Bake Off revelations at WI Meeting

Audlem WI April Meeting

Now that we have matured somewhat, and go to Crufts rather than Glastonbury, we Audlem Ladies consider our monthly outings to WI meetings to be akin to previously attending all night raves in our youth!

WI ladies have a collective wisdom that transcends politics and world events, we choose to direct our knowledge into everyday events and we know that whoever said childbirth was the most painful thing in the world has obviously never stepped on a piece of lego in bare feet!

We are at the forefront of technology, because we have taken the time to learn and make life a little easier for ourselves, apart from the effort it now takes us to scroll down far enough to find our ages, we know that if we feel like an argument, all we have to do is put the Caps Lock on whilst typing an email.

And so it came to pass that April, with all its showers and winds, failed to deter our hardy members as they battled their way to our first evening meeting of the year in the Guide and Scout Hall.

If you're looking for a collection of the finest soggy bottoms, dough balls and warm buns, you need to look no further than Audlem WI, as this month our speaker was to be Diana Beard, infamously known for ice cream melting events that happened on 'The Great British Bake Off,' and we were looking forward to hearing her side of that story!

Audlem WI ladies are well known for both their open mindedness and baking skills, so we had a large turnout, tuning our well oiled cogs in expectation of insider revelations of what is rapidly becoming a Great British Institution. We were not to be disappointed.............

Our hardy President Lin Nicholas, freshly washed and polished after a day out admiring the snow on the Pennines with her daughter – just an everyday event for a WI lady – rose in her seat, having finally mastered the microphone, and speedily covered essential information before introducing our speaker Diana Beard.

Now, before I start ranting, as I am wont to do, on behalf of Audlem WI I would like to thank Jackie Creber, who in the absence of several committee members took over the offices of Piano Tuner, Secretary, Birthday Flower arranger, Tea lady organiser and jolly good egg! Thanks Jackie.

Diana Beard took to the stage – our memories of that "Bake Off' moment fresh in our minds. It could have been an innocent mistake, of course. A simple case of forgetfulness. After all Diana is rather grey and bound to be a bit absent minded. Right?

It was the moment that made the entire audience of the Great British Bake Off freeze in horror, which was ironic, as poor Iain Watters's melting Baked Alaska had well and truly failed to.

Let's face it, Diana had a lot to live up to. Before the series began she was touted as the 'oldest contestant' (she was 69) and painted as rather a sweet old dear, who didn't take heed of any modern nonsense. We learnt that she was brought up on a farm, joined the Women's Institute at 12, met her husband at 16 and that her proudest moment was baking her daughter's wedding cake.
She was set up as the kindly grandma of the series. Stiff upper lip and stiff whipped peaks all the way.

All of which might be true. But none of us is a saint. And she was bound to fall from her doily covered pedestal.......or was she pushed?

The cracks began to show when she was spotted wearing a bright pink and black pair of Nike Air Max trainers, she had just had a knee operation and these were for comfort, this just didn't fit the cake mould. Eyebrows were raised on social media It became clear that there was more to Diana than met the eye.

There was silence in the room as we listened to the real truth of the story, and we were enraged!

It was obvious that Diana had been "stitched up" and that the "knives were out" for her (presumably shaking the foundations of the NDA clause in her Bake Off contract).

The fact is, we're used to seeing fresh-faced reality stars painted as 'evil'. We think nothing of it when they're forced into manufactured scenarios for our entertainment.

After all, they know what they're letting themselves in for. In our eyes, the younger generation are pretty much fair game when it comes to being used as producer's puppets. But it's unfair that an older woman be treated the same as someone in 'Big Brother'. Age should be respected in all areas of life, including this one.

Sadly, though, if you put yourself up for reality TV then you do open yourself up to things like this.

It's unfair and extremely cynical to have treated Diana this way. Especially, as an older woman, she may not be up to speed on the public 'head in the stocks' way we judge people now.

The controversy also whipped up anger against Diana, who left the show after being injured in a fall before the next episode was filmed.

Not only was she unfairly accused of wrongdoing by the media but she lost her senses of taste and smell due to a freak accident, caused by the stress the programme put her under.

It might just be that her advanced age is one of the reasons we find the whole thing so shocking. Not only because we thought Diana too mature to become embroiled in such supposed shenanigans, but because we don't expect a show like Bake Off – a flagship programme for the venerable BBC – to allow a mature lady to be caught up in a scandal that they, with a bit of judicious editing, could have avoided, thereby averting the media outcry which impacted on Diana's health and wellbeing.

In my view, if ever there were a reason not to take part in a reality TV show, here is a sound one, and I think all of the other WI members listening agreed. We were just glad to see that Diana retained her sense of humour and is enjoying a resurgence as a speaker.

Rant over!

Fired with outrage, tea came as a welcome diversion and we gathered around Diana to show our combined support as we munched on delicious goodies from the tea table.

Diane kindly judged the 'Cupcake Competition' and Joyce Clydesdale came first, Ann Thirlwall second.

I make all of my friends cupcakes as the fatter they get the thinner I look and it's a well known fact that too much cake makes your clothes shrink, so shopping for new ones becomes the order of the day!

The raffle was won by Christine Plume and Anne Hollins, and birthday flowers were presented to Pat Clarke, Sue Davies, Sheila Harris, Betty Minns and Christine Plume.

See you all next month, that's if I'm not being sued by the BBC!

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