February is ‘Show the Love’ for us in The Ridwares WI – focusing on ‘Green issues’ such as climate change & the challenge that this presents to us in our lives. We are encouraged to focus on what we value on ‘Planet Earth’ – something that many of us have appreciated even more during this pandemic when we have been ‘stuck’ inside. Those of us who are lucky to have gardens have enjoyed the first signs of Spring & watched the wildlife more carefully. Out on daily walks? – then you realise what a lovely part of the world we live in!
There are also opportunities ….. for thinking about things differently & for making changes in our daily lives (even if they are small). The ‘green heart’ is the symbol of the ‘Show the Love’ campaign & we are proud to wear, & display, them.
To that end, we welcomed Anthony Froggatt to our February Zoom meeting who is the 4th generation of his family to farm in the village at Wade Lane Farm. The farm has diversified in recent years – notably the ‘Just Oil’ range of flavoured rapeseed oils & ‘Just Crisps’. These are the only 100% British crisps in the UK – the potatoes that are chipped are grown here, as is the the rapeseed oil used to ‘cook’ them & the production of the crisps themselves. All this takes place, not just in the UK, but in the Ridwares. No other crisps have this pedigree! We watched some videos about the crisp production, & plan to have a visit to the ‘crisp’ factory later on in the year. Anthony answered a wide range of questions from the ladies present: ranging from the impact of climate change, crop rotation, national & international sales, potato varieties used, & local employment to the impact of Covid 19 & Brexit on the business. Many ladies offered their services as ‘crisp taste testers’! Well, the crisps are award winners in the ‘Great Taste Awards’…..
An excellent informative evening.
February began not just with green hearts, but also with the colour ‘red’ – well, it was ‘Chinese New Year’! We marked the start of the ‘Year of the Ox’ with another afternoon get-together over Zoom, full of chat & laughter. Lanterns were decorated for our homes & Karen Parsons talked about the trditions, colours & symbols associated with this ‘new year’ of the ox. A big thank you also to Mandy from The Cantonese Restaurant at The Chadwick Arms for providing us all with a fortune cookie – much laughter & comment followed as we ragailed eachother with our ‘fortune prospects’. Should be an intersting year for us all!
Why ‘red’? In Chinese culture, red is the symbol of happiness, wealth & prosperity – it can ward off evil spirits & bring good luck. Some things we all need at the moment!
Guo Nian Hao (Happy New Year) !
