Category: Member Events

November saw us embracing Zoom… With all the changing regulations & advice, as Covid-19 continued to spread, there was no other way for us to meet up.  So we experimented with a Committee meeting… then a ‘Coffee & Chat’ session… & then finally, a scheduled Zoom meeting for us all.  What a giggle!  It took us 45 minutes to all log in, wave & natter – well, we are a friendly lot & hadn’t seen a lot of our fellow ‘Ridware WI Ladies’ for months.  There was a lot to catch up on.  The focus for our get together was a ‘Craft along with Gaye’ session.  Kits had been distributed & we all learnt the ‘Scrappy Strip’ technique, resulting in a handmade Christmas card.  The results were very impressive.

With no ‘Tinsel & Trimmings’ community event able to take place this year,  that did not mean that we were ‘forgetting’ Christmas.  Christmas was not going to be ‘cancelled’ in Hill Ridware!  Karen organised the donation of the Christmas tree for outside the village hall as usual.   The garden area was festooned with a wonderful garland & Alan W, Bob & Alan G helped decorate the tree.  Santas also formed part of the decor – part of a community initiative to display Santas in gardens, windows etc around the village for children to count as they went on their ‘daily walk’.

  Our December Zoom meeting centred around Karen showing us how to decorate a wreath for our front doors, as well as creating a table centrepiece & a grave memorial.  Phew!  So inspiring – pens whizzed across notebooks with relish.  Again, a lot of laughs ensured.

The year ended with another Zoom ‘coffee & chat’ session.  2020 has been an unusual year – the first time in our lives that we have shared in the impact of a global pandemic which has upended all our lives.  ‘Hope’ seems to be the theme for 2021 – still in ‘lockdown’, but with the promise of so much more.  Happy New Year!

The Ridwares WI was out ‘sharing the love’ again with another ‘Hug in a Bag’.  Karen commented: “I had a lovely week catching up with so many of you as I delivered your second hug in a bag. I do hope you enjoyed the contents, a bit of fun and frivolity is what we all need at the moment ….”  Particular thanks to Ann Batchelor for making all the beautiful bags – definitely a ‘keep sake’ in themselves!

So there is a quiz and some colouring to do … some bubbles to blow  & remind us to ‘keep safe’ …. whilst having a cup of coffee & eating some biscuits….  So that’s our ladies ‘sorted’ for a while!

Of course, we’ve been itching to get out in our local community & ‘share the love’ further with other villagers.  So on Saturday 12th September we brought our ‘famous’ Trade Table outside  – literally out at the side of the Village Hall!

Homemade jams, pickles & marmalade were for sale – as were homemade cakes, knitted crafts & handmade cards.  Flowers, plants & produce were also available. Thank you to everyone who contributed items for sale – & came to help out on the day.

Particular thanks though to all those villagers who came & supported us.  The monies raised will go towards the provision of Autumn/Winter bedding plants to help keep the ‘BKV’ vibe going throughout the village.

 

Life in ‘Lockdown’ continues to be ‘different’ for us in The Ridwares WI.  We still can’t meet up as a group, but are finding ways of keeping in touch as well as helping our community.

Happy Birthday to Liz Humble, Anna McCallum, Meryl Mattey, Chris Lowries, Mary Meddings, Jean Hodgskiss, Wendy Thomas and Yvonne Banks! Congratulations to Clare and Martin Brown who celebrated their Ruby Wedding anniversary on Sunday and also to Anthea and Ivan Smith on the birth of their new great granddaughter – Ada.

The BKV planters are all growing nicely – as is our WI heart shaped flower bed.  Thanks to Deb Wilson & Yvonne Higgins for their weeding – much appreciated!

Jude and Angela have been busy knitting new born baby hats which have now been passed on to Good Hope, New Cross and Leicester hospitals.  The maternity units are very appreciative.  Karen has also received, and passed on, a bag of gorgeous cardigans, hats and little socks for premature babies, donated by a lady who runs the craft club in the village.  Thank you to all of you!

Remember the Hygiene Box initiative that we started before Lockdown?  Well, we couldn’t let what we had already collected go to waste, so Karen made a request on Facebook for any further donations – and was inundated!  Ann Batchelor made 60 beautiful toiletry bags for us, which have been duly filled and taken to the Hygiene Bank where they will be distributed to those in need.  Thank you Anne, and to everyone who donated toiletries.  This story was picked up by the Staffordshirre Federation and they have given us a mention in the latest SFWI newsletter – The Ridwares WI has been referred to as “Community Champions”.  Well done ladies!!

As for keeping in touch with eachother, well, we all received a ‘Hug in a Bag’ – in lieu of a real hug & meeting up in person.  Particular thanks to Karen & Alan for delivering the vast majority of these to all the members – the Sat Nav certainly had it’s work cut out navigating the roads & by-ways of rural Staffordshire!  Karen commented that it made her appreciate just how far some of our ladies travel to get to our meetings & events, and how lovely it was to actually have a (socially distanced) catch-up with so many members in person.  These ‘Hugs’ were very well received & much appreciated by all.

As to meeting up in person, things are still uncertain…. but we will keep you informed.  Until then,

Stay Safe – Be Kind – Kia Kaha  (Stay Strong)

 

 

 

VE75 Day… How was yours?

Well, for many ladies in the Ridwares WI, & their friends & neighbours, the celebrations on Friday 8th May were very different to what had been planned & talked about.  True to form, a great day was had by all – & homes, streets & the village as a whole, looked wonderful!

Meryl & Wendy decorated the trees outside the village hall with strips of red, white & blue knitting.  Karen & Alan put up a seemingly endless supply of bunting around Oaklands Close, as did most of the residents there!  It was a sea of red, white & blue! Thanks also to Wendy for the Union Jack by the oak tree itself.

Friends & neighbours brought out picnics, chairs, tables, glasses & wine/beer/prosecco (whatever tipple caught their fancy) onto their drives & front gardens & settled down to enjoy the afternoon, celebrating & commemorating ‘Victory in Europe’ 75 years ago.

The afternoon began with The Last Post, followed by Churchill’s speech… & then the music began…  A good sing-a-long followed.  Thanks to Ashley & the Chadwick Arms for organising the broadcast & to Alan for sorting out loud speakers in Oaklands Close & providing the song sheets!

Cake was shared  – with much fun & laughter… & yes, social distancing was observed!

 

 

 

Those in the Oaklands,  were even visited by the Police… & the Land Army ….

 

 

 

 

The sun stayed out & the weather was warm – most unlike a British Bank Holiday! – so people just stayed outside & enjoyed themselves ….  What a wonderful atmosphere!

This continued into the evening when Keith Vernon had organised a sing-a-long in Oaklands Close.  Song sheets were again provided & sound filled the street!  The only thing missing from a traditional Cockney celebration (according to Gaye) was a conga & dancing – both unable to happen because of social distancing…..

Kath Parson describes her family celebrations: “We had a lovely VE day celebration, Mum & I made a big banner using an old sheet and some permanent coloured pens. We did this on the kitchen table…. later I found lots of coloured squiggles on the surface of the table…so an hours furious cleaning was the order of the day!  The banner says ’Thank you to our WW2 Heroes,” Kent hung this up outside their bedroom window, along with some flags so all the passers by could enjoy them too. We also strung some bunting over our new garden arch.  We had a nice VE Day tea in the garden which Mum & Dad seemed to enjoy and also managed to stand at the gate and see our neighbours enjoying tea (practising social distancing, of course) on the green outside our house. It was really lovely to see everyone enjoying each other’s company. Mum & Dad enjoyed all the waves and good wishes from our neighbours.“

Gaye asked her mum & her mum’s neighbour about what they remember about VE Day itself in 1945 & discovered 2 very different experiences!  Gaye’s mum was at school in Barry, South Wales, all set to sit her Higher School Certificate examinations before leaving school at 17 years old.  She remembers that the local lads dressed up as Ivy Benson & her band, whilst she & her friends dressed up as the Black & White Minstrels, all to put on a show.  No one was offended!  There was an American Army Camp behind their houses – segregated African American troops – who all joined in.  She remembers that any of the Forces who were around came & joined in the local street parties.  As for the food?  Can’t recall!  Mum’s neighbour (J), on the other hand, was back in Forest Gate, North London having been living with an ex-neighbour in Swindon due to a bomb blast in the next street which had taken the roof off the top flat that they lived in.  Her mum returned to Forest Gate at regular intervals to argue with their landlord about getting the roof back!  She must have been successful, because by February 1945 they were home & J was back in the first year of Grammar School being expected to make up all the work she had missed with no extra help!  J remembers the feeling of euphoria at the reality of ‘Hitler not chucking bombs at us‘!  She distinctly recalled the problem of the V2 rockets hitting London, as unlike the previous V1 rockets/Doddlebugs, you couldn’t hear them until they landed. “This was very frightening as it meant that some poor soul was killed.  VE Day meant that there was no more worry about this anymore.”  J commented that the street party wasn’t in her own street at all, as they were visiting an aunt & cousins, so had an impromptu party there.  She remembers the singing & dancing round the bonfire in the middle of the street.  They spent VE Night sleeping in neighbours’ or aunts’ homes… &, of course, rationing continued!

So, how were your VE 75 Day celebrations?  Don’t forget where you packed away the bunting, as there is VJ 75 Day in August to celebrate as well…….!