This version of our newsletter is edited for the website. The full version is available to members. To join Battersea WI please contact us via our contact form. For the latest BWI news, visit our Instagram feed.
Hi everyone
February meeting
Following last year’s National Federation’s campaign to increase vital CPR and defibrillator skills across the UK (Bystanders Can Be Lifesavers) the second meeting of the year saw 20 members not only practicing the correct way of carrying out CPR on dummies but also the use of a defibrillator. A&E Practitioner, Angela Merritt, talked us through the correct procedure to help someone experiencing a heart related emergency. She also recommended we follow the doctor’s code, aka Drs ABC, when approaching a person in such a position:
- Danger – make sure there’s no danger to yourself
- Response – are they responding when you talk to them
- Shout for help
- Airway – obstructions?
- Breathing
- Compressions
Committee news
Raffle: we received the raffle review report. Jane and the other members involved in the review were thanked. The 3 key findings were:
- The monthly raffle should continue – many members see the raffle as a good way to raise funds which support the local community.
- Promote engagement with members so they are closely involved in decisions about how the raffle operates and which charities are supported.
- Organise the raffle efficiently to allow time for other activities at the meeting, in particular social engagement.
We will discuss the proposed actions at the next meeting
Drinks: we reviewed the prices for drinks provided at our monthly meetings and have agreed the following changes with effect from March:
Alcohol £2.00, Soft drinks £1.50, Tea and Coffee – free
Finance
Subs are due at the end of this month. We raised £34 from the January raffle and £30 from the February one. Our guest speaker, Angela Merritt, asked that her speakers fee be donated to Trinity Hospice in lieu of fee.
March Meeting
In addition to tasting some delicious hot cross buns, we will be running a group session about developing Battersea WI for the future. It will be an opportunity to get to know some of your fellow WI members better and to contribute your ideas about the future direction of BWI.
Donations for Little Village: This year marks Little Village’s 10th Anniversary! They have identified March as Mother’s Month and appeal for toiletries to give mums a treat. We would like to support this so there will be no raffle at our meeting on 17 March; instead we ask for toiletry offerings that will go to Little Village. Click on the link for more info. Donations should be new and sealed, items such as body wash, face moisturiser, beauty treatments, fragrance, deodorant, shampoo, soap, toothpaste and period products all welcome.
Volunteers Group
We would still like to have another member willing to help at meetings with the projector as and when necessary. Training will be given!
Surrey Federation of WIs – don’t forget to check this month’s SFWI newsletter for all that latest info from Surrey Fed.
National Federation of WIs Virtual Annual Meeting 4th June – are there any members who would like to attend this meeting? Please let the Committee know if you would like to attend. See the NFWI section below for more NFWI news.
Have a great month
Sue L and Sue M
Joint Presidents, Battersea WI
presidentbattersea@surreyfedwi.org.uk
Contents:
- Your BWI Group activities
- Forthcoming events and speakers
- Offshoots – activities inspired by WI Groups and Campaigns, plus local news and events
- Surrey Federation news and information
- NFWI news from HQ and information
Your BWI Groups
Book Groups – what we’ve been reading
Battersea Bookends (update by Danielle.) Hitler, Stalin Mum and Dad by Danny Finkelstein. An excellent book and a very moving story which provoked a lot of discussion and entrusting of family histories. It relates what happened to the author’s parents and grandparents who were living in Germany and Poland when Hitler rose to power. There was enough history contained in it to set the story in context, but not too much and written in a straight forward style, which without tub thumping led you to see the echoes of those events, in what is happening now in Europe and America. It is quite frightening . This book should be required reading in all schools.
Boozy Books (update by Amanda.) Little Disasters delves into the realities of postnatal depression and maternal mental health. This is an issue affecting more than 1 in 10 women and is often regarded as a taboo subject. None of us had read a fiction book that laid bare the mother’s fear of hurting the baby before and we came away feeling more educated on the topic. Be warned, the book was disturbing and many of us commented that we feared turning the page.
Chapter One Reading Group (update by Jane H) Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson. This is a novel with many characters and storylines set in London in 1926: a world of glamour and glitz, cocktails, fancy clothes and madcap parties for bright young things but also gangsters, corrupt police officers, drugs and the exploitation of girls – superficially amusing but also very dark. With so much going on perhaps it’s unsurprising there was a mixed response. Whilst some enjoyed the complexity, the fact base historical setting and the characters – others found it predictable and a bit boring. However it generated a lively discussion of both style and content.
Coffee Morning – update by Clare GH
We didn’t take a photo at the last one but Rory our friendly toddler came which was fun and we had a good chat with the group that came. For our end of the month catch up Dina brought some wonderful homemade marmalade muffins which everyone enjoyed. We talked about making marmalade and getting the setting point correct and the various ways of checking. Amongst other things.
Craft Group – update by Elaine. Last month we visited the fascinating London Sewing Machine Museum in Tooting Bec. It only opens 10 Saturdays per year and is home to dozens of machines, from the first machine to mimic hand sewing invented by French tailor Barthélemy Thimonnier in 1830 to more modern specialist machines, as well as vintage patterns and user manuals. If you can get along it’s well worth a visit as our guide knowledge was encyclopaedic!
Cribbage ♣️♦️♥️ ♠️ update by Derinda. Five of us met to play cribbage early in February and again with an odd number attending we played a three-way game as well as a twosome. Everyone seems to have growing confidence in their play and as a result enjoy it all the more. For our next group meeting we will meet in the Scratch Bar at Battersea Arts Centre.
Film Club review by Julie.
In February we joined a Saturday afternoon tour at The Cinema Museum in Kennington. We highly recommend it! Set in what was a Victorian Work House (where Charlie Chaplin was once a resident) it’s full of fascinating cinema memorabilia. The tour was incredibly interesting with time for free tea and biscuits and a showing of old cartoons and ads. A celebration of movie going rather than movie making and a trip down memory lane. They have movie nights too so hopefully we can organise this later on this year.
This month’s film was If I Had Legs I’d Kick You – a dark, psychological horror-comedy of depression and lonely parental stress. It wasn’t an easy watch, a couple of our group thought it was too intense and didn’t enjoy it, and a few people in the audience left halfway. Despite this, Rose Byrne is brilliant playing the part of a psychotherapist coping (or rather not coping and unraveling) with the illness of her child, her flatflooding and a
full time job. Part reality, part hallucinations and dreams – it was sometimes hard to know which was which. It was filmed in a way that you felt every moment of Bryce’s panic and anxiety and there was a certain relief when it ended. Definitely not a movie for a relaxing evening out but one to go to if you want a film which is unforgettable, heartbreaking, painful, uncomfortable, poignant and funny with great characters and filming.
Foodies – update by Amanda. In February we celebrated Chinese New Year (two days late) – the Year of the Horse. We created a banquet of crispy prawns, sweet and sour chicken, pork ribs, vegetable chow mein, duck rolls and lemon chicken. This was followed by a cake to celebrate Caro’s birthday.
Green Living, Sustainability and Foraging – update by Elaine
This month’s green living tip is from Jenny S: litter picking is a green and tranquil activity. Friends of Wandsworth Common do it every Monday morning and provide all equipment. Friends of Clapham Common also arrange them for members.
Climate Ambassador update: February was a busy month: ahead of June’s Great Big Green Week, 6-14th June, the green hearts made by Clare, Vivien and myself for the Show the Love Campaign were delivered to our MPs office together with a letter outlining the WI’s Fair Green Future campaign.
On 25th Feb I went to Wandsworth’s Sustainability Network meeting at York Gardens Library. The meetings take place 3-4 times a year and are open to anyone interested in climate issues. It’s a great opportunity to network with local campaign groups. They presented the new Biodiversity Action Plan which focuses on 3 main themes: Action for nature that is fairer for all, that is compassionate and responds to our community and that is effective and delivers meaningful results.
On 27th Feb I attended the first of the NFWI’s four monthly seminars all about their Fair Green Future campaign. This month’s theme was all about How to Stay Connected. We heard from Rachael Orr of Climate Outreach, Friends of the Earth and the Fairness Test Report and the Local Storyteller Exchange’s Lucy Holdaway. The session was very informative and inspiring. It’s easy to book via the new learning hub portal, Via.
Events members can get involved in March include 9-15 March the Big Plastic Count Hopefully lots of you are already signed up either through WI groups or local campaign groups; and 20th March NFWI Lunchtime Fair Green Future webinars: Making your voice count: How communities can shape climate decisions. Discover practical ways to get involved in local decision‑making, ahead of May’s local elections, and how WI members can influence positive change. The webinars will also be recorded and made available on MyWI.
For more information about the WI’s Climate Ambassador Scheme click here
Knitting & Crochet update by Joan. We enjoyed a lovely relaxed evening of knitting and catching up on each other’s news. Sue L brought along some of the delicious marmalade muffins Dina made for coffee morning earlier!
Outings Group update by Amanda. We met at the Victoria Gate Café for a coffee before our tour to discover the science and conservation work and the history of Kew. The tour was excellent with the guide being both interesting and knowledgeable. Then we visited the magnificent Orchid Festival in the Princess of Wales Conservatory and marvelled at the dragon and koi set amongst the incredible number and types of orchid. We needed a sit down and lunch after walking for two and half hours!
Walking Group update by Clare. Thanks to the prolonged wet weather we replaced our planned Hampton Court to Kingston walk with the perhaps less glamorous-sounding National Cycle Route 208, from Raynes Park through to Sutton Common. Much dryer underfoot than the Thames Path would have been, this also turned out to be a really interesting and attractive walk. Twelve of us and three dogs had ventured out on yet another damp grey morning, and were delighted to discover a whole string of new-to-us green spaces. The biggest and most impressive was Morden Park, whose Georgian house is now Merton Council’s registry office. At the end of the walk the sun came out for long enough for us to enjoy refreshments sitting outside Simon’s Diner, a great little community café in Rosehill Park. We can recommend its coffee and hot chocolate – and also its ice creams and sausage sarnies!
Battersea WI monthly meetings: forthcoming speakers and events 2026
(Running order subject to change according to availability of speakers.)
- 17th March – Hot cross bun tasting
- 21st April – Anna (Dean)/James, Search & Rescue
- 19th May – Talk by Battersea MP, Marsha De Cordova
- 16th June – Lorna Evans, Chief Craft Officer, Crafternoon Tea London. Brush Lettering workshop
- 21st July – fsh and chip supper (back by popular demand!)
- 18th August – annual outing – location tbc
- 15th September – History talk on Agent Zo, by Clare Mulley
- 20th October – Sarah Slater, Hampton Court (topic tbc)
- 17th November – AGM
- 15th December – Christmas Party
Offshoots
a round up of members’ activities inspired by the WI as well as events of local interest
What’s coming up in the London Borough of Culture Programme? 🎭 Plenty of exciting events right on your doorstep including dance, theatre and art and so much more…find out all about it: What’s On in March
Surrey Federation
Battersea WI is a member of the Surrey Federation of WIs. SFWI’s monthly newsletter is emailed to all members and is packed with information about everything from events to workshops. You can also access it via their website
National Federation of WIs
Learning is at the heart of the WI With traditional skills and forward-thinking topics helping individuals to build confidence, and grow as active citizens, and through their broad campaigning agenda, members identify and learn about important topics such as climate change, mental health, access to dental care, river pollution and much more, inspiring members to advocate for positive change at local and national levels.
The new hub has a great user friendly interface and makes booking things a doddle. 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.
Thank you for reading. This version of our newsletter is edited for the website. The full version is available to members only. To join Battersea WI please contact us via our contact form. For the latest BWI news, visit our Instagram feed.