|
|
|
|
14/5/2017 0 Comments Bargains, Cake & CamaraderieWhat a great turn our last week for our annual Spring Fayre! Thanks to everyone who came along and helped out or just visited and sampled some cake and a free tour of the Winding House. Early totals suggest we raised over £300 which is incredible! We had lots of doggy pals visit too who no doubt enjoyed their biscuit treats and a cold bowl of water. Pets are always welcome to Dynamo House! As well as a secret tombola and crafts, books and plants, this year we had a popular 'Wine or Water' stall with guests taking the risk on their £1 stake for a chance at some well earned vino, and the kids 'panned' for gold or silver in our secret sand pots. The cafe was consistently busy with Debbie's banana cake earning lots of compliments. Of course her cheese scones were gone in no time, and nothing at all to do with Claire eating any. We promise.... It was lovely to see everyone chatting and enjoying a warm community spirit, and although tiring we all enjoyed the day and maybe even found a few new members who realised we aren't all old fuddy-duddies singing Jerusalem and making jam (well some of us make jam, but we won't force you to!) If you want to come along to our May meeting on the 24th, you're guaranteed a warm welcome, a hot brew and a piece of cake or two. All the photos are in our gallery.
0 Comments
28/4/2017 0 Comments Bonnets In BloomWe do love being crafty at BVWI and so it was inevitable we would indulge in a traditional Easter Bonnet Parade at our April meeting! Not only was it fun but it really highlighted how imaginative and creative our members are. Everything from hot cross buns in a basket to bird's nest fascinators and traditional spring flowers. All the bonnets are featured in close up detail over in the gallery. As well as such prancing about, we also enjoyed a talk from Sue MacDonald, a member of FBCP (Friends of Bestwood Country Park) and a former ranger in the Park for over 16 years. Her knowledge of local wildlife is second to none, and even those of us who feel we are quite well versed on English wildlife were very surprised with what we learned. Sue is also a very engaging and funny speaker and we do love a giggle at BVWI! At Bestwood Country Park we are lucky to have a diverse range of wildlife visit and make their homes, all of which can be encouraged by a few changes in the villagers day to day activities and garden design. Hedgehogs are in decline, but are creatures of habit, and tend to have specific routes. The surge in gravel boards and brick walls around gardens have stopped some of these routes, so if you have any gaps, don't fill them up! Also ensure your bird feeders are squirrel proof, and simple sunflower hearts and meal worms are the perfect snack to leave out. Around the park our most regular furry visitors are badgers, foxes, voles and stoats, an occasional weasel and more rarely, the dormouse, which was re-released into Nottingham to help breeding. On the far side of the park, closer to the fire station HQ, Roe deer and Montjack are still seen, and hares and rabbits generally frequent the old 'pit-tip' top. In a move of evolution and mutation, an occasional 'black' squirrel has been spotted as well as the greys. Any walkers around the park at dusk will no doubt have spotted a few bats on their way out, and we have twelve species recorded in Notts alone. We most likely spot the noctule and brown long eared fellows, who are known to lurk around Alexandra Lodge in the evenings. Sue offers bat walks in April and September if you fancy joining her to spot them! An ideal activity for the kids in better weather is to also help record the wildlife you spot - look out for the 'Three F's': Footprints, Fur and Faeces! And teach them of the main concerns - litter and dog fouling - and to always pick up after themselves. If you spot anything interesting, get in touch with Sue via the FBCP website and let her know what you've seen. 24/3/2017 0 Comments The People Behind The CottonWe're spotting daffodils in the hedgerows which means Spring is finally bursting through in Bestwood Village, and what a welcome sight they are! It also signifies the last of our meetings in the Church, and from next month we'll be meeting at Dynamo Cafe again now the evenings are lighter. On Wednesday we welcomed back Stephen Walker, with the second half of his anticipated talk on the Papplewick woods and cotton mills, this time focusing on the people behind the machinery. Stephen is chairman and part of the Millennium Project being undertaken by the parish council at the woods, to excavate and preserve some of the original waterways used by the Robinson mills. In his research into the industrial side of the mills, he discovered that allegations were made in 1907 that Robinson's mills were behind the unmarked graves of around 160 boys buried in Linby, with claims of being 'overworked, and underfed.' This led to many years of Stephen digging around the archives to find out the truth of the 'London Boys.' Image: Top Mill In the 1780's after Robinson's mills were built, he advertised for workers and welcomed their families along with the offer of jobs and houses. Around 80 houses were built specifically for the workers, and schools were located within the mills, as well as a bakery on the Linby site. Robinson was also notorious for poaching workers from other mills in the area. Then in 1790 he began to take batches of 9-11 year old children from St Marylebone workhouse to fill the requirements for workers, each batch numbering approx. 20 children. These children were referred to as 'the London Boys' and usually given apprenticeships until they were 14. In 1808, a batch of children were also brought in from a workhouse in Birmingham. The hours were long - six am to seven pm, with one break for lunch only - and the conditions without doubt would be hot, dirty, and dangerous at times. But the bulk of staff was indeed children, and women, with the average age of a child just nine years old, and responsibilities for jobs like spinning and carding. Records show that at Lower Mill in 1790, staff numbered 100, and included 21 girls, 21 boys, 50 women and 8 men to oversee them all. After apprenticeships, it was usual for the children to move into other mills, and on occasion returned to London. The nature of census taking was at best limited, and around 60% of them disappeared into the 'unknown' category after their time in the mills, leading to the speculation they were the alleged unknown children of the church yard. So does this mean it's true? The general knowledge of mills and working standards would insinuate as much. But surprisingly, only 43 instances of the death of a London Boy was recorded over 20 years of the mills operations, which considering the conditions and the proportion of child workers, is average of the time. Likewise there were less than 20 recorded incidents of London Boys running away from the mills, so despite the hardship they faced, they were not inclined to want to escape. It was also noted that upon inspections, at least 80% of the children in the mills could read and/ or write and they were considered well educated, in good condition and even mentally improving. In 1828, the mills collapsed completely, and were considered old fashioned compared to some. The population of the area dropped off as people went their different ways, and in 1841 the census recorded that the workers houses in Papplewick and Linby remained unoccupied. The bodies remain also unidentified, but it would appear the reason they are there is likely to remain a mystery for a while longer yet... 15/3/2017 0 Comments Happy Birthday to.. Us!We know, we know.. we've been slow on the blog again. Who was it who said, " only good girls keep diaries, because bad girls don't have the time?"! We're not that naughty (honestly) but we have been busy again! After Christmas we had some lovely feedback from our guests, who really enjoyed themselves - as did we! And our January meeting was more about recharging, catching up, playing some games and chatting briefly about our 2017 plans, although our 'WI year' doesn't really start until February when we've had the elections and our birthday! The Coffee Club dates have been set for the year, and plans are afoot for two fundraisers, our Spring and Autumn Fayres in May and September respectively. The Notts County Show competition categories are now set too, so if you fancy baking or crafting an entry on behalf of BVWI, let Brenda know so we make sure we have enough time to register! February saw our 11th birthday and WI Advisor Helen Forrester joined us to oversee the elections for our new President this year. There are a number of changes this year, and the final committee list is on the website. Julie has decided to step down from the committee and BVWI, and we can only offer heartfelt thanks for her support and dedication over the years. Eileen also decided to take a backseat, and while remaining on the committee will not be taking minutes/VP, and Sue also stepped down from committee but more than likely may still pester you for a raffle ticket... Unanimously Brenda was chosen as President again (what can we say, she's doing great things!) but did encourage everyone to consider coming along to a committee meeting and get involved. There will come a day when she decides she's done enough! Brenda also read the Annual Review, and it's only when hearing it all read out that we realise what we've accomplished this year. We've not been short of activities, fundraisers, outings and crafts and have some exciting ideas in the pipeline as we start another great WI Year! But it's not just about what the Committee decides - it's also up to YOU! Suggestions and ideas are always welcome for events, outings, speakers, activities and general support, so if you have a great idea, tell us! Is it just us, or did the last part of 2016 just whizz by in a blur?! No sooner had we entered November, time started galloping along and with a mix of meetings, fayres, events and parties, soon it became New Year's Eve and here we are talking about membership subs for 2017! Hence the delay in blogging the last part of the year - setting deadlines in November and December is always a risk! Starting back in early November and Bonfire Night here in the village, our stall raised a fabulous £92 which keeps us warm this winter and secures the Church for our meetings through until February. Our November meeting was a wonderfully engaging talk based around the Moor Pond Woods in Papplewick and the cotton mills of the area from Stephen Walker. Stephen is chairman and part of the Milennium Project being undertaken by the parish council at the woods to excavate and preserve some of the original waterways that fed into the water powered mills following the Leen all the way through to Bulwell. Starting back in 2000, having already uncovered some intriguing items, and using the layers of earth to date the findings, the history stems back all the way to the mid 18th century and the Robinson Mills, a cluster of cotton mills including Forge Mill and Lower Mill, both around the (now) Mill Lakes parklands. This was around the time of Arkwrights wheel and Scottish linen was coming to Nottingham for bleaching and dying, of which the Robinson mills played a large part in processing. Robinson's mills were even the first in the country to have a steam engine, which sadly did not work particularly well, but was a pioneering move at the time. It was not without drama and Robinson fought Lord Byron in the 1770's all the way to the House of Lords for an injuction, after Byron blocked the Leen at Newstead Abbey, draining the waterways and leaving the mills without ability to operate. However the 1780's really saw a boom in the birth of 'factory work', a huge step away from the home based roles many people undertook, and turned them into 'employees' for the first time. The birth of clocking in, start and finish times and paydays signified a massive shift in the nature of trade and the role of families in employment. Business was booming until the 1820's, when the market became so flooded with cheaply, mass produced cottons and linens, it was no longer viable to run the mills, and eventually closed down in 1828, leaving behind only the waterways they were first built around. Steven's project will relaunch in March 2017, when he'll visit again to chat more about life within the mills and the stories of the employees themselves. Organised walks around the woods will take place in Summer, but to find out more about the project visit their website. In late November we ran another successful Fayre, with gifts, bran tub, games, book and homemade tasty treats being snapped up for last minute presents. Just a week or so later it was the Christmas switch on in the village, which we attended in a support capacity running games for the kids and the tombola. Less than another week after that was our Christmas party (phew! we're such social butterflies!) and enjoyed a fabulous spread laid on by the Committee, and classic Christmas songs from a female vocalist. Julia and Claire couldn't contain themselves and were soon up, dancing and clapping, and pretty soon everyone was showing their jazz hands in true BVWI festive spirit! Check out the pictures in the gallery. Next meeting will be a Games Night on Wednesday 25 January in the Church when subs will be due for this year. There will also be a tabletop sale/ bring and buy, and of course our first chance to catch up since Christmas and swap the gossip! After such a lovely festive break, welcome to 2017! The WI is what you make of it, and this year, there's no limits if you set your mind to it! 2/11/2016 0 Comments Welcome to Autumn!It's been a busy couple of months for Bestwood Village WI and now Autumn has well and truly arrived we'll soon be moving our thoughts towards... well, we won't say the C word just yet, but we know you're thinking about it too! Our next Fayre will be revealed very soon just in time for the festive season. We'll be moving our meeting to the Church for winter to save on those very dark walks into Bestwood Park, but our final meeting at Dynamo for the year was a jovial one, welcoming local historian and wordsmith Bob Massey. We all love a good idiom, but can you explain what one is? Bob revealed some very interesting origins of well known sayings, idioms and expressions and opened up the great debate of dialect and regional naming - do you say barm, batch, cob, bap, bun or roll? Or something else entirely?! Many popular sayings evolved from a very literal starting point, and over the years have become idioms or proverb like statements which can seem a little strange without context - for example, "one in the hand is worth two in the bush." These days the younger generations might wonder what exactly you'd have in your hand compared to the bush, but the meaning was very straightforward in the days when falconers were more regular hunters with their birds of prey. To translate, the meaning is quite simple - the one in my hand (the bird of prey) is more valuable than the possible two (the prey itself) hiding in the undergrowth. A falcon or owl was much too expensive a hunting weapon to potentially lose it, to risk snaring what may or may not be hiding in the bushes. A particular favourite for the night was the meaning of 'to give the cold shoulder,' which originated in medieval times. Wealthy owners would receive guests and it was traditional for the host to offer a hot meal, often before even being introduced properly, so eager were they to impress and be hospitable. However, a subtle way to suggest a guest should leave - or was not welcome - was to offer them the cold cut of lamb, beef or pork shoulder, hence being 'given the cold shoulder.' Bear that in mind next time you are offered a beverage at a friends house! The village Bonfire night takes place on 5 November and the WI will have a table, if anyone is free to assist please let Brenda know - same again for the village Christmas light up on 9 December if you're free! The next Coffee Club is 12 November and Knit & Natter on 10 November, and don't forget we'll be in the church for our next meeting on 23 November. 31/8/2016 0 Comments Punk To Priory
31/7/2016 1 Comment Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On!We donned our coin scarves and let loose at Dynamo House on Wednesday night when BVWI took on bellydancing! Lots of us were eager to try out this sensual and elegant form of dance, which contrary to believe is not about the belly, but all about the hips.
Led by our wonderful guest Gabriella Middleton, we truly found our inner goddesses and even the most uncoordinated of us were dropping hips, shimmying and working our thing in just a few minutes! With a brief history explained and a few moves demonstrated, Gabriella led us all through a number of dances, encouraging extended arms, beautiful hands, smooth hip movements and no end of giggling. A treat for us all was then watching Gabriella perform a veil dance after our many requests, which totally wowed us all. Lots of photos can be found in the gallery, it's pretty easy to spot who was getting pretty involved in finding their inner goddess...! In other business, a quick round up of the previous month revealed that last month's card making meeting resulted in around 30 cards ready for the coming year (and possibly the one after!!) well done everyone! BVWI also had a presence at the family fun day, which was quieter than previous years but still a great day all round and a small amount was raised that will keep us in cake and tea for a while longer. We've been out and about a lot as well; Eileen attended the jazz night with a glowing review, Brenda was at the Sherwood WI meeting, and on Monday 1 August some of the ladies are attending the dog racing, which will be reported back on next time (unless there was a really big winner, in which case someone may have done a bunk to the Maldives.) Dates for your diary: Knit & Natter on 4th and 18th August, plus Coffee Club on 13th August, and the next fundraiser will be early September so get in touch with Brenda if you can help out in anyway, manning a stall, serving refreshments or donating some goods... although we have LOTS of tombola and books already! We'll also be yarn bombing around Dynamo at the end of August, with the Knit & Natter group already well underway on the woodland theme. There's plenty of wool available if you have time to help out, either pop along to the K n' N group, Coffee Club or bring anything you have ready made to the next meeting on 24 August. There are a lot of simple knits that will help to boost the bombing, so if you can join in, get in touch as there's always room for more! If you'd like to continue bellydancing, Gabriella runs beginner and improver classes on a Monday night at the International Community Centre on Mansfield Road in Nottingham city centre, starting at 5.30pm. 28/5/2016 0 Comments Debating the ResolutionThe May meeting focus to discuss the Resolutions proved to spark a healthy debate of both issues. This year food waste and dementia care are on the list and really brought out some great ideas, opinions and interesting points of view, the main statistic surprising us all was that 50% of food waste is generated by domestic households compared to 1% of supermarkets* of the 15bn tonnes thrown away in the UK every year. For some of us, it was also a shock to hear that dementia affects more people than cancer, with 850,000 people last year and a predicted 1 million** in another 5 years time. It's evident that both cause concern for the majority of people, and the consideration over the impact in both positive and negative ways must be thought about to decide on feasibility of a Resolution. If you'd like to read more about the Resolutions, you can find out more via the WI website including details about past Resolutions. Our local votes will now go forward to the Annual Meeting vote in June. Just a few reminders - there's still time for entries to the Canada Cup, Lady Denman Cup (and no reason we can't get ahead on the Sheila Norris Rose Bowl for 2017!) so if you can come up with an amusing slogan about food waste, or wish to write a letter to your younger self, let those creative urges flow and tell Brenda what you've come up with. But don't wait long, the closing date for your letter is 15 June! Flower book orders are also due in June so pop along order forms at the next Coffee Club.To finish the night off we indulged in cakes made by Elizabeth (cheese scones = approved!), Rummikub, Scrabble or just a natter, and Debbie revealed that we raised a whopping £320 at the Spring Fayre! Well done and thanks to all who took part in one way or another. The June and September meetings have swapped over to help out diary issues, so bring along some scissors, and (if you have any) double sided tape or other cardmaking supplies to the June meeting instead please! *source: LoveFoodHateWaste **source: Alzheimers.org 22/5/2016 0 Comments Cake? Fayre Enough!Thanks to everyone who came along to the Spring Fayre today, and what a fantastic day it was! Blessed with beautiful sunshine, everyone enjoyed their homemade cakes and a fresh cup of coffee outside at the picnic tables, meaning we had lots of four-legged visitors too. We were overflowing with tombola goodies, crafty handmade goods, flowers, books and cards and the cakes were plentiful (of course!) Our crack team Debbie, Barbara, Brenda and Sue worked the kitchen and no plate went unfilled, no mug went dry and nobody left without crumbs around their mouths!
A few times we were bursting at the seams, as the good weather meant lots of visitors to the Country Park who spotted our bunting and discovered our haven of refreshments and a lot of good natured banter amongst the ladies over who could sell more. At times it was fiercer than a Morrocan souk! The Winding House tours proved popular as those who had only seen this great building from outside the railings finally got a chance to peek inside. What better way to get to know your local community! Early tallies show we raised a fair amount and we'll reveal at the meeting on Wednesday the final total. Great turnout from all BVWI ladies, as volunteers and visitors, plus friends and family who donated, bought, ate and took photos for us. We appreciate everyone who was a part of today - thanks from us all! Full gallery here |
AuthorOur WI members adventures, news and gossip! Archives
May 2021
Categories |