Monthly Meeting

Brockenhurst WI’s November meeting on Monday, 13^th November was another busy evening at which we were pleased to welcome five guests, some returning so they must have liked us the first time, and one lady signing up as a member!

Our President Evelyn reported on recent activities, our continuing participation in the Clean Rivers campaign as well as making sewn and crocheted squares for form part of a Community Quilt for a Warmer Homes campaign by Friends of the Earth and Greener Brockenhurst, linking into meetings with water companies and local MPs.

Other activities had been knitting warm winter hats for young people for a Samaritans appeal, and selling activity books for children, to raise money for Honeypot, a local charity which supports young carers.

Members signed for our Christmas party which will be held for our December meeting.

There was also a Raffle.

The ‘Competition of the the Month’ was a sprig of berries and this was won by Issy, who got the most votes (in silver coins that are donated to ACWW).

Our speaker was Jeremy Prescott, who has visited us several times to give very interesting and informative talks in his Sacrifice and Remembrance theme. This time his subject was The Victoria Cross and it was fascinating and humbling to hear the personal stories of winners of this decoration spanning from the Boer War, through two World Wars, the Falklands and Afghanistan.  Many of us were surprised to learn than animals, and even pigeons, have been decorated for their bravery.

Craft Group

In our first session in November, ten members of Craft Group met at Jackie’s home where she demonstrated making gift bags and pouches, and gave ideas for making tags and twisted cords to attach these.  The bags were made by folding and gluing paper to make bags which could be made in different sizes for small gifts.  These could be made from brown kraft paper or patterned wrapping paper, and we were shown some plain examples decorated using the embroidery stitches on a sewing machine, which were very attractive.   The folding order could be challenging, perseverance paid off!  The tags could also be decorated with automatic sewing machine embroidery stitches, or with punched snowflakes or hearts from splodge or patterned paper.  We were also given a template to make a gift pouch from card, which would be very festive made out of gold or silver card, again a sustainable way of wrapping a small gift.  The afternoon was ideally timed in advance of Christmas!

We were treated to delicious cake and tea, and spent a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.

In the second session of the month, a select group of ladies decorated boxes that will be used in our “Human Fruit Machine at the Village fun evening on 1st December. A tree was decorated for our stall too. Thank you ladies.

Kim hosted a ‘Gonk’ making session run by her very talented friend Sarah. As well as each of us making a Gonk, Kim provided lunch and refreshments and donations were made for these. £130 was raised for The Children’s Society. A great day was has by all.

Lunch Club

Thirteen ladies met at The Waterloo Arms in Lyndhurst for the November Lunch Club. The food was good and reasonably priced. There was lots of chatting and laughter and a good time was had by all. Thanks go to Christine Kyle for organising it.

Walk

Five ladies and two dogs enjoyed a walk on a blustery day after heavy rain. We managed to find shelter from the wind by walking through the woods and round Aldridge Hill. We enjoyed a chat, especially about Strictly and we also enjoyed seeing the autumn colours and fungi.

Darts

The Darts team have continued their Thursday morning sessions and camaraderie.

Bandage Making for Ukraine

Rita and her team have continued to meet on Wednesday mornings to make bandages for Ukraine.

Community Quilt

Members of Brockenhurst WI joined other community groups and organised by Greener Brockenhurst to make a community quilt. This campaign is part of the National United for Warm Homes Campaign. This joint effort to produce a visual aid reflecting the need for renewables, insulation and warm homes.  MPs and Councillors attended the Day of Action where we made our views known that we are campaigning for a common goal: warm homes for all.

Well done to al those who made a quilt square and contributed to this great initiative.

Remembrance Sunday

Evelyn laid a wreath on behalf of Brockenhurst WI at the Remembrance Sunday service.

The month was ended with the Brockenhurst Group Carol Concert at St Luke’s Church, Sway. We thank Sway WI for their hospitality.

We Look forward to December.

Forthcoming Activities

Friday 1st December Christmas Fun Evening 6pm-8pm Brookley Road Brockenhurst. We are having a stall at this event.

Tuesday 5th December 2023 at 2pm Hand Sewn Cracker Workshop. At Kim’s. Please Please contact us for more information, to book a place and for the location.

Friday 8th December 2023 Craft Group 2pm-4pm at Carole’s house. Please contact us for more information, to book a place and for the location.

Monday 11th December 2023 Monthly Meeting –Christmas Party Event at Brockenhurst Village Hall – arrival from 7pm for a 7.30pm start.