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!

The Christmas party was a rip-roaring success. Frances kindly opened her house to everyone. The walls were draped in fairy lights; members brought a fabulous array of sweet and savoury delights; and the drink and conversation flowed. Caroline led a couple of rounds of True or False? (with a distinct Canadian flavour). And Lizzie and Eve were awarded chocolate oranges, as per NWLWI tradition, as joint winners of the competition for the best festive necklace.

We had an great turnout for our Annual Meeting and were delighted to welcome six guests (who we hope will have enjoyed the evening so much that they’ll become members!). Fiona from the Middlesex Federation oversaw proceedings, which included the usual reports and the re-election of the Committee and Caroline as President (the reports are available on the noticeboard section of the website). Once the business items were out of the way, we enjoyed the quiz which was hotly contested and great fun. Many thanks to Denise for being an excellent quizmistress!

Bollywood Fitness was a wonderful new experience for us all. Kangan explained that Bollywood dancing is a combination of different styles and, with the highly infectious music, we were soon happily jumping around, swinging our hips, with frantic arm gestures. We looked and felt good. And suddenly, it was all over; a completely new experience and a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

We had a very jolly evening helping prepare for our stall at Queen’s Park Day and everyone quickly got to work sticking labels on jam, stickers on labels and suchlike! There was a record attendance and we had the bonus of three guests who have promised to sign up as full members at the next meetig. Caroline presided over the evening and managed to persuade everyone to contribute in some way to the stall, where we will be selling a wide variety of cakes, jam and the ever popular fruit skewers. Come and find us on Sunday 15th September to learn out more about what we do (and of course buy some of our delicious produce!)

We were joined at our August meeting by Tom and Jason from DIY Demons who gave us a very useful and informative talk about many aspects of DIY. Amongst the many things we learned was the importance of having a good drill/screwdriver, how to drill into tiles, how to decide what rawl plugs to use, basic plumbing, and much more. They also gave very helpful recommendations about the best products to use for different jobs. The room was abuzz with everyone’s questions which Tom and Jason answered expertly and we all left the meeting determined to tackle those odd jobs around the house that we had been putting off!

For this year’s picnic, instead of our usual venue of Queen’s Park, we had it in Jan’s lovely garden which was a real delight. As well as providing such a wonderful venue, Jan also cooked baked potatoes for everyone and members brought a selection of toppings and deserts. We certainly ate well as a result and no-one went home hungry! We were also blessed with good weather (after a week of showers) and we sat and chatted happily ’til late. Many, many thanks to Jan for letting us enjoy your beautiful garden and for being such a wonderful hostess!