A New Year and lots to do ....
ANNUAL MEETING

The WeyBay 2018-19 Annual meeting took place in the usual meeting venue of New Vic Bars.  Can you believe that it has been 9 years since the new WI was instigated.  Sheila Vogwell gave her address, the finances were approved - anyone interested in the details of the meeting can find the minutes on the Meetings 2019 page.  Sheila will continue as President for the coming year and the committee will continue with one additional member, Gill Stockley.  Di Morton will also be helping.  The committee do all the hard work behind the scenes to provide the speakers for the meetings and the other groups and events.  The President thanked them and presented them with orchid plants.

The formalities were followed by a presentation by Sandra Jones.  Sandra was the first President of WeyBay and confessed that in the nine years she had been a member, she had never previously visited the WI Denman College at Abingdon, Oxfordshire.  Dorset Federation make up a party every two  years, and this year seven members from WeyBay signed up for a variety of courses and headed off for  a weekend at Denman.  Sandra showed photographs of the various activities; digital photography, calligraphy, delicious puddings, fitness and dance, wickerwork, drumming, sex and mayhem in local churches - the choice was varied and all very well organised with professional tutors.  All members agreed that the catering was very plentiful with several coffee, tea and lunch stops during the day.  Sandra recommended that all members should consider a trip and they would find the weekend well worth while. 
JOIN A GROUP
The ethos of WeyBay relies on members joining in and contributing to the programme.  These smaller groups are a good way of meeting other members in a relaxed way.  Find out what is happening by checking the website for updates and getting contact details from the monthly meetings.

On Wednesday 23 May, 13 ladies had a wonderful morning making Wheat and Lavender Wreaths with Catherine Nix from My Scented Home at the New Vic Bars.  
 
Eight  members of  Weybay WI walked from  Sandsfoot Castle along the Rodwell Trail to  Portland, stopping for a welcome drink at The Boat that Rocks at Portland Marina.  Members enjoyed  the walk in the sunshine taking in the beautiful views across to Portland.  The walk was led by Jo White, the organiser for this group.  If you are interested in joining please contact Weybay-WI@hotmail.co.uk or speak to Jo at the monthly meeting. 


The lunch club has become active again with a programme set for the rest of the year.  The WeyBay WI lunch/supper club met at the new Mexican Restaurant, Loco Lobo situated in The Cove in Weymouth harbour.  Ten members enjoyed a delicious lunch, wonderful Mexican dishes with lovely views to the harbour.  May's venue is the newly refurbished John Gregory pub.  Thank you to Anne Neil for organising this group.  

It might seem that there is an tendency to chatting eating and drinking in these groups and it has to be said, the meetings.  We make no apologies for that. WeyBay WI has always had an important proviso - that members enjoy themselves! 
MONTHLY SPEAKERS
The January meeting speaker was Claire Whiles, creator of the recently released book in aid of Dorset charities – Drawn to Dorset.  Claire shared her passion for Dorset and for historical events that have shaped the lives of people in Dorset.  Signed copies of her book were available for purchase with all proceeds going to local charities.

In February, Jennie Veale from Alter Ego brought a wonderful selection of her costumes from her costume business.  Having worked in the theatre industry and as a stylist for many years, her aim in her business is to bring a breath of fresh air to the costume and fancy dress hire world. The business offers a collection of over 2000 quality costumes and accessories for hire to private customers, groups, stylists, costume designers, photographers, TV and theatre.  They aim to have quality that exceeds the usual fancy dress costume range.  

There is always something new to learn from the monthly speakers and the range of interesting subjects always makes a thought-provoking evening. Something different from the norm, as they say.  Members have often said that they find the evening much more enjoyable than they were expecting.  A year to look forward to, thanks to the work of the committee. 

Photo shows Jennie Veale with one of her costumes.

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

As well as the monthly meetings, WeyBay members are encouraged to join together with others who have similar interests.  We try to give you updates of these groups on the Things to Do pages and their exploits are advertised at the meetings. 

There was a new group started up in February. A cycling group. They met outside the Palm House for their first cycle of 2019 . 

Leaden skies and a strong wind didn’t deter them and led by Jan Summers they set off towards Chickerell along the cycle path by Radipole Lake .

Jan had planned a ride mainly on cycle paths to Moonfleet and back via Chickerell and Cold Harbour to the Dorchester Road. Everyone coped with the gentle undulations (!) and ended their cycle at the Beefeater with a welcome cup of coffee. The next bike ride will be on Tuesday April 16th starting at 10.45 at the Beefeater and is open to WeyBay members on ordinary or electric bikes . There will be a coffee stop half way round! See you there!  If you would like to set up a group, speak to the President.  You will find an enthusiastic response.

RESOLUTIONS RESULTS

Six new resolutions for WI members to vote on in January/February this year were introduced in the November/December 2018 issue of WI Life, along with a brief summary and details of how to access more information about them.  In addition, Dorset Federation held meetings around the county in November to explore the issues and help members to decide which resolution they would like to go forward to the vote at the Annual Meeting in June 2019. 

 Here are the results from the resolution selection from WeyBay WI, which have been passed on to County Office.

Improving plant Bio security in the UK - 3, Trees-improving the natural landscape - 12, Pelvic floor education - 1, Suffering in silence :why we need to end the taboo around menstrual health - 12, A call against the decline in local bus services -17, Don't fear the smear - 22.  

The subjects for 2019 are diverse and all carry such an important message that members found it difficult to make a choice. The resolution that wins the national vote overall becomes the WI National campaign and gains considerable influence.  Make sure that you use your vote for your chosen resolution.  Thank you to all members who responded to the resolutions.

BOOK CLUBS
The three book clubs are a very successful part of WeyBay.   The members organise the group themselves taking it in turn to choose books to read.  The original book club is run by Louise Swinton and she had taken the time to write this report of the recently read books.  You will find it interesting and it should encourage everyone to get reading and maybe try something that they wouldn't normally consider.

So far this year we have read some old and some new books.

In January we read To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Everyone really enjoyed this, even though some had read it a long time ago. We scored it 10/10 (unheard of before).

Beautifully  written through the eyes of the two children of Atticus Finch, it gave us an excellent insight into prejudiced life in a 1930’s small town in the Deep South. Atticus was employed to represent a young black man accused of the rape of a white woman.  Full of horror, humour and wisdom, this book is a “must read”.

Little Women by Louisa  May Alcott.  Again some of us had read this when we were young but we decided that to reread a book years later gives a different perspective.

This was based on the Author’s life and was published in 1868! It is a moral tale of family life around the time of the Civil War. The mother guides her four teenage girls to develop their own personalities yet to be aware of good family values. The innocence of those times is brought out well. We all loved the support the sisters gave each other and the simplicity of life was well described. How times have changed! 8/10 

Last Man in Tower by Aravind Adiga. This story is set in Mumbai and centres around a group of people who live in a block of dilapidated flats. The residents get along with life and each other in a an accepting way. Their whole existence changes when they are approached by a developer who offers them large sums of money to leave their homes so that he can demolish the building and rebuild his “dream” apartment block. The rest of the story centres around the greed, corruption and dreams of each flat owner. The descriptions of life in India are excellent. 7/10

THINGS TO DO
Have you checked out our Things to Do pages?  The WeyBay committee have been busy arranging trips and get-togethers for WeyBay's lucky members.  In the next weeks there are a cycling day in the New Forest and a visit to Morton Church planned as well as the monthly 'coffee mornings with a walk' and newly formed Lunch Club.  Keep an eye on the website to see what's going on or find out details from the monthly meetings.  

WeyBay members have joined an institution that was started 1915 and now has 205,000 members in 6,800 WIs.  It is the largerst voluntary women's organisation in the UK.  WeyBay is part of the Dorset Federation based in Dorchester. 

Each WI is self-governing within the framework of the WI constitution and rules.  

The WI is a diverse organisation open to all women with WIs in towns, cities and villages.

Denman College is an adult education centre in Oxfordshire run by the WI and courses run there are available to all members.

Regional events are organised and advertised in Dorset WI News which are handed out at meetings. 

Members have the opportunity to learn new skills, to take part in wide-ranging activities and to campaign on issues that matter to them and their communities.  The possibilities are endless.
 
WeyBay WI adds one other important proviso - that members enjoy themselves!
 

Announcements

  • WEYBAY’S NEW YOGA and SOUNDBATH EXPERIENCE 15 of our members took up the whole new experience of Ashtang Yoga followed by a Sound Bath at Dorchester Yoga Centre last Sunday evening. Mark Winterburn taught us how ...
    Posted Oct 15, 2014, 4:47 AM by Sandra Jones
  • 2014 TRUST ME YOU CAN DO IT TRIATHLON Seven WeyBabes swam, walked and cycled in the second of the 2014 'Trust Me You Can Do It' Triathlon. The Triathlon was organised by Carolyn Lyness and started with a ...
    Posted Oct 6, 2014, 1:13 AM by Sandra Jones
  • EXPLORERS GROUP The third meeting of the Explorer group was on a breezy August Day and was organised by Carolyn Lyness.  She chose Worth Matravers in the Purbecks to explore and those ...
    Posted Aug 26, 2014, 1:16 AM by Sandra Jones
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