July news...

We hope you all enjoyed last month’s talk by Clare Osborne from Incredible Oceans. We certainly had our eyes opened to the damaging over-use of plastic and have been thinking of ways we can do our bit – remember, as Clare says, one starfish at a time!

And, if the weather isn’t hot enough already this month, things are certainly heating up as we leave the Hall for our July outing to The Spicery on Feeder Road. The Spicery team are purveyors of wonderful spices from around the world. Not only are they experts but they also have a test kitchen and event space on site where they develop all their delicious recipes and deliver special tasting evenings and workshops.

Matt, the development chef, will be taking us on an exploration of some of the many types of chilli with a special workshop where we can taste some samples – if you’re brave enough! We’ll take a tour around the fragrant Spicery itself to see how all the spices and blends are produced, stored and shipped out. To finish we’ll learn which spices are best used in summer cocktails, and the foodies among us can have a nosey round the Spicery Shop where you will be able to purchase spices, recipe kits, subscription boxes and books.

This special outing will take place on July 25^th at the earlier time of 7.30pm, finishing around 9.30pm. We’ll make our own way there: 77 Feeder Road, St Phillips, BS2 0TQ. There is parking directly outside the building and also in the surrounding streets.

If you haven’t already put your name down, why not spice up your life and contact us by 20^th July to secure a place?  Guests are very welcome to come along at £10 per person.

Mary Magro from Westleaze Long Ashton WI was our link delegate at the recent NFWI annual meeting held in June.  The meeting was attend by 1000’s of WI members and celebrated the centenary of the Suffragettes movement.  This year’s resolution ‘mental health matters’ was passed with 98% of delegates in favour.  A full report is available to read when we meet again in the Hall.

Don’t forget, we have a stall at Pride on 14^th July to help raise funds for future meetings and outings.  If you can help out or bake some cakes, please let us know or visit us to show you support and even make a kite!

We look forward to seeing you at our summer outing on 25^th July!

June news....

We hope you've all been doing your stretches and perfecting your posture after last month’s body boosting meeting with Clare Callaghan.

This month we have another Clare joining us ....Osborn that is, from Incredible Oceans. Clare spent over 10 years in a successful legal career although has always had a passion for travel, adventure and the ocean.  As a volunteer, she has been on the organising committee of Incredible Oceans / WhaleFest since 2015. She also paddled the width of Britain last year to raise awareness for plastic pollution and is this year kayaking the length of Wales (probably as this is sent!)

Her mission, and hopefully ours after June's meeting is to make us all more aware of the serious issues around ocean plastics, and inspire us make a difference to the ocean!

As you know, we are taking part in Pride this year with a stall in Millennium Square on Saturday 14^th July.  We need volunteers to staff the stall from 12pm to 5pm and make cakes to sell.  We will also be helping kids to make kites from a very simple pack.  It is essential that we undertake fundraising activity to ensure we can fund our summer outings and arrange fantastic speakers and activities for our monthly meetings.  If you are able to help out, please sign up at our next meeting.

We look forward to see you all on the 27^th!

May news....

Hello Malagoers,

Last month’s meeting was a delight for the taste buds with the rebranded Blend and Bird Tea Co. and their astounding array of teas for every mood and occasion.

This month we are focusing on the body courtesy of Claire Callaghan B.Pty MSc. Claire has been a Chartered Physiotherapist for over 20 years working in both the NHS and private sector. She is now working in the private sector, having worked in Sport, Exercise and Health at University of Bristol in a clinical and managerial capacity for many years.  

She specialises in sport and physical activity, injury and Women’s Health and Wellbeing. She runs workshops for various groups both in the private and corporate sector. She is particularly interested in how the female body changes over the life cycle and how we can best take care of ourselves through the various stages of life, from the childhood and teen years, childbirth, menopause and the changes which come with natural aging. The workshop will focus on unique aspects of women’s posture and movement and how to keep the bones, joints, muscles and nerves healthy throughout life. There will be some discussion about how to fit activity into your day, how to gain strength and fitness and avoid and manage injuries.

Don’t forget if you are interesting in attending the House of Fraser June Social and Pampering Treat on 5^th June, please email wearemalagowi@uwe.ac.uk or sign up at May’s meeting.

We are planning our fundraising activities for the year and will be taking a stall at Pride on Saturday 14^th July.  Based in Millennium Square, we will be making kites, selling cakes and wearing far too much glitter! If you are interesting helping out by baking some cakes or helping on the stall, you will be able to sign up at May’s meeting.

We look forward to seeing you on 30^th May.

MWI x

April news...

March’s meeting was full of intrigue thanks to Paul Barham’s fascinated talk on the sex, life and death of the humble honey bee.

This month we will be talking about one of Britain’s favourite topic – tea.  Bluebird tea is an independent, tea mixology company on a mission to make people happy with tea. Started three years ago by Krisi and Mike who began by packing tea in their bedroom and attending markets, the company now has multiple retail outlets, including Park Street in Bristol, and a thriving international online store.

Keight and Emma from the Bristol shop will talk about Bluebird’s amazing blends of teas including some of their 70 or more exciting flavours created by mixing with ingredients including herbs, flowers, fruit, caramel and chocolate.

They will bring their top 10 teas to taste and also talk about the health benefits of teas and new trends. Teas are not just made into a hot drink they can be mixed into tea cocktails, fresh iced teas, chai brews, cold brews, lattes and smoothies.

Bring along some cash as there will be different teas and other products available to buy.  Everyone will also receive a complimentary voucher to spend in the shop.

The National Federation of Women’s Institutes (NFWI) will be holding its AGM on 6^th June.  As part of the AGM, WI members are asked to vote on this year’s resolution - Mental health matters.  Further details of the resolution are available on the NFWI website. We will be asking members to vote for or against this resolution at April’s meeting and our votes will be taken to the AGM by Malago WI’s link delegate.

We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday 25^th!

March news....

It was lovely to see everyone who braved the cold weather at last month’s meeting.  Sue Duggan  Teach Me Sugar Craft showed us how to decorate cup cakes with an Easter theme.  They looked amazing and tasted pretty good as well!

So spring has finally sprung and we are delighted to have two speakers at this month’s meeting to talk about the beloved Bumblebee.  Our first speaker is Janice Walsh, a volunteer with Bumble Bee Conservation Trust.  The Bumblebee Conservation Trust was established because of serious concerns about the ‘plight of the bumblebee’. It now boasts over 10,000 members and is growing fast.

Janice’s illustrated talk 'The Buzz about Bumblebees' will give an insight into the challenges our UK bumblebees are facing and what simple steps we can all take to help their plight, including making our gardens and open spaces more bee friendly.

Our second speaker is Paul Barham who is a general surgeon specialising in upper gastro intestinal surgery. He is a leading figure in the development of minimally invasive techniques. In his spare time he is passionate about bee keeping, and will be telling us about how he keeps his bees happy and productive.

If you have any unwanted Christmas presents, please bring them along and we will raffle these off to raise money for future meetings and outings.

We are still collecting membership fee of £41, so it you haven’t paid, you can do so by cheque or cash
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We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday 28^th March.