W.I. Report – May 2024
Our AGM was held on Monday 8th April at West Meon Village Hall and on this occasion it was hosted by Kathy Winter, our Regional WI advisor. Carol Dees, our Treasurer, commenced by giving us her
Treasurer’s Report, in which she reported another good year with the bank balance being in a healthy state, which enabled us to make a donation of £500 to the Village Hall. Our subscriptions are now due and currently we have 31 paid up members, with one or two more in the pipeline.
Angie Trenchard, our Chairman, thanked Carol and said that following the success of the last year
we are looking forward to another successful year with interesting and varied speakers and a coach outing to Woolbeding Gardens near Midhurst on 13th June 2024. We also have a £100 bursary from the W.I. which we intend to use to host a film show and lunch for our members. Rosemary Morrish, our Secretary, said that we had a steady membership, who enjoyed the monthly talks and in particular a lovely evening outing to Warnford Park last June, where we all enjoyed drinks and canapes in the sunshine. Rosie said that the new tea rota will comprise of 2 people each month rather than 3. Following our Resolutions lunch held in January, and throughout the W.I. network, the subject to gain the largest number of votes was ‘Dental Healthcare’. Angie then thanked the Committee for all their hard work, and in particular Rosie, for keeping her in order! Our flower arranging competition was judged by Cathy Winter, and the winner was Jan Gavin who was presented with a Trophy.
Our speaker for the afternoon was Richard Murphy and the title of his talk was ‘And now the good news’, which provided a welcome antidote to all the dismal news we are currently immersed in!
Richard is an Actuary by profession, and on his own admission loves lots of statistics, which he used to illustrate his presentation. He likes his talk to be interactive with the audience. He covered subjects such as child mortality, poverty reduction, children’s education, women in the workplace, food security and the basic standard of living. Climate change is a significant factor and power provided by wind power is vital going forward. Richard’s talk was
fascinating and amazingly thought provoking!
Our next meeting will be held on Monday 13th May 2024 at 2pm when our speaker will be Peter
Ashburn and the subject of his talk is ‘Orchids, Wild and Beautiful’. Guest admission is £4, so do come and join us.
Sue Kinlochan
Village photo from the festival. Order details
Nick Williams
Connor gets creative at Rural Skills
Rural Skills is part of FitzRoy’s Hampshire day services, offering gardening, bushcraft and woodwork for people with learning disabilities and autism. Rural Skills is based at The Sustainability Centre in East Meon.
Throughout lockdown, Connor used his skills and passion to help maintain our Rural Skills gardening project.
Support worker Claire said: “Creativity comes in all different forms, and Connor loves to express himself through gardening. In lockdown we delivered art packs to people, and I went round to deliver Connor’s and it was clear he wasn’t coping well with lockdown. We decided it would be best to put Connor’s skills to good use and for him to join me in maintaining Rural Skills over lockdown.
“Since then Connor has been incredible, he is amazing with the leaf blower – you wouldn’t believe how many bags of leaves we were clearing from the site. We were also planning what we were going to be doing for the year once we were allowed to reopen, such as our project with overhauling our pond. Connor has also been painting everything to freshen it up – he’s such a hard worker. It’s been really therapeutic for him.
“Before he joined Rural Skills he used to go to our day service On Track. The busier environment didn’t suit Connor, but since coming here he’s come out of his shell and he’s so happy. Now he knows what needs doing and he gets on with it, he’s really in his element.”
Connor spoke to us about how he was busy looking after Rural Skills before its reopening. He said: “I did planting, watering, planting vegetables like carrots and sowing seeds. It’s a big interest, gardening. I like being outdoors and seeing things grow.”
Connor’s mum, Pauline, said: “Rural Skills has made such a big difference for Connor. It has brought him out of his shell and allowed him to become more independent. Rural Skills has been the first day service where he will walk in without me walking with him or holding his hand – which shows how much trust he has in the people that support him.
“He has his own jobs which gives him a sense of achievement, and it’s something he really has a passion for. We have our own allotment which he maintains, he has learnt a lot from Rural Skills. Connor just shows that people with learning disabilities are capable of so much more, so don’t write them off.”
Claire said: “All our members were so keen to come back to Rural Skills and had said how much they missed it. You can see the effect coronavirus has had, some people have been quite anxious but coming here is a really safe and calm environment, which has really helped.
“Everyone can be so creative here, you can plant what you like, and make whatever you want in the woodwork shed – Andy has been building his own aircraft carrier. We have got quite a few members who love being arty and creative, such as Dan who loves painting. We give people the space to explore and create whatever they would like to – we don’t have set activities that everyone has to be involved in. Everyone has their own unique interests which they have the freedom to explore at Rural Skills.”
Information about FitzRoy
- FitzRoy is a national charity that transforms the lives of people with learning disabilities and autism, helping them live more independently at home and in the community. We listen to people, helping them make their own choices. We believe disabilities shouldn’t exclude or hold people back from doing the things they want to do.
- FitzRoy runs 91 locations across England and provides flexible support to over 800 adults with the support of around 900 staff nationally.
- FitzRoy was founded in 1962 by Elizabeth FitzRoy whose son, Michael, had Down’s syndrome. She pioneered a new vision, to support adults with learning disabilities to live more independently, rather than in the institutional care which was available at the time.
- fitzroy.org
- Twitter: @FitzRoyUk
- Facebook: FitzRoyUk-TransformingLives
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzYpOhFZvuvddlxrQ_Uq0cQ
The Good Causes Fund
Did you know that the village has a ‘Good Causes Fund’ which is there to respond to applications from village organisations requiring funds for particular projects? Since 1999, when the fund was set up, donations have been made to village organisations such as the almshouses, Cubs, the school, village hall, Toddlers group, Garden Club and History Group. Donations are modest and will be made to projects that benefit our village community. Applications for possible funding should be made to Jane Cobley at janecobley66@gmail.com
Anyone for Short Mat Bowls
Have you played bowls sometimes or perhaps you would be interested in learning how to play?
Bowls is a good way to keep active, have some fun and can be enjoyed by all ages. It would be great to start a Short Mat Bowls group in the Village Hall, all the equipment will be provided.
So please if you think you would like to take part
Contact Jean Cooke 01730823363
Anyone for Petanque?
Would you be interested in playing Pétanque in East Meon?
Also known as “French Boules”, the game has an enthusiastic following in Hampshire where it is truly a family sport, played by people of all ages and equally enjoyed by both men and women.
There has been a suggestion that we build our own court or “boulodrome” adjacent to the Village Hall, would you be interested in playing, if so please email Mike Critchley at
eastmeonpetanque@gmail.com
Details of the local clubs and leagues are on the Southern Counties Petanque website: southerncountiespetanque.org