This version of the newsletter has been edited for our website. A full version is emailed to members each month. To find out about joining, please visit our contact page
Hello everyone
Welcome to the May Newsletter.
Firstly a very warm welcome to our new BWI members who have recently joined. It’s great to have you on board and we hope that you are going to enjoy BWI and all it has to offer. BWI continues to be an important resource for the women of Battersea and Clapham providing opportunities for friendship, sharing experiences, learning new skills and acting as a force for good in our community. Secondly, and no less important, a very big thank you to Ursula our Secretary and Derinda our Treasurer for all the amazing work they have done on expertly managing the new WI year and the complexities of subscriptions and membership. You are our best recruiters so please do encourage friends and neighbours to come along and find out more.
Our April monthly meeting presentation was by Keith Francis and Valeria Puig, volunteers with London Search and Rescue about their extraordinary work in assisting the Metropolitan and City of London Police, Fire Service and NHS in the search for the thousands of vulnerable people who go missing every year. London Search and Rescue is a charity staffed by volunteers with specialist expertise and we will be giving them a donation in lieu of a fee to support their important work.
Thank you also to those who brought along a bra or two for recycling – Ursula collected a total of 30 for Against Breast Cancer. There is information in Offshoots about further donations via Amélies Follies on Webbs Road.
Looking forward to May, we are very much looking forward to welcoming our local Battersea MP to our May meeting to share her experiences and insights of taking up a leadership role in our local community. Further information about future speakers and sign up sheets is in the Coming Up section.
We’ve been contacted by the RCA Battersea to say they have some paid summer internships for undergraduates now open to applications. They would love to attract some local applications – it’s a 10 week paid opportunity as part of EPSRC’s Vacation Internships scheme. Please share with anyone who may be interested.
Have a great month
Sue L and Sue M
Joint Presidents, Battersea WI
presidentbattersea@surreyfedwi.org.uk
Contents:
- Forthcoming speakers, events and meetings
- Your BWI Groups – activities and updates
- Offshoots – local news and events in Battersea
- Surrey Federation news and information
- NFWI news from HQ and information
(Running order subject to change according to availability of speakers.)
- 19th May – An audience with Battersea MP, Marsha De Cordova
- 16th June – Brush Lettering workshop with Lorna Evans, Chief Craft Officer, Crafternoon Tea, London.
- 21st July – Fish and Chip Supper (back by popular demand!)
- August – Summer break
- 15th September – History Talk on Agent Zo, with Clare Mulley
- 20th October – Kirtles, Corsets and Curtains with Sarah Slater, Hampton Court Tour Guide
- 17th November – AGM
- 15th December – Christmas Party
Book Groups
Battersea Bookends update by Caro
Life with Picasso, Françoise Gilot with Carlton Lake. We didn’t give the book either thumbs up or down. From an art point of view, it was an interesting to read the description of paintings, ceramics and lithography techniques, and his relationship with contemporary painters/writers/poets. Picasso was an incredibly creative artist 40 years her senior when Françoise met him aged only 21, but she did use him to promote herself. We learn much more about him and his very sycophantic entourage than about her until the very end of the book, which we felt could have been much better edited. Neither character is very likeable; Picasso is definitely an inveterate womaniser, very controlling who even used physical violence on her. When they parted after 10 years and 2 children, he ruined her life forbidding people to work with her.
Boozy Books update by Amanda
The Names by Florence Knapp is a book being talked about in many book groups! This is the story of three names, three versions of a life and the infinite possibilities that a single decision can spark. We felt this was quite a challenging and intriguing read as it follows a baby boy registered in 1987 telling the story of him and his family as he grows up depending on the name chosen. A genius idea for a book, but it does require a lot of concentration to keep each of the three storylines told over seven-year intervals clear. Overall, well worth the effort and a book that will stay with us for some time to come.
Chapter One Reading Group update by Jane H
After a celebrated 45 year career, Julian Barnes recently published his final book. To mark that we read his first novel, Metroland published in 1980. It begins with Chris, a well educated but cynical schoolboy and his friend observing the world and playing jokes on strangers, then follows him through early adulthood to a settled job, marriage and home. It gave us some great topics to talk about: teenage boys in general, life in the 1980s and what makes a good life. Responding to the book, Philip Larkin praised it for being amusing and illuminating and wrote “Of course in my old-fashioned way I should have liked more of a story, but never mind.” which sums up what we thought.
Coffee Morning – update by Clare GH
We enjoyed our April catch ups where we discussed what podcast we like listening to and what to do with wild garlic. Pesto is a popular thing to make. Antonio Carluccio used to make it. I don’t have a recipe but its vivid green colour looked very good.
Craft Group – update by Elaine
Vivian and Ursula joined me on a trip to see the quilts exhibition by Cathy Corbishley Michel at the Stableyard in Morden Hall Park. We were blessed with good weather. After admiring the beautiful, stunning quilts and chatting with Cathy, we enjoyed a nice cuppa sitting outside at the café round the corner followed by a browse round the very tempting plant shop
Cribbage ♣️♦️♥️ ♠️ update by Derinda
We welcomed another new player in April! We now number six and are open to new joiners whether experienced or new to the game. Enthusiasm to play cribbage and to learn and improve are all that is required. Meeting in the Scratch Bar at Battersea Arts Centre has gone very well so we will continue to meet up there.
We met on a lovely sunny evening outside Clapham Picture House to see Father, Mother, Sister, Brother, an arthouse film by the acclaimed director Jim Jarmusch, originally debuting at the Venice Film Festival. The film takes place simultaneously across 3 different countries the USA, Ireland (Dublin) and France (Paris) and through 3 vignettes demonstrates family dynamics and the relationships between adult siblings and their distant parents. The film has a strong cast including Charlotte Rampling and Cate Blanchett and provides the audience with a deliciously slow and intricate experience of the complexities of family life. We had a very interesting post film discussion making sense of what we had seen and how it related to our own family experiences.
Foodies – update by Amanda
In April we feasted on a six-course tasting menu of filled Yorkshire puddings. The very pretty starters of Prawn Cocktail or Coronation Chicken are shown in the photo. These were followed by Beef Bourguignon and a delightful Pepper and Mushroom mix. Course five was Sausage and Caramelised Onion. We were all rather full but managed to finish with Eton Mess.
Green Living, Sustainability and Foraging – update by Elaine
- Bra recycling: thank you to everyone who brought along their old bras for recycling in aid of Against Breast Cancer If you have any more donations, information about Amelie’s Follies is in the Offshoots section.
- This month’s green living tip comes from Clare G. Recycling books: The Global Education Trust inside Wandsworth Southside shopping centre welcome donations and you can take away three books for free whenever you visit. There’s usually lots of interesting stock. Please keep your suggestions coming in. For more information visit the Recycle Now website
- We’re hosting a plant swap on 21st May – see May’s Meet Ups page
Climate Ambassador update: April’s Fair Green Future Webinar was all about the inequality of climate change as it disproportionately affects women. There was a presentation by the Women’s Environmental Network which focuses on UK campaigning and the Climate Coalition, who outlined their training about communication and how to get your point across when speaking about the issues, whether that’s with politicians or members of the public. The big takeaway for me was that you don’t need to be an expert, you just need to know how to tell your story, which is one of the reasons we focus on local activities we can get involved in – like charity collections, plant swaps and so on.
Next month the Great Big Green Week is back from 6-14th June.
For more information about the WI’s Climate Ambassador Scheme click here
Knitting & Crochet update by Joan
We had a lovely evening knitting and chatting. Sue L and Derinda are making cute clothing grandchildren, Elaine is finishing off a pair of socks for her daughter, Jane is making squares for a throw and I have finally finished weaving in what felt like thousands of ends for this zigzag throw. We had feedback from Little Village that our hand made clothes donation went down really well and Mum’s are asking for more! So we’ll be working on that for the next few months.
Outings Group update by Amanda
We thoroughly recommend the tour of the Royal Albert Hall, our outing for April. The magnificent guide told us the history of the building illustrated by the many paintings and photos that hang on the walls. She then led us through the building to a box (next to the Royal box), we visited the Royal Retiring Room, then went higher to see the sound and light systems. The Royal Albert Hall was preparing for the Classic FM concert so we were treated to the light, firework and smoke show! After a reviving coffee we walked through Hyde Park, with a stop at the Serpentine North Gallery to see the Hockney exhibition: A Year in Normandie, and onto the Serpentine Bar and Kitchen for a light lunch.
Simply Sketching ***New Group*** update by Vivien
The first meeting of the new Simply Sketching group was at The Hope pub on Bellevue Road, each of us bringing a pad and some pencils – a few brand-new, and some decades old from the back of a cupboard! We had great fun sketching and chatting in the pub’s sunny garden room, and for many of us it was the first time we had drawn for pleasure in many years. First and foremost it was an opportunity to try out a new hobby in a happy, supportive atmosphere and we definitely managed that!! Roll on summer, with some more sunshine and some more Plein Air art 😎
Swimming Group update by Sue M
Tooting Bec Lido opened to the public on May 1st. Current temperature a balmy 15.9. You can book through Places Leisure. I swim most days, so if any of you hardy types are up for a swim let me know on the Swimming WhatsApp group and we can arrange to meet and have a cuppa together.
I have had a request to swim at Hampstead Ladies Pond. I propose that we do this on Friday July 17th. I will put details on the WhatsApp group so let me know if you would like to join and I will add you. Contact details on Group Meet ups page.
Walking Group update by Clare
Twelve of us plus Tiger the greyhound enjoyed a spring morning walk along the Thames Path from Mortlake to Chiswick, crossing over the river at Barnes Bridge and carrying on through Duke’s Meadows and past Chiswick parish church and Hogarth’s tomb to Chiswick House. There we explored the attractive gardens, laid out in the eighteenth century and full of fine monuments, statues and temples; there’s an impressive contemporary kitchen garden too, run as a community project. We finished up with coffee and a chat at the café before catching the train home again from Chiswick station.
Wandsworth’s Heritage Festival is back this May – visit the online programme for details. Highlights include the following talks:
To find out more about the National Federation of Women’s Institutes and the amazing work they do please visit https://www.thewi.org.uk
Thank you for reading. This version of the newsletter has been edited for our website. A full version is emailed to members each month. To find out about joining, please visit our contact page