Broadwindsor WI goes Ghost Hunting!
On the evening of Friday 7th February six intrepid members of Broadwindsor WI took to the streets of Bridport to do some ghost hunting- well, not really hunting because the leader of the group, a lovely lady by the name of Fiona, knew exactly where the spirits would b She armed us with rods which would move of their own accord if spirits were in the area and an EMF meter, a sort of torch with lights that changed colour.
We went from Bucky Doo Square to the Bull Hotel then across to the Institute of Technology then back to the Cancer Research Charity Shop, across the road and down South Street to The Arts Centre, The Electric Palace, The Museum, then to the Church. Fiona had some lovely, spooky tales to tell and we do have some super architecture in Bridport.
The Ghost Walk is definitely something to be recommended but on a much warmer evening than Friday 7th February. Oh boy it was cold! We warmed up considerably with a glass of wine and a rather good meal at the Indian restaurant .
Thanks to Donna and Rita for driving
Camille Newall
Broadwindsor WI January meeting 16th January 2025
Coffee cake… carrot cake…needless to say that was Broadwindsor WI celebrating the New Year at their January meeting.
We welcomed four guests; Mary, Sue, Anne, and Joyce and hope that they enjoyed themselves enough to become members.
President Chris unfortunately had covid so Donna took the meeting. Treasurer Lynne announced that the club would subsidise our subscriptions due at the end of March. This year we will pay £47 instead of the national rate £51.
We briefly discussed the 2025 resolutions which are;;
Lets talk about incontinence (self explanatory)
Bystanders can be lifesavers (learning to use a defibrillator)
Join the repair revolution (repair not replace )
Eliminate landfill of medication packaging (encourage Government to do this)
We will decide at our February meeting which one Broadwindsor WI will put forward.
We then went on to the fun part of the evening which was to play Kurling in the main hall. I think we have improved somewhat from last year… the RED team put up a good show and were the winners. Congratulations!
Bad luck BLUE team,,, perhaps next year
Camille Newall
BROADWINDSOR WI December Meeting 19th December 2024
Broadwindsor WI had two super evenings in December. The first we had was a lovely Christmas meal at The Stableyard- the food really is good there. Thank you president Chris for organising the event.
A week later we celebrated Christmas with a fun-packed evening in the village hall. We had a quiz about films at/for Christmas, Roz and Rita knew them all and won no problem. Camille and Diana knew very few and lost spectacularly. This was followed by a game of charades, which was great fun.
Needless to say, we had a selection of delicious food and many thanks to Donna for the tasty homemade Christmas biscuits. It is good to be able to spend time with such a smashing group of ladies.
Camille Newall
Editor's note: Sadly, the November meeting was cancelled due to dangerous icy pavement conditions.
BROADWINDSOR WI October Meeting 17th October 2024
A SCHOOLGIRLS' WAR Speaker Mary Smith
I was not sure what to expect from the speaker at our October W.I., subject “A Schoolgirls War”
I was very pleasantly surprised when Mary Smith (head mistress of Maidstone Girls Grammar School in Kent from 2006 to 2014) started to talk and show us illustrations from a scrapbook of MGGS 1939 -1946. This scrapbook had been created by a Miss Helen Keen who was an art teacher at the school during the war years. Miss Keen set out to record, in paint and pencil, the lives of school children and their teachers as the war unfolded.
For all children in Kent the war years brought frequent air-raids and night bombings. At the beginning of the war the digging of shelters was the most important task. Underground tunnels were dug at the front and back of the school for the children and teachers to go to in the event of bombing. Can you imagine having to learn (pupils) or give lessons (teachers) in an underground concrete bunker where only a curtain separated one class from another and pupils sat on benches with their backs to the damp walls? Not only did the girls have to wear their outdoor clothes, they had to carry their gas masks (at all times) and books
Girls had to do fire watching, listening for doodle bugs, drink dried milk, ugh, eat school dinners gone cold by the time they got down the steps to the tunnels and put up with a London school being evacuated to their school in Kent, nearly doubling the numbers. A fascinating talk.
Camille Newall
BROADWINDSOR WI September Meeting 19th September 2024
AUTUMN WREATH MAKING
How lucky Broadwindsor WI was to have two very talented ladies, Jo Love and Kate Penney come to our September meeting to demonstrate how to make an Autumn Wreath. They supplied us with moulds, scissors, twine, and an amazing amount of foliage in beautiful autumn colours- hydrangea heads/chrysanthemums/crab apples/eucalyptus/fennel/rosemary/rowan berries and many more. Some of us made wreaths to hang, other people made table decorations; they were all lovely.
As Rita was hostess (helped by Ros) we were treated to Laurie’s Italian olive foccachia bread (delicious) with our coffee.
Business matters : It was decided to go back to our “book” style programme instead of the just plain card.
We also discussed arrangements for a Christmas meal and a couple of outings. We, like other organisations are trying to attract new members.. We do have interesting speakers and do fun things at our meetings and of course being WI there is always good food around.
Speaking of food,Broadwindsor WI supplied and served tea/coffee/homemade cakes at the
Horticultural Show on bank holiday Monday.
Camille Newall
Broadwindsor WI August meeting 15 August 2024
Members' BBQ
Our annual August BBQ get together was kindly hosted by Sara at her Hursey home. Unfortunately, we couldn’t eat al fresco due to the misty, rainy weather (which seems to be the normal at our BBQ) but Sara had a plan B and we ate inside. There were 14 members in attendance with apologies from Megan, Camille and Lynne. Everyone bought along a tasty accompaniment and the food was delicious, compliments to Rick for cooking all the lovely BBQ food and Sara for making it such a lovely evening. Plenty of wine and soft drinks were enjoyed with the occasional smoke alarm being set off, quickly sorted by Rick. Maybe next year we could change it to July, we might be luckier with the weather!
Great company and conversations, it was lovely to see so many of our members there.
Everyone agreed it was a great evening.
Next meeting is an Autumn Wreath Making workshop on September 19th. Looking forward to seeing everyone there.
Chris Miller
Members' BBQ
Our annual August BBQ get together was kindly hosted by Sara at her Hursey home. Unfortunately, we couldn’t eat al fresco due to the misty, rainy weather (which seems to be the normal at our BBQ) but Sara had a plan B and we ate inside. There were 14 members in attendance with apologies from Megan, Camille and Lynne. Everyone bought along a tasty accompaniment and the food was delicious, compliments to Rick for cooking all the lovely BBQ food and Sara for making it such a lovely evening. Plenty of wine and soft drinks were enjoyed with the occasional smoke alarm being set off, quickly sorted by Rick. Maybe next year we could change it to July, we might be luckier with the weather!
Great company and conversations, it was lovely to see so many of our members there.
Everyone agreed it was a great evening.
Next meeting is an Autumn Wreath Making workshop on September 19th. Looking forward to seeing everyone there.
Chris Miller
Broadwindsor WI July meeting
“To See a Man About a Dog”-speaker Hilary Green
When retired vet Hilary Green’s grandmother replied to her childhood questions with the phrase ‘to see a man about a dog’- meaning she didn’t want to give the real answer- she didn’t know that she would one day be doing that in the literal sense. From the age of 13, Hilary had a calling to become a vet. She watched a vet lance an abscess on her cat and was fascinated at the smelly pus that spewed out. ‘Vets love abscesses! You could call us pus-o-philes. Rabbit pus is like toothpaste!’
There is no doubt that Hilary was gifted with a strong stomach. She also had the benefit of growing up in a large household, one of five children. Having an older brother toughened her up, a trait which was to come in useful in a male-dominated working world.
Hilary met her husband when they were at veterinary college together. It was soon apparent that upon graduation, he was going to find employment much more easily that she did. At first she worked in the Wantage area and he was in Dorchester, but eventually they married and she was able to find employment in Dorset. She worked as a trainer at Kingston Maurward and spent some time with the Ministry of Agriculture, all while raising three children.
The worst part of being retired? Not having the excuse to talk to people about their pets.
DH
“To See a Man About a Dog”-speaker Hilary Green
When retired vet Hilary Green’s grandmother replied to her childhood questions with the phrase ‘to see a man about a dog’- meaning she didn’t want to give the real answer- she didn’t know that she would one day be doing that in the literal sense. From the age of 13, Hilary had a calling to become a vet. She watched a vet lance an abscess on her cat and was fascinated at the smelly pus that spewed out. ‘Vets love abscesses! You could call us pus-o-philes. Rabbit pus is like toothpaste!’
There is no doubt that Hilary was gifted with a strong stomach. She also had the benefit of growing up in a large household, one of five children. Having an older brother toughened her up, a trait which was to come in useful in a male-dominated working world.
Hilary met her husband when they were at veterinary college together. It was soon apparent that upon graduation, he was going to find employment much more easily that she did. At first she worked in the Wantage area and he was in Dorchester, but eventually they married and she was able to find employment in Dorset. She worked as a trainer at Kingston Maurward and spent some time with the Ministry of Agriculture, all while raising three children.
The worst part of being retired? Not having the excuse to talk to people about their pets.
DH
BROADWINDSOR WI VISIT TO KINGCOMBE JUNE 2024
Kingcombe National Nature Reserve trip on 20th June. A group of eight W.I. members travelled to the above nature reserve and Kingcombe meadows nestled in the River Hooke valley at Toller Porcorum. The 180 hectare reserve is managed by Dorset Wildlife Trust and visitors can follow marked trails either on short or long circular walks. It was a beautiful sunny day, thank goodness, and we were greeted at the Visitor Centre by our guide, Matt, who explained a little about the reserve and the habitat and wildlife to be found there. It is also a traditional working farm with cattle, sheep, and Exmoor ponies as well as hay meadows virtually untouched by artificial fertilisers and pesticides. After pre-ordering our lunch at The Kingcombe cafe on site, Matt led us on a short circular route which took us through lovely wildflower meadows with spectacular views across the valley and beyond. Matt pointed out that each meadow had a specific title i.e. White Sands, Long Mead, Ladys Mead and many more. Also, adjacent to the Visitor Centre, is Beech Cottage, a 5 bedroomed, self-catering farmhouse with uninterrupted views over the nature reserve. Just right for a peaceful, holiday getaway. The whole of Kingcombe farm, some 640 acres straddling the valley of the River Hooke, west of Toller Porcorum, came on the market in 1985 following the death of its owner, Arhur Walbridge, at the age of 90. It was in a state of disrepair and was known as ‘the farm that time forgot’. The farm and land around was broken up into lots and sold at auction in 1987. Thanks to the attention of BBC radio 4’s programme and The Telegraph, enough funds were raised by local campaigners and Dorset Wildlife Trust to buy several lots. Since then, more of the adjacent land has been accrued and the farm still functions as an organic, pesticide free business. After the guided walk, some thankfully in the shade, we headed back to the cafe for an excellent lunch and well-needed refreshments. The cafe is open 5 days a week Wednesday to Sunday between the hours of 10.30 – 3.00 Wed – Friday and 3.30 pm Saturday & Sunday and well worth a visit. There is a fantastic range of courses and workshops held at Kingcombe Visitor Centre throughout the year from nature-themed crafts to botanical and wildlife identification, including willow sculpture, mushroom forays, meadow watercolour workshop and many more. Everyone agreed that they enjoyed visiting Kingcombe with an excellent guide and well worth returning to in the future. Expressed our thanks to Matt and his team for their expertise.
-Chris Miller
BROADWINDSOR WI May meeting Medical Detection Dogs
The Broadwindsor WI meeting in May was lovely. Our speaker Julie Gardner was talking about one of my favourite topics, dogs- not dogs like my lovely laid back Golden Labrador, but Medical Detection dogs who are trained from puppies to detect, through their amazing sense of smell, (dogs have 300 million sensors in their nose) illnesses such as cancer, and diabetes.
Despite the logo of the charity being a Labrador, most any breed of dog, large or small can be trained.
Once trained the dogs can not only detect illness, but can also be used for other purposes. For example, dogs were used at Heathrow airport during the Covid crisis making sure that people did not enter the country if they were infectious. Then there are the dogs who live with and assist people with illness such as diabetes or epilepsy The dogs can sense when their charges may have low blood sugar (diabetes) or are going to fit (epilepsy).
They are amazing aren’t they (not just the dogs but also the people who train them)? We all know that dogs can enhance your lives but these medical detection dogs can save your life
Camille Newall
BROADWINDSOR WI April meeting AGM
The Annual General Meetings of most organisations/clubs are to discuss the previous years business things that went well or not to elect officers to run the club, so they can, on occasions, be a bit boring.
However this year Broadwindsor W.I. were not electing new officers and because President Chris was not available due to a family bereavement and Treasurer Lynne was on holiday in Spain (lucky lady) Megan and Donna soon went through all the business and then we all went to The White Lion and enjoyed a lovely Spanish meal.. Chorizo, Paella, Tequila, A glass of Sangria..
What a good way enjoy our AGM and to look forward to another enjoyable year of Broadwindsor W.I.
Camille Newall
March 2024 The Wobbly Cottage artisan bakery
Broadwindsor WI March meeting
The Wobbly Cottage- speaker Richard Wright
Richard Wright from the Wobbly Cottage in The Square at Broadwindsor needed no introduction when he came to speak to the WI- all of the members were customers, or at least familiar with the wonderful smell of his sourdough bread baking as they pass by.
Richard and his wife Danielle re-located their bakery to its present location after outgrowing their premises at Redlands Yard. All their bread is baked by hand, with Richard’s work day beginning in the middle of the night- 2am or sometimes earlier, when he has a lot of orders to fulfil. With 20 years’ experience as a chef, becoming a baker seemed a natural progression. However, Richard’s baking skills are all self-taught. Working in Cambridge as a chef, he met a waitress- Danielle- and they ended up spending two years backpacking around Asia before returning to England and starting a family. They made the move to Dorset 15 years ago, and have two children (three, if you count Richard’s sourdough starter, which he calls his ‘third child’).
Sourdough bread is made by every culture in the world, but it fell out of fashion here after WW2, when commercial bread became available. However, this fast and cheap method of baking doesn’t allow the gluten to come out as the dough ferments and relaxes, as it does during the sourdough’s 36 hour production time. Is this why gluten intolerance is so common these days? Food for thought, indeed.
Donna Heys
February 2024 The Royal Visit that Went Wrong
The speaker at Broadwindsor’s W.I. February meeting was Alan Jenkins, ex- Dorset Police Inspector. His subject was “The Royal Visit that went wrong, but it wasn’t my fault”.
The visit was that of The Princess Royal/Princess Anne to Dorchester Citizen’s Advice and Kingston Maurward College. He went on to tell us just how many police departments were involved in a visit by Royalty-
twelve including Armed Officers/Traffic/Special Branch/Sniffer dogs. The amount of planning and preparation really is quite amazing.. The Lord Lieutenant of Dorset was to accompany the Princess on this occasion.
Alan was Bronze Commander on the ground that day and had plans A, B, C, in place. The weather was not brilliant so the helicopter pilot and Princess Anne were debating whether or not the landing should go ahead at Kinston Maurward or divert to Ilchester. One minute Ilchester (the pilot for safety), next minute Kingston Maurward (the Princess not wanting any travel delays). Poor Alan was waiting on the ground for a decision with the Lord Lieutenant..
Plan A, plan B, plan A ????? Guess who won ???
Thank you Alan for a most informative and amusing talk
Camille Newall
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CHRISTMAS PARTY 2023 December 21st
I have said it before, Broadwindsor WI really know how to enjoy themselves. Earlier in December
President Chris organised a Christmas meal for us at The Stableyard restaurant in Redlands Yard it was a super evening, as always the food was excellent and despite being busy the service was great..
At our regular monthly meeting just a few days before Christmas the Lewisdon room transformed with some colourful decorations, 2 tables groaning under the weight of super food provided by members (the focaccia bread was “to die for” ) 2 fabulous raffle prizes and to top the lot we were entertained by Jan Mc Neill a professional singer who for 45 years has worked on cruise ships travelling the world during which time she met hundreds of celebrities including her idol
Cliff Richards and sang a duet with him.. now that she has “retired” she entertains WI / Rotary / Inner Wheel members / Care home residents. She is a WI member and she will be performing at the 2024 AGM at The Lighthouse in Poole
Camille Newall
I have said it before, Broadwindsor WI really know how to enjoy themselves. Earlier in December
President Chris organised a Christmas meal for us at The Stableyard restaurant in Redlands Yard it was a super evening, as always the food was excellent and despite being busy the service was great..
At our regular monthly meeting just a few days before Christmas the Lewisdon room transformed with some colourful decorations, 2 tables groaning under the weight of super food provided by members (the focaccia bread was “to die for” ) 2 fabulous raffle prizes and to top the lot we were entertained by Jan Mc Neill a professional singer who for 45 years has worked on cruise ships travelling the world during which time she met hundreds of celebrities including her idol
Cliff Richards and sang a duet with him.. now that she has “retired” she entertains WI / Rotary / Inner Wheel members / Care home residents. She is a WI member and she will be performing at the 2024 AGM at The Lighthouse in Poole
Camille Newall
November meeting 2023 Members' Meeting
Sixty seconds can seem like a very long time, especially when you have to fill a whole minute by talking on a subject without repetition, hesitation or deviation. Sound familiar? Broadwindsor WI members found themselves participating in their own version of “Just A Minute” when they attended the November meeting. It was the annual ‘Members’ Meeting’, the planning of which is traditionally turned over to the members rather than the program planners. The format of the evening is usually kept a secret, so only a few organisers knew what was in store. The participating members did a splendid job of talking on such subjects as school dinners, mattresses, parrots and corsets. There was much hilarity, of course, and a winner who claimed a small prize. After the panel game, complete with bells and buzzer, the members were treated to a traditional WI cream tea with homemade scones and biscuits.
Thanks to Margaret and her team for masterminding such an imaginative event.
D H
Sixty seconds can seem like a very long time, especially when you have to fill a whole minute by talking on a subject without repetition, hesitation or deviation. Sound familiar? Broadwindsor WI members found themselves participating in their own version of “Just A Minute” when they attended the November meeting. It was the annual ‘Members’ Meeting’, the planning of which is traditionally turned over to the members rather than the program planners. The format of the evening is usually kept a secret, so only a few organisers knew what was in store. The participating members did a splendid job of talking on such subjects as school dinners, mattresses, parrots and corsets. There was much hilarity, of course, and a winner who claimed a small prize. After the panel game, complete with bells and buzzer, the members were treated to a traditional WI cream tea with homemade scones and biscuits.
Thanks to Margaret and her team for masterminding such an imaginative event.
D H
October meeting 2023 Halloween Cake Toppers Speaker- Lisa McKenzie
Have you heard of Lisa McKenzie??? Well she is a professional baker, lives in Broadwindsor and really does bake the most wonderful cakes. Her chocolate brownies are “melt in the mouth delicious”.
She was the speaker at our WI meeting in October. She provided us all with cup cakes and brownies to decorate in a “spooktacular" fashion all ready for Halloween. She first demonstrated ghost and pumpkin decorations and then we had a go. What fun we had cutting out fondant icing for ghosts and piping orange butter cream for pumpkins!
As you may imagine some results were better than others. I was quite proud of my efforts until I compared them with those that Lisa had done !!
Mine didn’t look at all scary possibly due to fact that I drew a smiley face on my ghost. Ah well...
Camille Newall
Many thanks to Lisa for being a last-minute replacement for our demonstration due to illness.
Have you heard of Lisa McKenzie??? Well she is a professional baker, lives in Broadwindsor and really does bake the most wonderful cakes. Her chocolate brownies are “melt in the mouth delicious”.
She was the speaker at our WI meeting in October. She provided us all with cup cakes and brownies to decorate in a “spooktacular" fashion all ready for Halloween. She first demonstrated ghost and pumpkin decorations and then we had a go. What fun we had cutting out fondant icing for ghosts and piping orange butter cream for pumpkins!
As you may imagine some results were better than others. I was quite proud of my efforts until I compared them with those that Lisa had done !!
Mine didn’t look at all scary possibly due to fact that I drew a smiley face on my ghost. Ah well...
Camille Newall
Many thanks to Lisa for being a last-minute replacement for our demonstration due to illness.
September meeting 2023 'A Walk on the Wild Side', with speaker Paul McNeill
Our speaker for the evening was Paul McNeill, Ranger, Ham Hill Country Park. Paul was a most engaging Speaker, very knowledgeable and informative. We heard of the many varieties of edible plants, fruits and nuts available for foraging through the seasons. Wild garlic pesto could become a favourite next spring. Agrimony tea also sounded worth a try, The various leaves which can be used in salads such as sorrel and white nettle give different ways to add flavour. The fruit bounty of elderflower, rowan, blackberries, and sloes along with the crab apple can be used in many recipes. Paul even told us where to find the very best supply of walnuts (we are keeping it to ourselves!).
We did pretty well on the quiz at the end of his presentation, by identifying most of the plants, and were awarded with slices of Paul’s homemade focaccia and elderberry jam – delicious.
There was a clear message on mushroom gathering – stay safe – they taste just as good when bought from a store!
Megan Jones
Our speaker for the evening was Paul McNeill, Ranger, Ham Hill Country Park. Paul was a most engaging Speaker, very knowledgeable and informative. We heard of the many varieties of edible plants, fruits and nuts available for foraging through the seasons. Wild garlic pesto could become a favourite next spring. Agrimony tea also sounded worth a try, The various leaves which can be used in salads such as sorrel and white nettle give different ways to add flavour. The fruit bounty of elderflower, rowan, blackberries, and sloes along with the crab apple can be used in many recipes. Paul even told us where to find the very best supply of walnuts (we are keeping it to ourselves!).
We did pretty well on the quiz at the end of his presentation, by identifying most of the plants, and were awarded with slices of Paul’s homemade focaccia and elderberry jam – delicious.
There was a clear message on mushroom gathering – stay safe – they taste just as good when bought from a store!
Megan Jones
August meeting 2023 Members' BBQ
IT DIDN’T RAIN, okay a bit of a breeze, but it didn’t rain.. What on earth am I talking about I hear you say.
Broadwindsor WI annual BBQ of course. The first in 5 years where it remained dry for the whole time.
Thank you to Donna for hosting us in your lovely garden. Thank you John for delicious chicken, burgers, hot dogs, and to all our members who provided every kind of salad and some fabulous deserts that tasted as just good as they looked.
Camille Newall
IT DIDN’T RAIN, okay a bit of a breeze, but it didn’t rain.. What on earth am I talking about I hear you say.
Broadwindsor WI annual BBQ of course. The first in 5 years where it remained dry for the whole time.
Thank you to Donna for hosting us in your lovely garden. Thank you John for delicious chicken, burgers, hot dogs, and to all our members who provided every kind of salad and some fabulous deserts that tasted as just good as they looked.
Camille Newall

July meeting 2023
BORN FREE FOUNDATION
Speaker: Dawn Lawrence
It would be difficult to find a person more dedicated to animal conservation than Dawn Lawrence. The diminutive author, surrounded by her books and numerous stuffed animals, gave a talk to the members of Broadwindsor WI which was based on her involvement with the Born Free Foundation. Founded in 1984 by actors Dame Virginia McKenna and her husband Bill Travers, along with their son Will Travers, the foundation is concerned with animal conservation and treatment worldwide.
Dawn entertained the audience with facts about many species of animals, most of which are endangered. Most were well-known but others less so, as in the case of the tiny glass frog with transparent skin and the gharial, a type of crocodile that only eats fish due to its narrow muzzle. Members learned that white tigers have a genetic defect and are bred in captivity for commercial reasons; lions are the only big cats that live in groups; and cheetahs are extinct in 25 countries. Some species display extraordinary intelligence, the smartest of which is the crow, with the intelligence level of a 7-year-old child.
Reasons for the animals being in danger were discussed, with palm oil being one of the most serious. Great tracts of land are being cleared for planting, depleting the rainforest. Many supermarkets are now refusing to stock items containing palm oil, which is found in many products. Some animal products are used in Chinese medicine, some animals are trapped for the pet trade and others exploited for the tourist trade. Closer to home, the water vole and hedgehog in Britain are species which are struggling at the moment.
Dawn writes in verse and read out several of her short poems about various species. Her books are particularly suited to children- in fact, she used to write the children's pages for The People's Friend.
Dawn's talk was both charming and thought-provoking, and members could not have failed to learn something about the endangered animal world.
D Heys
BORN FREE FOUNDATION
Speaker: Dawn Lawrence
It would be difficult to find a person more dedicated to animal conservation than Dawn Lawrence. The diminutive author, surrounded by her books and numerous stuffed animals, gave a talk to the members of Broadwindsor WI which was based on her involvement with the Born Free Foundation. Founded in 1984 by actors Dame Virginia McKenna and her husband Bill Travers, along with their son Will Travers, the foundation is concerned with animal conservation and treatment worldwide.
Dawn entertained the audience with facts about many species of animals, most of which are endangered. Most were well-known but others less so, as in the case of the tiny glass frog with transparent skin and the gharial, a type of crocodile that only eats fish due to its narrow muzzle. Members learned that white tigers have a genetic defect and are bred in captivity for commercial reasons; lions are the only big cats that live in groups; and cheetahs are extinct in 25 countries. Some species display extraordinary intelligence, the smartest of which is the crow, with the intelligence level of a 7-year-old child.
Reasons for the animals being in danger were discussed, with palm oil being one of the most serious. Great tracts of land are being cleared for planting, depleting the rainforest. Many supermarkets are now refusing to stock items containing palm oil, which is found in many products. Some animal products are used in Chinese medicine, some animals are trapped for the pet trade and others exploited for the tourist trade. Closer to home, the water vole and hedgehog in Britain are species which are struggling at the moment.
Dawn writes in verse and read out several of her short poems about various species. Her books are particularly suited to children- in fact, she used to write the children's pages for The People's Friend.
Dawn's talk was both charming and thought-provoking, and members could not have failed to learn something about the endangered animal world.
D Heys
Fun Day 25th June
What a super day- the sun shone and there was fun and laughter in Broadwindsor as the village held their Fun Day at Bernards' Place
How nice it was to see boys and girls trying their luck bouncing a ping pong ball into a beaker (prizes- a lolly/nothing/your 20p back to have another go) or having a go on The Human Fruit Machine (the 3 adults doing it seemed to be having just as much fun as the children). They (the children) also enjoyed being entertained by “Strawberry Jam” -much nicer that staring at a mobile phone screen.
If you were feeling frustrated you could go Smash Plates or Splat a Rat. The Raffle prizes were amazing and the Tombola was choc full of goodies to win.
As always the WI did what it does best, ie provide home made cakes with tea/coffee/juice. The Bar and the BBQ did a roaring trade all afternoon and a welcome addition was The Village Vegans. You really can’t beat good food/entertainment/music on the village square on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Many congratulations to all who organised and took part in the day
I didn’t manage to get to the Barn Dance in the evening but those who did assured me that it was a good end to a perfect day.
Camille Newall
PS The scarecrow competition was won by Broadwindsor WI with "Lottie the lovely land girl “
Congratulations
June 2023 Walk and a Pub Meal
Broadwindsor WI are so lucky in having a committee who go out of their way to arrange interesting meetings for members. Our June meeting took the form of a super evening stroll through Beaminster to Parnham Deer Park and then on to The Greyhound Pub for a delicious meal. It was a beautiful evening weather-wise and as we walked I think that we all realsised how fortunate we are to live in such a lovely part of the country. Thank you, committee.
Camille Newall
May 2023 Flower Essences
The May W.I. meeting was well attended and members were delighted to welcome new member, Georgie, to the group as well as a guest who came along for the evening. The guest speaker was Pauline Elsworth of Firestar Therapies talking about the benefits of flower essences and homeopathic remedies alongside meditation and traditional medicines. Pauline is a qualified holistic therapist and runs workshops, treatments and shamanic training throughout Dorset. She went on to demonstrate how you can produce your own flower essences using the Bach method which matches plants with emotions based on where they grow, in what conditions and also the actual look of the flower. Pauline spoke about energy fields and shakra points on the body and the use of flower essences to combat emotions such as anxiety, depression, grief, fear etc. It was a very informative and enjoyable talk which concluded with a short meditation where Pauline asked members to close their eyes and imagine they were on a beautiful woodland journey experiencing nature all around, listening to the birds and then to relax alongside a tree. During the meditation she sprayed an essence around the room. Interestingly, each member spoke afterwards about the feelings they experienced during the meditation, some felt relaxed and calm, others saw bright colours, felt energised and a few felt safe and comforted against the tree so much so they didn’t want to leave. Pauline asked members what type of tree they thought it was, some said a beech but a lot of members said an oak tree which interestingly was the essence sprayed around the room. Certainly gave members a lot more information on alternative and complimentary therapies and how they can benefit from them.
After refreshments the committee spoke about various future events and new welcome packs which are available from the Broadwindsor shop or any of the committee to encourage new members to the W.I. Next meeting in June will commence with a short walk around Beaminster and a meal at The Greyhound Inn.
Chris MillerWhat a super day, the sun shone and there was fun and laughter in Broadwindsor as the village held their Fun Day at Bernards Place
How nice it was to see boys and girls trying their luck bouncing a ping pong ball into a beaker (prizes a lolly/nothing/your 20p back to have another go)
or having a go on The Human Fruit Machine, (the 3 adults doing it seemed to be having just as much fun as the children) They (the children) also enjoyed being entertained by “Strawberry Jam” much nicer that staring at a mobile phone screen.
If you were feeling frustrated you could go Smash Plates or Splat a Rat.. The Raffle prizes were amazing and the Tombolo was choc full of goodies to win
As always the WI did what it does best ie providing home made cakes with tea/coffee/juice.. The Bar and the BBQ did a roaring trade all afternoon
and a welcome addition was The Village Vegans, You really can’t beat good food/entertainment/music on the village square on a sunny Sunday afternoon
Many congratulations to all who organised and took part in the day
I didn’t manage to get to the Barn Dance in the evening but those who did assured me that it was a good end to a perfect day
Camille Newall
What a super day- the sun shone and there was fun and laughter in Broadwindsor as the village held their Fun Day at Bernards' Place
How nice it was to see boys and girls trying their luck bouncing a ping pong ball into a beaker (prizes- a lolly/nothing/your 20p back to have another go) or having a go on The Human Fruit Machine (the 3 adults doing it seemed to be having just as much fun as the children). They (the children) also enjoyed being entertained by “Strawberry Jam” -much nicer that staring at a mobile phone screen.
If you were feeling frustrated you could go Smash Plates or Splat a Rat. The Raffle prizes were amazing and the Tombola was choc full of goodies to win.
As always the WI did what it does best, ie provide home made cakes with tea/coffee/juice. The Bar and the BBQ did a roaring trade all afternoon and a welcome addition was The Village Vegans. You really can’t beat good food/entertainment/music on the village square on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Many congratulations to all who organised and took part in the day
I didn’t manage to get to the Barn Dance in the evening but those who did assured me that it was a good end to a perfect day.
Camille Newall
PS The scarecrow competition was won by Broadwindsor WI with "Lottie the lovely land girl “
Congratulations
June 2023 Walk and a Pub Meal
Broadwindsor WI are so lucky in having a committee who go out of their way to arrange interesting meetings for members. Our June meeting took the form of a super evening stroll through Beaminster to Parnham Deer Park and then on to The Greyhound Pub for a delicious meal. It was a beautiful evening weather-wise and as we walked I think that we all realsised how fortunate we are to live in such a lovely part of the country. Thank you, committee.
Camille Newall
May 2023 Flower Essences
The May W.I. meeting was well attended and members were delighted to welcome new member, Georgie, to the group as well as a guest who came along for the evening. The guest speaker was Pauline Elsworth of Firestar Therapies talking about the benefits of flower essences and homeopathic remedies alongside meditation and traditional medicines. Pauline is a qualified holistic therapist and runs workshops, treatments and shamanic training throughout Dorset. She went on to demonstrate how you can produce your own flower essences using the Bach method which matches plants with emotions based on where they grow, in what conditions and also the actual look of the flower. Pauline spoke about energy fields and shakra points on the body and the use of flower essences to combat emotions such as anxiety, depression, grief, fear etc. It was a very informative and enjoyable talk which concluded with a short meditation where Pauline asked members to close their eyes and imagine they were on a beautiful woodland journey experiencing nature all around, listening to the birds and then to relax alongside a tree. During the meditation she sprayed an essence around the room. Interestingly, each member spoke afterwards about the feelings they experienced during the meditation, some felt relaxed and calm, others saw bright colours, felt energised and a few felt safe and comforted against the tree so much so they didn’t want to leave. Pauline asked members what type of tree they thought it was, some said a beech but a lot of members said an oak tree which interestingly was the essence sprayed around the room. Certainly gave members a lot more information on alternative and complimentary therapies and how they can benefit from them.
After refreshments the committee spoke about various future events and new welcome packs which are available from the Broadwindsor shop or any of the committee to encourage new members to the W.I. Next meeting in June will commence with a short walk around Beaminster and a meal at The Greyhound Inn.
Chris MillerWhat a super day, the sun shone and there was fun and laughter in Broadwindsor as the village held their Fun Day at Bernards Place
How nice it was to see boys and girls trying their luck bouncing a ping pong ball into a beaker (prizes a lolly/nothing/your 20p back to have another go)
or having a go on The Human Fruit Machine, (the 3 adults doing it seemed to be having just as much fun as the children) They (the children) also enjoyed being entertained by “Strawberry Jam” much nicer that staring at a mobile phone screen.
If you were feeling frustrated you could go Smash Plates or Splat a Rat.. The Raffle prizes were amazing and the Tombolo was choc full of goodies to win
As always the WI did what it does best ie providing home made cakes with tea/coffee/juice.. The Bar and the BBQ did a roaring trade all afternoon
and a welcome addition was The Village Vegans, You really can’t beat good food/entertainment/music on the village square on a sunny Sunday afternoon
Many congratulations to all who organised and took part in the day
I didn’t manage to get to the Barn Dance in the evening but those who did assured me that it was a good end to a perfect day
Camille Newall
April 2023 AGM
The April meeting of Broadwindsor WI was our AGM. We started by welcoming
Sue Hibbard Vice Chair at District who would be acting as our advisor ( as we had no President, we needed an advisor when we were electing our new officers/committee members).
Megan read out the Committee report for 2022/2023. it was really nice to be reminded of the good times we all spent together- we had had some very interesting speakers ranging from Internet Security to A Jewish way of life... Fun times, Curling to Line Dancing... Sad times when we learned that our lovely lively President Julie had died.. It is at this point that I must thank Dee for her excellent job of standing in as President until the end of the WI year.
We then went on to elect officers for our next year.
President Chris Miller
Secretary Megan Jones
Treasurer Lynne Staff
Ali Barton and Donna Heys make up the rest of the team
It was suggested by Debbie that we have a “welcome pack” for new residents and a “buddy” for the first few weeks to introduce everyone.
We finished the evening with a quiz. Oh dear !!!
Camille Newall
March 2023 Tex-Mex Evening
No one can accuse Broadwindsor W.I. of being boring. Our meeting in March was anything but.
Just to get us in the mood for a very tasty chilli plus all the trimmings and a non alcoholic mojito or a beer, (thank you Donna, Chris and Lynne for a fabulous meal) Donna, Chris and Camille led us in some Line Dancing (Donna and Chris were excellent !!!). What fun we all had. The Lewesdon Room was hopping with great Country Music from Dolly Parton / Kenny Rogers and more.
Believe or not after all that we did manage to complete a small amount of Business.
We were given our programme for 2023 looks as though another fun year is planned.
The W.I. community garden (next door to the shop) has grown by another 6 inches or so now that the fencing has been removed. I think Claire, Carol and Diana look after the garden.
Camille Newall
No one can accuse Broadwindsor W.I. of being boring. Our meeting in March was anything but.
Just to get us in the mood for a very tasty chilli plus all the trimmings and a non alcoholic mojito or a beer, (thank you Donna, Chris and Lynne for a fabulous meal) Donna, Chris and Camille led us in some Line Dancing (Donna and Chris were excellent !!!). What fun we all had. The Lewesdon Room was hopping with great Country Music from Dolly Parton / Kenny Rogers and more.
Believe or not after all that we did manage to complete a small amount of Business.
We were given our programme for 2023 looks as though another fun year is planned.
The W.I. community garden (next door to the shop) has grown by another 6 inches or so now that the fencing has been removed. I think Claire, Carol and Diana look after the garden.
Camille Newall
February 2023 My Jewish Home- Jane Silver-Corren
Chris Miller welcomed our speaker Jane Silver Corren to the meeting. The topic of her presentation “My Jewish Home”
Jane is a practising member of the Reform Jewish Synagogues in Exeter and Totnes. Her presentation on life in a Jewish Home was very informative and enjoyable. Some of our members took part in a couple of the traditional dances and singing which are part of religious celebrations.
We heard about the Mezuzah which is a small box containing verses from the Torah written in parchment that is fixed to the right doorpost of Jewish homes – at an angle. Jane had recently brought a selection of these back from her recent visit to Jerusalem. Some families even have them on every door in the house. They are touched every time you enter.
We looked at the traditional kippah the skull cap, which can now be worn by women as well as men and the tallit, a prayer shawl worn during morning prayers. The tefillin are two wooden boxes filled with scripture and are affixed to the head and arms by leather straps can also be worn at morning prayers.
The Torah scrolls which are the Jewish sacred text, when they are read they are not touched by hand a pointer called a yad is used.
Jane described some of the games and fun that takes place during the festivals. On Friday evenings the family gathers for a meal which starts when the first star appears in the sky and the candles are lit for Shabbat which, ends at nightfall on the following day. The Jewish New Year is called Rosh Hashanah and the day of Atonement Yom Kippur. For children Hanukkah ,a festival of light, is a special time when lots of latkes, jelly donuts and other fried foods are served. Gifts are sometimes given every day for a week!
Megan Jones
Photos: Donna Heys and Issy Masey
Chris Miller welcomed our speaker Jane Silver Corren to the meeting. The topic of her presentation “My Jewish Home”
Jane is a practising member of the Reform Jewish Synagogues in Exeter and Totnes. Her presentation on life in a Jewish Home was very informative and enjoyable. Some of our members took part in a couple of the traditional dances and singing which are part of religious celebrations.
We heard about the Mezuzah which is a small box containing verses from the Torah written in parchment that is fixed to the right doorpost of Jewish homes – at an angle. Jane had recently brought a selection of these back from her recent visit to Jerusalem. Some families even have them on every door in the house. They are touched every time you enter.
We looked at the traditional kippah the skull cap, which can now be worn by women as well as men and the tallit, a prayer shawl worn during morning prayers. The tefillin are two wooden boxes filled with scripture and are affixed to the head and arms by leather straps can also be worn at morning prayers.
The Torah scrolls which are the Jewish sacred text, when they are read they are not touched by hand a pointer called a yad is used.
Jane described some of the games and fun that takes place during the festivals. On Friday evenings the family gathers for a meal which starts when the first star appears in the sky and the candles are lit for Shabbat which, ends at nightfall on the following day. The Jewish New Year is called Rosh Hashanah and the day of Atonement Yom Kippur. For children Hanukkah ,a festival of light, is a special time when lots of latkes, jelly donuts and other fried foods are served. Gifts are sometimes given every day for a week!
Megan Jones
Photos: Donna Heys and Issy Masey
January 2023
I do enjoy being a member of Broadwindsor WI, a really nice group of ladies. We have fun at most of our meetings. In January we played a couple of games of kurling- some members were better than others!! A good time was had by all, despite me being on the losing team.
Of course we do have a serious side; next month we have to vote on various resolutions :
1) To call on decision makers to introduce updated legislation to address issues of
On Line Gambling.
2) To call on the government and water companies to address issues of water leakage and to
take actions to conserve and value water
These are just a couple of things which will be taken to National Level..
Camille Newall
I do enjoy being a member of Broadwindsor WI, a really nice group of ladies. We have fun at most of our meetings. In January we played a couple of games of kurling- some members were better than others!! A good time was had by all, despite me being on the losing team.
Of course we do have a serious side; next month we have to vote on various resolutions :
1) To call on decision makers to introduce updated legislation to address issues of
On Line Gambling.
2) To call on the government and water companies to address issues of water leakage and to
take actions to conserve and value water
These are just a couple of things which will be taken to National Level..
Camille Newall
7th January: Report from Camille about Julie's funeral:
For hundreds of years Twelfth Night has been a time to celebrate.. This Year the village of Broadwindsor celebrated thelife of Julie Steele, President of Broadwindsor W.I.
Julie’s life was too short but it was filled with fun, laughter, and adventure (of course it was ).
Rev Jo led a joyous funeral service, there were tears, smiles, and laugh out loud moments.
This was followed with a party, no a wake, no a party in Comrades Hall
The W.I. members, wearing hats and aprons paid tribute to Julie by singing “Julie’s Favourite Things” (you know the tune.)
Thank you Donna for the fabulous words
What a day !!!
Camille Newall
For hundreds of years Twelfth Night has been a time to celebrate.. This Year the village of Broadwindsor celebrated thelife of Julie Steele, President of Broadwindsor W.I.
Julie’s life was too short but it was filled with fun, laughter, and adventure (of course it was ).
Rev Jo led a joyous funeral service, there were tears, smiles, and laugh out loud moments.
This was followed with a party, no a wake, no a party in Comrades Hall
The W.I. members, wearing hats and aprons paid tribute to Julie by singing “Julie’s Favourite Things” (you know the tune.)
Thank you Donna for the fabulous words
What a day !!!
Camille Newall
Julie Steele's Funeral
6th January 2023
We said goodbye to our dear Julie this afternoon. A beautiful service in St John's, Broadwindsor saw a churchful of family and friends gathered to pay tribute to this extraordinary lady. The ceremony was broadcast via the internet to anyone unable to attend the service in person, and Julie has been laid to rest in the churchyard.
Soon after attendees had walked to the adjacent Comrades' Hall for refreshments, the ladies of Broadwindsor WI performed their own tribute to their beloved late President. A group of them read a poem Julie loved which is in the WI archive, entitled "Far From the City's Clamour"; the poem was divided up, each reading two lines and many holding up the items mentioned in the poem. You can read the poem on the Poetry page. Following the reading, the group then performed a custom-written version of the Julie Andrews song, all about "Julie's Favourite Things". The singers were accompanied by talented guitarist (and honorary-WI-other-half) Mick Massey. The words can also be found on the Poetry page of this website.
It was a fitting and warm celebration of the life of a wonderful lady, taken from us too soon. We will never forget our friend Julie. Rest in peace, dear friend.
6th January 2023
We said goodbye to our dear Julie this afternoon. A beautiful service in St John's, Broadwindsor saw a churchful of family and friends gathered to pay tribute to this extraordinary lady. The ceremony was broadcast via the internet to anyone unable to attend the service in person, and Julie has been laid to rest in the churchyard.
Soon after attendees had walked to the adjacent Comrades' Hall for refreshments, the ladies of Broadwindsor WI performed their own tribute to their beloved late President. A group of them read a poem Julie loved which is in the WI archive, entitled "Far From the City's Clamour"; the poem was divided up, each reading two lines and many holding up the items mentioned in the poem. You can read the poem on the Poetry page. Following the reading, the group then performed a custom-written version of the Julie Andrews song, all about "Julie's Favourite Things". The singers were accompanied by talented guitarist (and honorary-WI-other-half) Mick Massey. The words can also be found on the Poetry page of this website.
It was a fitting and warm celebration of the life of a wonderful lady, taken from us too soon. We will never forget our friend Julie. Rest in peace, dear friend.
Tribute to Julie
At around noon on the 12th December I heard that my lovely friend Julie had died.
Julie was the President of Broadwindsor W.I. and she was a fun lady, colourful and with an infectious laugh she was good to be around. Despite being sad as I write this I realise that I have a smile on my face, that what happens when you think of Julie.
I suspect Heaven will be a livelier place now Julie is there.
Camille Newall
At around noon on the 12th December I heard that my lovely friend Julie had died.
Julie was the President of Broadwindsor W.I. and she was a fun lady, colourful and with an infectious laugh she was good to be around. Despite being sad as I write this I realise that I have a smile on my face, that what happens when you think of Julie.
I suspect Heaven will be a livelier place now Julie is there.
Camille Newall
Julie Steele Funeral arrangements
Julie's funeral will be held at 2.00pm on Friday 6th January 2023 at St John's church in Broadwindsor. A wake will then follow in Comrades' Hall, to carry on into the evening. Julie's wish was for everyone to wear bright colours and celebrate her life with a big party, so that is the intention. She also loved her hats, so please feel free to wear one as a tribute to an extraordinary lady.
Julie's funeral will be held at 2.00pm on Friday 6th January 2023 at St John's church in Broadwindsor. A wake will then follow in Comrades' Hall, to carry on into the evening. Julie's wish was for everyone to wear bright colours and celebrate her life with a big party, so that is the intention. She also loved her hats, so please feel free to wear one as a tribute to an extraordinary lady.
Julie Steele
21.07.65-12.12.22
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our dear friend and former President Julie Steele, following a long struggle with cancer. Julie was the most outgoing, fun, bubbly lady one would ever hope to meet, and a real leading light at our WI. We are heartbroken.
21.07.65-12.12.22
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our dear friend and former President Julie Steele, following a long struggle with cancer. Julie was the most outgoing, fun, bubbly lady one would ever hope to meet, and a real leading light at our WI. We are heartbroken.
November 2022
Members' meeting
Fun and Games for Broadwindsor WI November meeting. The members took over the running of the evening and what a smashing job they made of it.
As members entered they were labelled as : Tyrants, Fashion Designers, Sports Stars, Movie Stars, and of course they had to guess the name of the person whose name was had been stuck on their forehead. Great fun
More games followed with the Red team and the Blue team competing against each other in competitions such as Sunflower modelling, Shoelace tying, and a Drawing guessing game (some more talented than others).
I am not sure which team was declared the winner - I just know that Kate and her team of helpers organised and put together such a great evening that I have the feeling they will be asked to to make this an annual event. I do hope so.
We are all looking forward to our Xmas meal at the pub and then later in the month our regular get-together with a Christmas Party.
The four resolutions from NFWI will be voted on, the results to be sent to County in February.
Camille Newall
Members' meeting
Fun and Games for Broadwindsor WI November meeting. The members took over the running of the evening and what a smashing job they made of it.
As members entered they were labelled as : Tyrants, Fashion Designers, Sports Stars, Movie Stars, and of course they had to guess the name of the person whose name was had been stuck on their forehead. Great fun
More games followed with the Red team and the Blue team competing against each other in competitions such as Sunflower modelling, Shoelace tying, and a Drawing guessing game (some more talented than others).
I am not sure which team was declared the winner - I just know that Kate and her team of helpers organised and put together such a great evening that I have the feeling they will be asked to to make this an annual event. I do hope so.
We are all looking forward to our Xmas meal at the pub and then later in the month our regular get-together with a Christmas Party.
The four resolutions from NFWI will be voted on, the results to be sent to County in February.
Camille Newall
TRIP TO FLORIADE
Broadwindsor WI member Megan joined the Dorset Federation’s trip to Amsterdam and Floriade in The Netherlands . Floriade was amazing, lots to see in a beautiful setting. The International Pavilions were outstanding ranging from the dry areas of The United Emirates to the floral beauty of Japan, over 20 countries were represented. The trip to Amsterdam was fun, a canal boat trip and time to wander around this lovey city being very aware of cyclists. The weather was beautiful and on the last day they watched as nine-metre-tall floats covered in flowers glided through the streets of Zundert powered by manpower. Amazing.
Camille Newall
Broadwindsor WI member Megan joined the Dorset Federation’s trip to Amsterdam and Floriade in The Netherlands . Floriade was amazing, lots to see in a beautiful setting. The International Pavilions were outstanding ranging from the dry areas of The United Emirates to the floral beauty of Japan, over 20 countries were represented. The trip to Amsterdam was fun, a canal boat trip and time to wander around this lovey city being very aware of cyclists. The weather was beautiful and on the last day they watched as nine-metre-tall floats covered in flowers glided through the streets of Zundert powered by manpower. Amazing.
Camille Newall
October 2022
Staying Safe on the Internet
On 20th October Broadwindsor WI welcomed speaker Chris Heys, son of WI member Donna. Chris has an M/Eng Computer Science and is the co-founder of GENOME KEY, Unlocking DNA.
He was talking to us about "Safety on the Internet”. Oh my word, what a minefield.
The main tips for staying safe. (1) Be on the lookout for scams any message tying to scare or panic you this is probably a scam. (2) Keep your device software up to date, enable automatic updates and install antivirus software. (3) Choose strong passwords, check your privacy settings on social media. This is just a tiny amount of the information he gave to us. Thank you Chris, I think that we will all be a bit more diligent when using the internet.
We were told that President Julie has stepped down because of on going health problems, we are so sorry to lose you Julie, you brought so much fun and laughter to our meetings.. We send you our love and just shout if you fancy coming to see us- I will come to give you a lift. Dee is standing in.
Our Christmas meal at the pub will be 5th December. We now have our Kurling Equipment so I can see some fun in the not too distant future.
Camille Newall
Staying Safe on the Internet
On 20th October Broadwindsor WI welcomed speaker Chris Heys, son of WI member Donna. Chris has an M/Eng Computer Science and is the co-founder of GENOME KEY, Unlocking DNA.
He was talking to us about "Safety on the Internet”. Oh my word, what a minefield.
The main tips for staying safe. (1) Be on the lookout for scams any message tying to scare or panic you this is probably a scam. (2) Keep your device software up to date, enable automatic updates and install antivirus software. (3) Choose strong passwords, check your privacy settings on social media. This is just a tiny amount of the information he gave to us. Thank you Chris, I think that we will all be a bit more diligent when using the internet.
We were told that President Julie has stepped down because of on going health problems, we are so sorry to lose you Julie, you brought so much fun and laughter to our meetings.. We send you our love and just shout if you fancy coming to see us- I will come to give you a lift. Dee is standing in.
Our Christmas meal at the pub will be 5th December. We now have our Kurling Equipment so I can see some fun in the not too distant future.
Camille Newall
September 2022
A Russian Ending: a reading by author Jeremy Noble
The September meeting of Broadwindsor WI was a little bit different from from our usual ones. It was an open meeting so we welcomed our guests. It was held during the week of mourning for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and we took a short silence.
Unfortunately President Julie was not well enough to attend so Donna took the meeting. We all wish you well Julie and send you our love.
We then met our speaker for the evening, author Jeremy Noble, what a smashing guy. Jeremy read English at Cambridge, lived and worked in Russia for many years, and I quote “made and lost several fortunes” then became a writer. His grandparents lived in Broadwindsor and Jeremy was brought up in this area so of course some of the action in his book "A RUSSIAN ENDING” mentions/takes place in various places we all know and love.
Jeremy read several passages from his book; he describes things in minute details .
I am not going to spoil your enjoyment of the book by telling you the plot, I will say that it is not an easy read but I urge you to stick with it .
I find myself wondering how such a nice man can make his “hero” NED such an obnoxious character... I guess that is why he writes novels and I just read them.
This is Jeremy’s second novel, the first VILLA EILENROC sounds interesting and another novel THE NEARLY MAN is soon to be started.
Camille Newall
A Russian Ending: a reading by author Jeremy Noble
The September meeting of Broadwindsor WI was a little bit different from from our usual ones. It was an open meeting so we welcomed our guests. It was held during the week of mourning for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and we took a short silence.
Unfortunately President Julie was not well enough to attend so Donna took the meeting. We all wish you well Julie and send you our love.
We then met our speaker for the evening, author Jeremy Noble, what a smashing guy. Jeremy read English at Cambridge, lived and worked in Russia for many years, and I quote “made and lost several fortunes” then became a writer. His grandparents lived in Broadwindsor and Jeremy was brought up in this area so of course some of the action in his book "A RUSSIAN ENDING” mentions/takes place in various places we all know and love.
Jeremy read several passages from his book; he describes things in minute details .
I am not going to spoil your enjoyment of the book by telling you the plot, I will say that it is not an easy read but I urge you to stick with it .
I find myself wondering how such a nice man can make his “hero” NED such an obnoxious character... I guess that is why he writes novels and I just read them.
This is Jeremy’s second novel, the first VILLA EILENROC sounds interesting and another novel THE NEARLY MAN is soon to be started.
Camille Newall
We were saddened to learn of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. However, we wish to confirm that we will still be holding our September open meeting as planned, and will honour the Queen with a few moments' silence.

Be sure not to miss our September open meeting!
Author Jeremy Noble will be our speaker as he gives a reading from his novel A Russian Ending. Broadwindsor (and the surrounding area) features as a location in the book, and Broadwindsor WI even gets a mention! The main character of the book is Ned Lumley- arrogant, ruthless and accustomed to the finer things in life. But what happens when he becomes involved in managing Russian funds that have their origins in the diamond industry?
All are welcome, and Jeremy will be happy to sign any copies of his book you wish to bring along. Doors 7 for 7.30, non-members £5 and proceeds to go to Ukraine. Refreshments available.
Author Jeremy Noble will be our speaker as he gives a reading from his novel A Russian Ending. Broadwindsor (and the surrounding area) features as a location in the book, and Broadwindsor WI even gets a mention! The main character of the book is Ned Lumley- arrogant, ruthless and accustomed to the finer things in life. But what happens when he becomes involved in managing Russian funds that have their origins in the diamond industry?
All are welcome, and Jeremy will be happy to sign any copies of his book you wish to bring along. Doors 7 for 7.30, non-members £5 and proceeds to go to Ukraine. Refreshments available.

August 2022
Members' BBQ
The heatwave ceased for our BBQ and the Broadwindsor Mist rolled in! Did it dampen our spirits, no, not at all.
A very big thank you to Donna and John for hosting and serving up such a tasty BBQ. (We even enjoyed delicious sausages supplied from one of our own member’s farm.) The salads and desserts were of their usual excellent standard, many thanks to all those who catered this year.
We were hardy enough to survive outside for the first course but as the rain came in, we beat a hasty retreat indoors. There were good conversations and laughs to be had amongst the group and it was a pleasure to be in the company of such lovely ladies!
Megan Jones
Members' BBQ
The heatwave ceased for our BBQ and the Broadwindsor Mist rolled in! Did it dampen our spirits, no, not at all.
A very big thank you to Donna and John for hosting and serving up such a tasty BBQ. (We even enjoyed delicious sausages supplied from one of our own member’s farm.) The salads and desserts were of their usual excellent standard, many thanks to all those who catered this year.
We were hardy enough to survive outside for the first course but as the rain came in, we beat a hasty retreat indoors. There were good conversations and laughs to be had amongst the group and it was a pleasure to be in the company of such lovely ladies!
Megan Jones
July 2022
Birdwatching with Teri Small
When is a tit not a tit? If you had been at the July meeting of Broadwindsor WI you could answer this question! Bird enthusiast Teri Small has been interested in birds since she was-well, small. The Observer’s Book of Birds set her off on a hobby that would last for many years, although she admits life got in the way of her becoming an active, serious birder until 2014.
A birder, not a twitcher? No, there is a difference, and there are also those known as ‘listers’, who are the bird equivalent of trainspotters. But Teri says the best way to learn is to join a good club, and she has become involved with the East Devon Birds, a group of ornithologists who keep formal records as part of the larger British Trust for Ornithology.
Over the past few years, Teri has amassed an impressive portfolio of bird photos, from common species on her home birdfeeders to more exotic waterbirds and waders. Some species are increasing in number but more commonly there is great concern about the decline in numbers of many of our feathered friends. Worrying statistics, such as the population of the turtle dove having decreased by 98% since 1970 and a 52% decline in the skylark over the same period, should ring alarm bells. The cause of such a decline could have many origins, but is largely down to the reduction of insects, the food source for most birds. Changes in agricultural practise and persecution of birds of prey have had serious consequences, as has the extensive use of plastic soffit boards, for example, which makes it difficult for house martens to build nests. If you would like to help, please encourage insects in your garden, or perhaps consider joining a group such as the Dorset Wildlife Trust.
So when is a tit not a tit? When it’s a Long Tail Tit or a Bearded Tit!
DH
Birdwatching with Teri Small
When is a tit not a tit? If you had been at the July meeting of Broadwindsor WI you could answer this question! Bird enthusiast Teri Small has been interested in birds since she was-well, small. The Observer’s Book of Birds set her off on a hobby that would last for many years, although she admits life got in the way of her becoming an active, serious birder until 2014.
A birder, not a twitcher? No, there is a difference, and there are also those known as ‘listers’, who are the bird equivalent of trainspotters. But Teri says the best way to learn is to join a good club, and she has become involved with the East Devon Birds, a group of ornithologists who keep formal records as part of the larger British Trust for Ornithology.
Over the past few years, Teri has amassed an impressive portfolio of bird photos, from common species on her home birdfeeders to more exotic waterbirds and waders. Some species are increasing in number but more commonly there is great concern about the decline in numbers of many of our feathered friends. Worrying statistics, such as the population of the turtle dove having decreased by 98% since 1970 and a 52% decline in the skylark over the same period, should ring alarm bells. The cause of such a decline could have many origins, but is largely down to the reduction of insects, the food source for most birds. Changes in agricultural practise and persecution of birds of prey have had serious consequences, as has the extensive use of plastic soffit boards, for example, which makes it difficult for house martens to build nests. If you would like to help, please encourage insects in your garden, or perhaps consider joining a group such as the Dorset Wildlife Trust.
So when is a tit not a tit? When it’s a Long Tail Tit or a Bearded Tit!
DH
June 2022
Thursday night is “Pie Night” at our newly opened super community pub and Thursday night is WI night so "why not combine the two?" we said. "What a good idea!" we said, and so it came to pass. Our June meeting...
First of all, members met at Donna’s house and started on a lovely walk over the hills and then towards Littlewindsor before going back to the pub. We were 16 in all, so that was quite a test for Kate (pub manager ) and the girls who have only just started to serve food. Needless to say they came through with flying colours. They served smashing food and we had a lovely evening.
I was very surprised and even more delighted when I was given a posy of flowers and an “Above and Beyond Award” for things I had done during the Queen's Jubilee weekend. The list included Queen Making (great fun) and Wheelbarrow Pushing (don’t ask)... It is at this point that I must say thank you to my lovely friend Issy who made the Queen mask (vastly better than anything you could buy) and my grandson Oscar for the loan of his gorgeous Corgi.
Camille Newall
Thursday night is “Pie Night” at our newly opened super community pub and Thursday night is WI night so "why not combine the two?" we said. "What a good idea!" we said, and so it came to pass. Our June meeting...
First of all, members met at Donna’s house and started on a lovely walk over the hills and then towards Littlewindsor before going back to the pub. We were 16 in all, so that was quite a test for Kate (pub manager ) and the girls who have only just started to serve food. Needless to say they came through with flying colours. They served smashing food and we had a lovely evening.
I was very surprised and even more delighted when I was given a posy of flowers and an “Above and Beyond Award” for things I had done during the Queen's Jubilee weekend. The list included Queen Making (great fun) and Wheelbarrow Pushing (don’t ask)... It is at this point that I must say thank you to my lovely friend Issy who made the Queen mask (vastly better than anything you could buy) and my grandson Oscar for the loan of his gorgeous Corgi.
Camille Newall
May 2022
President Julie opened the meeting by welcoming guests Stella and Michelle. Barbara from Netherbury has now become a member, really pleasedthat we did not put her off with our attempts at line dancing.
We discussed the WI scarecrow for the jubilee weekend and the design for the WI window in the church. Margaret, Carole, Diana, Clare volunteered to dress the window.
Donna designed the scarecrow “Charles” who will stand in the WI garden, and Chris, Dee, and Camille offered to make/stuff/dress him . I can’t possibly print some of the comments made during the 2 sessions at Chris’s house; suffice to say a lot of fun was had by all.
Our speaker for the evening was a lovely lady, Jane Bartelings a travel agent from Beyond Capricorn and she was telling us all about cruising. There are 50 cruise /lines/companies and in excess of 30 million people take holidays on board ships There would seem to be cruises to suit everyone:
Mini, Expedition, Small Ships, Tall ships, River Cruising... some affordable, some extremely expensive. Luxury and fine dining.
The largest cruise ship is 'Wonder Of The Seas'. It is as tall as 15 double decker buses, can accommodate 6,988 passengers and has 2300 crew members. Not for me I think.
The newest form of cruising is Air Cruising . You travel on specially chartered aircraft to take in different countries. Fabulous.
A super evening, thank you Jane
Camille Newall
President Julie opened the meeting by welcoming guests Stella and Michelle.. Barbara from Netherbury has now become a member, really pleased
that we did not put her off with our attempts at line dancing
We discussed the WI scarecrow for the jubilee weekend and the design for the WI window in the church..Margaret, Carole, Dianna, Claire volunteered
to dress the window.
Donna desighned the scarecrow “Charles” who will stand in the WI garden, Chris, Dee, and Camille offered to make/stuff/dress him .. I can’t possibly print some of the comments made during the 2 sessions at Chris’s house, suffice to say a lot of fun was had by all.
Our speaker for the evening was a lovely lady, Jane Bartelings travel agent from Beyond Capricorn and she was telling us all about cruising.
There are 50 cruise /lines/companies and in excess of 30 million people take holidays on board ships There would seem to cruises to suit everyone
Mini. Expedition. Small Ships.. Tall ships.. River Cruising.. some affordable, some extremely expensive.. Luxury and fine dining.
The largest cruise ship is 'Wonder Of The Seas' It is as tall as 15 double decker buses, can accommodate 6,988 passengers and has 2300 crew members
Not for me I think..
The newest form of cruising is Air Cruising ..You travel on specially chartered aircraft to take in different countries.. Fabulous..
A super evening, Thank you Jane
Camille Newall
President Julie opened the meeting by welcoming guests Stella and Michelle. Barbara from Netherbury has now become a member, really pleasedthat we did not put her off with our attempts at line dancing.
We discussed the WI scarecrow for the jubilee weekend and the design for the WI window in the church. Margaret, Carole, Diana, Clare volunteered to dress the window.
Donna designed the scarecrow “Charles” who will stand in the WI garden, and Chris, Dee, and Camille offered to make/stuff/dress him . I can’t possibly print some of the comments made during the 2 sessions at Chris’s house; suffice to say a lot of fun was had by all.
Our speaker for the evening was a lovely lady, Jane Bartelings a travel agent from Beyond Capricorn and she was telling us all about cruising. There are 50 cruise /lines/companies and in excess of 30 million people take holidays on board ships There would seem to be cruises to suit everyone:
Mini, Expedition, Small Ships, Tall ships, River Cruising... some affordable, some extremely expensive. Luxury and fine dining.
The largest cruise ship is 'Wonder Of The Seas'. It is as tall as 15 double decker buses, can accommodate 6,988 passengers and has 2300 crew members. Not for me I think.
The newest form of cruising is Air Cruising . You travel on specially chartered aircraft to take in different countries. Fabulous.
A super evening, thank you Jane
Camille Newall
President Julie opened the meeting by welcoming guests Stella and Michelle.. Barbara from Netherbury has now become a member, really pleased
that we did not put her off with our attempts at line dancing
We discussed the WI scarecrow for the jubilee weekend and the design for the WI window in the church..Margaret, Carole, Dianna, Claire volunteered
to dress the window.
Donna desighned the scarecrow “Charles” who will stand in the WI garden, Chris, Dee, and Camille offered to make/stuff/dress him .. I can’t possibly print some of the comments made during the 2 sessions at Chris’s house, suffice to say a lot of fun was had by all.
Our speaker for the evening was a lovely lady, Jane Bartelings travel agent from Beyond Capricorn and she was telling us all about cruising.
There are 50 cruise /lines/companies and in excess of 30 million people take holidays on board ships There would seem to cruises to suit everyone
Mini. Expedition. Small Ships.. Tall ships.. River Cruising.. some affordable, some extremely expensive.. Luxury and fine dining.
The largest cruise ship is 'Wonder Of The Seas' It is as tall as 15 double decker buses, can accommodate 6,988 passengers and has 2300 crew members
Not for me I think..
The newest form of cruising is Air Cruising ..You travel on specially chartered aircraft to take in different countries.. Fabulous..
A super evening, Thank you Jane
Camille Newall
April 2022
Only Broadwindsor WI could make their AGM fun. To start with we all arrived wearing cowboy hats.
The meeting started with the Annual Report and the Finance Report. The Committee will stay in place for another year, with the welcome addition of Chris Miller. President Julie reviewed the last year's events and welcomed guest Barbara from Netherhay.
The WI garden is in need of some TLC and so Carole has kindly organised a Rota for weeding, etc.
Discussions followed with items for the Jubilee weekend, the WI window in church, and the coffee morning.
Now why were all members wearing cowboy hats ( quite a selection from the dressing up box to the real thing bought in the States ), I hear you ask ??? Well Donna decided to teach us to Line Dance. Have you tried it?? Great fun. Pure repetition in different directions.. Some of us were better / worse than others but we all enjoyed the experience very much, whether we were good or bad…
Camille Newall
Only Broadwindsor WI could make their AGM fun. To start with we all arrived wearing cowboy hats.
The meeting started with the Annual Report and the Finance Report. The Committee will stay in place for another year, with the welcome addition of Chris Miller. President Julie reviewed the last year's events and welcomed guest Barbara from Netherhay.
The WI garden is in need of some TLC and so Carole has kindly organised a Rota for weeding, etc.
Discussions followed with items for the Jubilee weekend, the WI window in church, and the coffee morning.
Now why were all members wearing cowboy hats ( quite a selection from the dressing up box to the real thing bought in the States ), I hear you ask ??? Well Donna decided to teach us to Line Dance. Have you tried it?? Great fun. Pure repetition in different directions.. Some of us were better / worse than others but we all enjoyed the experience very much, whether we were good or bad…
Camille Newall
March 2022
Did you celebrate St Patrick on the 17th March ?? Broadwindsor W.I. certainly did, and in style!
We all wore something green. Our fabulous committee had cooked vast quantities of delicious
Irish Stew accompanied by soda bread with fruit and soda bread without fruit, and we drank Guinness.
Our desert was chocolate truffles made with Irish whisky, followed by Irish coffee once again made with
Irish whisky.
After we had eaten this super meal we had an Irish quiz and I can’t help thinking that there may
have been more sensible answers had we done this quiz before the meal rather than after.
Some of our members had the energy to play Skittles after all this. For my part I just had enough energy to
help wash the pots.....
Once again we all came away with a hand-painted wine glass, this time decorated with shamrocks rather than pumpkins,
as a momento of our evening.
Thanks to all the committee for a super evening.
Camille Newall
February 2022
Russia- Challenges for Young Mothers
Broadwindsor WI meeting in February, President Julie welcomed us all. She had received a “thank you letter” from Margery Hookings for supplying and serving the refreshments on the afternoon of the presentation of the map of the village.
She then thanked Clare and Carole for clearing/tidying the WI garden.
This was followed by a very interesting and thought-provoking presentation from WI member Debbie. For sixteen years Debbie worked for the charity LOVE RUSSIA ( Restoring Lives Broken by Trauma ) This is a UK based charity which started 28 years ago when children/babies were locked in Russian orphanages, abandoned and living in bleak institutions with next to no emotional or physical care or education.
Everyone in Russia lives in apartments in the city- apparently it is very unusual for people to live in a house. Debbie showed us photographs of people living in dreadful overcrowded conditions ... no hot water, no fridges. It is normal for your flat to come with your job so therefore if you retire from your job you lose your home, so people work until they die.
When I think of Russia/Russians I see beautiful architecture, people with so much money that they can buy half of London, a President that has so much power, and an army with all the latest weapons, and not afraid to use them.
How I wish with we saw a little more of the world that Debbie showed us.
Camille Newall
Russia- Challenges for Young Mothers
Broadwindsor WI meeting in February, President Julie welcomed us all. She had received a “thank you letter” from Margery Hookings for supplying and serving the refreshments on the afternoon of the presentation of the map of the village.
She then thanked Clare and Carole for clearing/tidying the WI garden.
This was followed by a very interesting and thought-provoking presentation from WI member Debbie. For sixteen years Debbie worked for the charity LOVE RUSSIA ( Restoring Lives Broken by Trauma ) This is a UK based charity which started 28 years ago when children/babies were locked in Russian orphanages, abandoned and living in bleak institutions with next to no emotional or physical care or education.
Everyone in Russia lives in apartments in the city- apparently it is very unusual for people to live in a house. Debbie showed us photographs of people living in dreadful overcrowded conditions ... no hot water, no fridges. It is normal for your flat to come with your job so therefore if you retire from your job you lose your home, so people work until they die.
When I think of Russia/Russians I see beautiful architecture, people with so much money that they can buy half of London, a President that has so much power, and an army with all the latest weapons, and not afraid to use them.
How I wish with we saw a little more of the world that Debbie showed us.
Camille Newall
January 2022
Craft Evening
What a lot of talented people we have living in Broadwindsor. This was evident when members of WI had their first meeting of 2022.
We had a craft evening. Some members of Blackdown WI joined us, and it was really nice to feel as though we were near to normal again after so many months of upheaval, zoom, and lockdown.
First we had Issy showing her wonderful artwork. I loved the portraits of dogs, and she showed us how to draw an eye, building and layering it with soft pastels. Each time I wanted to have a try, too many people were already there!
Next came Debbie with her beautiful quilting; some of the throws, quilts, and cushion covers were exquisite. She showed us some hand stitched and some machine stitched.
Annie displayed her tapestry, footstools, and covers, with so much detail and fabulous colours. Absolutely gorgeous.
Then came two crafts that I think maybe I am capable of. The first was decoupage on glass. Amazing what you can do with a wine bottle, wine glass, or jar, a pack of table napkins and some glue. Thank you Donna.
Last, take a wire frame and scraps of ribbon and fabric. Tie the scraps onto the frame, lo and behold you have a wreath or a wall hanging. Great, thank you to Lynne and Ann.
Members of the committee provided lovely cakes as always, along with mulled wine, tea and coffee.
A really super evening.
Camille Newall
Craft Evening
What a lot of talented people we have living in Broadwindsor. This was evident when members of WI had their first meeting of 2022.
We had a craft evening. Some members of Blackdown WI joined us, and it was really nice to feel as though we were near to normal again after so many months of upheaval, zoom, and lockdown.
First we had Issy showing her wonderful artwork. I loved the portraits of dogs, and she showed us how to draw an eye, building and layering it with soft pastels. Each time I wanted to have a try, too many people were already there!
Next came Debbie with her beautiful quilting; some of the throws, quilts, and cushion covers were exquisite. She showed us some hand stitched and some machine stitched.
Annie displayed her tapestry, footstools, and covers, with so much detail and fabulous colours. Absolutely gorgeous.
Then came two crafts that I think maybe I am capable of. The first was decoupage on glass. Amazing what you can do with a wine bottle, wine glass, or jar, a pack of table napkins and some glue. Thank you Donna.
Last, take a wire frame and scraps of ribbon and fabric. Tie the scraps onto the frame, lo and behold you have a wreath or a wall hanging. Great, thank you to Lynne and Ann.
Members of the committee provided lovely cakes as always, along with mulled wine, tea and coffee.
A really super evening.
Camille Newall
December 2021
Christmas Meal at The Stableyard Restaurant
2021 has been a most unusual year, and it was nice to be meeting once again under slightly altered circumstances. Following a very hectic November for the WI, it was decided we would take it easy and just enjoy ourselves with a little pampering by going out for a meal. Chef Linda at the Stableyard was kind enough to put an extra evening on at her restaurant so we were able to dine out on our normal meeting night. All but three members, who were away or sheltering due to covid concerns, were able to join us. Although social distancing and other covid measure were in place, more than 20 members and their guests enjoyed a delightful meal and kicked off the Christmas season in good style.
Christmas Meal at The Stableyard Restaurant
2021 has been a most unusual year, and it was nice to be meeting once again under slightly altered circumstances. Following a very hectic November for the WI, it was decided we would take it easy and just enjoy ourselves with a little pampering by going out for a meal. Chef Linda at the Stableyard was kind enough to put an extra evening on at her restaurant so we were able to dine out on our normal meeting night. All but three members, who were away or sheltering due to covid concerns, were able to join us. Although social distancing and other covid measure were in place, more than 20 members and their guests enjoyed a delightful meal and kicked off the Christmas season in good style.
November 2021
Thanksgiving 400
Had you wandered into Comrades Hall on the evening of Thursday 18th November 2021 you could have been forgiven for thinking that you had been transported back to the year 1621; that you were in the company of some of the Pilgrims that had sailed on the tiny ship Mayflower from Plymouth (England) and Leiden (Holland) and landed in The New World. Their journey took 66 days.
W.I.member Donna has 10 Mayflower lines of Ancestry from 9 passengers. She treated us all to a wonderful evening. She has a lovely collection of memorabilia which was on show for us to see.
We were greeted with a welcome drink and then invited to be seated at a long beautifully set table. Once seated we were served with a 4 course Thanksgiving meal consisting of: Vegetable juice... Pumpkin soup... Turkey and all the trimmings including sweet potato, anadama bread (delicious).. Pecan, Pumpkin, Blueberry Pies .. tea/coffee and after dinner buttermints.
Everything homemade- it was lovely
After we had eaten we were treated to a talk and slide show, Donna explaining the history and the traditions that make this holidays so important in the USA.
We came home with hand painted wineglasses and our menus, gifts from Donna. On Thanksgiving day my friends in Holland always give thanks for their blessings. We should give thanks for wonderful friends and living in this little corner of Dorset
Camille Newall
(This Thanksgiving celebration was held a week earlier than the official holiday in order to fit in with the usual meeting night)
Thanksgiving 400
Had you wandered into Comrades Hall on the evening of Thursday 18th November 2021 you could have been forgiven for thinking that you had been transported back to the year 1621; that you were in the company of some of the Pilgrims that had sailed on the tiny ship Mayflower from Plymouth (England) and Leiden (Holland) and landed in The New World. Their journey took 66 days.
W.I.member Donna has 10 Mayflower lines of Ancestry from 9 passengers. She treated us all to a wonderful evening. She has a lovely collection of memorabilia which was on show for us to see.
We were greeted with a welcome drink and then invited to be seated at a long beautifully set table. Once seated we were served with a 4 course Thanksgiving meal consisting of: Vegetable juice... Pumpkin soup... Turkey and all the trimmings including sweet potato, anadama bread (delicious).. Pecan, Pumpkin, Blueberry Pies .. tea/coffee and after dinner buttermints.
Everything homemade- it was lovely
After we had eaten we were treated to a talk and slide show, Donna explaining the history and the traditions that make this holidays so important in the USA.
We came home with hand painted wineglasses and our menus, gifts from Donna. On Thanksgiving day my friends in Holland always give thanks for their blessings. We should give thanks for wonderful friends and living in this little corner of Dorset
Camille Newall
(This Thanksgiving celebration was held a week earlier than the official holiday in order to fit in with the usual meeting night)
October 2021
Our regular monthly meeting had to be cancelled at the last minute due to covid concerns, but that didn't stop Broadwindsor WI achieving what they had set out to do- create a display of poppies to be installed next to our Centenary Tree in time for Remembrance Day.
Armed with paint, scissors, tea lights and more plastic bottle-bottoms than we will ever see in one place again, a small team gathered together in the garage of one of the members and set to work, assembly-line style, making the poppies. We had learnt how to do them several years ago when a former member gave a workshop; when the shaped bottle base is trimmed and held over a candle, it melts into an organic flower shape. Add a bit of spray paint, and you have a very effective representation of a poppy.
Of course, the story doesn't end there. The poppies got their first coat of paint, but still needed another coat to make them more vibrant, then a display frame needed to be made. For these final steps, and much of the initial work such as trimming and drilling, we must say our thanks to member Lynne Staff and husband John- and a thank you to John Heys for also drilling some of the holes for the fasteners.
The display has now been installed. The aim was to have 103 poppies, for the 103 years since the end of the Great War. Has anyone actually managed to count them? Perhaps only the eagle-eyed, but at any rate it is an eye-catching display and a fitting way to honour our fallen soldiers. -Donna Heys
Our regular monthly meeting had to be cancelled at the last minute due to covid concerns, but that didn't stop Broadwindsor WI achieving what they had set out to do- create a display of poppies to be installed next to our Centenary Tree in time for Remembrance Day.
Armed with paint, scissors, tea lights and more plastic bottle-bottoms than we will ever see in one place again, a small team gathered together in the garage of one of the members and set to work, assembly-line style, making the poppies. We had learnt how to do them several years ago when a former member gave a workshop; when the shaped bottle base is trimmed and held over a candle, it melts into an organic flower shape. Add a bit of spray paint, and you have a very effective representation of a poppy.
Of course, the story doesn't end there. The poppies got their first coat of paint, but still needed another coat to make them more vibrant, then a display frame needed to be made. For these final steps, and much of the initial work such as trimming and drilling, we must say our thanks to member Lynne Staff and husband John- and a thank you to John Heys for also drilling some of the holes for the fasteners.
The display has now been installed. The aim was to have 103 poppies, for the 103 years since the end of the Great War. Has anyone actually managed to count them? Perhaps only the eagle-eyed, but at any rate it is an eye-catching display and a fitting way to honour our fallen soldiers. -Donna Heys

September 2021
The members of Broadwindsor WI will remember their September 2021 meeting for all sorts of reasons, all very pleasant. It was the first face-to-face meeting in Comrades' Hall since the first lockdown.
President Julie is still not able to join us. but I do know she is feeling better. Megan took the meeting, introducing and welcoming new members Kate and Carol and guests Fiona and Jan.
After dealing with a small amount of business, we went on to the main event of the evening. Our Treasurer Lynne has a very talented daughter Kate, who is a genius when it comes to baking cakes and decorating same. She brought 4 cupcakes each for us to decorate with a Christmas theme of elves and pixies. We were all given a "goody bag" which contained absolutely everything for us to use, even down to a minute amount of orange icing for the carrot.Our first task was to make a pink rose. Kate's example was exquisite; our efforts were "OK", "Not bad" and "Different"!
Thank you Kate and Lynne for a fabulous evening. I haven't had such fun for ages.
Camille Newall
The members of Broadwindsor WI will remember their September 2021 meeting for all sorts of reasons, all very pleasant. It was the first face-to-face meeting in Comrades' Hall since the first lockdown.
President Julie is still not able to join us. but I do know she is feeling better. Megan took the meeting, introducing and welcoming new members Kate and Carol and guests Fiona and Jan.
After dealing with a small amount of business, we went on to the main event of the evening. Our Treasurer Lynne has a very talented daughter Kate, who is a genius when it comes to baking cakes and decorating same. She brought 4 cupcakes each for us to decorate with a Christmas theme of elves and pixies. We were all given a "goody bag" which contained absolutely everything for us to use, even down to a minute amount of orange icing for the carrot.Our first task was to make a pink rose. Kate's example was exquisite; our efforts were "OK", "Not bad" and "Different"!
Thank you Kate and Lynne for a fabulous evening. I haven't had such fun for ages.
Camille Newall
August Bank Holiday 2021
Annual Horticultural Society Show
The lovely ladies of Broadwindsor W.I. once again helped to make the Annual Horticultural Society Show a pleasure to attend. The members made their usual delicious selection of cakes and an extremely good cup of tea.
Wearing their super fun aprons (reminiscent of Calendar Girls) they happily served cakes ,tea, coffee, and juice for a good 2/3 hours. It helped that the weather was dry and I am sure everyone enjoyed their afternoon out . It really has been nice to get together and chat after so many months of lock down.
Camille Newall
Annual Horticultural Society Show
The lovely ladies of Broadwindsor W.I. once again helped to make the Annual Horticultural Society Show a pleasure to attend. The members made their usual delicious selection of cakes and an extremely good cup of tea.
Wearing their super fun aprons (reminiscent of Calendar Girls) they happily served cakes ,tea, coffee, and juice for a good 2/3 hours. It helped that the weather was dry and I am sure everyone enjoyed their afternoon out . It really has been nice to get together and chat after so many months of lock down.
Camille Newall

August 2021
Summer BBQ
A lovely evening, after an uncertain start! Nothing stops the WI, especially when there is food involved! Here are two accounts of the event:
From Camille:
On Thursday evening 19th August Broadwindsor WI had their annual “summer “BBQ!!! Had you seen us in jackets, scarves, and the occasional
hat. you could have been forgiven for thinking that it was November. However good company, good conversation, and good food made up for the rotten weather. Thank you Donna for your hospitality and John (Donna’s husband ) for cooking.... and for all the lovely salads and deserts provided by members, including the showstopper Black Forest Gateau (delicious, Dee)!
and from Megan:
August, early evening, what could possibly go wrong with planning to hold a WI BBQ?
The rain and a “Broadwindsor Mist” prevailed for most of the day and anxious telephone calls were made. However, our hosts John and Donna were not deterred and decided to go ahead with a rain contingency plan in place.
While the rain continued for a short time we sheltered in the kitchen, sorting the salads and wonderful puddings. The rain stopped, with all hands-on deck we soon had chairs and tables out and the sausages on the grill.
Then joy of joy the sun came out raincoats were off and we enjoyed a most delicious meal in a beautiful setting. The conversations flowed around various topics and being able to meet with friends again in such a relaxed way still feels very special this year.
Many thanks go to our generous ,very kind hosts Donna and John and to the members who contributed to the salads and puddings, a wonderful feast.
Summer BBQ
A lovely evening, after an uncertain start! Nothing stops the WI, especially when there is food involved! Here are two accounts of the event:
From Camille:
On Thursday evening 19th August Broadwindsor WI had their annual “summer “BBQ!!! Had you seen us in jackets, scarves, and the occasional
hat. you could have been forgiven for thinking that it was November. However good company, good conversation, and good food made up for the rotten weather. Thank you Donna for your hospitality and John (Donna’s husband ) for cooking.... and for all the lovely salads and deserts provided by members, including the showstopper Black Forest Gateau (delicious, Dee)!
and from Megan:
August, early evening, what could possibly go wrong with planning to hold a WI BBQ?
The rain and a “Broadwindsor Mist” prevailed for most of the day and anxious telephone calls were made. However, our hosts John and Donna were not deterred and decided to go ahead with a rain contingency plan in place.
While the rain continued for a short time we sheltered in the kitchen, sorting the salads and wonderful puddings. The rain stopped, with all hands-on deck we soon had chairs and tables out and the sausages on the grill.
Then joy of joy the sun came out raincoats were off and we enjoyed a most delicious meal in a beautiful setting. The conversations flowed around various topics and being able to meet with friends again in such a relaxed way still feels very special this year.
Many thanks go to our generous ,very kind hosts Donna and John and to the members who contributed to the salads and puddings, a wonderful feast.
July 2021
Broadwindsor’s WI July meeting was a real change from our normal. President Julie and her committee organised a 3 mile walk from Palmers brewery to West Bay and back, to be followed by a super meal at the Indian restaurant in South Street.
It was a beautiful evening; the walk across the meadow, enjoying the holiday atmosphere and the sea breezes, then all sitting eating together, to be able to
chat….
What a lovely change after so many months of lockdown and seeing each on a computer screen.
Thank you ladies
Camille Newall
Broadwindsor’s WI July meeting was a real change from our normal. President Julie and her committee organised a 3 mile walk from Palmers brewery to West Bay and back, to be followed by a super meal at the Indian restaurant in South Street.
It was a beautiful evening; the walk across the meadow, enjoying the holiday atmosphere and the sea breezes, then all sitting eating together, to be able to
chat….
What a lovely change after so many months of lockdown and seeing each on a computer screen.
Thank you ladies
Camille Newall
June 2021
We're back!!!
After many months in covid lockdown, our dynamic president Julie Steele has hit the ground running. We began with a tea on the village green, Bernards' Place, to welcome back all our old members- and get to know some new ones! This was held on 27th May, a delay of a week due to weather issues. Photos and a short report by Secretary Megan Jones to follow. And last Thursday, June 17th saw members gathered in committee member Dee Gray's garden for a talk by her husband Adrian on Koi Carp keeping. The fish were absolutely fascinating, and sangria and nibbles followed the talk. Thank you to Adrian and Dee for a wonderful evening!
Member Camille Newall wrote this lovely report about the evening: For their June meeting, Broadwindsor WI had a most unusual and interesting evening.
In the early evening we all met in Dee’s lovely garden. President Julie welcomed us.
We were then introduced to Dee’s husband Adrian, whose hobby is to collect, look after and enjoy Koi Carp. He has a fantastic tank in the garden with glass panels so that he/we could watch these beautifully coloured fish. We were asked not to dangle our hands in the tank for the safety of the fish.
The tank is 15ft x 12ft and 6ft deep, it contains 33,000 litres of water; it has special infiltration to get rid of any bacteria, andthere is no foliage in the tank. As well as this tank he has a quarantine tank in his shed.
Japan is THE place to purchase these attractive fish anything from £600 to £3000..Female Koi are slightly fatter/rounder than the males, however the most expensive Koi Carpe of all valued at 1.4 million dollars is, of course, female.. Adrian has 28 Koi- some are calm, and some quite feisty (probably female)..
These are just some of the Koi that live in Broadwindsor... Gin Rin -has shiny scales…Wagoi-Fully scaled fish…Doitsu-scaleless fish...Chagoi-tea coloured and very friendly… Magoi- the original koi from which all koi stem, colour black and quite wild in nature ..
The evening came to a close with a glass of Sangria (just right for a summer evening) and small eats provided by the committee .
Camille Newall
Members' Tea at Bernards' Place
Following the many months of restriction due to the Covid Pandemic, the newly, formed Committee of President Julie Steele, Treasurer Lynne Staff, Secretary Megan Jones and Members Dee Gray and Donna Heys (co-opted), now known as the WI Enthusiasts agreed that the best way to re-generate our group was to hold an afternoon tea party.
The chosen date of 20th May was a complete wash out with regard to weather, storm and tempest prevailed on the day! However, the sun shone for us the following week.
With the help of John Heys and Adrian Gray, gazebos were erected, tables and chairs put out and we were ready to welcome, members, past members and new arrivals in the village.
Needless to say the array of cakes, scones, and sandwiches were a delight, we have some very talented ladies. A particular mention for Lynne who not only produced our “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” aprons, but also scones complete with individual pots of jam and cream. Donna’s Belgian Buns were superb and also complemented our new aprons!
Julie welcomed the attendees and gave a brief outline of some of our planned activities over the coming months and thanked everyone who contributed with cakes and sandwiches and helping to make our tea such a friendly and fun event. It was truly appreciated by all to be able to socialise again.
In addition to the Committee Members the following were in attendance: Carole Loudon, Diane Stothard, Camille Newall, Sara Dyke, Annie Bowman, Debbie Bradley, Izzy Masey, Ann Boon, Diana Coltart, Sue Eccles and Brenda Smith (Past President). Also, not to forget Julie’s Mum.
We're back!!!
After many months in covid lockdown, our dynamic president Julie Steele has hit the ground running. We began with a tea on the village green, Bernards' Place, to welcome back all our old members- and get to know some new ones! This was held on 27th May, a delay of a week due to weather issues. Photos and a short report by Secretary Megan Jones to follow. And last Thursday, June 17th saw members gathered in committee member Dee Gray's garden for a talk by her husband Adrian on Koi Carp keeping. The fish were absolutely fascinating, and sangria and nibbles followed the talk. Thank you to Adrian and Dee for a wonderful evening!
Member Camille Newall wrote this lovely report about the evening: For their June meeting, Broadwindsor WI had a most unusual and interesting evening.
In the early evening we all met in Dee’s lovely garden. President Julie welcomed us.
We were then introduced to Dee’s husband Adrian, whose hobby is to collect, look after and enjoy Koi Carp. He has a fantastic tank in the garden with glass panels so that he/we could watch these beautifully coloured fish. We were asked not to dangle our hands in the tank for the safety of the fish.
The tank is 15ft x 12ft and 6ft deep, it contains 33,000 litres of water; it has special infiltration to get rid of any bacteria, andthere is no foliage in the tank. As well as this tank he has a quarantine tank in his shed.
Japan is THE place to purchase these attractive fish anything from £600 to £3000..Female Koi are slightly fatter/rounder than the males, however the most expensive Koi Carpe of all valued at 1.4 million dollars is, of course, female.. Adrian has 28 Koi- some are calm, and some quite feisty (probably female)..
These are just some of the Koi that live in Broadwindsor... Gin Rin -has shiny scales…Wagoi-Fully scaled fish…Doitsu-scaleless fish...Chagoi-tea coloured and very friendly… Magoi- the original koi from which all koi stem, colour black and quite wild in nature ..
The evening came to a close with a glass of Sangria (just right for a summer evening) and small eats provided by the committee .
Camille Newall
Members' Tea at Bernards' Place
Following the many months of restriction due to the Covid Pandemic, the newly, formed Committee of President Julie Steele, Treasurer Lynne Staff, Secretary Megan Jones and Members Dee Gray and Donna Heys (co-opted), now known as the WI Enthusiasts agreed that the best way to re-generate our group was to hold an afternoon tea party.
The chosen date of 20th May was a complete wash out with regard to weather, storm and tempest prevailed on the day! However, the sun shone for us the following week.
With the help of John Heys and Adrian Gray, gazebos were erected, tables and chairs put out and we were ready to welcome, members, past members and new arrivals in the village.
Needless to say the array of cakes, scones, and sandwiches were a delight, we have some very talented ladies. A particular mention for Lynne who not only produced our “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” aprons, but also scones complete with individual pots of jam and cream. Donna’s Belgian Buns were superb and also complemented our new aprons!
Julie welcomed the attendees and gave a brief outline of some of our planned activities over the coming months and thanked everyone who contributed with cakes and sandwiches and helping to make our tea such a friendly and fun event. It was truly appreciated by all to be able to socialise again.
In addition to the Committee Members the following were in attendance: Carole Loudon, Diane Stothard, Camille Newall, Sara Dyke, Annie Bowman, Debbie Bradley, Izzy Masey, Ann Boon, Diana Coltart, Sue Eccles and Brenda Smith (Past President). Also, not to forget Julie’s Mum.
CORONAVIRUS
With the current coronavirus outbreak, Broadwindsor WI is following government guidelines and has cancelled its March meeting and upcoming Barn Dance. It is also unlikely the April Annual meeting will take place, but this will be confirmed nearer the time. If any members require support while self-isolating, please contact a member of the committee.
With the current coronavirus outbreak, Broadwindsor WI is following government guidelines and has cancelled its March meeting and upcoming Barn Dance. It is also unlikely the April Annual meeting will take place, but this will be confirmed nearer the time. If any members require support while self-isolating, please contact a member of the committee.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY PARKRUN
7th March 2020
IWD was all it took for a small band of Broadwindsor WI members to come out and take part in their first ever parkrun. Wishing to demonstrate that the WI isn't just about 'jam and Jersalem', regular parkrunner Donna Heys encouraged President Julie Steele to bring along some willing ladies to try out the event at St Mary's Park, Bridport- which, in spite of its name, can be just a walk in the park! parkrun is a weekly, timed, free 5k run, jog or walk; all you have to do is register and print off a bar code to bring on the day, so your time gets emailed to you at the end. It's fun, it's friendly, and everyone is welcome- even the dog if you have one! It really is amazing to complete the 5k course and have lots of shouts of encouragement fromthe marshals and other parkrunners. And the best bit is, no matter how slow you are, you are never the last one in- a designated tail walker has the job of making sure no one is left behind. If you don't fancy running or walking, why not come down and volunteer? Both volunteering and participating earn you points for free t-shirts. And after each parkrun, there is always the opportunity for a coffee and a good chat. It's all great for your health, both mental and physical.
Remember, everyone is welcome at a parkrun!
Photographs from today's event can be found by following this link:
https://www.flickr.com/groups/stmarys-parkrun/pool/185652915@N02
More information is available at the St Mary's parkrun website: https://www.parkrun.org.uk/stmarys/
7th March 2020
IWD was all it took for a small band of Broadwindsor WI members to come out and take part in their first ever parkrun. Wishing to demonstrate that the WI isn't just about 'jam and Jersalem', regular parkrunner Donna Heys encouraged President Julie Steele to bring along some willing ladies to try out the event at St Mary's Park, Bridport- which, in spite of its name, can be just a walk in the park! parkrun is a weekly, timed, free 5k run, jog or walk; all you have to do is register and print off a bar code to bring on the day, so your time gets emailed to you at the end. It's fun, it's friendly, and everyone is welcome- even the dog if you have one! It really is amazing to complete the 5k course and have lots of shouts of encouragement fromthe marshals and other parkrunners. And the best bit is, no matter how slow you are, you are never the last one in- a designated tail walker has the job of making sure no one is left behind. If you don't fancy running or walking, why not come down and volunteer? Both volunteering and participating earn you points for free t-shirts. And after each parkrun, there is always the opportunity for a coffee and a good chat. It's all great for your health, both mental and physical.
Remember, everyone is welcome at a parkrun!
Photographs from today's event can be found by following this link:
https://www.flickr.com/groups/stmarys-parkrun/pool/185652915@N02
More information is available at the St Mary's parkrun website: https://www.parkrun.org.uk/stmarys/

After the parkrun!
Left to right
Font row: Julie, Carole, Teri
Back row: Sue, Sandra, Donna
Left to right
Font row: Julie, Carole, Teri
Back row: Sue, Sandra, Donna
BROADWINDSOR WI February 2020
To mark International Women's Day several Broadwindsor W.I. members will join Donna to take part in the parkrun / walk in Bridport.
We discussed the future direction of the group ie; Do we want on carry on as we are
Do we want to get involved with National Campaigns
Do we want to organise more day trips ( fine for those of us who are not working)
We were invited by the Fun Day Group to supply refreshments for the Fun Day in July. We declined because we provide refreshments each year for the Horticultural Society in August.
We welcomed back Bruce Upton from Bridport Museum to entertain us with his A to Z of Dorset Curiosities, and my goodness there are plenty.. far too many to mention.
Did you know that St Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Winchester Cathedral, all refused to have the tomb of T.E.Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) within their walls so he is buried in a tiny church near his cottage in Clouds Hill, Dorset.
At Moreton Church there are examples of exquisite etched glass seen at their best on a bright sunny day… William Weare did not want his tomb inside the Church or outside in the Churchyard so he is buried in the wall at Portesham.
At Wimborne Minster there is an astronomical clock dating back to the 1300s. It shows the earth with the sun going round it on a 24 hour dial. It rings every Quarter Hour.. The chime is rung by a full size figure of a Grenadier Guard on the outside of the bell tower. He is known as Quarter Jack
Camille Newall
BROADWINDSOR WI January 2020
This was a members' meeting, time to discuss our WI and fit in a short quiz!
To mark International Women's Day several Broadwindsor W.I. members will join Donna to take part in the parkrun / walk in Bridport.
We discussed the future direction of the group ie; Do we want on carry on as we are
Do we want to get involved with National Campaigns
Do we want to organise more day trips ( fine for those of us who are not working)
We were invited by the Fun Day Group to supply refreshments for the Fun Day in July. We declined because we provide refreshments each year for the Horticultural Society in August.
We welcomed back Bruce Upton from Bridport Museum to entertain us with his A to Z of Dorset Curiosities, and my goodness there are plenty.. far too many to mention.
Did you know that St Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Winchester Cathedral, all refused to have the tomb of T.E.Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) within their walls so he is buried in a tiny church near his cottage in Clouds Hill, Dorset.
At Moreton Church there are examples of exquisite etched glass seen at their best on a bright sunny day… William Weare did not want his tomb inside the Church or outside in the Churchyard so he is buried in the wall at Portesham.
At Wimborne Minster there is an astronomical clock dating back to the 1300s. It shows the earth with the sun going round it on a 24 hour dial. It rings every Quarter Hour.. The chime is rung by a full size figure of a Grenadier Guard on the outside of the bell tower. He is known as Quarter Jack
Camille Newall
BROADWINDSOR WI January 2020
This was a members' meeting, time to discuss our WI and fit in a short quiz!
BROADWINDSOR WI December 2019
Broadwindsor W.I. December meeting was spent having a very nice meal, drink, conversation at the Hare and Hounds in Waytown.
Thanks to the committee for organising same and for those members who did the driving so that the rest of us could enjoy a glass or two
Camille Newall
Broadwindsor W.I. December meeting was spent having a very nice meal, drink, conversation at the Hare and Hounds in Waytown.
Thanks to the committee for organising same and for those members who did the driving so that the rest of us could enjoy a glass or two
Camille Newall
1970s Broadwindsor Photos (under History and Archive)
We have a new page for you to enjoy! We were delighted to have been contacted by Sir David Haslam a few days ago, and received from him a collection of slides and photos that had come from his late aunt, Marie Haslam. Miss Haslam had lived in the village with her friend Ann Salt from 1968-83. You will find many of the photos have captions, but Heather Bunch has contacted me with further information: the photos involving the tractor and milk churns in the snow depict her father's old International tractor and trailer; Heather's sister Rita and Rita's daughter Lucy are standing in the Comrades' Hall car park (where we have our WI meetings, but before the hall was extended). The flag on the church is at half-mast as the vicar, Rev. Bob Vincent, had died suddenly. Leonard Studley is also presenting Lucy with something in one of the photos at the school. And the photo of the decorated bikes and tries at the school was taken on Royal Wedding Day in 1981.
Whether you are a new resident or Broadwindsor born-and-bred, we hope you enjoy looking back at what our lovely village was like nearly 50 years ago! DH, 1 December 2019
We have a new page for you to enjoy! We were delighted to have been contacted by Sir David Haslam a few days ago, and received from him a collection of slides and photos that had come from his late aunt, Marie Haslam. Miss Haslam had lived in the village with her friend Ann Salt from 1968-83. You will find many of the photos have captions, but Heather Bunch has contacted me with further information: the photos involving the tractor and milk churns in the snow depict her father's old International tractor and trailer; Heather's sister Rita and Rita's daughter Lucy are standing in the Comrades' Hall car park (where we have our WI meetings, but before the hall was extended). The flag on the church is at half-mast as the vicar, Rev. Bob Vincent, had died suddenly. Leonard Studley is also presenting Lucy with something in one of the photos at the school. And the photo of the decorated bikes and tries at the school was taken on Royal Wedding Day in 1981.
Whether you are a new resident or Broadwindsor born-and-bred, we hope you enjoy looking back at what our lovely village was like nearly 50 years ago! DH, 1 December 2019
BROADWINDSOR WI November 2019
If you ever have the opportunity to go to hear Brian Jackman (the award winning Sunday Times journalist) speak about his experiences in Africa I urge you to take it. He came to speak to us at our November W.I. meeting. It was an open meeting which meant that husbands, partners and guests were welcome and I think that I can speak for everyone there when I tell you what an enjoyable evening it was.
Brian is an amazing story teller and his tales from when he spent time in the Masai Mara in his book The Big Cat Diary- sleeping under the stars with lions, (Brian's favourite big cat), cheetahs, (the fastest animal on earth) and the most beautiful animal of all the leopard all close by - just fabulous.
He is, with his friend George Adamson, a trustee of The Wildlife Preservation Trust. Brian has spent thirty years travelling in Africa and for three of these years
The Pride of Marsh Lions were part of his life. Quote from his book The Marsh Lions:
“When the lion roars the African knows what the lion is saying” " Whose land is this - Whose land is this” “ It is mine - It is mine “
I am sorry this report is not very long but I was fascinated with Brian's descriptions and story telling and I listened instead of making notes.
If you want more information he has a very good web site.
Camille Newall
BROADWINDSOR WI October meeting
Our October meeting took the form of a Beetle Drive. The reason for this was that we were running one (Beetle Drive ) for the general public on Saturday 9th November and we thought it
may be a good idea to have a practise run then we would know what we were doing.
Well we will see. There will also be a selection of super puddings served, but members were reminded to bring their own drink and glass
We were delighted to hear that our entertainment at the Harvest Supper had been enjoyed by all and over £1000 was raised for the Church
There will be a carol service at Sherborne Cathedral on 2nd December and 19th December we will enjoy our annual Christmas Meal
At our next meeting we are going to take toiletries for “Cupboard Love”.
Camille Newall
P.S. We have now had our Beetle Drive and those of who were there had a really nice evening. The puddings were fantastic, unfortunately not too many people came to enjoy them
C.N.
BEETLE DRIVE and pudding
Friday 9th November
Comrades’ Hall
7.00 for 7.30 start
£5 per head
Please bring your own drinks and glasses
Tickets are available from Broadwindsor Community Stores
Tables of four- families welcome! Don’t worry if you have fewer than four, as we will put you with others. The winner of each round moves to the next table.
If you ever have the opportunity to go to hear Brian Jackman (the award winning Sunday Times journalist) speak about his experiences in Africa I urge you to take it. He came to speak to us at our November W.I. meeting. It was an open meeting which meant that husbands, partners and guests were welcome and I think that I can speak for everyone there when I tell you what an enjoyable evening it was.
Brian is an amazing story teller and his tales from when he spent time in the Masai Mara in his book The Big Cat Diary- sleeping under the stars with lions, (Brian's favourite big cat), cheetahs, (the fastest animal on earth) and the most beautiful animal of all the leopard all close by - just fabulous.
He is, with his friend George Adamson, a trustee of The Wildlife Preservation Trust. Brian has spent thirty years travelling in Africa and for three of these years
The Pride of Marsh Lions were part of his life. Quote from his book The Marsh Lions:
“When the lion roars the African knows what the lion is saying” " Whose land is this - Whose land is this” “ It is mine - It is mine “
I am sorry this report is not very long but I was fascinated with Brian's descriptions and story telling and I listened instead of making notes.
If you want more information he has a very good web site.
Camille Newall
BROADWINDSOR WI October meeting
Our October meeting took the form of a Beetle Drive. The reason for this was that we were running one (Beetle Drive ) for the general public on Saturday 9th November and we thought it
may be a good idea to have a practise run then we would know what we were doing.
Well we will see. There will also be a selection of super puddings served, but members were reminded to bring their own drink and glass
We were delighted to hear that our entertainment at the Harvest Supper had been enjoyed by all and over £1000 was raised for the Church
There will be a carol service at Sherborne Cathedral on 2nd December and 19th December we will enjoy our annual Christmas Meal
At our next meeting we are going to take toiletries for “Cupboard Love”.
Camille Newall
P.S. We have now had our Beetle Drive and those of who were there had a really nice evening. The puddings were fantastic, unfortunately not too many people came to enjoy them
C.N.
BEETLE DRIVE and pudding
Friday 9th November
Comrades’ Hall
7.00 for 7.30 start
£5 per head
Please bring your own drinks and glasses
Tickets are available from Broadwindsor Community Stores
Tables of four- families welcome! Don’t worry if you have fewer than four, as we will put you with others. The winner of each round moves to the next table.
Broadwindsor W.I. 20 September
I usually do my own manicure/paint my nails but at the September meeting at Broadwindsor W.I. I was the lucky person who had all this done for me when our speaker was Jan McNeill , a fully qualified lady who runs her own manicure / pedicure service, explained to us the importance of looking after our cuticles and filing our nails correctly. Whilst I was having my nails done she chatted to us about her life before she qualified to do this- she was an entertainer on cruise ships. Jan has her own treatment room in Misterton and can be contacted at [email protected]
It made me think of the days when, as a student, together with friends we would do each others nails. The “IN” colour was "Rouge Noir" by Chanel. We could not afford that so we would use some cheap varnish from Woolworths which would last about 2/3 days if we were lucky- a far cry from the gel polish which Jan says should last 3/4 weeks if I’m careful.
We continued our meeting discussing the pro’s and con’s of the Fashion Show. It was successful in that most people enjoyed the evening and we made money, but apparently we did not sell many clothes. Whether or not we will have another one next year I don’t know, but watch this space .
Camille Newall
FASHION SHOW Friday September 13, 2019
Who would have thought the village of Broadwindsor would become “ The Centre of the Fashion World” “The Hub of Haute Couture” (OOOPs there I go exaggerating again).
Seriously though, over a hundred people gathered together in Comrades Hall last Friday.
President Julie, plus Linda, Dee, Jackie, Megan and Camille “ modelled “ a rather “mixed bag” of clothes to everybody’s admiration, or should that be amazement/amusement ??
The aim was
(1 To provide a fun evening for everyone
(2 Sell clothes at reduced prices
(3 Raise money for Broadwindsor Women’s Institute
Well I think that we succeeded. Thanks to our fabulous committee for organising the evening and providing “nibbles” .
Huge thanks to Kevin, John S, John N, Steve, for all their help setting up the Hall, running the Bar, running the raffle and clearing up the next day.
Also to the company Travelling Trends for providing all the clothes and the know how to run this event.
Camille Newall
Who would have thought the village of Broadwindsor would become “ The Centre of the Fashion World” “The Hub of Haute Couture” (OOOPs there I go exaggerating again).
Seriously though, over a hundred people gathered together in Comrades Hall last Friday.
President Julie, plus Linda, Dee, Jackie, Megan and Camille “ modelled “ a rather “mixed bag” of clothes to everybody’s admiration, or should that be amazement/amusement ??
The aim was
(1 To provide a fun evening for everyone
(2 Sell clothes at reduced prices
(3 Raise money for Broadwindsor Women’s Institute
Well I think that we succeeded. Thanks to our fabulous committee for organising the evening and providing “nibbles” .
Huge thanks to Kevin, John S, John N, Steve, for all their help setting up the Hall, running the Bar, running the raffle and clearing up the next day.
Also to the company Travelling Trends for providing all the clothes and the know how to run this event.
Camille Newall
BROADWINDSOR WI- August 2019
Despite it being a bit chilly on the evening of the W.I. annual BBQ, we all had a fabulous time.
Thank you to Donna for allowing us to use their lovely garden, and to her husband John, together with Brenda’s husband Frank, for keeping us supplied with burgers, sausages, and chicken legs. We all took various salads and as always, members provided super desserts.
Conversations ranged from grandchildren’s “A” level results to who had good finger nails for our September guest speaker to use to demonstrate “The Way to Beautiful Hands”, which should be an interesting topic. We also discussed how the tickets are selling for the Fashion Show and the upcoming The Harvest Supper entertainment.
It really was a very nice evening.
Camille Newall
Despite it being a bit chilly on the evening of the W.I. annual BBQ, we all had a fabulous time.
Thank you to Donna for allowing us to use their lovely garden, and to her husband John, together with Brenda’s husband Frank, for keeping us supplied with burgers, sausages, and chicken legs. We all took various salads and as always, members provided super desserts.
Conversations ranged from grandchildren’s “A” level results to who had good finger nails for our September guest speaker to use to demonstrate “The Way to Beautiful Hands”, which should be an interesting topic. We also discussed how the tickets are selling for the Fashion Show and the upcoming The Harvest Supper entertainment.
It really was a very nice evening.
Camille Newall

FASHION SHOW FASHION SHOW FASHION SHOW
THE DATE 13th September 2019
THE TIME Doors open 7.00pm for 7.30pm
THE PLACE Comrades Hall Broadwindsor
Save the date!
You will see the clothes modelled.
You can try on and buy!
TICKETS From members of Broadwindsor W.I. and the Community Shop
THE PRICE £8.00 to include a glass of Prosecco
THE DATE 13th September 2019
THE TIME Doors open 7.00pm for 7.30pm
THE PLACE Comrades Hall Broadwindsor
Save the date!
You will see the clothes modelled.
You can try on and buy!
TICKETS From members of Broadwindsor W.I. and the Community Shop
THE PRICE £8.00 to include a glass of Prosecco

BROADWINDSOR WI - July 2019
What a super meeting we had in July! Having sung Jerusalem, we welcomed Bonny Sartin, one of the original members of The Yetties (do you remember them ??). He entertained us with snippets of his life growing up in Dorset. How when he was 7 years old the family moved from a cottage in the back of beyond, without electricity and running water to a council house with all mod cons. What excitement!
Sartin's holidays consisted of the village outings on a charabanc from Thornford to Weymouth, 3 times a year. He worked on a farm when he was a boy and gleaned food from the countryside and as he said in a lovely song he ate an awful lot of rabbit cooked in a hundred different ways (we all joined in the chorus consisting of 1 word which was, of course 'rabbit').
A family saying was "Perfection's hard to come by when all is said and done" - yet the chorus of another song. We heard songs about the Cow Pat Throwing competition. Hayfever, AAATISHOO , and a very sad song about a Scarecrow who ended up on the bonfire Guy Fawkes. He told us of his days with The Yetties travelling all over the world and of doing the TV programme "It's a Knockout" with Ted Moult and Lance Percival.
Flying from Canada on one occasion he looked down to see the sun rising over Portland Bill and said "Dorset, that's my home"
Julie welcomed Diane Coltart as a new Member.
Camille Newall
BROADWINDSOR WI - June 2019
Sandra presided over our June meeting. We altered the format by having the speaker first, followed by refreshments then the business, competition results and raffle. Speaking personally I enjoyed it, but of course it will be discussed by members and we will see what happens.
What a good idea to invite Diane Janes to talk to us about "Her Life in Crime" No, she is not constantly breaking the law, but she is a best-selling author who writes crime novels. She read an excerpt from " A Stroke Of Bad Luck" ( I think I will be buying it) and also re-looks at actual murders eg Derek Bentley, a mentally handicapped teenager who was hanged in 1952/3 for the murder of a policeman. He was later pardoned.
The author became interested in the law when she was a child because she would overhear her parents discussing at length the cases at the Law Courts. She made us laugh with the story that when she was 12 years old the librarian would not let her borrow books which described real-life murders/ court cases, unless she brought a note from her parents stating that they did not object.
She brought several of her novels and signed them for those of us who bought them. It really was a very nice evening
Camille Newall
BROADWINDSOR WI at Fun Day 2019
REPORT ON BROADWINDSOR WI AT FUN DAY 1st JUNE 2019
We were so lucky with the warm, sunny day, and with many family, friends & villagers coming to this event
The afternoon started with the unveiling of the old village pump then the Parade of Shields, Brenda Smith proudly carrying our WI shield recently decorated with ribbons & a rosette, from Comrades Hall to the Village Square.
Our WI members had been very busy leading up to this event, being involved with the organisation and assembling various Traditional & Alien/Space 'scarecows'! Our own Non-Traditional entry of 'The Clangers' , which was arranged in the Centenary Tree plot, was suggested by Julie Steele, our President, which meant that so many members were able to join in the fun of knitting, sewing and making the cute aliens & their models. Many of us had to Google them first as didn't know or remember the childrens' TV series! Also, many WI members made their own 'scarecrows' to display outside their houses. with one group within WI, the White Lion Book & Pudding Club winning First Prize for the Traditional Scarecrow - Congratulations!
Ongoing during the afternoon the WI team worked hard with their helpers supplying Tea & Cakes as has happened in previous Fun Days - not easy on such a hot day! So many delicious cakes had been provided, very successful and much appreciated by all age groups. Camille was at the Guess the Weight of the Cake stand, with a beautifully iced and decorated 'Clangers Scene'.
So many Broadwindsor members (and their families) were involved before, during and after this successful event so many thanks to all of them especially as all monies raised go back into village clubs funding.
There are many photos to follow either on Facebook, Broadwindsor WI Website and eventually in our WI Photobook!
Brenda Smith
Broadwindsor WI- 16thMay 2019
Colin Varndell: The Hedgehog Predicament
The British hedgehog is in crisis. Numbers of the popular garden visitor are reduced to nearing extinction, and the topic has hit national headlines and television documentaries within recent months. The good news is that steps are being taken in Dorset to help the hedgehog with its survival issues. Wildlife photographer and campaigner Colin Varndell talked to the WI about his work with the Dorset Mammal Group, a talk which was beautifully illustrated with his photographs. All of Colin’s facts were based on scientific fact, including the hedgehog vs badger debate (they have survived side-by-side for about 9,000 years). The reasons for the rapid demise of the hedgehog (one guestimate reports a population of 30 million hedgehogs in the 1950’s compared with around 1 million in 2010) are varied. Due to changes in agricultural practises, most hedgehogs now reside in towns and villages, and there is a movement to make our gardens hedgehog-friendly. There is a lot we can do as individuals to help the hedgehog: leave out water for them, but never bread and milk- they eat protein such as bugs, small animals and slugs, and can find their own food; don’t use slug pellets or rodent poison; create hedgehog highways- 5” square holes- in your garden fencing so they can move from garden to garden; control your dogs, especially at night; and most importantly, if you must have a bonfire, burn it on the day of building (or if built early, move it before lighting) as there may be a hedgehog hibernating within the pile. A hedgehog takes about 12 hours to fully arouse from a hibernation so would be unable to wake up quickly and escape the flames. More information can be found on the Dorset Mammal Group website at https://dorsetmammalgroup.wordpress.com.
DH
ANNUAL MEETING- 18th April 2019
Congratulations to our new President Julie Steele, who was elected at our Annual Meeting on 18th April. Also a very warm welcome to the other new members of the committee- Sandra Burrows, Margaret Wing, and Sue Richards. Lynne Staff and Donna Heys will stay on another year. Huge thanks go to our former President Brenda Smith for all her hard work, and to Ann Slee for her services as Secretary for the past few years. Thanks, too to Sue Eccles and Val Jones for their valuable time served on the committee. Without willing volunteers, our WI just couldn't function! We look forward to working together as a new committee.
The meeting was followed by a wine and cheese event, and we were delighted that Jan Watson was able to join us as advisor during the election- thank you, Jan.
The new programme will be published shortly and will appear on the meeting information page when available.
BROADWINDSOR WI - March 2019
"My Life In Fashion" was the title of our talk at W.I. last month and what a life it turned out to be. It was lovely to meet Elizabeth Friend and hear her story.
In the 1960s when Elizabeth was leaving school, fashion was not her first choice although she had a good knowledge of fit and cut. She was so tiny that it was not easy to find clothes to fit so she made most of her own .
She left home from the small village and travelled to London to work with Hardy Amies in Saville Row. What a change that must have been.
The staff were not allowed to use the main staircase in the showroom but had to use the back stairs which were in darkness.
From there she went on to work with Norman Hartnell, the Queens dressmaker no less. This is not fashion - this is Haute Couture.
She told us a lovely story of how Dame Edith Evans would wander around the showrooms and Elizabeth was told by other staff to "get rid of her she can't afford our clothes" .
Elizabeth travelled the world promoting British design and fabrics. She worked for a short time for Marks and Spencer but hated it despite being well paid.
She brought in some beautiful Jean Muir garments for us to see. What a lovely career.
Camille Newall
Several of our W.I. members got together and had a lot of fun making a scarecrow- "The Broadwindsor Burglar, JonBoy" ( he plied his trade in 1818 ) to feature in the Crime and Punishment Exhibition at Beaminster Museum starting at Easter .
He is not very handsome but do pop in and see him.
Camille Newall
BROADWINDSOR WI - February 2019
Living so close to the Jurassic Coast as we do, it’s almost easy to take it for granted. And when attending a talk on this geographical feature, it would be easy to expect a rather dry discussion on local geology. However, Tony Burges’s talk to our WI this month was anything but dry; it was, instead a well-illustrated virtual walking tour of the entire 95 miles of our wonderful coastline. Of course, the spectacular geology did come into the talk from time to time, to enable the audience to understand just how this beautiful scenery was created. Tony, who is also a Red Coat Guide in Exeter, entertained the group with tales ranging from escaped German prisons-of-war to "Budleigh buns" (referring to the shape of the rocks on the beach) to garden sheds falling down the cliff. We found out how to find the remains of a fossilised forest at Lulworth and how a large chunk of the coastline slumped away during the Victorian era. Tony, who grew up in the local area, has seen many extreme changes to the landscape, supporting the concept that the Jurassic Coast, which was designated a World Heritage site in 2001, is largely defined by the erosion which keeps it an ever-changing spectacle.
If you would like to hear more speakers like Tony Burges, why not consider joining the WI? We are a very friendly group which always welcomes new members. Check out our meeting information on the notice board opposite the White Lion pub, or here on our website.
-DH
BROADWINDSOR WI-January 2019
We decided that we would try an experiment during the winter months and hold our monthly meeting in the afternoon instead of the evening. I don't think it was a huge success although perhaps it was the fact that the February meeting was for business and the paying of our yearly subs of £42.
That's not bad value is it. A night out per month, very interesting speakers, always good company and conversation, tea, coffee, biscuits and frequently wonderful home made food, wine, fun evenings. Why not come and join us and see how you like it.
Those of us who attended discussed the WI Resolutions 2019, six of them this year ranging from 'Improving the Natural Landscape' 'Decline in Local Bus Services' to more women's issues 'Don't fear the smear'or 'Suffering in Silence (Periods)' President Brenda and Secretary Ann will vote on our behalf at the District meeting.
When our business was finished we had a fun quiz and then discussed the feature that we hope to do for Beaminster Museum.
The daffodils are blooming and our WI garden, just outside the school is looking rather nice.
Camille Newall
Living so close to the Jurassic Coast as we do, it’s almost easy to take it for granted. And when attending a talk on this geographical feature, it would be easy to expect a rather dry discussion on local geology. However, Tony Burges’s talk to our WI this month was anything but dry; it was, instead a well-illustrated virtual walking tour of the entire 95 miles of our wonderful coastline. Of course, the spectacular geology did come into the talk from time to time, to enable the audience to understand just how this beautiful scenery was created. Tony, who is also a Red Coat Guide in Exeter, entertained the group with tales ranging from escaped German prisons-of-war to "Budleigh buns" (referring to the shape of the rocks on the beach) to garden sheds falling down the cliff. We found out how to find the remains of a fossilised forest at Lulworth and how a large chunk of the coastline slumped away during the Victorian era. Tony, who grew up in the local area, has seen many extreme changes to the landscape, supporting the concept that the Jurassic Coast, which was designated a World Heritage site in 2001, is largely defined by the erosion which keeps it an ever-changing spectacle.
If you would like to hear more speakers like Tony Burges, why not consider joining the WI? We are a very friendly group which always welcomes new members. Check out our meeting information on the notice board opposite the White Lion pub, or here on our website.
-DH
BROADWINDSOR WI-January 2019
We decided that we would try an experiment during the winter months and hold our monthly meeting in the afternoon instead of the evening. I don't think it was a huge success although perhaps it was the fact that the February meeting was for business and the paying of our yearly subs of £42.
That's not bad value is it. A night out per month, very interesting speakers, always good company and conversation, tea, coffee, biscuits and frequently wonderful home made food, wine, fun evenings. Why not come and join us and see how you like it.
Those of us who attended discussed the WI Resolutions 2019, six of them this year ranging from 'Improving the Natural Landscape' 'Decline in Local Bus Services' to more women's issues 'Don't fear the smear'or 'Suffering in Silence (Periods)' President Brenda and Secretary Ann will vote on our behalf at the District meeting.
When our business was finished we had a fun quiz and then discussed the feature that we hope to do for Beaminster Museum.
The daffodils are blooming and our WI garden, just outside the school is looking rather nice.
Camille Newall
Welcome to 2019!
Just a reminder that the January and February meetings will be held in the afternoon, at 2.30pm.
Just a reminder that the January and February meetings will be held in the afternoon, at 2.30pm.

BROADWINDSOR WI - DECEMBER 20 2018
Members' Christmas "Elf" Party
FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD would about describe the two gatherings of Broadwindsor WI in December. Thursday 13th we had a lovely Christmas lunch at Straddle Stones restaurant in
The Craft Centre. Good food. Good conversation. Good friends. You really cannot beat it.
Thursday 20th was our fun evening. The committee decorated the Lewesdon Room with paper chains, paper snowflakes and set the tables with all things ELF. All the members had brought a plate of food to share- a really great selection. We had Prosecco, wine (red and white) and juice. Several of us dressed up in our best Elf costumes, and we settled down to watch the movie ELF; what a super feel-good movie it is. We welcomed guests Terri (new to the village) and Margery. We all came home with a homemade “Elf” -inspired biscuit (mine is a New York taxi ) and a chocolate Elf. Thank you committee.
In lieu of a Secret Santa this year, we put our money to good use and collected donations; £26 for the local Food Bank, so Sue and Brenda will shop and buy exactly what the Food Bank have requested, and £50 for books for Broadwindsor School Library.
I hope that you all enjoyed your Christmas wherever you were.
Camille Newall
Members' Christmas "Elf" Party
FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD would about describe the two gatherings of Broadwindsor WI in December. Thursday 13th we had a lovely Christmas lunch at Straddle Stones restaurant in
The Craft Centre. Good food. Good conversation. Good friends. You really cannot beat it.
Thursday 20th was our fun evening. The committee decorated the Lewesdon Room with paper chains, paper snowflakes and set the tables with all things ELF. All the members had brought a plate of food to share- a really great selection. We had Prosecco, wine (red and white) and juice. Several of us dressed up in our best Elf costumes, and we settled down to watch the movie ELF; what a super feel-good movie it is. We welcomed guests Terri (new to the village) and Margery. We all came home with a homemade “Elf” -inspired biscuit (mine is a New York taxi ) and a chocolate Elf. Thank you committee.
In lieu of a Secret Santa this year, we put our money to good use and collected donations; £26 for the local Food Bank, so Sue and Brenda will shop and buy exactly what the Food Bank have requested, and £50 for books for Broadwindsor School Library.
I hope that you all enjoyed your Christmas wherever you were.
Camille Newall
BROADWINDSOR WI - NOVEMBER 15 2018
The Land Army speaker Elizabeth Gale
Broadwindsor's W.I. November meeting, in a way carried on from our October WW1 meeting because in 1917 The Ladies' Land Army was formed. The Land Army was formed because farm labourers were called up to fight, farmers needed people to work the land and so girls /women over the age of 18 years were conscripted and brought into the countryside to work and live on farms.
Elizabeth Gale, who has lived in this area most of her life (her Mum was a teacher at Broadwindsor school) gave us a very interesting and informative talk about this topic.
In 1940 just after the start of WW2 The Land Army was re-formed. Girls from all walks of life were brought together to perform all farming jobs; sowing, seeding, out on a tractor in all weathers, milking cows, herding sheep. There were also timber girls known as Jills whose job was to fell trees and make pit props. Other jobs were repairing machinery, rat catching, and handling horses.
Just imagine for a moment- you are working as a hairdresser in a busy salon in London, or a waitress in a smart hotel in Manchester and suddenly you are transported, probably in a lorry to somewhere miles from your family, friends, to live and work with strangers in the countryside. No running water, no inside toilets, probably not able to understand the accent. I guess even the silence of the country would take some getting used to. You could be very lonely.
Their uniform ( designed by Worth no less) consisted of breeches, boots, warm jerseys, very smart jackets, and hats. The Land Army was disbanded in 1950 and was overlooked until 1990 when the girls were given a brooch but no medals. Sad that this Army of ladies has not really been recognised for all they did during the War years .
Camille Newall
BROADWINDSOR WI - OCTOBER 18 2018
Centenary Birthday meeting
Technical hitches meant that we enjoyed a rather quiet gathering, with a large order of fish and chip delivered to the hall and plenty of friendly chat. However, everyone said what a lovely time they had, with a real opportunity to talk to each other. With our formal celebration just 10 days away, we were happy just to relax and think of how wonderful it is to have this friendly group in our village.
The Land Army speaker Elizabeth Gale
Broadwindsor's W.I. November meeting, in a way carried on from our October WW1 meeting because in 1917 The Ladies' Land Army was formed. The Land Army was formed because farm labourers were called up to fight, farmers needed people to work the land and so girls /women over the age of 18 years were conscripted and brought into the countryside to work and live on farms.
Elizabeth Gale, who has lived in this area most of her life (her Mum was a teacher at Broadwindsor school) gave us a very interesting and informative talk about this topic.
In 1940 just after the start of WW2 The Land Army was re-formed. Girls from all walks of life were brought together to perform all farming jobs; sowing, seeding, out on a tractor in all weathers, milking cows, herding sheep. There were also timber girls known as Jills whose job was to fell trees and make pit props. Other jobs were repairing machinery, rat catching, and handling horses.
Just imagine for a moment- you are working as a hairdresser in a busy salon in London, or a waitress in a smart hotel in Manchester and suddenly you are transported, probably in a lorry to somewhere miles from your family, friends, to live and work with strangers in the countryside. No running water, no inside toilets, probably not able to understand the accent. I guess even the silence of the country would take some getting used to. You could be very lonely.
Their uniform ( designed by Worth no less) consisted of breeches, boots, warm jerseys, very smart jackets, and hats. The Land Army was disbanded in 1950 and was overlooked until 1990 when the girls were given a brooch but no medals. Sad that this Army of ladies has not really been recognised for all they did during the War years .
Camille Newall
BROADWINDSOR WI - OCTOBER 18 2018
Centenary Birthday meeting
Technical hitches meant that we enjoyed a rather quiet gathering, with a large order of fish and chip delivered to the hall and plenty of friendly chat. However, everyone said what a lovely time they had, with a real opportunity to talk to each other. With our formal celebration just 10 days away, we were happy just to relax and think of how wonderful it is to have this friendly group in our village.
BROADWINDSOR WI CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS
Sunday 28th October 2018
Sunday 28th October 2018

Broadwindsor WI was delighted to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its founding in 1918 with a formal tree dedication and afternoon tea last week.
President Brenda Smith did the honours with the unveiling of the memorial plaque and said a few quick words of welcome before moving the invited crowd down the road to Comrades' Hall and out of the biting wind for the rest of the festivities. Guests of honour were DFWI County Chair Marilyn Holehouse, who gave us a very moving reading of "Time", and local lady Pauline Saint who, as a young woman, would attend meetings with her grandmother- a founding member of the branch.
Many thanks were given by the President, and to everyone's surprise, two "Honorary Members" were given gifts of thanks- WI husbands Norman Eccles and John Heys- for all their help with the tree plot as well as all the other help they usually give the WI.
The afternoon's festivities for the 57 guests were rounded off with ample amounts of prosecco (or juice) and a wonderful array of sandwiches, sausage rolls, cupcakes (in 'prosecco' or 'gin and tonic' flavour) and a celebration fruitcake with the "100" in sparklers on top (courtesy of Irene Francis, and cut by Pauline Saint).
The planting of the ornamental crabapple tree and surrounding ground cover was completed by Castle Gardens of Sherborne earlier in the year to ensure the plants would be well-established by dedication day. The tree can be seen at the corner plot between Broadwindsor Stores and Broadwindsor School on the Drimpton Road.

BROADWINDSOR WI HITS THE STAGE!
Broadwindsor WI and friends provide entertainment at the Harvest Supper 2018
Members of Broadwindsor WI, along with a few friends, were treading the boards last Friday night (October 12, 2018), when they provided the entertainment for the church's Harvest Supper at Comrades' Hall. The show, which ran about half an hour, was the brainchild of member Camille Newall, and sprang from a concept she had had over a year ago. Serious planning had gone on for about 6 months, including script writing, costume making, casting, and organising props. The show itself was a commemoration of the centenary of three important events which were occurring in 2018- the end of World War I, the obtaining of the right to vote for women (at least some!), and the founding of our own WI at Broadwindsor. The feedback from the audience was fantastic; the aim of the show was to bring a mix of humour, music, and sadness to the stage, and from the comments afterwards, it seems to have achieved just that. Covering several songs of the era, the show also featured two showgirls at a recruiting event, a singing vicar, Rudyard Kipling and his son Jack, and singing soldiers (both German and English!). The suffragettes had the audience and hecklers really agitated as they campaigned for the vote, and even "Jerusalem" made an appearance. It was a lot of hard work, but great fun. DH
Broadwindsor WI and friends provide entertainment at the Harvest Supper 2018
Members of Broadwindsor WI, along with a few friends, were treading the boards last Friday night (October 12, 2018), when they provided the entertainment for the church's Harvest Supper at Comrades' Hall. The show, which ran about half an hour, was the brainchild of member Camille Newall, and sprang from a concept she had had over a year ago. Serious planning had gone on for about 6 months, including script writing, costume making, casting, and organising props. The show itself was a commemoration of the centenary of three important events which were occurring in 2018- the end of World War I, the obtaining of the right to vote for women (at least some!), and the founding of our own WI at Broadwindsor. The feedback from the audience was fantastic; the aim of the show was to bring a mix of humour, music, and sadness to the stage, and from the comments afterwards, it seems to have achieved just that. Covering several songs of the era, the show also featured two showgirls at a recruiting event, a singing vicar, Rudyard Kipling and his son Jack, and singing soldiers (both German and English!). The suffragettes had the audience and hecklers really agitated as they campaigned for the vote, and even "Jerusalem" made an appearance. It was a lot of hard work, but great fun. DH
BROADWINDSOR WI - SEPTEMBER 20 2018
BOOZY BRIDPORT speaker Bruce Upton
The weather on Thursday 20th September 2018 was atrocious, the evening of Broadwindsor W.I. meeting. The wind howled and the rain lashed down, however those of us who braved the storm and went to this meeting were rewarded with an amusing and enlightening talk by Bruce Upton entitled "Boozy Bridport".
Apparently Bridport was one of the towns in the country that boasted the highest number of pubs, going back to the year 1614 when a law was passed to get beer from Common Brewers rather than home brew. and from 1740 Bridport had 3 breweries, GUNDREYS followed by PALMERS and the NEW BREWERY in Rax street .
The Beer Act was passed in 1830 and it cost £12. 10 shillings to buy a licence for premises to sell beer. After W.W.1 opening hours were restricted and the strength of beer was weakened
The population of Bridport was approximately 5000/6000 and the town boasted 62 pubs 32 of which only sold beer, (these pubs were established to try to wean people off drinking Gin). In those days you couldn't buy a bag of crisps or a packet of nuts to help the beer go down, you could, however, have a pigs trotter or two. Urrg, not for me.
If you look up whilst walking around the town there is still evidence of pubs, by the brackets that held the pub signs. Some were remarkable art work by the pub sign writer George Billes.
The Bull was established in 1593. The Lord Nelson was called The King of Prussia until WW1. It then became The King of Belgium for a few years.
Camille Newall
BROADWINDSOR WI- AUGUST 16 2018
Members' Shared-plate Supper and 100 Physical Challenge
Home made chocolate eclairs, yummy cakes made with courgettes (must get the recipe), continental meats, raw vegetables with various dips, and smoked salmon sandwiches, all washed down with a nice glass of red/white or fizz. All this lovely food - and more - was provided by members on the occasion of Broadwindsor Womens' Institute annual (indoor) picnic.
Our 100 challenge this month was to exercise with weights, bicycle, hula hoop, and sit ups. PHEW, we did it!!!!
We did not have a speaker or any W.I. business to discuss so we chatted amongst ourselves. We decided how we would like to celebrate our 100th birthday; that is as well as dedicating our tree (in the plot next to the shop) and the entertainment by members of the W.I. that we will be doing at the Village Harvest Supper (helped of course by friends and family). We also chatted about Christmas Lunch ( in August!) and think that we may have that at The Broadwindsor Craft Centre.
Thank you, Committee for organising a really nice, relaxing evening .
Camille Newall
BROADWINDSOR WI- JULY 19 2018
HORSES FOR THE DISABLED Speaker: Jennifer Pennell
We were delighted to welcome as our guest speaker local equestrian Jennifer Pennell. Horses are often used in treatment therapies for people with disabilities, and Jenny has been involved with Riding for the Disabled for many years. Eventually learning to carriage drive, she became involved with driving for the disabled, for which she used her two grey Welsh ponies. She organised the Southwest division of the charity for several years, during which time she was instrumental in setting up the local branch at Forde Abbey (find out more about the group at www.fordeabbeyrdacarriagedriving.org.uk). The carriages used by the group cost many thousands of pounds as they have to be specially designed to accommodate wheelchairs. The talk was accompanied by some beautiful photos of the driving ponies, and our monthly competition- "a picture of a horse"- included a wide range of entries from historic photos to paintings.
Next month at our meeting we will be having our annual summer get-together; this year we are opting for a "bring-a-plate" supper, hopefully out on the green. We will also be doing some physical challenges for our 100 challenge series.
HORSES FOR THE DISABLED Speaker: Jennifer Pennell
We were delighted to welcome as our guest speaker local equestrian Jennifer Pennell. Horses are often used in treatment therapies for people with disabilities, and Jenny has been involved with Riding for the Disabled for many years. Eventually learning to carriage drive, she became involved with driving for the disabled, for which she used her two grey Welsh ponies. She organised the Southwest division of the charity for several years, during which time she was instrumental in setting up the local branch at Forde Abbey (find out more about the group at www.fordeabbeyrdacarriagedriving.org.uk). The carriages used by the group cost many thousands of pounds as they have to be specially designed to accommodate wheelchairs. The talk was accompanied by some beautiful photos of the driving ponies, and our monthly competition- "a picture of a horse"- included a wide range of entries from historic photos to paintings.
Next month at our meeting we will be having our annual summer get-together; this year we are opting for a "bring-a-plate" supper, hopefully out on the green. We will also be doing some physical challenges for our 100 challenge series.

Web editor gets muddy for CRUK!
Hi Everyone!
Not strictly WI news, but I thought you might like to see what your website editor (me!) can get up to in her spare time! On Saturday July 14th I joined my daughter Emma in the "Pretty Muddy" 5k event in Birmingham, raising money for Cancer Research UK. Some months ago, we had had a talk at our WI from a retired CRUK scientist, and I could really see it was a worthy cause to support. So in a way, the WI is partly responsible for our taking part.
The event was in a beautiful-if hilly- park, and involved climbing over, under and through many obstacles- most of them involving mud. We chose to run as much as we could, although walking the course was very much acceptable! The fun started after the first 100 metres or so, when fire hoses were turned on us and we were drenched. Emma said "I'm so glad we're not wearing white T-shirts!". After a few more easy obstacles, all with descriptive or amusing names, we found we had to wriggle under a net, commando style (Emma was much better than I was at this). That was the end of the competitor's number I had struck to the front of my shirt! All was going pretty well until the "Get Your Leg Over" obstacle- getting over an inflatable barrier and landing in a trough of muddy water, taking a few strides, then repeating over another obstacle and trough- only in the middle we were literally drenched over our heads by two people with buckets of water from the trough. My protective sunglasses were useless at this point, but an angel in disguise - a lady on the sidelines- came to my rescue and offered to sluice my eyes out with her bottle of water. Thank you, whoever you were! We carried on, running as much as possible- although admittedly, I had to give in and walk a bit on the hills, following two nights' poor sleep and little exercise in the build-up to the day,due to the extreme heat. We climbed cargo nets, mini-rock walls and went through slippery uphill drainpipes (the knotted ropes meant to help us had been left at the top by the previous users!). But we laughed so much, all the way around!!! I found I was particularly bad at the Space Hopper-riding section! The final climb up the inflatable slide and splash into the mud was amazing. In all, I think it only added 10 minutes to the time I would normally run a 5k, so with all the stops I didn't think that was too bad.
Thank you to all who sponsored us- between us, after Gift Aid, the amount raised will be over £300. Not bad for a morning's frolic in the mud! I would recommend a "Pretty Muddy" event to anyone who wants a good laugh and isn't afraid of getting filthy.
And it helps to prove one thing... we WI ladies are about more than just knitting and cupcakes!
Donna
Hi Everyone!
Not strictly WI news, but I thought you might like to see what your website editor (me!) can get up to in her spare time! On Saturday July 14th I joined my daughter Emma in the "Pretty Muddy" 5k event in Birmingham, raising money for Cancer Research UK. Some months ago, we had had a talk at our WI from a retired CRUK scientist, and I could really see it was a worthy cause to support. So in a way, the WI is partly responsible for our taking part.
The event was in a beautiful-if hilly- park, and involved climbing over, under and through many obstacles- most of them involving mud. We chose to run as much as we could, although walking the course was very much acceptable! The fun started after the first 100 metres or so, when fire hoses were turned on us and we were drenched. Emma said "I'm so glad we're not wearing white T-shirts!". After a few more easy obstacles, all with descriptive or amusing names, we found we had to wriggle under a net, commando style (Emma was much better than I was at this). That was the end of the competitor's number I had struck to the front of my shirt! All was going pretty well until the "Get Your Leg Over" obstacle- getting over an inflatable barrier and landing in a trough of muddy water, taking a few strides, then repeating over another obstacle and trough- only in the middle we were literally drenched over our heads by two people with buckets of water from the trough. My protective sunglasses were useless at this point, but an angel in disguise - a lady on the sidelines- came to my rescue and offered to sluice my eyes out with her bottle of water. Thank you, whoever you were! We carried on, running as much as possible- although admittedly, I had to give in and walk a bit on the hills, following two nights' poor sleep and little exercise in the build-up to the day,due to the extreme heat. We climbed cargo nets, mini-rock walls and went through slippery uphill drainpipes (the knotted ropes meant to help us had been left at the top by the previous users!). But we laughed so much, all the way around!!! I found I was particularly bad at the Space Hopper-riding section! The final climb up the inflatable slide and splash into the mud was amazing. In all, I think it only added 10 minutes to the time I would normally run a 5k, so with all the stops I didn't think that was too bad.
Thank you to all who sponsored us- between us, after Gift Aid, the amount raised will be over £300. Not bad for a morning's frolic in the mud! I would recommend a "Pretty Muddy" event to anyone who wants a good laugh and isn't afraid of getting filthy.
And it helps to prove one thing... we WI ladies are about more than just knitting and cupcakes!
Donna
BROADWINDSOR WI - 21st June 20128
Have you met Gillian Hulse ? Gillian was our speaker at Broadwindsor W.I. in June. She has a unit at Broadwindsor Craft Centre. This unit is filled with the most beautiful glasswork; jewellery/ house signs/wall and window panels. I urge you to take a walk up there and you will see just what a clever lady she is. She actually shares the unit with her husband who is a stone cutter.
Gillian studied Art at university and then went on to write and illustrate books for children, and to do the illustrations for the BBC programme Jackanory. She has also worked as an Interior Designer, and has drawn items to scale for Canterbury Archeological Society. Having lived near Canterbury before she moved to Dorset she took inspiration from some of the beautiful glass that we can find in Canterbury Cathedral.
She is a qualified teacher and has been running creative courses and workshops working with glass for over 20 years with groups of all ages and abilities. and has also written a best selling book "Inspirations in Kiln-formed Glass" published in the UK and the USA. Gillian runs workshops at at The Craft Centre in Broadwindsor
For further information you can contact Gillian on 07827 916054 or [email protected].
We have very interesting speakers at the WI- why not come along one 3rd Thursday of the month and see if you like us and are interested in joining us permanently?
Camille Newall
Have you met Gillian Hulse ? Gillian was our speaker at Broadwindsor W.I. in June. She has a unit at Broadwindsor Craft Centre. This unit is filled with the most beautiful glasswork; jewellery/ house signs/wall and window panels. I urge you to take a walk up there and you will see just what a clever lady she is. She actually shares the unit with her husband who is a stone cutter.
Gillian studied Art at university and then went on to write and illustrate books for children, and to do the illustrations for the BBC programme Jackanory. She has also worked as an Interior Designer, and has drawn items to scale for Canterbury Archeological Society. Having lived near Canterbury before she moved to Dorset she took inspiration from some of the beautiful glass that we can find in Canterbury Cathedral.
She is a qualified teacher and has been running creative courses and workshops working with glass for over 20 years with groups of all ages and abilities. and has also written a best selling book "Inspirations in Kiln-formed Glass" published in the UK and the USA. Gillian runs workshops at at The Craft Centre in Broadwindsor
For further information you can contact Gillian on 07827 916054 or [email protected].
We have very interesting speakers at the WI- why not come along one 3rd Thursday of the month and see if you like us and are interested in joining us permanently?
Camille Newall
Website Workshop Friday 29th June
DFWI hosted a website building information morning today at the lovely village hall at Durweston, just north of Blandford Forum. Website editor Jane Doughty and Chair Marilyn Holehouse were joined by Chris Smith from Poole and Donna Heys (yes, me!) from Broadwindsor who all gave an overview of three of the ways a WI could set up their own website (Squiz Matrix, Weebly and Go Daddy respectively). Let's face it- in this technological age, people expect to find a website when they do an internet search, and anything that can help boost our membership numbers has to be worth doing. 19 WI members from all over the county attended, and it is very likely that actual training sessions will be organised in the near future.
Below is a message and photo that were uploaded as part of the Weebly demonstration, which was published and immediately available to view on the Broadwindsor website-although it's unlikely to win any competitions for photography!
DFWI hosted a website building information morning today at the lovely village hall at Durweston, just north of Blandford Forum. Website editor Jane Doughty and Chair Marilyn Holehouse were joined by Chris Smith from Poole and Donna Heys (yes, me!) from Broadwindsor who all gave an overview of three of the ways a WI could set up their own website (Squiz Matrix, Weebly and Go Daddy respectively). Let's face it- in this technological age, people expect to find a website when they do an internet search, and anything that can help boost our membership numbers has to be worth doing. 19 WI members from all over the county attended, and it is very likely that actual training sessions will be organised in the near future.
Below is a message and photo that were uploaded as part of the Weebly demonstration, which was published and immediately available to view on the Broadwindsor website-although it's unlikely to win any competitions for photography!
Hello from sunny Durweston!
Our visit to Beaminster Museum
Some of our members had a private viewing of the wonderful display by Beaminster WI at the Museum in the town on 30th May. President Brenda Smith took some lovely photos we thought you might like to see. This particular exhibition has now been removed, but the museum is absolutely wonderful and well worth a visit. |
Calendar Girls visit Broadwindsor!
WI does Broadwindsor Fun Day, 2nd June 2018
An update on the recent events!
Ten of our members got together and created two Calendar Girls Scarecrows for the Broadwindsor Fun Day, Kitty the Knitter and Mary the Baker. We positioned them at the front of our newly planted Centenary Plot and they looked great, even winning us a Highly Commended Certificate! We had many laughs preparing our 'ladies' and I would like to thank them for all their input and enthusiasm!
We also had a Broadwindsor WI stall at the Fun Day on Saturday afternoon - we sold our delicious cakes, some editions of Scrumptious, and chatted to many local ladies (and gentlemen of course) who might be interested in joining our Group? Thanks go to all members who made cakes and those who spent time and 'manned' the stall on a very hot, but pleasant afternoon.
Wow, I've got to say, we are a good fun but hard-working Institute - thanks to all,
Brenda xx
An update on the recent events!
Ten of our members got together and created two Calendar Girls Scarecrows for the Broadwindsor Fun Day, Kitty the Knitter and Mary the Baker. We positioned them at the front of our newly planted Centenary Plot and they looked great, even winning us a Highly Commended Certificate! We had many laughs preparing our 'ladies' and I would like to thank them for all their input and enthusiasm!
We also had a Broadwindsor WI stall at the Fun Day on Saturday afternoon - we sold our delicious cakes, some editions of Scrumptious, and chatted to many local ladies (and gentlemen of course) who might be interested in joining our Group? Thanks go to all members who made cakes and those who spent time and 'manned' the stall on a very hot, but pleasant afternoon.
Wow, I've got to say, we are a good fun but hard-working Institute - thanks to all,
Brenda xx

Lesley Waters comes to Broadwindsor WI

BROADWINDSOR WI- 17th May 2018
President Brenda was on holiday, so Donna took the May meeting of Broadwindsor W.I. We concluded our business fairly quickly. Ann Slee will represent the club at the W.I. convention in Cardiff and we were all happy that she should vote on our behalf for the various resolutions, mental health in particular
It was really nice to welcome friends to enjoy our "surprise" guest speaker Lesley Waters, T.V. personality and celebrity chef- and of course, daughter of our member Fran! What a lovely lady. She told us how she had first realised that she enjoyed Domestic Science and Art at school and in the 1960s had watched Graham Kerr, Fanny Craddock (do you remember Fanny and Johnny -what characters) and Mary Berry.
From school she went to a College of Crafts and Catering and then won a scholarship to Germany where she was regularly told "If you want to be a chef you will have to work hard" which she obviously did. She worked at The Waldorf Hotel and then went to work with Prue Leith for 8 years. Lesley has cooked for stylish dinner parties, M & S, and has written many cookbooks. Her motto seems to be "Cook good, simple, fresh food that is in season - ignore processed food." I guess we all know her from the "Ready Steady Cook" programme; I wouldn't know where to start with some of the ingredients that viewers present her with, would you ?
Lesley made us laugh with some rather good impressions of Nigella. Her sister is also a chef and for the last 15/16 years they ran a cookery school at the Old Manor in Evershot, but are now located at Abbots Hill farm n Halstock.
Now to make your mouth water. Take fresh cream / Greek yogurt / white chocolate / rhubarb / and Rrspberries and you can make a delicious desert (recipe below). Oh yes you can.
Camille Newall
Photos courtesy of Margery Hookings
Lesley enlisted the help of a couple of members and treated us to a demonstration of the following pudding:
VANILLA CREAMS WITH RHUBARB AND RASPBERRY DRESSING
These velvety smooth puddings and tart fruit make for a delicious combination with the added luxury of white chocolate.
Serves 4
55g/3oz good white chocolate, broken into small pieces
1 vanilla pod, split
300ml/ ½ pint double cream
250g thick Greek yogurt
for the rhubarb and raspberry dressing
juice 2 oranges
50g/ 1 ¾ oz caster sugar
2 medium rhubarb sticks
150g raspberries
1. Place the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and with the tip of a small knife, carefully scrape out all the vanilla seeds and add to the chocolate. Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water, until just melted.
2. Lightly whip the cream and stir in the Greek yoghurt. Gently fold in the melted chocolate and spoon into 4 dariole moulds or shot glasses. Place in the fridge and chill for 2 hours .
3. To make the dressing, place the orange juice and sugar into a large shallow pan and place over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat and reduce by half. Add the rhubarb and cook for 1 minute.
4. Place the raspberries in a bowl, pour over the hot rhubarb dressing and set to one side to cool.
5. Turn the moulds out onto a serving plate or serve in shot glasses with a shot glass of dressing. Serve straight away.
BROADWINDSOR WI- 19th April 2018
AGM
Our AGM was a quiet affair, with the committee standing again and no changes to the officers. We welcome Val Madder-Smith as an additional member of the committee. Some lovely refreshments were also provided by the committee, and we had a discussion about our 100 challenge (listen to 100 minutes of your favourite music) and a couple of ideas for resolutions.
The 100 Challenge cookbook was on sale- see the 100 Challenge page for a photo.
AGM
Our AGM was a quiet affair, with the committee standing again and no changes to the officers. We welcome Val Madder-Smith as an additional member of the committee. Some lovely refreshments were also provided by the committee, and we had a discussion about our 100 challenge (listen to 100 minutes of your favourite music) and a couple of ideas for resolutions.
The 100 Challenge cookbook was on sale- see the 100 Challenge page for a photo.
April 10, 2018
Centenary Tree plot
Our centenary tree plot has finally been planted with the ground-cover plants, around the specimen tree, in preparation for its dedication in the autumn. Our thanks go to the long-suffering staff at Castle Gardens of Sherborne, who saw us through the long and drawn-out selection and planting process! See the photo gallery for a pictorial record of the planting.
Centenary Tree plot
Our centenary tree plot has finally been planted with the ground-cover plants, around the specimen tree, in preparation for its dedication in the autumn. Our thanks go to the long-suffering staff at Castle Gardens of Sherborne, who saw us through the long and drawn-out selection and planting process! See the photo gallery for a pictorial record of the planting.
BROADWINDSOR WI- 15th March 2018
Colin Varndell- Wild Garden
Anyone could be forgiven for thinking that “ Happy Return” was the name of a 1970’s sitcom set in a department store, when in fact it is the home of self-taught nature photographer Colin Varndell and his wife Susy. Nestled in a fold of hills in Netherbury, the couple have created a haven for wildlife and flora, facilitating the subjects for much of Varndell’s work. The planting of large copses alongside three custom-dug ponds means the photographer doesn’t have to go far to observe and record an incredible range of creatures and vegetation. WI members were treated to slides of breath-taking images, set against the backdrop of the four seasons, accompanied by facts, stories and observations. The property is also the centre for a hedgehog rescue centre. Apart from giving slide shows and imparting fascinating facts (for example, a hedgehog needs to weigh 500g before it can survive winter), the ex-builder also runs a photo agency and sells his stock images world-wide.
Next month is our AGM, when we will discuss potential topics for resolutions.
DH
Colin Varndell- Wild Garden
Anyone could be forgiven for thinking that “ Happy Return” was the name of a 1970’s sitcom set in a department store, when in fact it is the home of self-taught nature photographer Colin Varndell and his wife Susy. Nestled in a fold of hills in Netherbury, the couple have created a haven for wildlife and flora, facilitating the subjects for much of Varndell’s work. The planting of large copses alongside three custom-dug ponds means the photographer doesn’t have to go far to observe and record an incredible range of creatures and vegetation. WI members were treated to slides of breath-taking images, set against the backdrop of the four seasons, accompanied by facts, stories and observations. The property is also the centre for a hedgehog rescue centre. Apart from giving slide shows and imparting fascinating facts (for example, a hedgehog needs to weigh 500g before it can survive winter), the ex-builder also runs a photo agency and sells his stock images world-wide.
Next month is our AGM, when we will discuss potential topics for resolutions.
DH

Science Lunch at Atholhampton
Ten members of Broadwindsor WI attended the Science Lunch at Atholhampton on Thursday 15th March. The speaker was Adam Porter, a PhD student from Exeter University. He entertained and informed the audience with his presentation on "Plastic Soup" and the effects of plastics polluting the oceans. He has travelled intensively world-wide as part of his research, and his photos and statistics provided much food for thought (and even the talk of crab poo didn't put us off our lunch!). The food was up to its usual lovely standard, and we all enjoyed the event very much. Thank you to the organisers at County for a lovely day.
Ten members of Broadwindsor WI attended the Science Lunch at Atholhampton on Thursday 15th March. The speaker was Adam Porter, a PhD student from Exeter University. He entertained and informed the audience with his presentation on "Plastic Soup" and the effects of plastics polluting the oceans. He has travelled intensively world-wide as part of his research, and his photos and statistics provided much food for thought (and even the talk of crab poo didn't put us off our lunch!). The food was up to its usual lovely standard, and we all enjoyed the event very much. Thank you to the organisers at County for a lovely day.

BROADWINDSOR WI -FEBRUARY 15, 2018
A POSITIVE APPROACH TO AUTISM by Stella Waterhouse
Have you met Stella Waterhouse ? She has written several best selling books about autism: AUTISM DECODED , A POSITIVE APPROACH TO AUTISM , and WHY DO THEY DO THAT ?
Oh my what an interesting lady. We were lucky to have Stella as guest speaker at our Women's Institute meeting last month.
The T.V. programme THE A WORD and the film RAINMAN are two very good examples showing what we might think of as odd behaviour, should we come across it. There is a large spectrum of autism; at one end we have Alan Turing, a brilliant mathematician of Bletchley Park fame and at the other end someone who would find it impossible to live in our world. Over the years people showing signs of Autism, Aspergers, were subjected to horrible "cures" eg electric shock treatment, doses of LSD.
Imagine going to meet your child from school and when they all came towards you, you could not recognise him/her because you are Faceblind. Scary ! But this can be a symptom of autism. Or perhaps your child is a fussy eater, and will not eat shepherd's pie like the rest of the family, but if you serve it with meat on one side of the plate and both the carrots separately, there is no problem. Imagine reading books or music and the words/notes fall off the page-or as one child said, "the words are having a party and will not stay still". Some of us wearing cardboard spectacles, provided by the RNIB to give an idea of this, had to pour a glass of water and play catch. Not easy.
Last year some of our members replicated the painting "Les Paraplues"/"Umbrellas" for Stella to use as an illustration of colour perception problems in some autistic people (see photo at the top of this report) We all had great fun finding props, wigs and costumes, dressing up and posing for the photograph, and only when Stella showed us during her talk how it could be used did we realise that we really were helping with her next book.
Brenda Smith (President, Tel: 868392) was delighted to have welcomed six new members this year, Margaret Wing and Anna Adams (rejoined), Mandy Selhurst, Clare Wilson, Sandra Burrows and Julie Steele - I'm sure you will enjoy our friendly group, especially as we are celebrating our Centenary Year!
Camille Newall
Broadwindsor WI-January 18, 2018
Oh, what fun we had at our Women's Institute meeting on Thursday. In the second half of the meeting all you could hear was muttering- "don't want another head" or "all I want is a feeler"A as you may have guessed, we were playing Beetle. Wow, how competitive we are. Thank you Megan and for organising same.
The first half of the evening we dealt with the business of the club. We welcomed new members Clare and Margaret, Lynn collected our yearly subs, £41.00 - not bad for a night out every month, with good company, super home made cakes or biscuits, coffee, tea, and sometimes wine. This month we had the opportunity to vote on resolutions to be passed at national level, such as to pass a law making "Female Genital Mutilation" (F.G.M.) illegal in our country. We also try to support charities locally. Oh, and we do have speakers on various topics and outing to interesting places.
Our 100 challenge this month was to collect items of food and toiletries. We succeeded, with 106 items to be shared; food items for the food bank in Beaminster and toiletries for the women's refuge in Bridport. If you are interested in joining us please contact President Brenda 01308 868392 or just wander along to Comrades Hall on the 3rd Thursday of the month 7.30pm. See you there.
Camille Newall
See how we celebrated Christmas 2017! New photos have been added to the gallery- just click on the "Photo Gallery" tab at the top, then the "Christmas 2017" tab in the drop-down menu.
Don't forget, subs are due at the January meeting!

BROADWINDSOR WI- December 21, 2017
Members of Broadwindsor W.I. were welcomed with a glass of Fizz at their Christmas party last week. They were also rather surprised (pleasantly I hope ) to have visitors- Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and a "gentleman" wandering around with a Poisoned Apple (he assured us that he was a waiter) - pop in to entertain them with their sketch "A Charming Affair"
After a short business meeting President Brenda donned her Santa cloak and hood and read an amusing poem entitled "If I was Father Christmas"
Rita ran 100-question quiz ( our December 100 challenge). The Non-Poisoned food supplied by members was plentiful and delicious.
I must mention the table centrepieces made by Donna (with Sue's help)- they were beautiful Gingerbread houses, so much detail, lit from the inside and gingerbread children to go with them. Also several members entered our Christmas competition with some exquisite hand-crafted crackers. We finished off a very pleasant evening with a gift from our Secret Santa.
May I take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy, healthy and peaceful New Year 2018
Camille Newall
Members of Broadwindsor W.I. were welcomed with a glass of Fizz at their Christmas party last week. They were also rather surprised (pleasantly I hope ) to have visitors- Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and a "gentleman" wandering around with a Poisoned Apple (he assured us that he was a waiter) - pop in to entertain them with their sketch "A Charming Affair"
After a short business meeting President Brenda donned her Santa cloak and hood and read an amusing poem entitled "If I was Father Christmas"
Rita ran 100-question quiz ( our December 100 challenge). The Non-Poisoned food supplied by members was plentiful and delicious.
I must mention the table centrepieces made by Donna (with Sue's help)- they were beautiful Gingerbread houses, so much detail, lit from the inside and gingerbread children to go with them. Also several members entered our Christmas competition with some exquisite hand-crafted crackers. We finished off a very pleasant evening with a gift from our Secret Santa.
May I take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy, healthy and peaceful New Year 2018
Camille Newall
Broadwindsor WI – November 16, 2017
As Broadwindsor WI enters its 100th year, the focus of the November meeting was a celebration of the skills and crafts of some of the members. A variety of crafts and skills was on display, most with demonstrations or hands-on workshops with which the other members could engage. Needle crafts such as crochet, doll making and making small fabric travel pouches were on show as were card making, photo books, watercolour technique and making flowers out of old plastic water bottles! 100 Challenge To mark our centenary year, we have set ourselves the ‘100 Challenge’ to be completed month by month, Our first challenge was to have 100 fingernails painted green, in tribute to the colour of the WI logo. Some members arrived at the meeting already green, but the nail table, complete with varnish in several shades of green, proved popular as nearly everyone joined in. A photo was taken and we will keep track of the challenges on our dedicated page on the drop-down menu under "News". If you are a woman over the age of 18, why not consider joining us? New subscriptions are due in January- for £41 you can have a complete year of fun, inspiration and companionship! Information about our WI is available in the noticeboard opposite the White Lion Pub. -DH
DFWI Autumn Council Meeting
19th October was a busy day for our WI members, as several spent the day in Poole at the Autumn Council Meeting to celebrate the DFWI's centenary. The main speaker was Janet Street-Porter, and most of our group were able to go out for a nice pub lunch before the afternoon session. Three members (Donna Heys. Valerie Madder-Smith and Libby Searle) sang in the centenary choir just after the lunch break, while Megan Jones acted as banner bearer in the impressive parade of banners from various Dorset WIs. Once we had returned from Poole, it was a very quick turn-around at home to get out for the evening meeting and a celebration of our 99th year as a branch at Broadwindsor (see report below)! ![]() BROADWINDSOR WI- October 19, 2017
The History of Magic with David Beckley What are the two most important things to have at a birthday party ? A Birthday Cake and a Magician of course ! Broadwindsor W.I. had both to celebrate their 99th birthday last Thursday. David Beckley, Gold Star Member of The Magic Circle arrived looking very smart in red velvet jacket and matching bow tie. He went on to tell us that there is evidence of magic as far back as 2000 BC We know this from the hieroglyphics found in the Pyramids in Egypt. As time went on Magicians were classed as witches and were often burnt at the stake. In the Middle Ages Court Jesters performed magic as well as music for Kings and Courtiers at their feasts. David became interested in magic at the age of 8 and is now at the top of his profession. He performed several tricks with the assistance of W.I. members who, despite being so close, were not able to work out how they were done. Turning a £10 note into a £50 note, I wouldn't mind being able to do that !! We welcomed guests Mandy, Margaret, Sandra, Sue, Anna. A slice of cake and a glass of wine finished the evening off very nicely, thank you Camille Newall ![]() October update:
Broadwindsor WI onstage! Five members of the WI provided some of the entertainment at the Harvest Supper in Broadwindsor on Friday 13th October, when they performed (with kind permission of the author Charlotte Hyslop, of Beaminster) a piece celebrating 100 years of Dorset Federation's existence. Vicar Jo Neary accompanied the readers and singers as the poem was performed to the tune of Jerusalem, after which the unadulterated Jerusalem was sung in conjunction with the audience. Left to right: Dorothy Rowe, Donna Heys, Brenda Smith, Val Madder-Smith, and Camille Newall Just a few days later, three members who had joined the DFWI Centenary Choir (Donna Heys, Val Madder-Smith and Libby Searle), also performed at the conference at Poole. Thirteen Broadwindsor ladies in total enjoyed the annual event, with Megan Jones acting as banner carrier for the procession of banners- quite a spectacular sight. Update on our 100k walk: One of our remote walkers has now reported her distance of 15k, making our total well over our target at 117.25 k. Well done everyone! BROADWINDSOR WI- September 21st 2017 My Trip to Peru by Ian Williamson Having meandered down the Sacua River (Borneo) looking for the Proboscis Monkey, and driven through the Rub' al Khali Desert (The Oman), I really was not sure whether I was interested in "MY TRIP TO PERU". However Ian Williamson, the speaker at our September meeting, was so enthusiastic about his trip that we were all drawn into the spirit of it and we really enjoyed ourselves . Since he retired Ian has done many treks: Peru, Vietnam, and 20/30 mile walks all around this country. He has single-handedly raised thousands of pounds for The St Margarets Hospice Yeovil. His trip to Peru started at the town of Cusco where he remarked on the Spanish influence on the Inca architecture. The group's first task was to repaint the school, which was a little way out of town. They were rather taken aback when the paint that they were given was a strange colour- bright purple/pink The children liked it so that was OK. They went on to Machu Picchu with packhorses andguides, taking several days. Lovely photographs of the countryside. He made us laugh when he described one bad day. During the morning trek he fell into the bog, at lunch he fell backwards from his stool and threw his hot chocolate all over the vicar, and then during the afternoon, whilst walking through a rather fast flowing river his boot came off and sailed right past him ( he finished his holiday in trainers). At the end of that day he was, of course, awarded THE NUMPTY CUP. Camille Newall Our Big Centenary Walk! September 12, 2017. Members of our WI had great fun today, helping to mark the centenary year of Dorset Federation by clocking up the miles on two separate walks in the Bridport area. The overall aim was to add up the individual distances walked, and cover 100km amongst the members. Four chose to do the "100 Steps" route- which was, of course, more than 100 steps in length. They clocked up a collective 15km walking up and down the promenade at West Bay. The other group of six took a 3-hour walk with spectacular scenery on a route just over 10km in length. Both groups then met in a pub at West Bay to compare notes and eat a well-deserved lunch. The total distance covered by the ten members on the day was 77.25km, but a few ladies were unable to join us on the day due to prior commitments and will be doing their walks remotely. We are confident once their distances are added in we will have reached our target of 100km! Well done to all the walkers- we were certainly blessed with a lovely day for our walk! UPDATE: 18th September With the totals from the remote walkers now in, we are able to add on another 25km, making our grand total 102.25 km! Well done to all for the supreme effort. Renoir comes to the WI!
It looked as if Renoir had paid a visit to Broadwindsor WI a few weeks ago, when members dressed up to re-enact the famous painting “Les Parapluies”- The Umbrellas. The tableau was all in a good cause, as the photo shoot was done to assist local author Stella Waterhouse with a book she is writing on autism. Much fun was had by the members during the weeks of planning, when wardrobes and lofts were emptied and suitable costume components located and shared. The photograph on the big day was taken by local photographers Harold and Margaret Jenkins; on this occasion, it was Harold with his finger on the shutter button and Margaret’s directional skills (herding cats comes to mind!) that made sure the photo was a success. And indeed it must have been; when the husband of the main red-haired character in the front took a good, long look at the finished photo before saying “I thought YOU were supposed to be in this!” We wish Stella the very best of luck with her book, and would like to thank Harold and Margaret for doing the difficult bits! Photo : Harold Jenkins New page added!
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18th JUNE
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF THE WI
Members of Broadwindsor WI were treated to a surprise at their June meeting, when three notable women from history came to speak to the assembled group. Adelaide Hoodless, Madge Watt and Lady Gertrude Denman were all instrumental in establishing the Women’s Institute first in Canada and then bringing the movement to Britain soon after. The WI grew from Mrs. Hoodless’s desire to educate country women following the unnecessary death of her young son from contaminated milk. She recognised the importance of educating women, particularly on hygiene in the home, but realised most women led isolated lives while at the same time their farmer husbands had access to agriculture establishments which kept them informed of latest farming techniques and animal husbandry.
Adelaide’s initial concept was developed further and brought to Britain by her friend Madge Watt after the death of Madge’s husband. Mrs. Watt was here during the years of the Great War and got the movement established on Anglesey. By the time she returned to Canada after the war, there were 5,000 members and she had left the WI in the capable hands of her friend Lady Gertrude Denman. Trudy Denman headed the movement for the next 29 years and has been honoured and remembered by having the WI’s adult education college named after her.
The evening’s entertainment was the concept of member Sue Eccles, who enlisted the help of four others (Ann Harris, Camille Newall, Donna Heys and Dorothy Rowe) to act as narrator and historic characters. The evening was rounded off with celebratory refreshments.
A YouTube video can be viewed by following this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qUiLy9vUbQ
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF THE WI
Members of Broadwindsor WI were treated to a surprise at their June meeting, when three notable women from history came to speak to the assembled group. Adelaide Hoodless, Madge Watt and Lady Gertrude Denman were all instrumental in establishing the Women’s Institute first in Canada and then bringing the movement to Britain soon after. The WI grew from Mrs. Hoodless’s desire to educate country women following the unnecessary death of her young son from contaminated milk. She recognised the importance of educating women, particularly on hygiene in the home, but realised most women led isolated lives while at the same time their farmer husbands had access to agriculture establishments which kept them informed of latest farming techniques and animal husbandry.
Adelaide’s initial concept was developed further and brought to Britain by her friend Madge Watt after the death of Madge’s husband. Mrs. Watt was here during the years of the Great War and got the movement established on Anglesey. By the time she returned to Canada after the war, there were 5,000 members and she had left the WI in the capable hands of her friend Lady Gertrude Denman. Trudy Denman headed the movement for the next 29 years and has been honoured and remembered by having the WI’s adult education college named after her.
The evening’s entertainment was the concept of member Sue Eccles, who enlisted the help of four others (Ann Harris, Camille Newall, Donna Heys and Dorothy Rowe) to act as narrator and historic characters. The evening was rounded off with celebratory refreshments.
A YouTube video can be viewed by following this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qUiLy9vUbQ
BROADWINDSOR WI - MAY
Tonight we were joined by Diane Perry who demonstrated ‘the way with scarves’. Now most of us would admit to making a pretty hand-fisted attempt at arranging a scarf to enhance an outfit and most of us again would admit to giving up and just wrapping the length of material around our necks in a vain attempt not to strangle ourselves, but Diane amazed us all by demonstrating approximately 15 variations on how to tie a scarf. Scarves come in many shapes and sizes of course, made from man-made fibres to the purest silk. Silk is the best material to use as it both drapes well and has the ability to keep us cool in the summer, yet warm in the winter. Scarves can be traced back in history to a time when knights would proudly display their maiden’s favours as they rode into battle. The Assyrians, Greeks and Romans all had numerous uses for scarves which has carried on into today’s modern age. Each design demonstrated by Diane had a catchy name such as Manhattan, Ascot and the Cossack, but the one scarf design everyone was most interested in was known as the ‘No Knot Knot’ (sported by Mary Berry on the telly no less). There was much merriment in the room as many of us tried (and failed) to follow what seemed like a simple demonstration of the ‘No Knot Knot’. Some ladies ‘got it’ and others just got tied up in knots, but for those who wish to know the secret, here are the instructions – take one oblong scarf and hold so that one end is ‘short’ and the other ‘long’. Place scarf around the neck and circle the long end once more around the neck. Then take the short end over the loop, under the remaining length of material and over the loop. See – it’s easy when explained! So when you see certain women in the village sporting the most beautifully arranged scarves and with a smug look on their faces, you will know that they were ones who paid attention!
MW
Tonight we were joined by Diane Perry who demonstrated ‘the way with scarves’. Now most of us would admit to making a pretty hand-fisted attempt at arranging a scarf to enhance an outfit and most of us again would admit to giving up and just wrapping the length of material around our necks in a vain attempt not to strangle ourselves, but Diane amazed us all by demonstrating approximately 15 variations on how to tie a scarf. Scarves come in many shapes and sizes of course, made from man-made fibres to the purest silk. Silk is the best material to use as it both drapes well and has the ability to keep us cool in the summer, yet warm in the winter. Scarves can be traced back in history to a time when knights would proudly display their maiden’s favours as they rode into battle. The Assyrians, Greeks and Romans all had numerous uses for scarves which has carried on into today’s modern age. Each design demonstrated by Diane had a catchy name such as Manhattan, Ascot and the Cossack, but the one scarf design everyone was most interested in was known as the ‘No Knot Knot’ (sported by Mary Berry on the telly no less). There was much merriment in the room as many of us tried (and failed) to follow what seemed like a simple demonstration of the ‘No Knot Knot’. Some ladies ‘got it’ and others just got tied up in knots, but for those who wish to know the secret, here are the instructions – take one oblong scarf and hold so that one end is ‘short’ and the other ‘long’. Place scarf around the neck and circle the long end once more around the neck. Then take the short end over the loop, under the remaining length of material and over the loop. See – it’s easy when explained! So when you see certain women in the village sporting the most beautifully arranged scarves and with a smug look on their faces, you will know that they were ones who paid attention!
MW
Science Lunch 13th May 2015
Four members of Broadwindsor WI attended the Science Lunch held at Atholhampton House near Puddletown on the 13th of May. Organised by Dorset Federation, the delightful meal in superb surroundings was followed by an extremely entertaining talk by Dr Zoe Laughlin. Zoe runs the Institute of Making at UCL with her team, and specialises in materials. Coming from a background in art but with an interest in chemistry from an early age, she has combined her creativity and curiosity in such a way that now enables her to advise large corporations on material use and development as well as working on innovations of her own. The Institute contains a large library of various materials, some of which Zoe brought along to show the audience. There was a piece of Aerogel in a bottle, the lightest material ever developed (by NASA) for the purpose of catching space dust; a material used as a biological scaffold for encouraging the growth of bone; a jet engine blade formed from a single crystal of metal alloy; and light-transmitting concrete. Zoe’s passion for her subject, combined with her sense of humour and great warmth, left everyone inspired and wishing they had had her as their school science teacher. At the end of the talk, she had everyone in fits of laughter when she said how she’d once given a talk about sound to a very large audience. Demonstrating how sound could break objects, she decided to end the talk on how to break wind silently! This involved making a latex bottom which she put on under her own trousers, exposing it when the time was right and shocking her audience!
You can enjoy some of Zoe’s talks on youtube. Follow this link to see a 20 minute TED Talk she gave in Brussels:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrDNwd1mzC4
Four members of Broadwindsor WI attended the Science Lunch held at Atholhampton House near Puddletown on the 13th of May. Organised by Dorset Federation, the delightful meal in superb surroundings was followed by an extremely entertaining talk by Dr Zoe Laughlin. Zoe runs the Institute of Making at UCL with her team, and specialises in materials. Coming from a background in art but with an interest in chemistry from an early age, she has combined her creativity and curiosity in such a way that now enables her to advise large corporations on material use and development as well as working on innovations of her own. The Institute contains a large library of various materials, some of which Zoe brought along to show the audience. There was a piece of Aerogel in a bottle, the lightest material ever developed (by NASA) for the purpose of catching space dust; a material used as a biological scaffold for encouraging the growth of bone; a jet engine blade formed from a single crystal of metal alloy; and light-transmitting concrete. Zoe’s passion for her subject, combined with her sense of humour and great warmth, left everyone inspired and wishing they had had her as their school science teacher. At the end of the talk, she had everyone in fits of laughter when she said how she’d once given a talk about sound to a very large audience. Demonstrating how sound could break objects, she decided to end the talk on how to break wind silently! This involved making a latex bottom which she put on under her own trousers, exposing it when the time was right and shocking her audience!
You can enjoy some of Zoe’s talks on youtube. Follow this link to see a 20 minute TED Talk she gave in Brussels:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrDNwd1mzC4
BROADWINDSOR WI – MARCH 2015
This month we were joined by Tony Castleton and his wife for an interesting and challenging talk entitled ‘Living with Blindness’. Tony has been blind for 49 years, having lost the sight of one eye at the age of 10, followed by complete blindness at the age of 28. With a wife, a 2 year old and new baby to provide for, Tony described how that after losing his job and experiencing despair that we can’t hope to imagine, he was sent to a residential rehabilitation centre in Taunton for 3 months. Following on from time spent at the centre, he trained as a social worker for blind and deaf/blind people. At that time, Tony was living in Southwark, with all the challenges living in a busy town could present to a person without sight. Against incredible odds, Tony then went on to become a fund raising manager for Guide Dogs for the Blind and then progressed to national fund raising manager with a staff of 100 to supervise.
It is impossible for those of us with sight to imagine how even the smallest task can become monumental, but Tony’s wife had brought with her some sets of glasses that had been adapted to mimic various forms of visual disability. She also procured 4 willing volunteers who were prepared to wear a blindfold and undertake what to most of us are simple, everyday tasks such as buttering toast, pouring water into a glass, peeling a vegetable or even writing a note.
At the end of the evening, following a lively question and answer time, the one thing that we all gained from spending time with Tony was that he may have lost his sight, but he was a fulfilled individual with a lifetime of experience and stories to tell. An inspiring evening spent with an inspiring man.
MW
This month we were joined by Tony Castleton and his wife for an interesting and challenging talk entitled ‘Living with Blindness’. Tony has been blind for 49 years, having lost the sight of one eye at the age of 10, followed by complete blindness at the age of 28. With a wife, a 2 year old and new baby to provide for, Tony described how that after losing his job and experiencing despair that we can’t hope to imagine, he was sent to a residential rehabilitation centre in Taunton for 3 months. Following on from time spent at the centre, he trained as a social worker for blind and deaf/blind people. At that time, Tony was living in Southwark, with all the challenges living in a busy town could present to a person without sight. Against incredible odds, Tony then went on to become a fund raising manager for Guide Dogs for the Blind and then progressed to national fund raising manager with a staff of 100 to supervise.
It is impossible for those of us with sight to imagine how even the smallest task can become monumental, but Tony’s wife had brought with her some sets of glasses that had been adapted to mimic various forms of visual disability. She also procured 4 willing volunteers who were prepared to wear a blindfold and undertake what to most of us are simple, everyday tasks such as buttering toast, pouring water into a glass, peeling a vegetable or even writing a note.
At the end of the evening, following a lively question and answer time, the one thing that we all gained from spending time with Tony was that he may have lost his sight, but he was a fulfilled individual with a lifetime of experience and stories to tell. An inspiring evening spent with an inspiring man.
MW
March 30, 2015 Our Broadwindsor pennant, ready to send off.

February 19, 2015
“Old Harrod’s”, a talk by Alice Harman
Dealing with the rich and famous came all in a day’s work for Alice Harman during her long career at Harrod’s. Filled with interesting facts and figures about the building and business, Alice’s talk took members into a world which was, by her own admission, very strange- although she didn’t realise it at the time. A career spanning from 1969 to 1988 saw her work her way from the bottom up (as did all Harrod’s employees) from receptionist to Chairman of the Buyers’ Council. But in spite of the glamour and opportunities given which would not normally have been part of her world, such as spending a day at Roayal Ascot, there was a dark side to Alice’s time at Harrod’s- being present during the IRA bombing of 1983. “I couldn’t talk about it for 10 or 15 years” admitted Alice, “but it’s something everyone asks about.”
Harrod’s was founded on its present site in 1849 when grocer Charles Henry Harrod began selling tea and coffee from a single room. He rapidly expanded the business and premises until turnover was into the millions. A fire in 1883 enabled the family to rebuild on a grander scale. The first escalator was installed in 1898 and men with smelling salts were on hand to revive ladies who were overwhelmed with their first encounter with moving stairs. A tunnel under the Brompton Road led to Trevor Square where various workshops manufacturing lovely products such as silver, chocolates and leather goods were located
A virtual town in its own right, Harrod’s houses 3 artesian wells and produces its own electricity, which enabled it to supply St George’s Hospital up the road during the “Three Day Week” in the 1970’s. It was known as the best store in the world, and staff never left as there was nothing better to go to. A change of ownership at the world-famous store was the catalyst for Alice’s move from Harrod’s to John Lewis in 1988, but she remains very fond of her time in this very unique retail establishment.
December 9
Members enjoyed their annual Christmas meal, which was at the White Lion at Broadwindsor this year. The Christmas party will be held on our normal meeting night, December 18.
October 23
October has been a very busy month at Broadwindsor! On Thursday 16th four members attended the Autumn Council at Poole, arriving home just in time to get back out in the evening for our monthly meeting. October is our birthday month- 96 years now for Broadwindsor WI! The speaker for the evening. Rita Barrington, kept the members spellbound with her portrayals of several women via short dramatic interpretations. Using only minimal costume and much theatrical talent, Mrs. Barrington brought to life a variety of characters from diverse literary works by writers such as Alan Bennett, Shakespeare and Neil Simon. The evening was made complete by cheese and biscuits and a glass of Pimm's, followed by a lovely birthday cake.
On Wednesday 22nd two members attended the Science Lunch at Athelhampton. The speaker whom had been booked unfortunately had become ill at the last minute, but a replacement was found- a gentleman who gave an interesting, fact-filled illustrated talk on volcanoes. The food provided at Athelhampton was nothing short of superb!
September 23
Broadwindsor WI September meeting
THE CHARMOUTH DINOSAUR
Jurassic Park was brought to life for members of Broadwindsor WI on Thursday 18th September when Phil Davidson, geological warden from Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre delivered his talk on Charmouth’s unique dinosaur find.
A fan of dinosaurs from childhood, palaeontologist Phil, who has worked at the prestigious Natural History Museum, enthralled the audience with his slides depicting the heritage centre as it was in the 1800’s- a cement factory- and various photos of dinosaur bones and drawings. The fact that the centre was once a cement works is very relevant to the story of Scelidosaurus, the Charmouth Dinosaur, as it was when picking rocks from the beach for grinding at the works that the first pieces of bone were discovered. Many years later, parts of 7 of these creatures have been revealed and identified.
Scelidosaurus has only ever been found on this one site, in one layer. Palaeontologists have determined that it was a vegetarian land-dweller with plated armour and a couple of horns (perhaps only on the males). The fact that the layer of deposit in which it has been found was underwater, makes the sudden demise of this group a bit of a mystery; perhaps a tidal wave or flash flood washed these particular creatures out to sea?
Palaeontologists welcome the public in collecting fossils at Charmouth, as they feel it is best to discover and preserve them rather than lose them to the elements. However, if anyone discovers anything unusual they are asked to register the find, as it could be part of a larger skeleton that can eventually be pieced together. In the meantime, the hunt goes on for what was probably the Scelidosaurus’ predator; a larger, meat-eater of which only the knee bone has ever been found.
August 11 Please note- there has been a change of venue for Thursday's cream tea. It will now be held in the servery at Comrades' Hall at 3pm.

July 4 A group of
members and friends from the Broadwindsor WI enjoyed a day out recently when
they visited Cothay Manor near Wellington in Somerset. This small medieval manor, dating from the 14th
century, is set in 12 acres of exquisite garden and has been home to the Robb
family since 1993. Medieval wall
paintings and a fine collection of artifacts on display, in addition to a
tearoom and plant sales area, all add to the charm of Cothay. You'll find few more photos from the day if you click on the Cothay sub-page in the photo gallery.
May 6 Congratulations to our new President, Irene Francis,elected at our recent Annual Meeting. We wish her and the new committee a happy and successful term of office.
March 27 Our GET CRAFTY evening was a huge success! Thanks to everyone who demonstrated, baked, or cajoled and brought along new friends to our WI. Perhaps we can do another such session in the not-too-distant future.
President Donna Heys attended the NFWI's "Inspiriing Women" Conference on 25th March at West Point- a truly enjoyable and informative day. You can read her report on the sub-page under the news heading.
March 27 Our GET CRAFTY evening was a huge success! Thanks to everyone who demonstrated, baked, or cajoled and brought along new friends to our WI. Perhaps we can do another such session in the not-too-distant future.
President Donna Heys attended the NFWI's "Inspiriing Women" Conference on 25th March at West Point- a truly enjoyable and informative day. You can read her report on the sub-page under the news heading.
March 6 GET CRAFTY WITH THE WI! Be sure to join us for our March meeting on Thursday 20th for our "crafts by members" evening. Open to members, guests and anyone interested in arts and crafts, the evening will begin with the usual announcements and then our demonstrating members will take up the tools of their trade to show you how to knit, stitch, watercolour, make cards and more! You will have the chance to try something new yourself. And if you don't like crafts, come for the free refreshments and a chat! Members, be sure to bring a friend along on the night!
December 23rd 2013 CHRISTMAS PARTY REPORT
December is the time for Christmas parties and the ladies of the WI were in festive mood at this month’s meeting. On arriving, every member found waiting for them at the table a beautiful bag of Christmas cones, fragranced with cinnamon and orange pieces, wrapped up with ribbon and a decorated gingerbread man tree ornament. What a treat! Our entertainment was provided by Bonny Sartin who, through song and verse, provided just the right amount of humour and sincerity for the Christmas season. Along with invited members from surrounding local WIs, everyone tucked into a Christmas buffet provided by members washed down with mulled wine. All in all, a very entertaining evening and the perfect start to our Christmas festivities. MW
December 8th 2013 SKITTLES REPORT
All six matches were very friendly. Good captains and friendly players. We won 3 matches, two by only 1 point. The other 3 we lost, could have been due to not sufficient members in team. We could not get 6 players so each of us had to play an extra hand each leg. Food supplied for our home matches was supplied by Broadwindsor WI and we were pleased when all 3 teams said that they thought the food was great. It is surprising how many different types of food six people can provide, well done to all our team. Would like to say thank you to those who stood in when some couldn't make the match. VJ
December 4th 2013 HELLO SAILOR?
We have an exciting proposal to announce to you on this, our very first item in our news feed! We have been offered the opportunity to take 6 WI members on an informal tour of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Mounts Bay (amphibious landing ship) when it is docked in Portland. There are many ladders to climb so visitors are advised to be physically able to do so, and to be wearing trousers! The date of the visit is not yet fixed, but it will be sometime during late January/early February. There is bound to be a lot of interest in this visit, so at the Christmas party we will take names of those interested and draw the winners in a lottery if we are over-subscribed. Please help spread the word to those not at the party (and without computers). There may be a small fee for the visit, however...it is suggested we bring some lovely WI cake for the officers'mess! To find out more about the RFA Mounts Bay and the work of the RFA, just google the name of the ship to get onto their website. Thanks go to Tessa S for arranging this unique opportunity, through her Senior Petty Officer second cousin!
Welcome to our new website! It's early days yet,so we will be adding more material as we go, but we will try to get news posted here as quickly as we can.
In the meantime, we look forward to seeing our members at the next meeting, and please do contact us if you are interested in joining!