Our next meeting is Monday 10th July 2023 Monthly Meeting with speaker Joanna Foat: “The Lumberjills – Britain’s Forgotten Army”. Brockenhurst Village Hall arrival from 7pm for a 7.30pm start. Joanna has written several books on her subject and will have some for sale on Monday. Guests are most welcome to attend. Please contact us for more information.

There will also be a raffle at Monday’s meeting.

The Competition of the Month will be linked to our pledge to be part of the plastic-free status Brockenhurst has achieved.  We would like members to think of an idea, write down or even make, something to demonstrate actions taken to remove plastic items in our everyday lives to make a difference to the tide of plastic which threatens our planet.  These will be displayed at the meeting and votes taken in the usual way (by putting a silver coin on the idea that you think is the best. Coins are donated to ACWW).  As a group, we need to demonstrate our commitment to our pledge and come up with ideas and examples to do our bit.  For example, on our outing to Breamore, we could take a reusable water bottle, or a flask of tea.  If we take a picnic, we could use reusable containers, or take our crisp packets home and recycle them at the Recycling Shed.  These actions take many of us back to our childhood, when these actions were normal, as there weren’t the commercial alternatives! How life goes in circles.

On the subject of the outing to Breamore, Zena will be collecting payment for this.  Quite a few members who signed up for the outing have not yet paid!  This is £16.  The cost for refreshments is still to be finalised.  Also to be organised is lift sharing.

Bandage Making for Ukraine continues at Rita’s house every Wednesday morning between 10am and 12 noon.

The Darts team to continue practice on Thursday mornings at The Foresters Arms. They have the next round of the Darts tournament. This takes place on Thursday’s 6th July. Good luck team!

The July walk will be on Friday 14^th July. Meet at 2pm at Beechern Woods car park off the Rhinefield Road in Brockenhurst. We will walk for one to two mile miles and will walk at gentle pace to suit all. The paths can be wet or muddy, so please wear appropriate footwear for all eventualities. Please sign up at Monday’s meeting or contact us with any questions or if you sign up but then can’t make it on the day.

Lunch Club has been arranged for the 17^th July. This time we are going to the White Hart, Old Romsey Road, Cadnam, and we are meeting at 12.15. Please sign up at the meeting or see Christine K with any questions.

There will be a Craft Group meeting at Carole’s on Friday 7^th July, and work is being done on the co-operative entries for the New Forest Show.  All are welcome, but please contact Carole if you wish to attend.  The final Craft Group meeting before the New Forest Show will be Friday 21^st July at Carole’s.

Entries for the New Forest Show entries must be checked in to the WI tent at New Park Showground between 9am and 11am on 24th July. If members would prefer, Evelyn has kindly offered to take entries and check them in for us, so if you would like Evelyn to take your entry , she needs them taken to her house in advance. She will be home and accepting entries after 3pm on Sunday 23rd July or by arrangement at other times.

The New Forest Show takes place on 25th, 26th and 27th July. Do go and have a look at the WI tent and see all the great entries. Tickets can be purchased here. (Tickets are cheaper if purchased by 18th July).

New Forest Players are putting on their version of Calendar Girls 26th-29th July 2023 at Ballard School. Tickets and more details can be found here. If someone would kindly like to organise a trip to see this, then please let us know so we can go as a group and lift share.

Forthcoming events:

A programme of activities has been arranged.  There will be sign-up boards put out for many of these, including:

A visit and guided tour of Breamore House and Museum on Tuesday 15^th August followed by tea and cake. Please note this trip is for members only. This will cost £16.00 including refreshments.  Please sign up and pay Zena.

World Textile Day will take place on Saturday 30th September. We will be organising the refreshments at this event. There will be sign-up sheets asking for volunteers to make cakes and help at this event at Monday’s meeting and we very much appreciate your help with this.

A Group social event of “An evening of chocolate” has been arranged for 4^th October. Brockenhurst are hosting this event, so we would appreciate your support for the event. (For new members, we are part of the Brockenhurst Group of W.I.s, consisting of ourselves, Barton Bees, Sway and New Milton Sands). A Group social event is organised each year by one W.I. of the Group, and this year it is the turn of Brockenhurst. This looks to be a fun and tasty evening!

We hope your chillies are growing well. They will be judged at the September meeting, the winner being the plant with the most fruits on it.

Hampshire WI organise a variety of activities. Information sheets will be out at the meeting on Monday so do have a look at the sheets. If members are interested, perhaps we can arrange to car-share. 

We look forward to seeing you at an event soon.