Thursday 6 December 2012

Christmas Lunch at The Wesley House

We went to the Wesley House again this year for our Christmas Lunch. The restaurant was well decorated, so it felt like going into a fairyland, our tables were beautifully arranged in the 'conservatory', and again the food was excellent. Listening to all the chatter, all the ladies were busy socializing till the food arrived. It was a very enjoyable lunch out for the 20 of us!

Wednesday 5 December 2012

GFWI Christmas Concerts

Had the most fantastic day at Cheltenham Town Hall yesterday. During the morning the WI choir rehearsed with the wonderful Lesley Garrett for the two Christmas concerts in the afternoon and evening. To sing with her was magical, she's the most warm, loving, caring vibrant person it's possible to meet, the young Saxophonist was brilliant, both accompanists were wonderful also, as was our own accompanist Jill; one of the better days of my life!
As I performed on stage lustily singing, I could see members of our own WI plus those of other WIs I know well with enjoyment on their faces, making it even more pleasurable!
I do hope that it will be many more years before I am too decrepit to sing in this fabulous choir!
Xmas lunch today with WI. what would my life be without choirs and WI?

Posted by Doreen

Wednesday 21 November 2012

Shopping Trip to Stratford-on-Avon

Eight of us went on a shopping trip to Stratford, joined by 4 visitors. The bus was new and comfortable, and we set off on what was to be one of the wettest days in November. The route there was partially under water at times, but our bus got through the wet. Stratford was quiet, but by going round the shops, stopping for morning tea then lunch, we avoided most of the rain. Stratford was flooded the day after! The sun came out as we were leaving! Despite the wet it was an enjoyable day out.

Tuesday 20 November 2012

Annual Meeting

The annual meeting went well. The new committee was voted in, and all the business part of the meeting went smoothly. After tea we had a picture quiz, organised by Linda, which we all enjoyed.. my table won this time..

Thursday 15 November 2012

The Ballet at Everyman

Several of us, joined by Greet, Gretton and Dumbleton WI's, went to see 'Sleeping Beauty' at the Everyman. We had great seats in the front row of the circle, so could see everything. The cast was a young group, who presented the show well. It was a good afternoon, and we could get the bus back to Winchcombe at 4.30!

Wednesday 7 November 2012

Lunch Club

November saw 11 of us back at the Wesley Bistro. The meal was splendid with good service. It is always a pleasure to eat there, and look forward to returning in about 6 months!

Tuesday 16 October 2012

October Monthly Meeting

Our speaker this month was Rosemary Morgan on Memories and Monologues. She was very entertaining with her recitals of poetry.
We also had a stall for our charity, this year it is the bench that we donated to Winchcombe in August. It was a fun afternoon!

Thursday 11 October 2012

A Grand Day Out! Highgrove!

Six of our WI joined the Greet WI on a garden tour of Highgrove. Sadly it drizzled all through the 2 hour fascinating tour, despite that we all really enjoyed the atmosphere engendered by the rain and mist.

The garden improves on each visit, and even in October had a lot to offer. After the tour we adjourned to the restaurant for a delicious lunch, followed by retail therapy.

The day out was enjoyed by all of us who were able to go.

Saturday 6 October 2012

A Muddy Morning

Three of us joined the GFWI walk which was held at Gretton. The views of the village we were shown are so well hidden, but just an insight to the beauty of the village.
Then the walk. At first we splashed through sodden fields where there was considerable water lying on the grasses and fields. Later we hit the mud! Slippery and not easy. The views were stunning though.
Then back to their lovely bright village hall where we were served a great ploughman's lunch, and had a chance to talk to others from different WI's

Wednesday 3 October 2012

October Lunch Group

This month we had booked and ordered our food in advance at The Lady Jane Tearooms. It was the best meal of all, as well as the best value. We can't wait till it is its turn on the rota again!

Saturday 29 September 2012

Calendar Girls

Several of us saw the play again, this time at the Playhouse in Cheltenham. It was another splendid production which never stales for the WI

Sunday 23 September 2012

September 19th outing to The Forest of Dean


We set off after lunch in a very comfortable Castleways coach to the Steam Train in the Forest of Dean. The ride down was lovely through great countryside, arriving at our destination in Lydney in time to take the steam train ride and to enjoy a truly wonderful cream tea while traveling through the forest.

 
 

 Back to Winchcombe after a memorable afternoon.

September's Meeting

Jane Emerson spoke at the September meeting on Needlefelt. She demonstrated to us how easy it was to make designs on all types of fabric, and she showed us some of her work.

Wednesday 5 September 2012

Lunch at The Lion

Eight members of the lunch club met on September 5th to have lunch at the newly refurbished Lion. The table we had was the best so far, with lots of space for all. The food was different and interesting, slightly more expensive, but worth the price.

Wednesday 15 August 2012

The Bench!!


The Winchcombe WI donated a very fine bench to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth ll


It was installed on a very wet day, which got worse when the photographer arrived....



 When Valerie and Doreen were having their pictures taken the rest of us retired back to the tree which did offer some shelter!!


Wednesday 8 August 2012

Val's walk

Val organised a walk from the Fossebridge Inn. It wasn't easy as the path was overgrown, so it was hard to see it. It was lovely to get out to different countryside, the flowers were amazing, the thistles especially spectacular!
Lunch at the Inn was excellent, and we would love to return, maybe to taste the pheasant pate later in the year. Well done Val!!

Wednesday 1 August 2012

Lunch Club

August 1st saw us having lunch at the Plaisterers, the mains were excellent, but the puds were quite weird, the best one was ice cream! A bit tight for space, just room for the 8 of us!

Tuesday 17 July 2012

July's monthly meeting

The speaker at this meeting was Nicola Clark with her songs and talk of life in her camper van. She was very amusing as she described her mid life crisis, all captured by songs she had written and sung to us. It was a great talk.

Thursday 12 July 2012

A Wet Outing to the Sea!

Jo had arranged an outing to Weston-super-Mare, and we all looked forward to the sea, sand and sun...

We got sea and sand, but the sun was sadly lacking, and by just after lunch the day turned to rain.

There were things to do, a bus ride to Sand, using our bus passes!, the pier, Jill Dando's garden among some, then to get in the dry, the aquarium. But in view of the awful weather we were glad to get back on the bus, and return to Winchcombe

Wednesday 11 July 2012

July 4th, monthly lunch

We met at the White Hart for our pub lunch this month. It advertises sausages and wine, so 5 of us had the sausages..never again, they were tough and tasteless, a real disappointment. so we won't be going back there!

Friday 29 June 2012

June 19th, the Garden Party!

Our monthly meeting was an amazing Garden Party at  Linda's home to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee

We enjoyed the garden and the cream tea!

The group , Sally is organizing...




Sally helped Linda to organize the tea, Doreen joined in..




 Our hostess Linda in her wonderful garden




Adeline and Doreen having a quiet moment
 


Valerie and Dorothy.

 


Waiting for the scones, cream and Strawberries

 

 And amazing small cakes




There was even a gazebo for shade





The sun shone all afternoon, and unusually for June 2012, no rain! We all had a lovely afternoon, in a wonderful garden, time to chat to friends, enjoy the delicious tea, what a monthly meeting! Best ever......And thank you to Linda for being such a great hostess, and Linda and Sally for the great idea!



Wednesday 6 June 2012

The lunch club

Nine of us battled the storm to make it to the Corner Cupboard for lunch. The rain tipped it down on the way there, so some of us were quite wet!
With a good lunch, and lots of laughter, we all felt better.
The next lunch is on July 4th at The White Hart

Monday 28 May 2012

A visit to The Cheltenham Ladies' College

We returned for a visit to The Cheltenham Ladies' College as there is so much to see, far too much of interest for just one visit.

Again, Rachel, the archivist took us round. This time it was in term time, so there were girls around, though I gather many were in Field. We were joined by 3 members of staff who were brushing up on their history.

Delicious pieces of cake greeted us in the GCR, where we were briefly joined by the Principal, Eve. A quick return to the PAC, then off to the bus home! A great afternoon out.

Thursday 24 May 2012

An outing with the GFWI

Three members from Winchcombe, plus one brave man, set off early in the morning for an outing to Wells. We were lucky the bus was run by Castleways, so we could pick it up in Winchcombe!
After 3 more pick-ups round Cheltenham we set off on a misty morning. On arrival at Wells we quickly got into a tour round the Bishops' Palace and Gardens. It was so informative and interesting, though still in the mist.
Audrey and I had lunch, and in the sun, walked to the Cathedral then to the most famous Street, Vicar's Close, where we had been advised to look at the windows in #22. They were the old original very small windows.
A short time to see the local shops, then home. A great day out!

Tuesday 22 May 2012

Winchcombe WI off to the movies!

A morning at the Roses Theatre, again the decadence of it....We went to see 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'. It was superb, of course great actors, the one that made it for me was Maggie Smith, but the rest of the caste was awesome too.
A well spent morning out!

Tuesday 15 May 2012

Quiz time at the WI!

Our monthly meeting was fun as we had a picture quiz organised by Sally and Linda. Sadly my table wasn't on top....

We also had the resolution, read out by Sally and we unanimously voted for more midwives.

No speaker this month, but I think we all enjoyed the chance to speak to each other. The bring and buy stall was in aid of our charity, the bench we are donating to Winchcombe in celebration of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

Wednesday 2 May 2012

Lunch Club at the Wesley Bistro

Ten of us met at the Wesley House Bistro for the second lunch get together. We all enjoyed the different food, with a tapas starter, and a main dish. Many also added a dessert!

Conversation flowed, and we all felt it is a good chance to socialize with the members.

Wednesday 25 April 2012

1st monthly walk!

For our first walk, Doreen took us to start the walk at Dumbleton Hall, the carrot on the stick being lunch there at the end..

It was an easy amble down to the village, very pretty countryside, charming village, but Doreen and Adeline wanted to walk across fields, Valerie, Val and Diana were happier to just go more slowly.

We found fields on the way back to the Hall, with a detour by the village church. As Doreen had lived there and knew the area well, we were given a great history of the Hall and Village.

After a good lunch, we toured the lovely gardens, and were so happy to see bluebells flowering in the woods above the Hall, an added bonus!

Sadly, Adeline forgot her camera, but we all enjoyed the outing. Next walk will be a little more difficult!!

Tuesday 17 April 2012

Confessions of a Morris Man

April 17th, Monthly Meeting.

Mike Ledbury gave an interesting talk on his time as a Morris man, demonstrated with dance and music. We enjoyed the light afternoon's entertainment!

Wednesday 4 April 2012

The Lunch Group

We had our first meal out as a group at the Wesley House. 8 of our WI members were there, and agreed it was lovely to lunch out! The next lunch is to be the Wesley Bistro, first Wednesday in May

Saturday 31 March 2012

Cinderella on Ice

The Theatre on Ice presented the internationally acclaimed Russian Ice Stars in a truly magical production of the well loved fairytale, Cinderella.
The Russian Ice Stars delivered a dazzling interpretation of this enchanting story loved by all ages. The high-speed combination of extraordinary skating and breath-taking aerial feats, beautifully staged, left us mesmerised.

We all enjoyed the show very much, it was fast, furious and the miming was superb. The refurbished Everyman Theatre is spectacular, and we had a great afternoon out!

Tuesday 20 March 2012

March Monthly Meeting

After a lively meeting, we had a fabulous talk from Richard Cann on Stained Glass. He was so interesting, focusing the talk round the glass in Gloucester Cathedral. Certainly after that we will never look at stained glass in quite the same way....

Tuesday 13 March 2012

The Iron Lady

A morning at the Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury to see the film about one of the post war great Prime Ministers. The writer was disappointed as she felt too much time was spent with the older Margaret Thatcher, and not enough as she was as PM. Also too much flitting from one personae to another. Others really enjoyed the film...

Tuesday 21 February 2012

Tuesday February 21st 2012, monthly meeting

This month Gordon Ottewell was due to talk to us, however he wasn't well, so Jill Salmon came to give us an amazing talk  on the customs and costumes of SW China. She had brought many pieces of clothing, all exquisitely hand embroidered, wonderful colours and design. It definitely seemed like another world!

Tuesday 17 January 2012

Tuesday January 17th, 2012. Monthly Meeting

A rare insight

Yesterday the speaker was Eve Jardine-Young, the new Principal of The Cheltenham Ladies' College.

Eve told us of the journey she had made in her life to end in September 2011 as the new Principal. Then she went onto describe some of the life in College, not just for the girls, but also for the staff. She described how far they sometimes need to travel for school or work.

She took many questions from the floor, which ended in a reflection of the longevity of current pupils, very thought provoking. She also mentioned starting a grandparent group, which would be dear to our hearts!

It was a truly interesting and inspirational talk