January 2026 Newsletter

This is an abridged version of our monthly newsletter. The full version is available to members only. To join Battersea WI please get in touch via our contact form

Happy New Year everyone and every good wish for 2026. 

December was a busy month for BWI. We celebrated the 110th anniversary of the Women’s Institute by planting a Hawthorn Tree on the west side of Clapham Common. Huge thanks to Jane Clark, our previous President, who made this possible by securing a Climate Action Micro Grant from Wandsworth Council, liaised with the Friends of Clapham Common to purchase the tree and organised the event. If you want to visit the tree, the ‘What3Words’ location is name.enable.tunnel

A week or so later, 33 of our members attended the BWI Christmas Party, bringing with them some seriously delicious food. Thanks to all of you who contributed to making the party such a success. The raffle raised £101.  

Volunteers Group We need some new volunteers to add to the volunteers group that help us manage our monthly meetings, including preparing the church hall, welcoming and registering established and new members, serving drinks and helping with the raffle and tidying up after meetings. Volunteers usually arrive by 6.30 for a 7pm start. We are very grateful to those of you who have steadfastly supported us with this endeavour and we know some of you need a break. Please email the Presidents to sign up to help.

BWI Secretary We are urgently seeking a new Secretary/Secretaries for the Committee. We are interested in hearing from anybody who might be interested in undertaking this role or who would be willing to job share. The role involves managing correspondence including enquiries from prospective new members, preparing agendas with the Presidents, taking minutes for Committee meetings and acting as a key link with the Federation. There is training available. We view the Committee as a team effort and  will do everything we can to support a new secretary/secretaries.

Review of the Raffle and Charitable Giving As we start a new year, it seems a good time to review how we organise the monthly raffle and issues relating to charitable giving. Following a discussion at the December meeting, a working group has been set up to look into this and report back with proposals. The group is led by Jane H.

NFWI announcement about Transgender Women  Many of you will have seen the recent announcement from NFWI, that with the utmost sadness and regret, it had taken the difficult decision that from April 2026 we can no longer offer formal membership of the WI to transgender women. This decision is the result of the Supreme Court ruling that the legal definition of a woman under the Equality Act (2010) refers only to biological sex. Over the last 40 years the WI has proudly welcomed transgender women into the WI membership. From April 2026, the NFWI will be launching a national network of local WI Sisterhood groups, offering monthly opportunities open to all, including transgender women, allowing them to come together to socialise, learn from each other, and share their experiences of living as women. The NFWI is developing guidance on this policy change in practice. We had an interesting discussion at the December business meeting about the position  Battersea WI should take as a result of this decision. Some of our local WIs have   put out separate statements about the decision. We agreed to follow the statement and guidance issued by the NFWI and will not be putting out a separate statement. We will update members as soon as further guidance is received.

Resolution Selection  Every year, local WI’s vote for the resolutions they think should be discussed at the NFWI AGM in 2026. We need to do this by 30th January 2026 so will be taking a vote at our January meeting. The resolutions are listed in our NFWI Section below, please take time to read them ahead of the  meeting so you can make an informed choice. 

Looking ahead to our August Outing We are canvassing views about where we should go for our August outing. We have traditionally gone to the seaside but we understand that some people would prefer an alternative. We would be grateful if you could let the Presidents have your ideas before the January meeting.

January meeting January marks our 8th birthday! Our first meeting was featured in Battersea Matters(shared with permission from The Battersea Society.) We’re looking forward to another delicious cake from Julie as well as a talk from local distillery, Graveney Gin. See you there!

Sue L and Sue M

Joint Presidents, Battersea WI
presidentbattersea@surreyfedwi.org.uk

Contents

  • Your BWI Group updates
  • Coming up: 
    • Group meet-up dates for January (only available in members version)
    • Forthcoming speakers and events 2026
  • Offshoots – activities inspired by WI Groups and Campaigns:
    • Climate Ambassador’s update
    • Restoration project
    • Fused glass workshop
  • Surrey Federation news and information
  • NFWI news from HQ and information about Resolutions
  • Committee Contact Details 

Your BWI Groups

For the latest BWI news visit our Instagram feed. If you enjoy creating IG content and want to help spread the word about BWI, please contact Elaine

Book Groups – what we’ve been reading  

Battersea Bookends update by Clare G

I deputised for Danielle at our December meeting, where the book under discussion was an appropriately seasonal choice —Jeanette Winterson’s Christmas Days. This first came out in 2016, evidently with the gift market in mind; we agreed that both the hardback and paperback versions had been beautifully designed and produced, and were charmingly illustrated. The contents we found perhaps rather too much of a mixed bag (or hastily assembled Christmas stocking?): twelve short stories, interspersed with festive recipes and reminiscences. The short stories attempt a really quite strange assortment of genres: from fables for children through Victorian-style ghost stories to modern urban legend, and beyond. Perhaps inevitably, some felt to us rather too contrived and/ or derivative. Her Christmas memories of family and friends proved more popular: often moving, sometimes intriguing—who would have guessed that Ruth Rendell was a country music fan? And everybody enjoyed her recipe for cheese biscuits, which Elaine had been kind enough to try out and bring along for us to sample: thanks Elaine!

Boozy Books update by Amanda

We celebrated the life and works of Dame Jilly Cooper, by reading a Jilly Cooper book of our own choice in November. She is best known for her Rutshire Chronicles series, starting with Riders, which was published in 1985. The novel, the first in an 11-part book series, revolutionised fiction with its frank depictions of sex and scandal in the English countryside. Over the course of her distinguished career, she wrote 18 novels and works of short fiction, as well as over 20 non-fiction books. She was awarded several honours over her lifetime, including an OBE in 2004, a CBE in 2018 and a DBE in 2024, for her services to literature and charity.

Chapter One Reading Group update by Jane H

In December we read Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin. This is a crime thriller set in Cambridge in the 12th Century. It brilliantly evokes medieval life showing us its riches and squalor, the influence of people who have travelled widely as pilgrims or crusaders and the constrained lives of women at that time. At the heart of the book is a grisly crime and as such it was not a popular choice for everyone but for those of us prepared to read about hideous events it was a suspenseful and entertaining read.

Coffee Morning – update by Clare GH

This is the photo Carole A took of our coffee morning on the 10th December at the Duke of Cambridge. She brought delicious mince pies with her which went down a treat!

Craft Group – update by Elaine

On 6th December we had a fun festive themed crafting morning making Paper Piecing Baubles and Bogroll Bobble Hats, using up our old scraps of materials, toilet roll cardboards and wool. The bobble hats have been gifted as presents and used as bottle toppers. It was a great and productive morning with thanks as ever to BAC for hosting us. You can find the instructions, templates and more on the Christine’s Crafts website. 

Cribbage ♣️♦️♥️ ♠️  update by Derinda

Meeting in early December we enjoyed a couple of late afternoon games of crib and a chat over a glass of festive bubbly.  The play was fun and friendly, however, threats were bandied about to apply the ‘muggins’ rule (mentioned last month) where an opponent can claim a player’s points if the player fails to count them!  Players beware in 2026…🥂

Film Club review by Elaine 

Marty Supreme Set in 1952, the film is inspired by the life and career of US table tennis player Marty Reisman,  Timothée Chalamet plays Marty Mauser, a young, fast talking, cocky New York shoe salesman with ambitions to become a world table tennis champion. Mauser is in every scene, often in intense close up, and interestingly, completely unlikeable. The supporting cast is great but  we only ever see them from his angry young man perspective, so we know next to nothing about them. His family is bewildered by him, and he treats everyone with arrogant carelessness. Gwyneth Paltrow is very dignified as ageing Grace Kelly type actress Kay Stone, though it was hard to believe her character would be attracted to someone like Mauser. There are dozens of ideas and characters squeezed into the film, and at 2 hrs and 27 minutes, it felt like a relentless slog full of noise and chaos, careering from scene to scene with a momentum and booming sound track that never let up. Think fast talking classic film noir meets Goodfellas, What’s Up Doc, Bonnie & Clydeand graphic novel. On this point we agreed in our post movie chat: it was full on and weird. Other members loved it for the cinematography, and to be fair, the scene setting, costumes and sets made it feel very period. However, for a film described as a ‘sports comedy drama,’ there were few big laugh out loud moments, even though the cinema was full. Having read the Wiki entry for the film, it makes a lot more sense if you know a bit about Reisman’s story. Overall, it felt like 3 or 4 films squashed together, which if teased out, could have made for 3 or 4 very good films rather than this mixed bag. As it’s still Christmas, let’s say it’s marzipan rather than marmite.

Foodies – update by Amanda

In December, Foodies celebrated with a Christmas buffet table – smoked salmon blinis, cocktail sausages, parmesan shortbread, mini mince pies, gougères, smoked mackerel pate, cauliflower savoury florets, stilton and celery and a hot mincemeat croissant bake with ice cream to finish. We hope this gives you a few ideas for parties!

A recipe to try https://sanjicuisine.com/parmesan-roasted-cauliflower/

Knitting & Crochet update by Elaine 

We’re on a break this month, but that hasn’t stopped our creative output. Amanda completed this cute Spot the Dog jumper for grandson Rory and Vivien finished a Christmas stocking for granddaughter Ray (by hand, no less, after her sewing machine had a bit of a meltdown…!) Joan finished this lovely slouch hat and is making headway with current WIP, a blue blanket.

Outings Group update by Amanda 

Our first visit is City of London. The itinerary includes The Lookout, Leadenhall Market, artisan talk and sampling at Cheese (and optional light lunch) and the SoLo Craft Fair. Please email Amanda to sign up for this outing and confirm if you want to be included in lunch reservation.

The Lookout, on the 50th floor of 8 Bishopsgate, is regarded as the best viewpoint over the City (there is no charge; group ticket arranged.) From there we go to Leadenhall Market on the Roman site of the Londinium Forum and redeveloped by the Victorians into a beautiful covered market. It featured as Diagon Alley in the first Harry Potter film and we will try to locate the door to the Leaky Cauldron! Traditionally a poultry market, dairy products, such as cheese, were added in the 15th century. Next on our itinerary is an artisan cheese talk and sampling at Cheese, led by its Director, Sue Cloke. This is complimentary and in recognition of this, she hopes that you will purchase cheese and/or partake of a light lunch on The Terrace. Click on the link to look at the menu and wine list; with small plates available for under £10.

The SoLo Craft Fair is a unique independent gift shop. Each month, the store showcases over 90 small businesses, offering an ever-changing selection of art, fashion, jewellery, homeware and thoughtful gifts. 

Photography Group update by Rosemary

We met at the beginning of December to share photos on the large screen at Hawkins Forge. The topics included ‘yellow’ which brought us some fabulous bright images. Secondly, we had ‘sky’ which inspired a huge array of wonderful sunsets, sunrises, reflections, soft, bright, and dark colours. The third topic was ‘nature,’ which crossed over well with the sky theme, again resulting in some wonderful photos. Our group certainly gets about – photos came from all over the world. Included in these grids is a taster. of the many photos we enjoyed. Our next themes are ‘purple’, as we loved having a colour them, ‘beguiling juxtaposition’ inspired by Lee Miller’s favourite topic…let’s see what wonderful shots that brings us. The third choice is ‘anything you fancy’, again open to some interesting and imaginative photos.

Walking Group update by Clare

Eleven of us and three dogs turned out on a lovely sunny morning for our December Friday morning walk, a relatively short and local route of three miles from Wandsworth Town to Wimbledon Park. We took a relatively quiet, nature-friendly ‘green and blue corridor’ route along the river Wandle and through King George’s Park, before heading off to discover Coronation Gardens  with its new statue of Fanny Wilkinson, England’s first professional female landscape gardener. After that we walked through the Southfields Green The Grid project and into Wimbledon Park to enjoy coffee at Cook’s Kitchen and take a look at its big lake, before heading home from the nearby tube station.

Forthcoming speakers and events 2026

(Running order subject to change according to availability of speakers.)

  • January – 8th Anniversary – celebration cake by Julie and talk by Mark Strippel from Graveney Gin.
  • February – CPR/Defibrillator talk/practice by A&E Nurse at St Thomas’ Hospital, Angela Merritt
  • March – Hot cross bun tasting
  • April – tbc 
  • May – Talk by Battersea MP, Marsha De Cordova
  • June – Crafting with Belinda Raphael
  • July – tbc
  • August – annual outing – location tbc
  • September – History talk on Agent Zo, by Clare Mulley 
  • October – Sarah Slater, Hampton Court (topic tbc)
  • November – AGM
  • December – Christmas Party

Offshoots

a round up of members’ activities inspired by the WI

Climate Ambassador’s update by Elaine

Being a WI Climate Ambassador is opening up many opportunities to be more involved in local climate change activities. Local is where we can all have maximum impact, whether buying locally, nurturing green space or disposing of unwanted items. Thanks to the Mass Lobby last July, I’ve joined the Battersea Climate Coalition team. I’m also a member of the Battersea Society Open Spaces Committee, so I’ve been to meetings with both Enable, who manage our green spaces, and Wandsworth’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Paul White. I’ll be sharing more about Enable’s Citizen Science and WBC’s Climate Action Plan update which is due in February. February will also see the return of the Climate Coalition’s ‘Show the Love’ where they invite people across the UK to send a green heart to their politician. You can read more on their FB page. Meanwhile, let’s get 2026 off to an uplifting start with this article from the BBC Earth web page about ‘Seven Quiet Wins for the Environment in 2025,’ which includes news that renewables have overtaken coal as the world’s leading source of electricity.  

For more information about the WI’s Climate Ambassador Scheme click here

Restoration Project: Neddy

Amanda completed her refurbishment of Neddy the rocking horse – he’s 35 years old but spent 20 or so years languishing in various attics and cellars. Will will be seeing Amanda on the Repair Shop??

SFWI Glass Fusing Workshop with Surrey Fed 27th Nov by Ursula

Following on from last month’s newsletter, where she told us about the glass fusing workshop run by SFWI back in November, Ursula collected her fired glass pieces and 

shared a photo of the lovely finished result.  

Surrey Federation

Battersea WI is a member of the Surrey Federation of WIs. You can read all about their current events and access their newsletter via their website

National Federation of WIs

The WI campaigns on a huge range of issues – from promoting women’s rights and fostering health awareness to encouraging sustainable development and building a fairer society. For more information about Campaigns please visit the My WI section of the NFWI website 

Resolution Selection

Every year, local WI’s vote for the resolutions they think should be discussed at the NFWI AGM in 2026. We need to do this by 30th January 2026 so will be taking a vote at our January meeting. Please take time to read them ahead of our next meeting. 

  • Accessible toilet facilties to promote dignity, health and social inclusion;
  • Action on Women’s Homelessness;
  • Every Child Needs a Friend;
  • Nearer to Nature;
  • Love your Vulva – self checking is your best defence against vulval cancer.

For more information visit the NFWI Resolutions web page  

WI membership includes full access to the WI Learning Hub. We’d love to hear your recommendations for courses and whether you’ve watched any of the online talks. You can sign up for the newsletter for weekly updates about what’s on.     

Battersea WI Committee Contact Details

Joint Presidents, Sue M and Sue L –  presidentbattersea@surreyfedwi.org.uk

TBC – Secretary –  secretarybattersea@surreyfedwi.org.uk

Treasurer – treasurerbattersea@surreyfedwi.org.uk

This is an abridged version of our monthly newsletter. The full version is available to members only. To join Battersea WI please get in touch via our contact form