June news.....

 

Following a fascinating guided walk in May around the historic Underfall Yard we’re heading back outdoors for our next meeting on Wednesday 30^th June for a private visit the lovely Riverside Garden Centre. Hopefully we will have a lovely sunny evening and be able to enjoy its wonderful setting with panoramic views of the iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge, the city docks, and the Bristol skyline beyond. 
 
Riverside is Bristol's largest independent garden centre. Established in 1987, its overriding aim is to create a unique destination offering a wide range of high-quality plants and products. Their knowledgeable and friendly staff are always on hand to provide help and give advice when required. It is run as a social enterprise, engaging with the wider community in Bristol by supporting and initiating projects and working with several local charities.

Doors will open from 7.15pm for a 7.30 start. On arrival we’ll be greeted with a glass of prosecco before heading off with green-fingered expert Steve Shaw to find out more about the amazing selection of plants, shrubs, and trees on offer. It’s your chance to get advice on choosing what to plant and where, how to look after your garden and handy tips and advice before reconvening to their award-winning café for lovely cakes and refreshments. You will also be able to buy plants and other goods before you go (NB card payment only!)
 
To comply with Covid restrictions please bring a mask to wear in the communal areas.
 
Numbers are limited to 30 – so please RSVP to wearemalagowi@gmail.com by Thursday 23 June to secure your place.  Guests are welcome at £5 and places will be allocated on first come, first serve basis.  There is ample carparking available on site for free.  Riverside is off Clift House Rd, Southville, Bristol BS3 1RX
 
We look forward to seeing you there.

May news.....

 

As lockdown restrictions ease, we are delighted to able to offer our first face to face meeting in over a year.  We can’t wait to see our members both old and new.
 
As part of our summer programme of outings, our first meeting of 2021 will be at the Underfall Yard.  A survivor from a time when Bristol was a busy industrial port, Underfall Yard is a working boat yard and docks maintenance facility that has been in continual use since the 1880s. Join us for a tour of the site to explore the yard’s unique collection of Victorian buildings set in a stunning location on Bristol’s Harbourside. We will discover the elegant Georgian engineering that created the Floating Harbour and continues to perform an essential (and largely hidden) role in water management and flood prevention. A highlight of the tour is experiencing the yard’s Victorian machines in action to see how things were done in the days before computers and 3D printing and experience the heavy engineering that once powered Bristol Docks. 
 
To kick off our first meeting, we would like to celebrate with welcome drinks before the tour.  We will be meeting outside the Cottage Inn by the waterfront at 7pm and making our way to the outside seating area in front of the Underfall Yard café to enjoy a glass of bubbly.  The tour will be from 7:30 to 8:30. The tour will take place inside and outside so you may need a coat.
 
After the tour, if people would like to join us, we will make out way to the Cottage or Nova Scotia for a drink.  If you are driving, there is parking available either at the Cottage Inn or the SS Great Britain and Brunel Lock has parking which is only a short walk away.
 
There will be an opportunity for members to pay their subscriptions.  Membership for returning members will be £22.40 and new members £44. Guests are also welcome at a cost of £5. We will be acceptable to accept cheque or cash payments.
 
As there is a restriction on numbers, it would be helpful if you could let us know if you plan to attend by Friday 21^st May by emailing wearemalago@gmail.com.
 
It’s been a while since we have been able to get together so fingers crossed for dry weather!

April news.....

So as lockdown starts to ease slightly, we are looking forward to seeing you all again.  Hopefully we will welcome some new members –we are all desperate for some fun and socialising!
 
We appreciate that for Malago members, COVID restrictions on gatherings has hit our programme hard.  When we asked members about options - feedback from some of you was that there was not much interest in an online programme. We have always felt that many of our members joined Malago to meet new people, to get out for an evening and to socialise. We had comments that you either spend all day on screen for work, or home schooling, or you are not interested/able to participate in Zoom type meetings. Plus, there are lots of online workshops, events available anyway. 
 
Although lockdown is thankfully easing it is unlikely, we will be able to meet up as usual inside until after the summer plus the hall is currently being used as a vaccination centre. So, we are focussing on some fun outdoor activities to all of us to meet again over next few months
 
In May we will be offering a guided tour of Underfall Yard – hopefully in person. it’s a fascinating place steeped in history with lots to see and hear about.
 
In June we are going to have a bit of a party at the lovely Riverside Garden Centre with a talk and tour with advice about plants (plus opportunity to buy!) with cakes and nibbles/drinks from their fab café.
 
We are still looking at plans for July, but in August we are planning another outdoor event possibly a picnic in the park or rescheduling the Theatre Walk with Show Of Strength Theatre Company.  Then in September we will be back either in the hall, or another inside venue, with a programme of talks, demos, workshops etc.
 
As a response to COVID restrictions, the National WI suspended membership fee for three months with them restarting in April 2021 until April 2022.
 
The new yearly subscription will be £44. The membership is divided between National Federation and Avon Federation (£22.40) and Malago WI (£21.60). The National Federation has confirmed that going forward the membership fee due to them and Avon Fed must still be paid but that individual WIs can, if they wish, waive our part of the membership fee if they feel this will help support its members and encourage people to renew.
 
As we were not able to offer a programme of activities last year to our existing members, we have agreed to waive Malago WIs share of the fee for 2021 for any members wishing to renew, meaning that renewing members will be charges £22.40.  As COVID restrictions ease, we are hoping to be able to 10 meetings this year and welcome new members.  The membership fee for new members will be £44.  Guests will still be able to attend meetings and outings for £5 where we have capacity. 
 
We are cautiously excited to see familiar (and new faces) in the coming months.
 

January news...

 

Sadly, due to the ongoing COVID restrictions we can’t see it being possible to meet any time soon which is disappointing and frustrating.  As you know we had hoped to do a Theatre Walk with Show Of Strength Theatre Company  and despite rescheduling twice this hasn’t been possible.
 
Looking ahead we need to make you aware of the WI Federation’s position on membership.  It was confirmed in 2020, that membership renewals would not take place until April 2021 and going forward renewals would continue to be in April. 
 
During the second lockdown, as a committee we discussed whether members would like to take part in virtual meetings. We may not represent the range of views of the wider membership but some of us felt that those people working are probably fed up with staring at a computer all day and trying to catch up with family/friends etc in the evenings and therefore might not want to take part in WI meetings.  There are also a range of online classes/activities/performances etc now available. We are also aware that we may have members who do not have access to online meeting platforms. We are now in a third lockdown with working from home and home schooling causing real pressure for some of our members.
 
Given the current circumstances and the likelihood we will not be able to hold face to face meetings for some time, we would like to hear from you as to whether you would be interested in running virtual meetings in the interim.
 
If you want to continue with your membership, we can certainly look to create a virtual programme of talks and activities and would welcome any suggestions.  Others however may want to leave it for now and not renew until face-to-face meetings and activities are possible.
 
If you have a spare minute and email us at wearemalagowi@gmail.com with your thoughts either way, as well as any further ideas that would be helpful.
 
In the meantime here is another selection of short films from the Civic Society; The Story of Bristol Cars, Bristol Buses in the 1950’s, Bristol Rollercoaster and The Lost Charlie Alpha  
 
Take care and stay safe

October news...

It seems such a long time ago since we last.  We had hoped that the easing in restrictions early this year would mean we would be able to meet again in the hall.  However, we continue to be advised that we are not able to meet in our normal way.

This being said, the Committee have been working hard to come up with ways to offer an opportunity to get together in these challenging times.
 
Within COVID guidelines, we are able to arrange a Theatre Walk with Show Of Strength Theatre Company.
 
Join us on Monday 9th November at 6.30pm (not our normal Wednesday slot) for an historical tour with a difference. We may not have been able to meet properly since lockdown, but we have organised a special private Theatre Walk with Sheila from Show Of Strength Theatre Company. Show of Strength have re-booted their amazingly successful and highly acclaimed theatre walks for the autumn/winter season, and we are delighted to invite our Malago WI members to join us for "Blood and Butchery in Bedminster".
 
"Bedminster — where graves were robbed by body snatchers, and corpses buried in concrete coffins. Where the old Chinese laundry vanished years ago, and where ‘laundering’ now means money, big money, 13 million, ‘laundered’ through a Bedminster bank. Where criminals were sentenced to hang in public, their cadavers flayed, their skin tanned and made into……the answer is in BLOOD AND BUTCHERY IN BEDMINSTER".  
 
We'll begin at The Ropewalk, on Bedminster Parade and end at The Hen and Chicken, where those of us who are thirsty can stop for a socially distanced drink and some pizza. Those of us who wish to take their leave can do so. The tour will last approximately 1.5 to 2 hours.
 
This event is free for members and spaces for guests may also be available.  If you would like to join us please email wearemalagowi@gmail.com by 2nd November to reserve a space.
 
If you are looking to step back in time and remember a time pre-COVID, the Bristol Civic Society have gone through the archives when Bristol was a different place!  Enjoy Bristol’s Big Bang, Wills at One and those early days of working in an office, with face to face meetings?!?