To mark International Women’s Day we had a great evening with Rachael Matthews, guerrilla knitter, folk fashion facilitator, textile designer, & owner of Prick Your Finger (“wool shop, school, gallery and artist’s initiative”). She gave us an inspiring glimpse into her work as an artist incorporating yarn into audio & performance art (among other things).

We also launched our group knitting project in aid of the charity Knit for Peace. Full details will be on this website shortly.

Gavin Finney, the Director of Photography on the BBC’s adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s novels, gave us a presentation about his approach to this project & about the work of a cinematographer in general. Appropriately, the room at the Alice House was lit only by candles for much of the evening.

Start the new year with a clear out!

‘De-Cluttering’ specialist Patty Cruz-Fouchard from ‘Organised & Simple’ will be giving us a talk on “5 common traps people fall into when getting organised”.

After the huge popularity of last year’s gin tasting, this year we had a Wine Tasting led by Peter, a sommelier from the Alice House company, who took us through a range of wines to compliment our buffet-style supper.

We also had our 2nd annual ‘Mince Pie Bake-off’.  Well done to all who channeled your inner Mary Berry and brought a selection of 6 mince pies made to your favorite recipe for sampling. Congratulations to Louise who was voted overall winner using the trusty ‘one member – one chocolate coin’ voting system!

And new this year – a Christmas raffle! Included in the prizes won was this lovely Liberty iPad cover donated by one of our members.

Annual Meeting followed by Quiz Night.

Gardens and Tea House design

North West London WI hosted the regional group meeting on Monday 22nd September 2014. The event was held in the unique Tin Tabernacle in Kilburn North London

http://tintabernaclekilburn.org.uk

Members of NW London committee worked hard to organise a very successful evening, transforming the venue into a magical space.  Invitations were extended to WI groups within the London area, and the dress code of ‘sparkles, top hats and magic wands’ was enthusiastically embraced by many participants.  The NWL hosts were delighted by the level of support and sisterhood which made the evening such a resounding success. Everyone brought contributions of delicious food, and drink (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) flowed, ensuring that the evening went with a swing. Entertainment included a performance by Jenny Meyer, the first black woman to join the Magic Circle.  We were also treated to a brief, fascinating history of the Tin Tabernacle by one of its enthusiastic volunteers.  A representative from each group gave a short account of their WI’s recent activities, which demonstrated a spectrum of interests – from traditional crafts to sex-shop outings, providing us all with new ideas for future meetings!  Response from everyone was extremely positive and the evening helped to cement friendships and cooperation between the participating groups.

Two  speakers give us the latest  buzz on  what is happening in the bee world and bring some locally produced honey.