W.I.September Meeting Report

Here comes September, and as summer makes way for the football season and Ralph's colourful AudlemOnline write ups, it's time for Audlem WI ladies to don their winter woollies and prepare for the onslaught of Christmas gift ideas clogging up our shops whilst we are still rummaging in the sales bins for a new bikini, ready for our late, cut price, sun seeking holidays.............and whilst we are talking about the festive season, don't forget to post your parcels early so that they can be lost in good time for Christmas – just another helpful hint from the WI.

Someone once said, and it could have been me, that summer is like the ultimate one night stand.......hot as hell, totally thrilling and gone before you know it! No more dancing naked in the sun to the tunes of yesteryear, ladies, with the only slight setback being that not everything stops when the music does!

Yes, sadly summer is coming to an end and it's time to officially remember which day of the week it is!

Over the past six months, Audlem WI ladies have been offered the opportunity to learn several new skills. The first was iPad training, and I know my husband has proved to be highly beneficial in this area, as many members have now learnt how to remove the iPad from it's packaging, how to switch it on and how to look as if they know what they are doing! The next lesson entails 'how to touch the icons without spoiling your nail varnish'.

Being an absolute whizz with the iPad myself – just ask Helen Dunlop – I decided to attempt to learn bridge, confident that our highly skilled bridge playing members – Doreen Hubbard, Anne Hollins, Christine Harper and Christina Lawson – would have me up to scratch in no time. How wrong could I be?

Bridge is a game of skill, but also a game of psychology and you have to come to the bridge table with a thick skin. It is essentially a social game, and If you have the slightest touch of masochism, you'll love it! 

Because every hand is different, the intellectual challenge of bridge never ceases. Besides, and more importantly, it has been said that, ' if you don't play bridge, you'll have a miserable old age.' Since that time is now getting closer, this is no time for my interest in bridge to lag or diminish!

I have learnt that it's not the handling of difficult hands that makes the winning player, as there aren't enough of them. It's the ability to avoid messing up the easy ones. One advantage of bad bidding is that you get practice at playing atrocious contracts and
regardless of what sadistic impulses we may harbour, winning bridge means helping your partner avoid mistakes.

I favour light opening bids. When you're my age, you can never be sure that the bidding will get back around to you again and I am getting known for my forcing hesitations! I have also realised that the real test of a bridge player isn't in keeping out of trouble, but in escaping once your in it.

Sometimes we have partnership misunderstandings, my partner assumes that I know what I'm doing, and if anyone should pass by our bridge table and hear such comments as 'Lay down and let's see what you've got,' or 'I've got strength, but no length' well, quite frankly, the mind boggles!

Audlem WI isn't just a once a month meeting, in between there are Mah Jong games, Scrabble, Bridge, iPad training, the formation of a new lunch club and numerous exciting outings – we're no couch potatoes!

Normally the committee arrives early for our meetings to ensure that the room configuration enables our members to barge through the chairs to bag the best seats and sit with their friends. This is, of course, after they have signed the register – it's just like school – purchased raffle tickets, this month skilfully handled by Christine Salisbury, placed their competition entries on the allocated table, making sure their entries were in a prominent position for judging, and perused the sales table.

However this month, we arrived to discover that our President, Lin Nicholas, had decided to tackle the microphone issue early, before embarrassing herself in front of our members, and she had attached said microphone to her cardigan and to her delight, it was working!

The rest of us huddled together, unsure whether to tell her that a price tag was attached to her attire, however on closer inspection we realised it merely said 'Do not forget to switch off'. Presuming it meant the microphone, rather than Lin, order was restored.

June Perry, looking rather swish in a pair of silver sandals, ( I'm getting worried about these iPad lessons, our members are trawling the dating sites now ) played a faultless rendering of 'Jerusalem', before Lin, price tag still dangling, opened the meeting with the usual acceptance of minutes and Doreen Hubbard whizzed through the paperwork.

Maggie Phillips, who is supporting 'The Kerry West Orphanage Project' displayed a dozen knitted jumpers, with more to come, which will be part of the school uniform for the children. She also made a plea for any unwanted or outgrown grey school uniform skirts or trousers to be given to her, as well as any small soft toys which the children will have as Christmas presents. Following a collection from our WI and The Embroiderers Guild, Maggie has sent off a cheque for £150 to help the orphanage and if you do have any donations, clothes or soft toys, please contact Maggie on 811362 and for further information followhttp://www.kworphans.com

Whilst we are on this subject, may we all pass on our grateful thanks to Ann Pearce, who whilst still in recovery from a challenging open drain incident, ( the drain won ), like the stalwart she is, has so far knitted five jumpers and is on her sixth! You can never keep a good WI woman down.

Lin introduced our speaker, Mrs Audrey Watson, who was going to give a talk on 'A Sister in a Children's Home'.

The founding father of the National Children's Home, also known at different times as 'The Children's Home', 'The National Children's Home & Orphanage', and now as 'Action for Children' was Thomas Bowman Stephenson.

Audrey first came to hear about the children's home when she was in her teens and sold 'Sunny Smiles' through her Methodist Sunday school.
With great power of recall, our ladies nodded sagely as memories came flooding back.
At your local Sunday School you were given a little booklet featuring detachable photos of engaging toddlers.You were asked to hawk these round friends and family in return for a contribution then you could keep a photo.

Audrey decided that her vocation was to be a Sister with the NCH as the focus at that time was on women being at the heart of a family. She started off as a 'Candidate' for eighteen months, and she was attached to two families of mixed ages and sex headed by two trained Sisters, who showed her that being involved with these children was just like any normal family, they went to school, did jobs around the house and looked out for each other. They were also taken on holiday and given pocket money, once again being encouraged to save half so that they could spend savings on their holiday or buying their friends small birthday presents.

The most important element was that the children were loved and prepared for adult life when they left, often training as apprentices for the boys and nursing for the girls. Not all of the children were orphans, often the mother had died and the father couldn't manage, these parents were encouraged to visit their children once a month.

After 18 months training as a Candidate, Audrey was sent to London to spend a year training to become a Sister, and then she returned to Frodsham and headed her own 'family'.

June Perry gave an eloquent vote of thanks to Audrey Watson before tea and delicious cakes were served – this is why I love the WI, whatever your mood, it is always lifted by the sight of light and airy sponge cakes, home made scones and a hot cup of tea!

During the interval, Audrey judged our competition entries – this month it was ' An old or favourite toy'. The winner, a fine old and loved 78 year old teddy bear, ( not her husband ) was Anne Poole, second, with a Pinnochio puppet was Ann Thirlwall and third, with an old but loved small white teddy was Maggie Phillips.

Tension rose as the raffle was drawn. This must have been Maggie Phillips night as she won first prize, a potted orchid, second was Nola Fisher, third Val Butler – a new member who had only joined that evening – and finally Anne Watson who has stopped entering our competitions as she kept winning and ending up with the silver cup which she had donated!!

Jackie Creber, our 'Jack of all Trades' had arranged the flower bouquets in the absence of Pat Smith who had had the audacity to go on holiday this month. Our birthday ladies were Irene Cunliffe, who caused us all to burst into song as her birthday was that evening, Janice Richards, Pat Winfield and Lin Nicholas, who was still proudly displaying her 'switch off' ticket.

Finally it was time to say goodbye until next month's meeting which should be a cracker as our talk will be on 'The Life and Times of a Busker', and we have had reports that Eric Newton is really humorous and his talks are about his rise to the dizzy heights of the pavement outside Woolworths!

Any further information on Audlem and Malbank outings, Bridge, Scrabble and Mah Jong dates can be found on our website; http://cheshirewi.org.uk/audlem-wi/

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