Our June meeting saw us take a guided walk of Manor Woods Valley led by Peter Loy-Hancock, who was able to tell us lots about the ecology, wildlife, and history of the site. Despite the terrible weather during the day, the evening stayed dry for us, and it was lovely to make the most of the long mid-summer evening.

In July we will be able to enjoy a drawing Workshop led by Kate Miller, an experienced teacher and artist. Kate will be helping us loosen up our drawing, gain confidence in our own style of mark-making and enjoy an evening of creativity. There will be opportunities to use pens, pencils, and charcoal and to work on a range of paper sizes. We will be back at the hall, but if the weather is nice we will venture into the garden. Kate will also be bringing some art and cards to sell.

Please note, that due to the school summer holidays, we will be meeting one-week earlier than usual on 20th July.

As a heads up, we will be out and about again in August visiting Little Kitchen to learn some cake decorating skills. Places are limited so we will be asking for sign up by about a week before the meeting. If you would like to attend, please email wearemalagowi@gmail.com

See you on Wednesday 20^th July

 

Thank you for everyone who joined us at May’s meeting. Experienced physiotherapist Claire Callaghan gave us an insight into women’s health and some simple things we can do to keep fit and healthy.  Here is a helpful reminder of what we can do to help ourselves.

For our June meeting on, we will be making the most of the long evenings with a leisurely walk around Manor Woods Valley Local Nature Reserve, accompanied by a knowledgeable guide who will point out the many features of interest. There will be frequent stops to explore ancient and ‘new’ woodlands, the Malago, wildflower meadows and an orchard. Our guide will describe the human and natural history of each area, and the management practices being used to maintain and improve them.

The walk will include some slopes and uneven ground, including a few steps. Distance covered - 2.1miles/3.4km. Meet at the Vale Lane entrance to the site at 19:30. Postcode BS3 5RU. Parking is available on Vale Lane behind Tiley's Motors. If you need help getting there please email wearemalagowi@gmail.com.  Please wear sensible shoes and bring a drink. We will bring some cake and savoury snacks to share.

The national WI AGM took place in Liverpool earlier in June. Our votes in support of this year's resolution (Women and Girls with ASD & ADHD - under-identified, under-diagnosed, misdiagnosed, under-supported) were forwarded.  We are pleased to announce that it was carried with 96.5% of the votes. Please have a look at was this means and the resources available on the WI website 

We look forward to seeing lots of you on the 29th.

May news...

 

Hopefully, those of you who joined us in April have been able to enjoy your hand made both bombs, and in a few months will have some bright and cheerful ranunculus flowers. 

May’s meeting will focus on women’s physical health and wellbeing, led by experienced physiotherapist Claire Callaghan. Claire has worked in the NHS and private sector, both in the UK and Australia, supporting patients with management of aches, pains and injuries and maintenance of physical activity and exercise. As an active mum of two, runner, swimmer, and tennis player, she understands the demands on your body, focus and time.

Claire will explain more about joint, muscle, and bone health, which different types of exercise are best for women, practical hints, and tips for managing changes in health at different stages of life and ideas for wellbeing at work such as how to sit well, desk-based stretches and moving more. For more information, visit Claire’s Facebook page or her Instagram profile.

As part of our fundraising programme, we will be holding a raffle with prizes kindly donated by members earlier in the year. Please bring some cash for your tickets. We are also going to have a regular second- hand book stall, and welcome donations of books that members and guests can take home for a small donation.

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

April news....

 

Happy belated Easter to you all, we hope you've all had the chance to enjoy the Spring sunshine.  For our meeting in March, we had an interesting and entertaining talk from Andy Lewis about the history of Bedminster Down, and how it has evolved over the years.

For our April meeting we are embracing spring by planting miniature Ranunculus bulbs for some summer colour for you to take home.  Bulbs, pots, and compost will be provided, however if you do have a small plant pot, you'd like to use, please bring it along.  We’ll also be putting some fizz into our lives by making bath bombs.  The bath bomb ingredients will be provided, but you will need to bring something to make them in, small flexible plastic or silicon items such as silicon ice trays, muffin cases or even old yogurt pots will work.  We'll have some essential oils to use to add scent, but if you have any favourite scented oils or any dried rose petals or lavender do bring it along to use.  If you don't have a suitable mould, a glass jar would work for making fizzy bath powder instead.

April is now the month when subs are renewed. The 2022 subscription is £44, which is split between the WI, federation and the NFWI to help with running individual groups and the organisation. Payment can be made via cheque, cash, or bank transfer.  We also now have a card reader, this can't be used for subs but can be used for paying for guest fees, refreshments, raffle tickets and donations.

Lastly, we'll be asking our members to vote on this year's resolution so that our votes can be carried forward to this year’s WI national AGM in June.  The resolution is Women and Girls with ASD & ADHD - under-identified, under-diagnosed, misdiagnosed, under-supported and further information can be found on the WI website.

We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday 27^th.

 

We had a magical night in the company of the Great Baldini, who amazed us with his close up magic last month.  It was a fun way to spend a February evening!  

For our March meeting, we will welcome local writer and historian Andy Lewis.  Andy leads the local history group at Zion Community space, has written several books and publishes a blog: "The Ramblings of a Retired Utility Worker". A lifelong resident of Bedminster Down, Andy will tell us all about the history of the area from its position as a "no go area" for large parts of the 16th & 17th Century to its transformation as a mining community and then its development as a largely residential community. He will also talk about some of the organisations that were key to making it a "real community area" at its height, their subsequent demise and how the area has changed since.  

The committee is close to finalising the programme for the year and look forward to telling you the plans for the rest of 2022.  As part of this, we are considering changing the date of some meetings that fall in school holidays so that they are in term time instead.  We'd love to hear what you think about this plan, so please let us know by e-mailing wearemalagowi@gmail.com or chat to us at the next meeting.

Finally, as ever, we need your help.  We have some ideas for fundraising which we will share with you, over the next few meetings.  In the meantime if you are able to help with providing a cake (homemade or shop bought) or helping with teas at the March meeting please e-mail us.

We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday 30^th March.