February news....

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our first meeting of the year.  It was lovely to hear about the benefits of strength training from Amanda Giles and catch up over tea and cake. 
 
For our February meeting, we have our first outing of the year.  We will be meeting at Made at Nest on North Street where will be painting our own piece of pottery.   
 
We'll all get to paint one small piece of pottery each.  The team at Nest will glaze and fire it and will need contact details from everyone so that can let each person know when their piece is ready for collection (usually a week later).
 
There will be refreshments available to buy. You may want to bring an apron /wear old clothes and other than that all equipment is provided.
 
We plan to start at 7pm and will be finishing around 8.30pm.
 
We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday 25^th February.
 

January news....

Happy New Year!!!  We hope you all had an enjoyable festive break.  It seems a while ago since we last met and painted beautiful festive candles. 

 
January can be a difficult time now the sparkle of Christmas is a distant memory.  To help raise our spirits and feel more active, we will be focusing on wellbeing and movement in our first meeting of 2026.
 
Amanda Giles is a female personal trainer and nutritional therapist who supports people to be their happiest, healthiest selves.  She will be discussing the importance of strength training for women’s health. She will explain what happens to our muscles, bones, and metabolism as we age and why strength training is essential for our health.
 
Challenging some common myths, including the idea that gyms are intimidating places. that lifting weight means bulking up, or that cardio is key to weight loss, Amanda will equip you with knowledge on how to build strength safely and how to fuel your body to complement your weight-lifting efforts.  A practical, evidence-based talk designed to inform, reassure, and offer a fresh perspective on strength.
 
We will be upstairs, on the second floor of the Tobacco Factory which will be signposted from the theatre entrance.  Committee members will also be on hand to direct you.
 
To start the new year off well, we have just launched our new Instagram page. If you are on Instagram, please pop us a follow!
 
As a bit of advance notice, we are delighted to be visiting Made By Nest on North Street for our February meeting.  More details of follow next month.
 
We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday 28^th January.

November news.....

Thank you to the lovely Carmel for sharing the great work she does at our last meeting and to Lucy to being an amazing quiz master.

 
Our November meeting will be the last of 2025 and it is jampacked!
 
We will be celebrating our 17^th birthday and hearing about all the greats things we have done over the year.  Members will be asked to vote on the WI resolutions to help determine which one will go forward to next years AGM.  The resolutions are:
 
1.     Accessible public toilet facilities to promote dignity, health, and social inclusion
This resolution is a call for accessible, clean, free public toilets which are fundamental to inclusion and wellbeing, especially for women, older people, disabled individuals, parents and carers. It invites WI branches to take meaningful action—through advocacy, partnership, and community engagement—to support local authorities and civil society in reversing the closure trend and ensuring dignity for all.

2.     Action on women’s homelessness
The NFWI echoes the calls of homelessness charities and urges all levels of government to take action to reduce women’s homelessness, reduce the number of women at risk of homelessness, and improve the quality of temporary accommodation. We call on WI members to support homelessness organisations in their communities and campaign to ensure that all women have a place they can safely call home.

3.     Every child needs a friend
We call on all WI members, the care system, and government to raise awareness of the independent visitor system for children in care in order to increase the number of volunteer Independent Visitors and the children in the care system who are befriended by them. We want every child in care to be offered the opportunity to have an adult figure in their life who chooses to spend a few hours a month with them.

4.     Love Your Vulva – Self checking is your best defence against vulval cancer
Self-checking your vulva is important in ensuring the earlier detection of vulval cancer and to enhance survival chances. We call upon WI members to work together to raise awareness of the importance of self-checking and seeking medical advice as early as possible, and, to help highlight this rare cancer to GPs to promote prompt referrals to medical specialists when needed.

5.     Nearer to Nature
There is a growing body of evidence that getting closer to nature is of great benefit to physical and mental health as well as to the environment. This is called ‘green health’. We call on WI members to work locally to improve access to local green spaces and support others to access it too. We call on health promotion services to increase public awareness of the use and benefits of ‘green health’, and health and care commissioners to support ‘green social prescribing’ in every GP practice.
 
We will be keeping you busy whilst we are discussing WI business by candle painting led by Clare (you will be able to take your candle home at the end of the evening.)
 
After leaving the corporate world, a period of serious illness, and becoming a mum, Clare decided to give herself a gift — the chance to do something she truly loved. That gift became Craft with Clare. What started as a small personal project to reconnect with creativity and joy has flourished into something magical: a growing community built around the simple, powerful act of making things by hand.
 
Through Craft with Clare, she now runs workshops and craft clubs across Bristol that bring people together to slow down, explore their creativity, and enjoy the wellbeing that comes from crafting. The belief is that creativity is for everyone — it’s not about being artistic, but about expression, connection, and taking time for yourself. Every session is an opportunity to relax, create, and leave with a sense of fulfilment.
 
We will be upstairs, on the second floor of the Tobacco Factory which will be signposted from the theatre entrance.  Committee members will also be on hand to direct you.
 
If this is not enough, for those who would like to join us, after the meeting we will go a drink at the bar to celebrate the end of our year and upcoming festivities.
 
We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday 26^th November.
 

October news...

We would like to say a big thank you to local interior designer Hannah Redden for inspiring us to use colour in our homes in a confident and interesting way.
 
This month, we have a meeting of two parts.  Firstly, our lovely member Carmel, will be talking to us about the work she does for Alive.  Alive is one of the UK’s leading practitioners of meaningful activity for older people. Working within care homes and the wider community, the charity runs a variety of services and innovative projects to bring activities, support, dementia-friendly gardening opportunities and intergenerational connections to older people, those living with dementia, and the people that support them.  This includes community projects such as the South Bristol Dementia Friendly Allotment in Knowle.
 
Following this, we will pit our wits against one another at the Malago WI quiz night! There are certainly some competitive members amongst us, so get your thinking caps on!
 
We will be upstairs, on the second floor of the Tobacco Factory which will be signposted from the theatre entrance.  Committee members will also be on hand to direct you.
 
We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday 29^th October.

September news

It seems that summer has left us and what better way to say fare well to the warm weather than with a visit to a beautiful cider apple orchard and tasting delicious Branch cider.

 
This month, we return to the cosy Tobacco Factory where, local interior designer Hannah Redden will be joining us for an inspiring one-hour talk all about making our homes feel more “us.” Her session, “Designing with Colour and Confidence”, will explore how to bring personality into a space, how to choose colours you’ll love for the long term, and simple ways to make a house feel both stylish and welcoming. Expect plenty of down-to-earth tips and ideas you can take away and try at home.
 
Hannah studied at the Glasgow School of Art and has called Bristol home for nearly 20 years. She runs Hannah Redden Interiors, helping families across the city create homes that are practical, personal and full of character. She also teaches at the Bristol Folk House and is passionate about supporting Bristol’s creative community.
 
We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday 24^th September.