Press Reports
Press report: Norbury & district WI pre-Christmas visit to Abbey-Cwm-Hir
From time to time we experience a truly unique visit and Norbury & district WI pre Christmas outing proved to be just that, we were joined by other WI members and friends. The day proved to be remarkable, not only did we have magnificent sunny weather (hard to believe I know) but a wonderful destination too. The Hall at Abbey-Cwm-Hir meaning Abbey of the Long Valley near Llandridrod Wells was where we were heading; it is a grade 2 listed building and a fine example of
Victorian Gothic Revival architecture. Built in 1834 by Thomas Wilson, the Hall was then doubled in size by the Phillips family who went on to add the amazing snooker room in 1894.Paul and Victoria Humphertson have been the current owners since 1997 Paul and his son told us of their very interesting story on how the family have spent 9 years restoring the Hall into this building of Gothic splendour. Every one of the 52 rooms is beautifully decorated for Christmas enhancing each room
to its full potential.
There are twenty four fireplaces throughout the Hall fourteen being made from marble each one lovingly restored. Rococo ceilings enhance the formal rooms; the restoration is superb and took many months to complete. In the Minton tiled hallway and beneath the stained glass lantern roof is the wonderful mahogany staircase which rises to the first floor bedrooms and bathrooms; themed rooms continue throughout the house the attention to detail is encouraging. Victoria has designed and
made most of the soft furnishings, commissioned a local artist to paint pictures of the Hall throughout its former glory years and designed or sought furniture to evoke the memories of the period. A quirky part to the Hall is its own interior bar and refreshment area this is where we enjoyed a light lunch - we were surrounded by many original enamel advertising signs as well as an old red telephone call box, it was indeed a scene from yesteryear. Paul also pointed out the
ruins of the largest Cistercian abbey in Wales where legend says that it is the final resting place of Llewellyn ap Gruffydd who was killed nearby in 1282. Our Group certainly enjoyed every treasure; we departed the Hall in a blazing deep red sunset knowing that our organisers, Janet Brandon and Shirley Betton are already planning a return excursion to the 12 acres of landscaped grounds which overlook the church and ruins of the 12th century Cistercian Abbey.
Press Report of November 2008 meeting
Press Report for Norbury & District WIThursday, 13th November 2008 November Meeting had an upside down feel to it because it started with our speaker slot being brought forward to 7.30pm this being due to our AGM taking place later in the evening. Our speaker's were Ian & Hilary Templeton, unfortunately, Hilary was away in the USA and so was replaced by a friend Barbara. Our president Mary Atkins briefly explained the topsy-turvy evening and Ian commenced with the most amazing presentation of 'Pictures in Harmony' they consisted of short films and stunning images, each with narration and set to appropriate music. Houseman's Shropshire was a particular favourite. Houseman's wonderful poems evoked warmth and feeling and certainly captured our beautiful County. By coincidence Ian also us showed us images of Abbey Cwm Hir which our WI were soon to be visiting, it gave us an insight as to what we might expect to see. Ian's presentation was both brilliant and professional and all in aid of 'The Air Ambulance'. Business was swift with Mary wishing good luck to our three darts teams in their forthcoming matches. Mary thanked Maureen for the lovely cyclamen which she kindly gave to be included in the raffle. Reminders included the group carol service at Edgton as well as pick up times for our pre-Christmas outing. Our AGM now commenced with Mary Atkins being returned for her fifth year as president and Rita Preston welcomed as a newcomer onto our committee. Full details of officers' duties will be announced at December meeting. Mary read a report detailing our 2007/2008 year it was both interesting and concise and certainly reminded us of all that had gone on during this period. By this time we were all ready for the delicious supper prepared for us by Margaret Davies, Margaret Wells and Judy Sheard. Our competition was for a picture that suggests a piece of music there were many entries with Rita Preston 1st, Jane Pugh 2nd, and Brenda Jones 3rd. Well done to all who had entered.
Next Meeting: Christmas Party - Thursday 11th December 2008 - Speaker: Ruth Moore-Williams, 'Entertainment with a Christmas Theme.
Press Report of October 2008 meeting
Thursday, 9th October 2008
Our President, Mary Atkins welcomed us all, thanking Thelma on behalf of Elsie for the lovely table flowers. Congratulations were conveyed to Lydbury North WI for a very successful Clun Valley North Group Meeting which had been enjoyed by several members. Also enjoyed was the County dinner which was held at the new Shrewsbury Football Club. It turned out to be a very entertaining evening with Christine Hamilton as our speaker she was funny and bounced her jokes off husband Neil, there were no surprises where Christine was concerned she is in real life exactly the same as when on television. And the new football ground venue was superb.
Business included handing out voting papers for the electing of next years committee, updates on our forthcoming darts matches and details of Abby Cwm Hir trip on 19th November. Business dealt with Mary introduced our speaker: Stella Mitchell, her talk was about her Museum 'Land of lost content' based in Craven Arms. Stella had moved in April 2003 to the Old Market Hall in Craven Arms it was a mammoth task to move her entire collection from West Sussex which she had been collecting over a period of about 35 years. Her collection of yesteryear is from a time when nearly everything was British or made or produced in Blighty. She has everything from old zinc baths, early televisions, liberty bodices and bloomers and even school knickers. If you can imagine your old great granny's house full of useful clutter you can bet that Stella will have every item in her museum! She is still adding to her collection and gets many weird and wonderful things donated it seems amazing how these everyday day products from yesteryear survive!
Stella was an absolute delight being both funny and extremely knowledgeable on all her exhibits, along with husband Dave she runs this independent museum it certainly is a treat and local too!
Our competition carried on the theme of bygone eras with a ceramic bed pan, cut throat razor, cast iron cooking pot, farm implements even an old 45 record and much more. Carol Buxton won with her bedpan (not currently in use) and Kate Robinson won the raffle prize of some very useful bulbs.
Next Meeting: Thursday 13th November 2008 - Speaker: Ian & Hilary Templeton 'Slide show with music' also AGM.
Press Report of July 2008 meeting
Thursday, 10th July 2008
An evening out in rural Shropshire "In the Garden"
Anyone that has been to one of Carol and Stuart Buxton's open garden events knows exactly what a beautiful place it is so on this showery evening Norbury WI descended on 'Marehay', Ratlinghope. This idyllic setting is in the Stiperstone's area of natural beauty. Carol, a Norbury WI member and former president greeted us with her usual smile and warmth and suggested that we strolled round the garden straight away to avoid the imminent showers that had been forecast. Our newer members gazed in awe at this masterpiece that Stuart and Carol had lovingly created out of a completely wild and natural landscape. Interestingly, 'Marehay' was featured in the Shropshire Star garden competition and deservedly won third place in the Garden of the Year 2007 this fact alone describes the calibre of the design and planting of their very rural 1.25 acre plot.
When all members were indoors we commenced with our Business which included discussions about our Eisteddfod trip on the previous day, the weather was dreadful but most of us enjoyed the International Music and Dance within the main Pavilion. The visit did portray exactly what the event is about, uniting people through music from all over the world.
Our President, Mary Atkins then introduced Clun Valley North delegate, Mary Evans to relate her experiences at the NFWI AGM held in Liverpool. Her first visit to Liverpool didn't disappoint it is the European Capital of Culture for 2008. There were two resolutions to be voted on and the first "Calling for government to change the way mentally ill are treated in prison" was carried with 97% of the votes. The second, "Ban on Bottom Trawling" was a closely run debate with 3335 against and 3051 for. Philip Mc Mullin head of environment Sea fish Industry Authority was jeered when he said the WI's reputation would be damaged if they passed the resolution.
Also, congratulations to Bishop's Castle WI on their 90th anniversary. Our president Mary Atkins, secretary Margaret Cooke and Margaret Wells were invited to their celebration and enjoyed a three course supper with entertainment by a very versatile group of musicians called In-Voice. It was a well organised event which all three enjoyed.
Also, member Elsie Corfield was sent a bouquet and many 'Happy 80th Birthday wishes'. By this time we were all gasping for a tea or coffee and to indulging in the tempting food prepared by Margaret, Brenda and Ann.
The quiz was won by Rita Preston and the raffle by June Pinches.
Mary rounded off the evening with a very big thank you to Carol and Stuart for allowing us to enjoy their Home & Garden.
Reminders: Norbury & District WI - Thursday, August 14th - See Programme entry
Thursday September 11th Diana Arseneau 'Glass Bead Making - It's History & Art'
Press Report of June 2008 meeting
Thursday, 5th June 2008
Tickling the Taste buds - Speaker Janet Boult
On this beautiful summer evening Norbury Village Hall was bulging at the seams as our President, Mary Atkins welcomed members and visitors to our Guest Night they included WI members' from Bishop's Castle, Chirbury, Churchstoke, Lydham and Lydbury North.
It was a very busy evening much activity around the Bring & Buy, Raffle and Plant Stall. Member, Nid Garratt provided the plant stall and also donated two beautiful hanging baskets for the raffle. These were won by two Bishop's Castle members.
Business was swift and included congratulations to Mainstone WI on their 50th Anniversary where Mary and Secretary Margaret Cooke attended a fantastic party celebration. Also, there was mention of Clun Valley North (Lydbury North hosting) Group Quiz - we will gloss over the results, although our 'Norbury Nobbler's' did manage a prize - all four won a very useful wooden spoon!!!
Mary also sent get well wishes to County Chair: Rosemary Hamilton and hoped she soon would have a speedy recovery.
Mary then introduced our speaker, Janet Boult. Norbury had had Janet last year talking about the Llangollen Eisteddfod which impressed us so much that we have an outing booked for Wednesday 9th July. However, this time was completely different, Janet, a retired Home Economics teacher decided to 'Tickle our Taste Buds' trying out new flavours and food combinations, each ingredient containing rich sources of vitamins and minerals. The juicing processes ranged from Apple & Carrot Juice to an Apple Cleanser the latter containing beetroot; these juices can all be diluted with sparkling water, lemonade or even Canada Dry ginger! Her salad bar included 1) Bulgar Wheat, Tomato and Nut Salad; 2) Green Bean Salad both being served with a very versatile French Dressing. The main course was a delicious Leek Croustade prepared earlier for Derek (Janet's assistant/other half) to watch over in our oven. You can imagine the delightful aromas that filled our Hall. Last but not least the sweet, Poached Pears with Ginger and Star Anise - by this stage of the demonstration the echo of tums rumbling resounded around the walls, we were all anxious to taste these culinary pleasures. The whole experience didn't disappoint, our taste buds were indeed tickled! And, as an added bonus - we were given all the recipes too!!
With much applause, Christine Mansell gave the vote of thanks, it was a very successful evening.
Rita Preston won the competition with 'three petit-fours' all home made!!
Next Meeting; 'In the Garden' will be on Thursday, 10th July 2008 at the very beautiful Marehay, Ratlinghope.
Press Report of May 2008 meeting
Norbury & District WI president Mary Atkins opened the May meeting with a warm welcome to all of our members and sent well wishes for those who sent their apologies. Our Annual dinner at The Inn on the Green, Wentnor had been well attended by members and partners who enjoyed a three course carvery meal it was a night of good food and lots of friendly banter.
Six of our members had attended The Annual Council Meeting 2008 at the Music Hall it was enjoyed by all who went. The speakers were very interesting and in particular Steve Leonard, TV presenter and vet. Also, Yorkshire tea have sent their usual 'goody box' to each WI along with vouchers and a reminder to send back tokens for their Trees for life appeal. Quote "Last year alone, our token collecting helped plant 200,000 trees and supported life- changing projects in the Ganges River Basin in northeast India".
Business dealt with our president introduced our speaker Mary Smith, a local lady from Church Stretton her subject "Meal Time Manners". Mary told us a short history of why, what & how we eat. The link with past and present is clear, she explains - the Crusader knights impressed by the culinary paradise they found in the Holy Land brought back sugar cane and spices for preserving food, also, Damask cloths which still grace our tables today, most members owned up to owning one or two! Meissen the china maker copied the sugar makers ideas when making his figurines; in the C13 mess of potage (meat & veg) was shared by all hence the name 'mess mates' the name is still used today. Her talk included the 'silver spoon' first used in C16 a rare commodity used by the gentry hence the saying "born with a silver spoon in his mouth". She also mentioned the lack of social graces in modern living - apparently half the population do not have a dining table and prefer to eat off a tray in front of the television conversation being kept to a minimum. Her talk was both humorous and informative and we all enjoyed the interesting way she presented it.
Mary Atkins gave the vote of thanks and hoped that in the near future we would be hearing Mary do her other talk on antiques.
Our president thanked Doris Roberts for the beautiful table flowers and also Anne Litthales, Margaret Rowson & Jules Spille for a delicious supper. The competition was won by Rita Preston.
Next meeting June 12th is our Guest Night with Bring & Buy - Speaker: Janet Boult 'Tickling the Taste Buds'.
Press Report of April 2008 meeting
Our President, Mary Atkins, welcomed members, new member Jane Ingram and visitor Rachel along to our April meeting and thanked Janet Brandon for the beautiful flowers. Business was dealt with swiftly mentioning that NFWI Public Affairs Resolutions to be voted on at the 2008 AGM were: 1) Ban on Bottom Trawling and 2) Inappropriate Imprisonment of the Severely Mentally Ill. Full issues on each subject and contact details are available through www.thewi.org.uk web site.
The finals for WI darts were played on 3rd April at Greenlands Club, Shrewsbury. Norbury's A team were knocked out but the C team made it through to the semi finals it was a good fun night. Next season we may try and have four teams and hope some more WI's will play too.
Also discussed, Norbury & District WI will soon have relevant information included on a new web site for our area. www.shrop.net/myndtown it is very early days as the site is under construction and will need much content to make it an interesting site.
Our speaker for this evening was John Palfreyman - 'Magic from 5000BC'
John, a proud octogenarian performed his first magic performance in 1933 in an annual Scout Show and his first paid show in 1941 was for half a Guinea (52.5p). His CV is a long catalogue of his achievements from being a member of The Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star to his many performances including The London Palladium, London Hilton, Royal Albert Hall to name but a few, not forgetting his local - Minsterley Village Parish Hall.
He introduced his talk explaining the oldest trick in magic - the cups and balls. John's magical history tour takes on many forms and being an expert magic advisor and technician for television and radio he has worked on shows for many famous people such as; David Nixon, Tommy Cooper, Little & Large, Des O'Connor, Parkinson and Magic from Euro Disney he had may tales to tell us. He ended his talk with a few tricks which were duly assisted by members', Jules, Shelagh and Mary. His card tricks involved audience participation of Christine, Margaret and others.
Christine Mansell gave the vote of thanks and invited John and partner/assistant Dorothy to join us for a superb supper prepared by Shirley Betton, Rose Jones & Jane Semple. The draw was won by Jane Semple and the competition 'A single bloom', was won by Margaret Rowson, second Jane Pugh and third Rita Preston.
Press Report of March 2008 meeting
District WI March meeting started in the usual way with President, Mary Atkins welcoming members and visitors. As with all WI's the meeting evolved in the usual way discussing business and forthcoming events. Our monthly Shropshire WI news included the good news that two new WIs have been formed in our Federation. The Resolutions to be debated at the AGM were also announced. 1) Ban on Bottom Trawling and 2) Inappropriate Imprisonment of the mentally ill.
Good news for our 'A' darts team they are through to the final at Greenland's Social Club on 3rd April. The C team will have a play -off on Tuesday against Harmer Hill best of luck to them.
Congratulations were in order for member, Margaret Rowson who nominated our local Norbury School for 'The Shropshire Stars' scoop Star prizes. Margaret, a former teacher at the school and grandmother of pupil Thomas was delighted. The prize worth £2000 will provide many extras for the school. Brilliant!!!
Mary then introduced our speakers for this evening; Tracy Mcgill and Glynn Davies, both local fire officers working for the Shropshire Fire & Rescue Service.
They stressed the importance of fire safety and awareness in the home, Glynn did a very in depth presentation with visual effects and explained the advantages of the smoke alarm. Although a lot of the advice is common sense it certainly made us aware that by doing a checklist on each room and exit will help us identify potential hazards. They quoted that every year there are more than 68,000 fires in people's homes resulting in 400 deaths and 13,800 injuries. Tracy and Glynn demonstrated the latest ten year smoke alarm and explained that they have installed several in our area. Cards were given out to arrange a free home safety check to include free smoke alarm and general safety advice. The evening provided essential fire prevention information and by doing their practical checklist should reduce the chance of fire in our homes. Our thanks go to Tracy & Glynn.
Our evening concluded with hostesses: Sue Pinches, Rita Preston and Liv Goode providing delicious supper - June Pinches provided a beautiful azalea plant and the competition 'best safety tip' were 1st Jayne Godsman, 2nd Nid Garratt, joint 3rd Rose Jones & Rita Preston. Raffle was won by Sue Pinches.
Press Report of February 2008 meeting
President Mary Atkins welcomed old and new members to Norbury & District WI February meeting, unfortunately two members had experienced recent tragic family loss and so we reflected for a few moments in respect of each person.
The meeting evolved in the usual way discussing business and forthcoming events, one of which is a planned visit to Llangollen's Eisteddfod. In June 2007 we had a very professional talk 'The World in Harmony' from Janet Boult who had whetted our appetite into going along to the event - watch this space for further information.
Since our January meeting Norbury's A, B, & C dart teams had played several games against other WIs which included Pitchcroft, Wem, Edstaston & Coton and Yockleton. We seem to spend a good deal of time travelling to these events; luckily the weather has been kind to us so let us hope it continues. A trip to Llanybodel WI is scheduled for 18th February it is a good way to meet our fellow WI ladies - we are hoping for a win though!
Our speaker for this evening was Jean Ryan telling of her 'Memories of an Air Hostess' during the 1950's. She entertained us with many interesting bygone tales, apparently in those days your hips were measured to make sure that you were slim enough to get comfortably down the aisle of the plane without turning sideways. With a twinkle in her eye she related the practical jokes that the flight crew played on each other and explaining the scary landing at London Airport in thick fog when she was called into the cockpit to look for a land mark that might be recognisable and help with landing the aircraft - however, it did land safely. Jean's talk was a voyage into the past and very enlightening too.
Our evening concluded with hostesses: Jenny Burdett, Christine Mansell and June Pinches presenting a delicious Valentine's supper - Monica Collins provided an appropriate red rose flower display. The competition evoking memories of the 1950's 1st, 2nd & 3rd were Margaret Rowson, Mary Akins and Kate Robinson. Raffle was won by Christine Mansell.
Press Report of January 2008 meeting
Our President, Mary Atkins welcomed us all to our first meeting of 2008. Happy New year wishes were in abundance and murmurings of the inevitable slimming and get fit resolutions were bandied about waiting to be broken!
After business which included general discussion of future events and possible fund raising activities we were told that due to personal sadness our speaker, Tomasina Carlyle had to cancel tonight's 'Masks for Theatre' talk.
And so, from time to time the committee has to speedily gather together some alternative entertainment and for this meeting a surprise was in store for us all. Nid Garratt, stage director, play and sketch writer, quiz master and "it will be alright on the night" etc. etc. compiled an evening miscellany of hilarious sketches, and jokes. The evening went well with many members each being 'railroaded' into taking part in doing a 'turn' . It is difficult to put
laughter and enjoyment into words but the Battle of Waterloo sketch modelled on modern day political correctness and health and safety rules had us all in stitches. Nelson (Nid) and "kiss me Hardy" (Margaret Cooke) certainly made for an hilarious evening.
We had a scrumptious supper prepared by Janet Brandon, Jacky Horridge and Carol Buxton. The raffle was won by June Pinches and the competition - a homemade mask was won by Jayne Godsman.