COMMUNITY: Carlton WI

The group must be doing something right at Carlton W.I., membership continues to grow and the April meeting saw six potential new members join the group at the Parish Centre on Church Lane last week.

It was a packed and thoroughly enjoyable evening. The guest speaker was Geoff Cutts who enthralled members with his depth of knowledge on the workings of the RNLI. Geoff and his wife, Janet, are former Carlton residents, keen sailors and work tirelessly to educate and entertain all and sundry on the immensely important work of this great organisation.

The previous week, 20 Carlton members travelled to Nottingham for the spring council meeting of the Nottinghamshire Federation of WI’s. This meeting was a good opportunity to meet other members from across the county and also to keep track of the work done by those who run the organisation at county level. It is always a lively and well-attended event with the added attraction of a little city centre shopping at lunch time.

The W.I. supports many worthwhile organisations but there is one which is particularly close to their hearts – Associated Country Women of the World, ACWW. This is a charity established in 1929 with the aim of improving living standards and prospects for women living in rural communities around the world. ACWW is active in 72 countries and on a slender budget works to provide such diverse facilities as clean water and sanitation, agricultural education, primary schooling, health education and literacy.

The ACWW representative at the spring council meeting enlightened everyone about the wide scale of the charity’s work and all came away confident that their modest contributions really did make a difference.

Members were entertained later in the afternoon by the TV antiques expert, Paul Hayes, who opened our eyes to the world of antiques and auctions – all in all, a very good day.

In March, about 20 Carlton W.I. members donned berets and strings of onions and went to Paris for a few days. They lived in style on the Seine, saw all the sights, drank copious amounts of wine and ate far too much and had a thoroughly good time. There are whisperings of a pasa doble performed with great skill and aplomb by one member who shall remain nameless – perhaps a little too much of the vin rouge?

The next meeting will be held at the Parish Centre on Thursday, May 12, at 7.15pm.

If you would like to learn more about the activities of Carlton W.I. visit us on Facebook or call our President, Mary Godwin on 01909 730662, or just turn up on the night.