do a great job – just a glance at their incredibly detailed spreadsheet baffled me!
Women busied themselves making all-important cups of tea, catching up and having a slice of Di Coupe’s amazing SHWI pie – handmade sausage, chicken and stuffing pie. It was the star prize on the raffle at our Sheffield Food Festival stall and I was keen to have a slice (or two!) with picallili. Nom.
It was soon time to settle ourselves in the main room of Electric Works where Lindsay went through meeting business before we could kick off with the activity. We had the debrief on our visit to the Don Valley Rally (the Don Valley group of WI’s recent get-together) and Lindsay thanked those who had helped put together our brilliant yet unsuccessful entry into the seaside themed table competition. Zoe Loveday, organiser of our stall at Sheffield Food Festival was presented with a gorgeous bunch of flowers as a thank you for all her hardwork in raising £1,056 for PACT. Our next fundraising effort for PACT is the SHWI calendar which is soon to be finished. Featuring famous landmarks of Sheffield, the limited edition run will go on sale soon so get yours quick!
We had a quick sneak preview of next year’s exciting programme and Lindsay also announced the new committee for 2014 who will take their position’s after next month’s AGM. After spin-off group updates, it was time for a quick break before our dance teacher Sue would start our Charleston lesson.
Charleston was very risqué at it’s time – Sue compared it almost to pole dancing! Flappers caused a bit of a stir so we had to keep that in mind with our movements. We would be learning the dance routine to Fat Sam’s from the musical ‘Bugsy Malone’. It sounded a bit ambitious to me but we rose to the challenge! Sue broke it down into chunks and we swapped places in the room to ensure she could see everyone – including those hiding at the back! After completing the first session, I nipped out for a quick drink of water which meant I missed the last bit of the routine. As a spectator, I was able to see the routine in full which looked amazing! Well done ladies!
It was soon time to pack away and say our goodbyes until next month’s meeting – flower arranging! How traditional!
Kirsty Bowen
SHWI Committee