Six members of Brockenhurst WI attended Hampshire WI Spring Council Meeting at Central Hall, Southampton on 24th March 2026 and what an inspiring and interesting day it was!

The first part of the day focused on the business side of the day with the delegates voting, the Chair’s address and a financial report.

We heard about the WI strategy and a look to the future, with fun, friendship and forward thinking being at the core of this.

We heard a chat from Paralympic Monica Vaughan OBE who inspired us. We heard about how she competed in the 1976 and 1980 Paralympics with great success. Her motto of ‘doing the best you can’ stood her in good stead and is a good phrase to live by.

After lunch, Will Rosie aka Mr Mosaic, enthralled us with his story of how he became a mosaic artist. We heard about the great commissions he has worked on and how he like sto get the community involved with them. We look forward to spotting them in Southampton.

Lola and her angels did a great song and dance routine.

The afternoon ended with tales from boots to broadway with the inspiration behind Kinky Boots, Steve Pateman. This was an engaging and entertaining talk taking us right back from his struggles as a local factory owner in Earls Barton, through the all its ups and downs, all the way to when his courageous idea ended up being the beginning of the KINKY BOOTS empire that exists today. This talk was delivered whilst Steve was wearing a pair of boots that his factory made!

What a great day we all had and it was held just down the road from us. Thank you Katrina and Hampshire WI.