Burleydam WI gets curios

Carolyn Wilde reports: "Curio – an object of art, piece of bric-à-brac etc valued as a curiosity or rarity. (OED)

"To Terry Davies from Malpas, curios are much more than that. Just observing them, he says, can stimulate the imagination, connect us to the past and remind us of our family history. Holding a stone from a beach in Montenegro can bring back memories. We can feel the sun and almost hear the voices of children playing.

"We see the little pottery dog bought so long ago in Exeter and are transported back to university and those heady first days of independence. What better way to talk to a great nephew about the Great War than to hold the very gift tin his great great grandfather, along with thousands of others fighting in the trenches, received from Princess Mary for Christmas 1914.

"Terry brought a wealth of memories with him. There were shells from the Caribbean (properly exported), hat pins, button hooks, curling tongs with their own little heater and many other items. It is sad to think how many similar examples end up in landfill as houses are cleared.

"Our competitions continue to be popular. This month members were challenged to find who could put the most items into a small match box. The winner was Ann Rutter, Hilda Sadler was second and Helen Stevenson third. Tea and cakes were provided by Sheila Beeston, Gladys Burrough and Sarah Lunt and the raffle winners were Margaret Hollins, Gladys Burrough and Ann Blackburn.

"Members decided that, as an experiment for 2009, they would not have a meeting in January (except for the Christmas Lunch) and would meet in August instead. Members also received preliminary details of an exciting venture shortly to be offered to the community by Burleydam and District WI. Watch this space!"

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