We welcomed Jennipher Marshall-Jenkinson to St Annes for a cheese tasting evening. Jennipher gave a fascinating talk about the history of cheese making and described the various processes used to make different cheeses. We were able to sample a variety of British cheeses, including cheddar, stilton, lancashire and caerphilly as well as some brie. We also treated ourselves to some wine to accompany the cheese, which was well receved! A very enjoyable and informative evening!
We we planning to have a drumming workshop at our September meeting, but unfortunately our invited speaker had broken his finger so was unable to attend and coach us in the art of drumming, but we hope to invite him back to a future meeting. Despite the bad weather and lack of speaker, we still managed to meet and have a very enjoyable social evening. We ran through the arrangements for our stall at Queen’s Park day the following weekend, encouraging everyone to get baking and for those who couldn’t bake, there were lots of other ways to get involved, including the setting up/taking down of the gazebo and serving on the stall.
We also took the opportunity to present Alison with a gift from Darryl from Natural Elements after he had judged her wax melts to be the winner!
Our WhatsApp group was awash with positive feedback about our August meeting when Darryl and Pete from Natural Elements London came to demonstrate how to make beautiful wax air fresheners, decorated with pressed flowers and leaves and scented with essential oils. Darryl began by telling us about how he started experimenting in lockdown and how he now sells his scented candles at markets across South London. While Darryl was giving his introduction, Pete was busy heating up the soya wax and preparing little pots of a wide range of essential oils, so the room was soon smelling wonderful! We got to work designing our air fresheners using the amazing collection of pressed flowers and leaves that were provided. We then mixed our chosen fragrance into very hot oil and had to wait for it to cool enough to pour into moulds, and then quickly (in 30 seconds) transfer our pressed flowers onto the wax. The end result was a stunning array of designs which Darryl took away then finish off for us before posting them back. All in all a very enjoyable and productive evening!
The sun shone for our summer picnic in Jan’s beautiful, secluded garden. This year the Committee decided to provide all the food and drink, so all members needed to do was just turn up! There was a great turnout and everyone enjoyed a very convivial evening. At the beginning of the evening we were joined by lots of flying ants, but they soon decided to move on! Thank you to all who attended and an especial thank you to Jan for once again sharing her garden with us!
A large group of members gathered in front of Kings Cross station on a lovely sunny evening for our annual guided walk. This year the walk was titled ‘A Watery wander round Kings Cross and St Pancras’ and our guide was Lesley (from Lesley Walks). Lesley began by talking about the development of the railways and creation of both Kings Cross and St Pancras stations in the mid-nineteenth century and the rapid changes that the advent of rail travel had brought to the area. We walked through the new development behind Kings Cross which had been sympathetically designed to incorporate railway and waterways themes before arriving at Granary Square and Coal Drops Yard where, with the help of old photos, Lesley showed us what a busy hub the whole area had been with both goods trains and canal barges bringing coal and grain into the capital. We came across a lively dance event in Coal Drops Yard and although tempted to join in we made our way up past the luxury canal-side development in Gasholder Park before ending our tour in the quiet sanctuary of Old St Pancras Churchyard. Everyone agreed that we had all learned an incredible amount about an area that we thought we already knew and that Lesley had done a wonderful job in opening our eyes to the wonderful history of the place.
We were delighted to be joined by New Esperance Morris, an inclusive all-women Morris dancing team based in London. After a very informative talk from Diana about the origins of Morris dancing and the many different styles from around the country, some plucky members took to the floor and quickly learned the basic steps and were soon leaping and dancing with abandon. A great time was had by all – the dancers as well as the onlookers. Thank you New Esperance Morris for a memorable evening.
We were joined at our April meeting by Chris Solly, an expert in book folding, and Marisa Alcock (President of Forest Hill and Sydenham WI). Chris gave a brief background on the growth in popularity of book folding and then showed us how we could make a heart out of the pages of the books we had provided. We soon got to work and a there were a lot of bowed heads and an air of concentration as we started folding, following the template provided by Chris. To be fair, some efforts were a lot better than others, but everyone had a great evening and we all enjoyed learning a new skill! We also welcomed another new member, bringing our membership up to a record 46!
We were thrilled to welcome Nilly, from Nilly Flowers in Harlesden, to another packed meeting at St Anne’s. Everyone was encouraged to bring flowers and foliage from their gardens and Nilly supplemented these with a wide range of flowers from her shop. Nilly showed us how to make a small posy to fit in a jam jar, and we all learnt a lot! Then we got to work with Nilly circulating and giving more advice and by the end of the evening there was a stunning display of arrangements. Lots of chat and laughter throughout the evening and a good time was had by all!
We were delighted to welcome local author/historian, Steve Crabb, to our February meeting to hear all about the history of Queen’s Park and the local area. Steve kept a packed meeting riveted from start to finish, telling us all about the origins of the Queen’s Park. The Royal Agriculture Society’s Exhibition was held where the park is now in 1879 and was honoured by a visit from Queen Victoria (hence Queen’s Park!). At the time of the exhibition the surrounding area was just fields and all the streets and houses that we know today came later! Steve answered a wide range of questions at the end of the meeting, and we all came away looking at the neighbourhood with fresh eyes!
Despite the freezing cold and rain, a number of hardy members attended our January meeting when we discussed the NFWI resolutions before casting our votes. We divided ourselves into tables of four so that we could play games whilst debating the shortlisted resolutions, with the help of the NFWI briefing notes. The room buzzed with lively conversation and a good time was had by all. We were also delighted to welcome our latest new member, bringing the membership to a record 44!
