Community activist Farhanah Mamoojee joined us in October to talk about the hidden history of the Ayahs and Amahs (colonial female care givers) who travelled to the UK from all over the Empire in the 19th century. She will be revealing some of the untold stories of the hundreds of women who ended up in the UK and were often abandoned by their employers with no support. The Ayahs’ Home was established in east London in the 19th century by concerned philanthropists to support these women.
The former site of The Ayahs’ Home still exists today in Hackney. The building is currently awaiting a Blue Plaque thanks to Farhanah’s campaign.
Plus tea and cake, fun and friendship.
The terrace doors and windows will be open for ventilation purposes.
We are asking sisters to wear masks on the way in (unless exempt) and at the sign in desk, and our committee members at the sign in desk and on refreshments will be wearing masks while on duty there. We will have hand sanitiser available and please also bring your own. All surfaces on tables and at the hatch will be wiped down with disinfectant before your arrival. National Federation advice asks for members to do a lateral flow test before attending meetings (these are available free at pharmacies) and only attend if negative. Please do not attend if you are experiencing symptoms or have been asked to self isolate.
Walking Group
We are heading off on the Big Walk of the year on October 2nd. Our fearless leaders are keeping our destination a secret until nearer the time but if you would like to join us email us for details.
Book Group
Book group will be meeting on Monday, 27th September and are reading Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell described by The Observer as ‘a profound exploration of the healing power of creativity’.
Updates
Great Big Green Week and Canary Craftivism
Our yarn bomb installation at Ufton Gardens saw canaries in trees, on benches and were joined by our Ocean Themed bike and other knitted and embroidered representations of the natural world to highlight climate change. Check out some images below and thanks to our tireless knitters and sewers for their skills, time, and craftivism. Our crafted natural world was so realistic a lot of spiders and ladybirds had taken up residence over the week it was up.
De Beauvoir Autumn Trail
The Autumn Trail on 19th was a huge success despite the afternoon rain showers. Our jam makers had made over 120 jars of jam and preserves and we pretty much sold out of everything. There are a handful of jars left that we will be bringing along to the October meeting so if you couldn’t make the trail and fancy a jar of homemade deliciousness, come along early and grab the few remaining pots at our meeting.
Huge thanks to our jam makers and all who helped out at the stall. We are planning to make a donation to Solace Women’s Aid from our profits.
We also had the opportunity to wear our new De Beauvoir WI aprons, which not only benefit from substantial pockets but have a pen holder too! If you would like your very own apron let us know, they are excellent quality and very reasonable at £15 each and we are doing batch runs. And did we say they have a pen pocket! And a handy loop as well, our Secretary Angela used hers to carry a hammer while she was doing some DIY earlier this week.
De Beauvoir WI 