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MARCHWOOD WI
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Marchwood Village is situated just off the A326 to the West of Southampton on the Waterside of the New Forest. Belonging to the Beaulieu Group, the first Marchwood WI meeting was held on May 11th 1921, when 45 members were enrolled. The President was Lady Crofton, the Secretary and Treasurer a Miss R. Longman. |
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Our meetings take place on the second Tuesday of each Month at 7:15 p.m. (No meeting in August). |
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Venue - Marchwood Village Hall which is situated behind the Village Centre. Accessed via Vicarage Road adjacent to St. Johns Church. The Hall has full disability access. |
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Marchwood currently have 55 members. Visitors are very welcome. |
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Any enquiries please contact the following:- |
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PRESIDENT Judy 023 80866610 Or SECRETARY Sheila 023 80868681 |
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Each month we have a speaker, competition and a bloom of the month. Summary of our last few meetings:- |
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Marchwood WI Autumn 2011 |
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Star Spangled Summer and a Cockapoo!! |
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And the stars of our show, ladies and gentlemen are Marchwood WI! At this years New Forest and Hampshire Show, Marchwood WI put in an simply stellar performance, winning a gold, ten double silver, eight silver and two red awards, plus coming third in the produce cooperative and also achieving a very creditable result in the Craft Co-operative. The entries were in knitting, crochet, needlecraft, art, preserving, baking and photography. The members of the WI tent committee work so hard to provide a tent containing displays of interest and inspiration. It is thanks to them and every member who enters an exhibit or donates their time to steward or demonstrate, that makes the WI tent the success it is. As one visitor put it “The WI tent is one of the best marquees on the showground, you are not selling but giving!” Proving that they themselves are stars, the WI members provided the “Teas” in the Tea Tent at the annual Marchwood Village Fete. All the scones and cakes sold were donated by the ladies of the Women’s Institute, some of whom worked tirelessly for hours serving refreshments and washing up all day not to mention, clearing up! Always the worst bit! As part of Marchwood’s ongoing ninetieth birthday celebrations a “Race Night” was held in June, instead of the usual meeting. All “Our Fair Ladies” looked resplendent in lavish “titfers” and partook of Pimms and canapés organised by the committee. At the shout of “They’re Off!” the Ascot atmosphere was really apparent with people shouting for their own horse with cheers if it won! It was a great fun evening. In July Jeanette Collett from “Hearing dogs for Deaf People “ gave a talk on the work done by this charity and came with her delightful “foster dog” a (in this case, specially bred) cockapoo! What, you may ask , is a “cockapoo”, well not as you may imagine some obscure South American Parrot, but a really sweet black curly cocker spaniel/poodle cross puppy called Newton. He was ten months old and a neat sized, non-hair-shedding perfect friend, who was not phased at all by a room full of ladies he did not know, and did enjoy the odd wander round to meet everyone but mostly lay on the floor playing with his ears and chewing his treat! Instigated in the eighties, by TV vet Bruce Fogle (Ben’s Dad), this charity provides canine companions for those people with that “invisible” disability, hearing impairment. Jeanette described herself as a “socialiser” a person who looks after the young dog, exposing them to everyday situations, shops, crowds, noise, traffic etc. After some months the dog returns to a training “academy” to be taught how to respond to different things, the telephone, doorbell and strangers for instance. Once trained the dog is matched up with its new owner and becomes a lifeline for the deaf person. Even though some peoples hearing loss is gradual and insidious, or genetic, occasionally it can happen very suddenly and that person finds themselves in a very scary place. Understandably it must be difficult to say goodbye to an animal that has been a constant in you life for some months, but Jeanette and other “socialisers” can be safe in the knowledge that the service that they and the charity provide is an indispensable one. Deafness is very isolating, so having a lovely animal like this as a companion, with an ability to warn you of different situations and in some cases dangers, must be wonderful. Marchwood WI is again in the final of the Hampshire WI Quiz to be held at Bishops Waltham in September, there has been a slow but steady improvement in our results and last year we were third out of around thirty teams from all over Hampshire. Onwards and upwards! All events, speakers, meetings etc. at Marchwood WI are advertised on the Hampshire WI website, just put “Hampshire WI” into your search engine. We are a friendly group of women, not all from Marchwood, but along the Waterside as well, please come to one of our meetings, or we hope that some readers managed to come to our biennial Craft and Produce Show held in August. Marchwood WI meets on the second Tuesday of the month in Marchwood Village Hall, meetings start at 7.15 and everyone is welcomed. For more info on your local Women’s Institute, look on the website www.hampshirewi.org.uk |
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In this the ninetieth year of it’s existence, Marchwood WI is still a strong, friendly, caring, interesting and involved organisation to belong to. |
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Details of our 2012/13programme are as follows :- |
| Date | Subject | Competition |
| 2012 | ||
| January 10th | The Dads Army Story . Christopher McColl | A 1940s item |
| February 14th | Contemporary Art in the New Forest. Grace Thomas. | Write a verse about the New Forest. |
| March 6th | Spring Group Meeting - Marchwood Village Hall 7.30 P.M. | Hilary Bowen demonstrating Silver clay Jewellery |
| March 13th | Pantomime and the role of the Dame . John Pitman | A Theatre Programme |
| March 21st | Spring Council Meeting - Portsmouth Guildhall. | |
| April 10th | 91st Birthday Party | Tricia Lewis as Joyce Grenville |
| May 8th | Annual Meeting Cake tasting - plus recipe | Favourite cookery book |
| May 30th | N.F.W.I. A.G.M. | Royal Albert Hall |
| June 12th | Mock Auction Food and Plants only | An item of Royal Memorabilia |
| July 10th | The Donkey Sanctuary . Nicky Carter | An animal photo |
| September 11th | Back Care Adam Smith - Connor from the New Forest Physiotherapy Clinic | Top Health Tip |
| October 9th | Wildlife of the working Forest . Mike Read | A wildlife ornament |
| October 10th | Autumn Group Meeting | Marchwood Village Hall 2 P.M. |
| October 24th | Autumn Council Meeting | The Anvil Basingstoke |
| November 13th | Traditional American Rug Hooking . Valerie Norman | An Old Craft Tool |
| December 11th | Christmas Party - Circle Dancing with Barbara Driscoll | |
| January 8th 2013 | Memory and Me . Angela Park | A Memory Aid you use |