Wildlife Gardening - Thursday 15 November 2007

Destroying the nests of house martins is an illegal act however much mess they may be making of your walls! This is just one of the fascinating facts we learned from Graham Goodall, an ecologist from County Hall, who came to speak to the WI on Wildlife Gardening. He has spent 25 years developing his garden to become a haven for wildlife from dragonflies to sparrow hawks and butterflies to frogs.
Next month on Thursday December 20th at Wallington Village Hall( which is also the Christmas party) Baldock Floral Society will demonstrate how to make Christmas wreaths and members are asked to bring along any greenery or flowers they may like to incorporate in their wreath. Mulled drinks both alcoholic and non alcoholic will be available and please remember to bring a On 17th January Peter Coburn will be speaking on “Set in a Silver Sea” a chance to brush up on England whether we know about it or not at Rushden Village Hall . Our New Year lunch is on Friday 11th January at the Moon and Stars, 12.30pm for 1pm. Cost is £12 payable to Sue Austin by next month.

The Nuclear Option - Thursday 20 September 2007

Jon Ling may have arrived rather late to our latest WI meeting but he made up for it in length of talk as members were reluctant to stop asking questions about the nuclear industry and where do we go from here. Fission seems to be out and all hopes are now being placed on finding a viable method of nuclear fusion so that the problems with nuclear waste can be avoided.

Next month is the AGM to be help on Thursday 18th October at Wallington and in November the Spender Cup for the best decorated gingerbread man will take place.

The Leprosy Society - Thursday 21 June 2007

Leprosy is a disease that affects more than just the body. This is what WI members learned when Rev Mike Griffen of the Leprosy Mission came to talk to members on Thursday 21st June. Sufferers can be totally ostracised by friends and family and often their children suffer similar treatment. Even today we talk about a leper as opposed to someone who has leprosy like other diseases. It is completely curable if treated early enough. If you would like to know more visit www.leprosymission.org.uk 
The WI quiz team will be competing in the finals on Monday 25th June so we wish them well. 
The WI will meet at Shaw Green Farm on Thursday 19th July to visit their wormery.
There will be a Summer Social Evening courtesy of Judy Baggallay at 6.30pm on Wed 22nd August. Cost £5. Bring a light folding chair.
A card making workshop with Barbara has been arranged for Sat 6th October at Wallington Village Hall. Max 15 places. The price is £8 members and £10 non members if there are any spare places

Resolutions - Thursday 17 May 2007

The Resolutions meeting saw members tackling the important problem of the closure of community hospitals. The support for the resolution was unanimous.
We were given a talk by Ann Cottam on the Great Milk Debate and how the present cost of milk is affecting dairy farmers. Also, how important it is to drink milk which has only 4 % fat and how many of our population are falling prey to osteoporosis because of the reduction in milk drinking.
We must congratulate Our Quiz Team who have got through to the final of the inter county quiz.
The evening ended with an olfactory quiz provided by Jenny Barlow which really tested our nasal powers.
The next meeting is on Thursday 21st June at Rushden Village Hall at 8pm when the Rev Mike Griffin will speak on the Leprosy Society and its work.

The ECO House - Friday 4 May 2007

The WI's visit to Lydia Somerville's eco-house proved a fascinating experience. The house is entirely wood built, triple glazed and insulted with wool. A rayburn heater and a small woodburner are the sole source of heating and at present an underground water tank is being put in to make them self sufficient in all but drinking water. The compost loo proved to be a great attraction to all the visitors. Lydia is in the process of planting an orchard and hopes to introduce various animals to make themselves even more self sufficient. There is an open day on Saturday 23rd June.

Kodaly Method of Music Teachings - Thursday 19 April 2007

WI members and guests were disappointed by the non appearance of the speaker on Thursday 19th April but were able to learn about the Kodaly method of teaching music instead. They were even able to have a go at singing following Kodaly hand signals themselves and Joyce Hart bravely stepped in to help us sing in harmony.

On Friday 4th may there will be a chance to visit Lydia Somerfield's Eco House in Datchworth followed by a visit to the George and Dragon. The next meeting is Resolutions and a chance to test your nasal powers with an olfactory quiz on Thursday 17th May at Wallington.

Hertfordshire Foods - Thursday 15 March 2007

On Thursday 15 March Wallington and Rushden WI had a chance to find out more about early foods and their preparation and also the history of several Hertfordshire recipes when Maya Pieris came to talk to them. Her particular subject was preserved foods and later members had a chance to taste her wares which she is now selling under Taste of History.
On April 25th Michael Dix will speak on "Magic" at Newnham Village Hall and at the end of March Joyce Hart, Liz James and Ann Warner have made up a team to enter the inter county quiz. Ashwell WI is holding a meting about milk pricing at Ashwell primary school on 1st May at 7.30pm. A god chance to make your feelings known.
On Saturday 6th October Barbara Gough will be holding a card making workshop at Wallington Village Hall.

For our next meeting, S.J. Lardner will be speaking on The Art of Lime Plastering, something that many of us who live in traditional houses would like to know more about. It will be held at Rushden Village Hall on Thursday 19th April at 8pm. This is an open meeting and all are welcome.

So You Think You're Green - Thursday 15 February 2007

So you think you are green? W.I. members and visitors were given a chance to match themselves against the ultimate in eco living when Lydia Somerville came to talk on the Eco house she has built in Datchworth
(and yes she did use bio diesel to get to the meeting!) Compost toilets, recycled water, all were included in the house, though thatch dwellers with wood burning stoves felt they scored some points on the eco front.

The members also made their feelings known about the new WI magazine. No-one was in favour and the epithet "cheap" was repeated by several.

The next meeting will be at Wallington Vilage Hall on Thursday 15th March when Maya Pieris recently on Radio 4's Food Programme will speak on Recipes of Old Herts. This is an open meeting and will cost £3 for
non-members. Please note that if you go and hear her in Letchworth the night before as part of the North herts Book Festival it will be £6 so why not join us at 8pm?

Barbara Gough talk on card making - Thursday 18 January 2007

The members of the Wallington and Rushden WI were unusually silent at the January meeting, the peace only disturbed by the occasional 'Please would you pass the double-sided tape' as we sat at a long table and concentrated on creating our own hand-made cards after a very interesting and inspiring talk by Barbara Gough. Despite our inexperience everyone, even the least deft, produced some very pleasing and unique cards.

 At the next meeting on Thursday 15th February, 8pm at Rushden, Lydia Somerville will talk about 'The Eco-House'. This is an open meeting to which visitors, including men, are invited, price £3.