Calverhall & Ightfield WI

Our meeting this Thursday evening will be at Calverhall village hall 7pm not Cloverley Hall. The weather is against us !!

CALVERHALL TENNIS CLUB
We are very excited about our new floodlights and we want to celebrate whilst welcoming new and old members. Come along for a fun evening of tennis, BBQ and refreshments on Friday 26th April.
For further information contact Jane Arthan 07792 300738

We enjoyed a creative evening last night at Doodle Alley - Giftware and PYOP studio.

Can’t wait to see the fired results in a few weeks time… 🔥

We are off to Doodle Alley for a fun night, thurs 11th April 7.00pm

We have a great Author to speak at this months meeting Thurs 7.00pm on 8th. All welcome followed by Tea & cakes

Meet the WI Dancers, a great evening of Balloom dancing with Ross & Maddy from DANCE HQ

📆 MEETING REMINDER - THURSDAY 12TH OCTOBER

We will be meeting in Calverhall Village Hall tomorrow evening at 7pm. We will be welcoming guest speaker Alison Wakeman who will be delivering her presentation on “Saving the Bees”.

We look forward to seeing you there.

A small reminder if anyone has any raffle prizes they wish to bring along these are greatly appreciated.

THURSDAY 14TH SEPTEMBER - ‘Life as a Female Vet’ - Paula Scales

It was lovely to see so many members at our first meeting back after the summer break.

Our special guest this month was local farm vet Paula Scales who came to give us a talk on her life studying and working as a farm vet.
Paula gave us an insight in to her family life growing up, with a her father being her main influence into farming. Growing up on the family farm in Lancashire, she enjoyed her younger years and her school life and excelled in classes ahead of her peers.

Despite her father’s belief that his daughter settle into family life, Paula broke the boundaries and graduated from university having studied veterinary science. Post graduation, she began working as a farm vet, travelling across the country and developing good relationships with farmers and businesses.

Paula married and began a family of her own, as well as juggling a very hectic work life maintaining her work as a farm vet as well as working along side her university teaching veterinary students in the field.

During covid, life changed and Paula realised she wanted her own veterinary business where she could develop good working relationships with local farmers and grow her on team of farm vets. Being able to fit this in around family life was important, and taking the leap of faith, opened the doors to her new venture starting on her own. Soon the business took off and with a new team of vets by her side, Haywood Farm Vets is now a successful farm veterinary business.

Paula showed that her determination and hard work help to propel her career in a field she is truly passionate about. Paula explained there remain areas within farm veterinary work that are male dominated, but with determination these stereotypes can be broken and with the hard work and support from Paula’s business, more young women can be encouraged and supported to work within the industry.

We would like to thank Paula for coming to speak to us and for giving us such an in depth insight into her life growing up on the farm and the ever changing industry of farming.
With many of our members having farming connections, the talk was greatly enjoyed by all!
We wish Paula all the success for the future of her business.

For more information on Haywood Farm Vets follow the link to their website below:

www.haywoodfarmvets.com Welcome to Haywood Farm Vets - a new independent farm vets based in Shropshire. Founded in 2020 by Paula Scales and joined by Tom Jackson & Amy Cox, we bring a different type of veterinary care to your farms.

📆 MEETING REMINDER - THURSDAY 14TH SEPTEMBER

It is our first meeting back after the summer break on Thursday 14th September.
We will be meeting as normal at Calverhall Village Hall for 7pm.

We will be welcoming guest speaker Paula Scales, who will be giving us a talk on what life is like working as a female vet.

We hope to see you there. As normal we would love to ask if you have any raffle prizes you wish to donate this would be greatly appreciated!

See you tomorrow! Looking forward to seeing you all again!

Our first meeting after the summer break is this Thursday 14th September Calverhall Village hall. Paula Scales will be talking to us about being a vet.
Guests and potential members are very welcome.

THURSDAY 13TH JULY - CLOVERLEY BONFIRE MEETING 🔥

Thank you to all the ladies who attend last night’s summer meeting! It was so lovely to see so many out enjoying the evening sunshine!

We would like to thank you for being part of our W.I and we look forward to seeing you again in September when our meetings commence once more!

Have a wonderful summer break! We have lots planned for the next year on the programme!
For those who didn’t receive a programme you can pick one up at the next meeting; and I will post the programme both on Facebook and on our WhatsApp group.

Special thank you to Nicki at Cloverley for allowing us to use your beautiful grounds and for those who brought along plenty of fire wood and food!

For more information on sign-ups for upcoming events please do get in touch.

See you all soon! 💜💚

Calverhall & Ightfield W.I on tour…

🏏 A wonderful evening at Edgbaston enjoying the Women’s T20 Cricket - 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs 🇦🇺

📆 TONIGHT’S MEETING REMINDER - Thursday 8th June, 7pm

Tonight’s meeting is a garden meeting held at Linda Pitcher’s house.

Please remember to bring (should you wish):
• a chair suitable for outside seating
• a blanket or jumper for if it cools off this evening
• sensible clothing for being outdoors
• food for sharing
• raffle prizes

For details on the address please see the C.I.W.I WhatsApp chat or get in touch with Linda Pitcher directly.

I'm so excited. I've got residents in my bug hotel and others checking it out. It's only been up a few days.

JUNE MEETING REMINDER:

🐝 THURSDAY 11TH MAY - BIRD BOX AND BEE HOUSE WORKSHOP; GUEST SPEAKER TIM BALL

Drills at the ready, this month W.I embraced D.I.Y as members got stuck into building bird boxes and bee houses for their gardens.

With help from guest speaker/instructor Tim Ball, each of the ladies of Calverhall and Ightfield W.I rolled their sleeves up to enjoy a more practical approach to the monthly meeting.

Members chose either a bird box or bee house to construct and enjoyed the opportunity to get crafty with the power tools. From drills to impact drivers, screws to sandpaper - there was a lot going on wherever you looked.

From the many smiling faces, lots of laughter, and a successful finished product for each of the members who attended, (not to mention no injuries or accidents) it can be said the meeting was a huge success.

We would like to say a big thank you to Tim and Nikki for preparing the materials needed for the workshop and for the planning involved with such a hands on meeting; and thank you to Tim who led the session. A massive thank you to all the ladies who attended the meeting and who made the night a great success. We hope to hear of any birds nesting in their new builds and we would love to know if your bug houses become home to some bees or insects.

Thank you to Heather Gorton and Helen Apperley for providing the refreshment, a wonderful selection of homemade treats to choose from!

A reminder that our next meeting will be a garden meeting held on Thursday 8th June at the kind invitation of Linda Pitcher.
For more details on location, please refer to the WhatsApp group chat or speak to Linda or a member of the committee. We look forward to seeing you there. The meeting will be at the usual time fo 7pm.

Congratulations to His Majesty King Charles III

Long live the King 👑

🎻 THURSDAY 13TH APRIL - ‘THE FIDDLE’, LADY NATALIE CU***NG

For our meeting in April, we welcomed Shropshire author Lady Natalie Cu***ng and her talk entitled ‘The Fiddle’; the extraordinary true story of how her family escaped the Bolsheviks and N***s during the war.

The story follows a family heirloom, a violin. Lady Natalie talked of her grandfather, Abraham and his family fleeing the Bolsheviks from St. Petersburg to Odessa, finding refuge in the UK. Her grandfather’s talent for playing the violin earned them food and lodgings whilst fighting against a cruel Russian winter. This skill was passed down, resulting in Abraham’s daughter Rosa Levinsky joining the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. It was during her time playing in Berlin that Rosa was captured by the N***s and forced into Mauthausen Concentration Camp. Later Rosa endured the journey to Auschwitz. Here, her musical talent was recognised and Rosa was forced to join the Women’s Orchestra; inevitably saving her life.

During the last five months of the war, Rosa was sent to Belsen. On the 15th April 1945, Belsen was liberated and Rosa went on to testify at the Nuremberg Trials, exposing the horrors she experienced inside the N**i death camps. The violin returned with Rosa to the UK, where it was eventually passed on to her brother Israel, Lady Natalie’s father. A celebrated musician, Israel was part of ENSA, and post war went on to investigate N***s escaping trial.

Finally the violin was handed down to his daughter, allowing for Lady Natalie's incredible story to be told and remembered. Today, the violin has been given new life by pupils of the Yehudi Menuhin School. The instrument was donated in perpetuity to the school where it is played by select students.

Lady Natalie was incredibly engaging and allowed our members to ask questions and gave us an insight into her life growing up hearing the stories of her family’s hardships. She told the group it was important that these stories live on; and lest the world forget such events in history, against which the journey of this extraordinary instrument is told.

We would like to thank Lady Natalie for coming to our monthly meeting and sharing such a moving and incredibly important story with us.

For more information on the violin and for videos from the school, follow the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUa2wswmiRw
You can also see the restoration of ‘The Fiddle’ in the BBC 2 Episode of The Repair Shop:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06049dp #:~:text=A%20precious%20violin%20that%20has,honour%20of%20playing%20it%20first.

Next month our meeting will be held at Calverhall Village Hall at the usual time of 7pm. Our guest will be Tim Ball, who will be sharing a demonstration on building bird boxes and bee houses.

For those members who have signed up to make either of these on the night, please note it might be beneficial to wear clothing you don’t mind getting dusty, bring along some glasses or protective eyewear (if you have any of your own), and some gloves should you wish.

A reminder will be posted closer to the time. Any questions please get in touch with a member of the committee or leave a comment via the page.

We look forward to seeing you all in May!

🏏 CALLING ALL CRICKET LOVERS 🏏

Trip to watch Women’s T20 Cricket match England vs. Australia on 1st July at Edgbaston

£29 per person - Price includes coach transport and the entry fee.
Coach to depart from Abbey Foregate at 16:15. Match starts at 18:30.

Fee to be paid to the Calverhall and Ightfield Women’s Institute bank account (the same account used for your subs fee) and must include your name and reference: “Cricket Trip”

If you’re wanting to join this trip we ask that this is paid for before Wednesday 26th April (next Wednesday).

Anyone planning on joining and who pays, please ensure either Sally Harris or Liz Kempton are informed and we can keep a list of names for those attending. We already have a small group of members looking to attend!

📆 MEETING REMINDER - Thursday 13th April, 7pm

Hello ladies! Quick reminder that tonight’s meeting will be held at Calverhall Village Hall at 7pm with guest speaker Lady Natalie Cu***ng and her talk on “The Fiddle”.

If there is anyone available to arrive earlier to help setup this would be greatly appreciated!

We look forward to seeing you there!

Don’t forget, we also need an idea of numbers for next month’s Bird Box/Bee House workshop! If you’re coming along tonight please be sure to take a look at any sign up sheets and give us an idea of numbers for the following monthly meeting in May!

⚠️ TONIGHT’S MEETING CANCELLED ⚠️

Due to poor weather, the guest speaker at tonight’s joint meeting with Prees WI is unable to attend. Prees have decided to cancel the meeting tonight.

Apologies for any inconvenience. We hope to see you next month!

🟪HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 2023 🟩

The 8th March marks International Women’s Day across the world. This year the campaign’s theme is to Embrace Equality

As a W.I, we recognise the importance of women across the globe and the day is marked to celebrate and recognise the achievements of women throughout history and today as part of modern society.

On 28th February 1909, the then active socialist party of America celebrated its first National Women’s Day in commemoration of the 15,000 women who protested in New York against harsh working conditions and lesser wages.

In 1910, women’s rights advocate, Clara Zetkin proposed the idea of a global International Women’s Day.

On 19th March 1911, the first International Women’s Day was held with more than 1 million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland taking part.

In 1975 the United Nations finally recognised and celebrated International Women’s Day. Since then the UN has served as a major sponsor of the yearly event.

Be sure to let the inspirational women in your life know you’re supporting them today! 💪🏼💜💚

For more information on the themes of International Women’s Day and how you can get more involved follow the link:

https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Theme

Big thank you to all the ladies who met at Cloverley Hall this morning to help spread some muck on the flower beds! Job well done! 💪🏼

🪴 THURSDAY 12TH JANUARY – GROWING ORCHIDS WITH GUEST SPEAKER ZDENĚK VALKOUN

Firstly, welcome back! We enjoyed seeing so many of you back at our monthly meetings for a new year; not only did we see some familiar faces but some new visitors too, who we hope enjoyed their evening and we hope to see you again at the next meeting.

For our first meeting back in 2023, we enjoyed a wonderful presentation from head gardener at the Dorothy Clive Gardens, Zdeněk Valkoun.

Zdeněk showed us the many varieties of orchids that can be successfully grown at home, as well as some tricks of the trade for ensuring your orchids are happy and healthy all year round. It was clear from the knowledge and insight into his career that Zdeněk is passionate about orchids and their amazing resilience to growing in such extreme conditions.

We were given a crash course in identifying orchids and the varieties suitable for the much cooler and wetter climate of the UK. There were tips for potting, pruning, watering…or not watering, tips for splitting, cutting, feeding and flowering. We would like to thank Zdeněk for coming to talk to us and for giving us his time to help answer our questions. Not only did he share his vast knowledge of orchids, but was generous enough to leave an email address for those who wish to receive further tips and tricks for their plants at home. All queries welcome!
If you have any questions you would like to put to Zdeněk please feel free to use the email below; for the best advice be sure to provide photos of your plants as a reference:
[email protected]

Again, we would like to say a huge thank you to our guest from all our members. If you’re interested in visiting the Dorothy Clive gardens follow the link to their webpage for more information on seasonal opening times: https://dorothyclivegarden.co.uk/opening-times/

In other news for 2023, our first meeting back allowed us all to cast our vote for the W.I Resolution. Each member got the opportunity to vote for one of the following resolutions:

1. Save our water; every drop matters – A rise in global temperatures has led to an increase in the risk of drought across the UK. This threat places strain on the UK’s water supply. The NFWI calls on government and water companies to work together to develop long term plans for water security.

2. Women to women; turning over a new leaf in the lives of women tea workers – Women tea workers abroad have little access to suitable and safe housing, areas for sanitation, and education for their children due to their low wages paid to tea producers. The NFWI calls on UK tea companies and retailers to take action, ensuring that plantation owners give women a fair deal in order to live healthy and prosperous lives.

3. Online gambling harm; time for action – the increase in online gambling has resulted in a greater number of people exposed to risks of harm. Current legislation is inadequate in addressing the harms related to gambling and does not provide the protection to those affected. The resolution calls for the legislation to be updated in order to address these issues, and to provide increased support to those affected, particularly women and children.

4. Clean rivers for people and wildlife – Water quality in our rivers is at an all-time low and designated bathing waters need to be regularly monitored for pollution. The NWFI urges its members, the public, the government and local authorities to support the application on designated bathing sites on suitable areas. This change will be instrumental to the clean-up of rivers and coastal areas and ensure the improvement of water quality.

All votes will be collected and sent to county for processing, and the new resolution will be announced over the coming weeks. Thank you to all who participated and cast their vote for this year.

Thank you to the ladies who provided refreshment for the meeting, special thanks to those who helped last minute to cover an absence on the tea rota. We are extremely grateful to everyone who provided cake and treats. We still have some spaces available on the refreshments rota for meetings this coming year; if you feel you want to help out please either speak to Nikki Ball or sign your name on the rota at the next meeting. We ask there are at least two members covering refreshments per meeting.

Our next meeting will be held at Calverhall Village Hall on Thursday 9th February, at the usual time of 7pm. This will be our Birthday meeting! Our guest speaker, Kerry Mason from ‘Thighs The Limit’ will be giving a talk on How To Wear Your Hosiery!
Refreshment to be provided by Caroline Strickland and Sheridan Lane.

If you have any questions or need to get in touch you can do so via the page, via WhatsApp, or by speaking to a member of the committee.

We look forward to seeing you all next month!

Opening Times | Dorothy Clive Garden PLEASE NOTE: from 17th March to 30th March the Garden is open every day from 10am to 4.00pm with an entry price of £7 per person / child £2

HAPPY NEW YEAR! ✨2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣3️⃣

We hope you’ve all had a wonderful festive period and are ready for another year of guest speakers, social gatherings, and much more!

We’ve got some lovely things lined up for our WI this year and we would love for you all to be a part of it.

Our first meeting back is Thursday 12th January, at the usual time of 7pm at Calverhall Village Hall. We would like to encourage you all to bring a friend or family member who might be interested in joining our WI. There’s no cost involved and the more the merrier! Refreshments will be provided!

We look forward to seeing you there! If you have any questions; please either get in touch via our page, WhatsApp group, or speak to a member of the committee.

🔔 CALVERHALL & IGHTFIELD W.I CHRISTMAS PARTY 🔔

We would love to thank everyone who attended the Christmas party on Thursday evening. The night was a great success full of music and laughter, mulled wine and mince pies, and plenty of festive food too!

The main attraction of the evening was our wonderful entertainment provided by the lovely members of Stone Hand Bell Ringers (The Inn Ringers) who travelled across the border into Shropshire to perform a beautiful selection of popular Christmas songs and carols. The Inn Ringers are one of the largest teams in the country who still perform concerts and boast an impressive 116 handbells between them!

Not only did we get to listen to a wonderful performance, but members got the opportunity to give hand bell ringing a go for themselves. With the help of the Bell Ringers, and a lot of concentration from our ladies, the group managed to perform a full piece! A wonderful experience which is much harder than it looks! 🔔

Thank you to everyone who joined us on our Christmas December meeting, and we hope you all enjoyed your evening! To all those who provided food and drink and setup the evening, and those who provided wonderful raffle prizes and decoration, thank you for helping to make the evening fabulously festive!

We couldn't enjoy our wonderful W.I without our wonderful members. On behalf of the committee, we would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and all the best for a happy and healthy 2023. We look forward to seeing you all in the New Year, as well as some new faces!

Lots of lovely things to come in 2023, and we hope you will enjoy being a part of it!

For more information on how you can catch the Inn Ringers in concert follow the link below 👇
https://www.theinnringers.co.uk/

(Videos in Comments)

🎄CHRISTMAS IS CALLING…

It will be our Christmas Meeting on Thursday 8th December! Have a read to see what’s in store! 👇🏼

📆 MEETING REMINDER - THURSDAY 10TH NOVEMBER

Tonight is our Annual General Meeting. We look forward to seeing you there at the usual time of 7pm at Calverhall Village Hall.

Light refreshments to follow.