What a fantastically active February meeting we shared, adding another dance style to our portfolio through the years. Personally I feel so enriched to learn or witness the many customs and traditions of other cultures, and to have the opportunity to join in and be taught by people from those cultures. Neha Steinberg presented her story about her relationship to Bollywood dance and its history before guiding members through a routine step by step. When we practiced to music her passion for the dance shined bright and she lip synched the words to the song. At the end we learned that she had performed the same dance at her wedding. What an honour for us to now be linked to something that was such a personal and intimate moment in her life. Neha also allowed us to live stream on Instagram for those who couldn’t make it and for us to watch again if we wish to practice further, so head on over to social media when you have time.

Coming at our next meeting (see poster below). For more information before attending the meeting go to speaker Sarah Hyndman’s website here

At all meetings

Meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month in the Crypt at St Peter’s Church, De Beauvoir, starting at 7.30pm.  Sisters take it in turns to serve delicious refreshments, including tea and cake, wine, and assorted snacks from the kitchen.  Meetings are free to members and for the coming year guests can attend their first meeting for free (thereafter there will be a £5 fee for guests – price includes tea/coffee and cake).  Come and join us for a chance to catch up with friends old and new.

Covid compliance notice

Please continue to follow the DBWI precautions regarding Covid.  We would also encourage everyone to book their next jab when called to do so. 

In line with guidance from the NFWI masks are optional but we encourage members and guests to wear one when in more crowded areas, such as queueing for refreshments.  Now the temperatures have dropped it is too cold to keep the windows and doors open in the crypt.  Therefore, if you feel unwell at all, or live with someone who has Covid, please do not come along to the meeting as a number of our members are vulnerable.  Wash hands in the toilets and/or use sanitiser, which we will provide hand sanitiser if you cannot bring your own but please bring your own if you can.  All surfaces on tables and at the hatch will be wiped down with disinfectant before your arrival.  If you can do a lateral flow test before attending meetings and contact us if you develop symptoms after attending.

Book Group

This group is usually held on the third Tuesday of a month at a pub.  The book of the month is announced at the monthly meetings and are usually around 300 pages in length.  You can sign up at the meeting or email if interested.  For further details please visit the page on the website.

BST Walking Group

The walking group is now in hibernation for the winter.  There is a WhatsApp group remaining open for people to arrange impromptu walks whenever the rambling bug speaks to them.  Ask about this via the usual email or at the meetings. Please see the group page on the website for information and pics of previous walks.

Knitting Group

Next meeting is 15th February at 7.30 pm. Email for address details.We are collectively working on a royal coronation themed yarn installation. We have yarn, patterns and plenty of ideas to share, You are welcome to  bring  along your own knit/ stitch project instead. If you’d like to learn to knit, we can teach you.*

News

Membership Subscriptions

It’s time to renew your annual WI subscription for the year April 1st 2023- March 31st 2024. As explained on Thursday, we are able this year to offer a £10 reduction  bringing our annual subs down to £36 (that’s £3.27 per meeting). This reduction your committee hopes will be of some help in these difficult financial times. The most important thing for us is that you are all able to renew your subs. There are multiple ways for you to  pay:

Cash and all major credit/debit cards accepted at our meeting or PayPal or if you can do a bank transfer please email us for our account details. Deadline for payment is our meeting on April 6th. 

We are very keen to attract more members to join our fabulous sisterhood. We can’t keep all this fun we have as a secret can we. Please spread the word wherever you go!  For the year ahead the first meeting for new guests is absolutely free. 

No More Violence Against Women march/International Women’s Day/

On Saturday 4th March the NFWI are inviting members to the annual march for the ongoing campaign No More Violence Against Women. Some members have already signed up to come along. You can join if you are a WI member or not. There is an option to attend a pre-meet and a craft session to make instruments to take along to make a ‘cacophony of noise’ Please email fionakirkwood01@outlook.com by 10th February if you have an interest in participating.

For International Women’s Day on Wednesday 8th March, Father Simon of St Peter’s Church has invited DBWI members to a church service followed by a ‘Cocktails and Mocktails’ party in the vicarage next door. You can attend both or one or the other. The service will start at 6.30pm and the party at 7.30pm. Please email us if this interests you so we can get an idea of numbers.

New group

We have started a new interest group for members who want to improve their health and fitness. It is called Jogging and Gym and will be organised by our member Heather. Please email us at the usual address if you want to get involved with this.*

Community Café

On Friday the 24th of February the DBWI will be hosting the community café in the crypt of St Peter’s Church.  Please email us if you can cook a meal, dessert, or help serve and clear up on the day.

Solace Women’s Aid

We will be collecting donations for Solace again this year.  They would like donations of the following items. Please bring donations along to the meeting.

• Toiletries
• Gift sets
• Gloves
• Hats
• Scarves
• Socks
• Games
• Headphones
• Make up
• Children’s toys.
• Store gift vouchers.

Warm Wednesdays

This church initiative was originally only going to be held until the end of February. It was wonderful to hear that it is now going to continue into March and perhaps beyond. Therefore, volunteers are still being welcomed, in particular anyone who can lead some knitting or other craft activities.  Please email simonperfect@stpeterdebeauvoir.org.uk directly if you can assist with this.  The church has a box of wool, we can provide needles. pom pom makers and other craft materials if you have ideas.  Email the address on the poster for this.  If you can donate any board games or offer a financial contribution then these will also be gratefully received.

Campaigns

Members voted for their chosen resolution at the February meeting. You can look at details of the four resolutions on the campaigns page here.  The deadline to submit votes to Tuesday 14th February so if you are a member and wish to cast your vote please email campaign co-ordinator, Fiona at fionakirkwood01@outlook.com by Friday 10th with your chosen resolution.

Recruitment

The DBWI committee have been discussing ways in which we can grow membership and welcome new sisters to the fold.  In the next few months we will be compiling a questionnaire to distribute but in the meantime would like to invite you to tell us what you think we do well and what we can improve upon.  Email your comments to the usual address (on the poster at the top).

*Finally…

In case anyone has been wondering, the website has been looking different month to month. This is due to blog author, Fiona gradually editing and experimenting with improvements. By the Spring there will be new pages, and posts related to our special interest groups. I hope that you will all bear with me while I work on this. I want to deliver a website that is fully updated and helps members and visitors get the full flavour of our wonderful WI.

As always we wish you all health and happiness until we next meet.