What a month we have had.

First a VERY BIG THANK YOU to everyone who supported us on the last day of the month when we had our fund-raising Tea Party.  Our committee had been planning this event for a few months, posters had been printed and placed around the village and various outlets, leaflets put through doors (that certainly helped with our daily step-count) with tickets available from the village shop.  Would it be a success we wondered?  We shouldn’t have worried.  Our members had been baking – we were overwhelmed with delicious scones and stunning cakes.  The hall looked lovely with bunting put up by members’ husbands – we are so grateful for your help – tables covered with white cloths, lovely china and flowers.  Despite a damp start to the day, the sun came out, so we had gazebos outside, also put up by supportive husbands.  We all took a deep breath after a chaotic morning of preparation.

Our members, husbands and many of you from the village arrived to enjoy the afternoon.  Our only complaint is that you didn’t eat enough!  Nevertheless, we offered cakes and scones for sale at the end of the afternoon.

Thank you to everyone who helped make the day a success, whether you delivered leaflets, baked cakes and scones, lent us china, helped on the day, donated a raffle prize or bought a ticket – we are so grateful.  Thanks also go to Adam, son of our member Stephanie, who designed our posters and tickets.  We wait to hear from our treasurer how all of this hard work translates to the amount we raised. 

As you can imagine everyone involved was very tired at the end of the day.

For our June meeting, unusually we met on a Tuesday afternoon.  Funded by our Pamela King Bursary we enjoyed a visit to Featherstone’s Flower Farm in Nether Wallop.  We wanted it to be dry, but in fact we enjoyed an afternoon when England was at its best.  It was hot, there were hats and parasols as we walked around their lovely, coloured field of assorted flowers.  The surrounding scenery was stunning. This was followed by tea and cake in their centuries old tithe barn.  It was a cool oasis for us on this June afternoon, but it can be very cold in winter apparently.   We are very grateful to Pamela King’s family for our Bursary, but there are limitations as to how this fund can be used.    

We were joined on this visit by a visitor from Australia.  Melanie is a member of the South Australia County Women’s Association which in turn is a member of the Association of Country Women Worldwide to which the NFWI also belongs.  Melanie has been touring the UK and visiting various WIs and had asked if she could join us.  She and her husband also attended our tea party – bringing some lemonade scones (we now have the recipe) and delicious Anzac biscuits.  We so much enjoyed meeting you both. 

Naturally we also enjoyed all our usual activities throughout the month, reading, chatting at our coffee morning and walking around Goodworth Clatford followed by lunch at The Royal Oak. 

We return to the Village Hall for our meeting on 25 July when we will be enjoying a plant swap/sale.  Some members have been taking cuttings, planting seeds and searching round their garden for seedlings to bring along.   As always, we welcome non-members.  Please come along to the Village Hall for a 7.30 p.m. start.

DIARY DATES:

 03 July  – Book Club – Dobbies Garden Centre 10.30 a.m.
11 July  – Coffee Morning – Sports Pavilion at 10.30 a.m. (£2 to include refreshments)
                     Non-members welcome
13 July – Walking Group
25 July – Monthly Meeting Abbotts Ann Village Hall 7.30 p.m.