November 2019

Latest news for November 2019 Barry WI

November 2nd November and it was off to Margam Abbey for a combined ‘WI Craft Spectacular’.  24 plus stalls full of crafted items were on sale.  The proceeds went to each WI,  who had worked extremely hard and with great imagination to make this day go with a buzz.  Refreshments were on hand and as it was an extremely wet day we were all grateful for a welcome cuppa.

November 5th and it was a talk by Carol for the Pooncholi Trust.  Carol has long been developing and supporting this trust in India for youngsters who have found themselves to be in a poor place.  This could be for various reasons and Carol outlined some of the stories.  Fortunately, a lot of the youngsters who would have struggled to get an education and guidance have been helped enormously due to the generosity of time and finance from people by donations.  Raffles and a fund raising stall of hand crafted items and pickles sold very well and the monies raised donated to the trust. One of our founder members Barbara, was presented with a bouquet of flowers in lieu of the celebration lunch which was held at Copthorne on October 1st  which she had been unable to attend.

At our afternoon meeting, on 19th November Barbara welcomed our speaker, Methodist Chaplain  Brobbey who is a very active leader at the Amelia Trust Farm. (picture attached) His many roles centre on giving support to youngsters who have emotional difficulties.  With the aid of illustrations on a white board he was able to talk us through the process of what work and activities the young people experience through looking after animals, self care, clearance of footpaths, feeding chickens and collecting eggs and woodland identification.  The farm had been donated to the Methodist Church by Rev Stacey Marks in 1991 and is open all through the year with harvest festivals, Christmas celebrations and daily visits.

Mid November and despite the cold  night a group of ladies joined Sue for an evening at the Memorial Hall to enjoy the music of Boogie Wonderland. It was a fun and lively event with everyone enthusiastically joining in the dancing and sing along numbers. The music was very infectious and soon had everyone on their feet boogieing away, apparently there were a few aches and pains the following day but everyone agreed it was worth it, and we were happy to see friends from Penarth Peers WI.  Thank you Sue for organising it.

Gloucester Quays was next on our agenda, thanks to Rhoose WI inviting us to join them on their outing. Following a quick and straightforward journey, we arrived within our designated time slot, each coach having been given a specific time to arrive and leave in order to minimise congestion. First on the agenda was a welcome cuppa and then down to the serious business of shopping and lunch. The weather was kind to us and we were able to wander around the stalls In comfort. Our journey home was without problem and everyone had a good day. Thank you Rhoose for the invite.

Bringing the month to a close, the medieval streets, alleyways and mews of Ludlow were already full of tourists and families all out to buy Christmas gifts and treats when we arrived with a coach load of WI ladies and friends. The weather was again kind and we soon headed for the castle with its myriad of tempting stalls piled high with crafts, decorations and fresh mistletoe and holly.  The music and the drums together with giants and people dressed in costume gave us a real sense of Christmas.

Coming up in December we are having a Christmas Party on December 3rd in our own hall with food donated by the members, raffle and soft drinks. Christingle making in the hall will be  on December 17th December. But before those events we will be paying a visit to Brangwen Hall on December 2nd for the annual Christmas Carol Service.  DB.