Full As An Egg

Well, hasn't it been a great summer so far? We've been on the Pimms, which explains the lateness of this missive - apols, dear Malagoers. We had such a lovely time with Ali Cook at our March meeting, and look younger already thanks to her magic potions. It was quite a turn-out, wasn't it? We weren't expecting that, hence we were a bit short on materials. It won't happen again, we promise. Great to see Maureen, our new Avon adviser, joining in the fun too.

Coming up TOMORROW NIGHT: Our April meet sees the return of the fabulous Selina Keedwell of Intercre8. Some of you old-timers will remember Selina from 2009, when she led us as one voice in a confidence-building speaking and singing workshop. Well, two years on and Selina is back again, this time to give us a few pointers for speaking in public - a subject that fills even the most confident among us with fear and dread, hence the need to tackle this beast head-on. And, as we are expert multi-taskers, the subject matter of which we will speak is the 2011 WI resolutions, with a vote at the end of the evening. Neat or what? 8pm, usual place, usual cakes.

Exciting news! We are nearly at maximum capacity. Membership has been so popular this year that we will close our books after our April meeting, so if you want to join - tomorrow's your night. Cheque books at the ready...

And on to May. Two things:
:: Art Trail
Our activities for the art trail are moving on a-pace, and if you haven't yet volunteered your services for cake-baking, puppet-making or stall-holding, drop us a line. It's the weekend of May 21-22, and we're after scones and other small, round baked wonderfulness PLUS odd socks (not together, you understand). Bring your socks to tomorrow's meeting.

:: May meeting
In May, we welcome the amazing Jo Behari, of Home Jane. You might recognise Jo from her current Channel 4 series, Make Do Mend. C4 describes Jo as 'a DIY mistress of all trades - an expert on everything from plumbing to painting'. We need her in our lives!  You can catch up with the series on C4 on demand, or catch the real thing at our May meeting, Wednesday 25 May.

A demain,
MWI x

Malago WI March and April

Malago red roses, you sing like birds!

Your humble correspondent was off sick, but our president, Karen Bowers, sent this report:

March's meeting was a real gem. Everyone seemed to talk to someone new, everyone had a laugh. Selina of Intercre8 led us in a fantastic ice breaker that had us running madly across the room like children playing musical chairs at a party. Then we started to find our voices, and then we sang. We sounded great! I think we were all stunned. Working in groups meant we mixed and mingled, and then pairs exercises on tongue twister certainly removed any last remains of embarrassment or keeping up appearances. Even finishing off the evening, with the usual announcements, felt different and felt like we were all in it together. 

Sounds like I missed a good one. But, to bring me back from the brink of despair, April's meeting is set to be a corker too. Phew. With this dreary credit crunch showing no signs of abating, we need all the fun we can get. And penny-saving tips to boot! Which is just as well, as we have urban self sufficiency from one half of Bristol's own Good Life duo, Dave Hamilton, and a talk from Kath Kelly, best-selling author of ‘How I Lived a Year on Just a Pound a Day’. Put Wednesday 29 April in your diary.

And talking of environmental issues, Malago WI now has its very own environmental policy, detailing how we plan to minimise the impact our activities has on resources and do as much as we can to help save the planet. Have a look here:

http://malagowi.blogspot.com/2009/04/malago-wi-environmental-policy.html

Feel free to comment - we want your ideas on how to make Malago WI an exemplar group.

There's still time to don your smock and beret for the Art Trail. Whether you'd like to make work for the art exhibition, a cake/biscuits/treats for the cafe, or volunteer your services to help out over the weekend, just drop us a line at the usual address, jointhewi@googlemail.com. The more the merrier.

Malago W.I Go Pro on Flickr!

Until recently we have only had a lowly guest account on the photo-sharing site, Flickr. We are now very pleased to announce that we have upgraded to a Pro account. This means we can upload many more photos and document different aspects of our institute online. Perhaps you’ve tried out a new recipe and photographed the results or maybe you’ve knitted, gardened or campaigned. If you have an image you think might be at home on our Flickr page please send it to Alice at alicehendy at me.com

Pip pip,

MWI x