Hinckley Canalside WI
Meeting Snapshot
Some of the things we do on our monthly meetings
October
Ginnette Brookes – GB Dance Silver Swans Ballet
We had an enjoyable evening with our guest speaker Ginnette Brookes, who is a ballet teacher specialising in dance classes for the over 55 years. She has a lifelong passion for ballet and dance. Ginnette started ballet classes aged 3 years old and has been a performer and dance teacher all her life. She runs her own dance school GB Dance in Leicester.
She has taught all age groups but over the last few years as concentrated on the older generation which gives her much joy and fulfilment. She loves the social aspect and community spirit her groups bring. She explained the benefits of ballet for fitness, co-ordination and balance and how important it is to maintain this as we grow older.
She invited our members to join her in a ballet class demonstration and many members joined in and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
September
We had a wonderful talk from Dr Josh Smalley about his time on The Great British Bake Show 2024.
He went through each week and told us of his experience on the show. He showed us photos of his amazing bakes and what had inspired him. This including a Leicester Tiger made of bread for bread week and a chocolate box full of homemade chocolates with chemical symbols and equations on them for Chocolate week. Josh is a Dr in Biochemistry and is a researcher based at Leicester University.
He is passionate about chemistry and baking. He is on regular TV science programmes, has podcasts, he demonstrates and teaches at various schools across the country. He inspires school children and students of all ages about science and the strong connection with baking and chemistry. His enthusiasm and passion for this was very inspiring to our members too.
He gave us a chemistry lesson explaining the chemical symbols and reactions used in baking. Josh is also a very keen gardener and showed us photos of his home grown produce, including fruit trees, giant vegetables and beautiful flowers and shrubs. He showed us sketches of his garden and allotment he plans each year before planting.
He makes his own wine, jams and chutneys as well his cakes, bread and biscuits. He explained how his wonderful Nan had inspired him as a child to bake and be a keen gardener. She encouraged him to apply for the show before sadly passing away the year he had applied.
He also plays rugby at Syston Rugby Club Leicester and is a big Leicester Tigers Fan. The energy he has for everything he does is amazing. He sampled a couple of homemade cakes from our cake volunteers on the night and said he was very impressed with them. Well done ladies!
June
Nick Martin was our guest speaker. He gave a wonderful talk on the British Wildlife in the Forest of
Dean. Nick is a naturalist who is also a wildlife photographer. He has given talks to us before and he certainly did not disappoint with this one. He gave us an amazing insight into the different habitats and landscape of the Forest of Dean.
He explained that over the centuries it had been used for a major source of wood, rock stone and iron. There are many old oak trees in the forest known as Napoleonic Oaks which are over 200 years old. They are called this as Napoleon wanted more oak trees planted to provide enough wood for all the warships at the time. We were shown photos of colliery equipment which has been left and made into a monument to remember the importance of the mining industry in the forest.
Nick Martin captured some beautiful close-up photos of an array of woodland animals and birds.
We learnt about voles, dormouse, wild boars, adders and grass snakes. He had taken photos of many birds, falcons, Canadian geese, ducks, blue tits, bull finches, woodpeckers to name just a few.
His talks are always jam packed full of information but his passion for wildlife keeps it alive interesting and we had an enjoyable evening.
May
We had enjoyable evening celebrating VE Day 80 th Anniversary. We were entertained by our very own amateur dramatic society CADS (Canalside Amateur Dramatic Society).
The room was decorated with lovely red white blue flowers and bunting.
The committee had provided a selection of traditional 1940’s fruit cakes, fruit and tea loaves. Our member Joy Wright made some beautifully decorated VE Day cupcakes which were delicious.
The entertainment from CADS, were pop up sketches from various people’s life stories and how they were each affected in different ways by World War 2.
It was fun and entertaining but also poignant in its message of what people actually went through during the war.
It certainly made me think about people’s lives during the war and the sacrifices that were made and how lucky we are today
March
We had an enjoyable evening finding out all about our chosen charity this year which is Canine Partners. Nick Sydenham a volunteer speaker for them, came and gave us a talk on what they do and how we can help if we want to. It was a good talk about how these amazing dogs transform the life of people with a physical disability, who are usually in a wheelchair. Canine Partners is a registered charity providing canine companions for adults in the UK. They are part of a wider group called Assistance Dogs UK (ADUK).
Nick explained how the process works from when the dogs are puppies right through to when they retire. The puppies are bred by the charity to ensure that they are the right breed, and have the right temperament and health requirements. They have volunteers who look after the puppies from eight weeks until 14 months.
The puppies are taught the basics of tug, touch and retrieve which is the main element of their training. Then they are trained for two years. Volunteers have them in the evenings after they have been training all day. One year into their training, the person (partner) who has been carefully matched with their dog works alongside them.
Each dog is trained to their partners own specific requirements and individual needs. When they are ready, they go home withtheir dog and have plenty of support from the trainers to start with.
We were shown some photographs of a local dog called May.
She was amazing. She assisted her partner by undressing her, loading and unloading the washing machine, fetching her phone for her. Picking up anything she dropped, including bank cards and keys. Posting letters, pressing the buttons on lifts or to open automatic doors. She was able to use her bank card for contactless payment and withdraw cash from the cash machine. She was able to assist with the shopping, putting items in the shopping basket and the supermarket, taking them out and placing them on the till and paying contactless for the shopping or handing the cashier the owners purse.
These dogs are truly amazing and it just shows you how clever are canine partners can be.
February
We had an interesting talk on Feisty Females, Graham gave us the definition of feisty and was able to tell us about some feisty females who made a significant impact throughout history.
Boadicea being the main one. She was a formidable brave female who nearly slaughtered all the Roman Army into surrendering. Her husband was killed, she was flogged and her two daughters raped, so she took on the Roman Army winning several battles around England. Boudicca was a warrior queen who led a revolt against Roman rule in 60–61 CE. She was the queen of the Iceni people, a British tribe that lived in East Anglia.
The Iceni lived in Norfolk, northeast Cambridgeshire, and the northern parts of Suffolk. Boudicca ruled the Iceni with her husband King Prasutagus at the time of the Roman conquest of southern Britain. Boadicea's forces killed around 70,000 Romans and their supporters, but were ultimately defeated.
Boadicea is known for leading the Iceni and other peoples in a revolt against Roman rule. Boadicea is also known as Boudicca.
Florence Nightingale was another feisty female who changed the course of history. She is known at the lady with the lamp and the most famous nurse in history.
She was determined to change the way we looked after our ill and injured pioneering new techniques and cleanliness in caring for the ill and dying.
Florence Nightingale was an English social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War, in which she organised care for wounded soldiers at Constantinople.
January
We had a fascinating talk by Eddie Smallwood – A Crowning Glory, the traditions, and occasional blunders of English monarch coronations. Eddie a local historian and once tour guide from Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre, gave us an informative talk on the various coronations of our kings and queens from 1066 to our current King and Queens coronation. He told us all about the crown jewels and the symbolic importance of them.
He explained where carats came from when weighing diamonds. It is from the carob seeds as they are all the same size and weight that is how a diamond was measured in the weight of the carobs, over time this got changed to carats.
He explained the traditions that are still in place during a coronation, the anointment being carried out behind a screen and the gold eagle jug that is used for the anointing oil, the crowns, two rings, the orb, the sceptre and the ceremonial swords.
He explained about the different crowns and the weight of the Imperial Crown is 5lbs in weight and is estimated to be worth £45million. He talked about Henry V111’s crown being lost and a replica was made following the finding of an oil painting and the crown is in the background of the painting.
One of the figurines was found in Northamptonshire in 2017 and is said to be worth £1miilion. He advised us of the royal carriages used. The Golden Royal State Carriage can only travel at 4mph and is very uncomfortable to ride in. The late Queen had a new carriage, the Diamond Jubilee Stage Carriage made to commemorate her 80 th Birthday. It was made in Australia from important historic buildings and ancient timbers. The crown on top was from HMS Victory.
The carriage includes timbers from St Paul’s Cathedral, Tower of London, Edinburgh Castle, The Mary Rose, West Minster Abbey, Windsor Castle to name a few. The upholstery was fabric made from Florence Nightingales dresses. It has electric windows and airconditioning. There was much controversy when it was made due to the rising costs and it was nearly shelved, but eventually it was allowed to continue and took eight years to complete.
December
At our December meeting we had our Christmas Party. This year we had Hinckley’s own famous crooner Dean Thomas and he did not disappoint. He sang a variety of songs including many Christmas songs to get us all in the festive mood, he threw in a few jokes and was very entertaining.
Members were in the Christmas spirit and had dressed up in their Christmas jumpers, hats etc. We had beautiful table decorations made by Margaret Lawrence.
The talented Cath Greenwell playing songs on her organ. We had a lovely Christmas buffet, with the leftovers being kindly taken at the end of the night to Lawrence House by Mandy Cutler. Gill Hannah did a great Christmas raffle.
Many members had generously brought in gifts and chocolates for the Women’s refuge which were kindly taken to The Hinckley Hub the next day by Ann Bowles. We ended the night with our tradition, “the twelve days of Christmas” which was sang with great enthusiasm from members on each table and as always, was good fun.
October
Craft Evening
We had our very own craft evening at the October meeting. We had 8 tables set up with different crafts available for our members to try. We had Cupcake Decorating, Ginger Cat Glass Infusion, Magic Mix Jewellery, Cards and a Bit More, Mandala Painting, our two WI Craft Groups and Floral Buttonholes.
Members enjoyed trying one or two different crafts and it gave everybody the opportunity to sit and socialise with each other. We also auctioned off a trumpet shaped marrow, donated by Fran Rathbone for our charity.
September
Bill Haley – The Royal Yacht Brittania
At our September meeting, we were joined by Bill Haley BEM who delivered a fascinating presentation of ‘Life on Board Britannia’. Bill served in the Royal Navy for 27 years; 7½ of those spent on the Royal Yacht Brittania which Bill explained was an absolutely fantastic experience.
The Royal Yacht Britannia had three stated aims: to take the then Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip to as many new world countries as possible; to be a hospital in the event of a war and to have a focus on trade i.e. to sell the UK abroad.
The ship was commissioned on 11th November 1954 steaming well over ½ million sea miles in 43 years.
Clocks stop at 3.01pm in the afternoon; this was the last time the Queen stepped off the Yacht.
Length 412’ 3” with gross tonnage 5,769. 1956-7 travelled to Antarctica; 1977 a focus on the Queen’s silver jubilee and 1997 formal handover of Hong Kong to China fleet review.
Bill recollected how he always had an impression on board of the Queen smiling all of the time and, when she got to her room, removing her shoes and being able to relax. No photographers were present on the ship. Bill also commented that he never knew who was standing behind him in a queue as the Queen queued like everyone else.
Bill explained the that Union Jack Flag can only be called a Union Jack when it is attached to a ship’s mast otherwise it should be known as the Union Flag.
The Royal Yacht Britannia was called a yacht instead of a ship so it did not have to be registered as a NATO was ship and have a large number painted on the side.
July
At this month’s meeting we had Radio Broadcaster Bridget Blair do a talk on “The Magic of Radio” Bridget gave an entertaining and enlightening talk on her 30 year career as a radio broadcaster and journalist in both national and local radio. She worked for the BBC Radio 4, RadioXtra and BBC Radio Leicester.
She gave an enthusiastic talk about different stories and experiences she had encountered over the years.
She spoke very movingly about her visit to the Ukraine many years ago with The Samaritan’s Purse shoe box appeal and how she was able to visit the orphanages in Ukraine to deliver Christmas boxes to children and cover the stories of their different plights.
She talked about a radio appeal, for a four-year old boy with a brain tumour who needed Proton Therapy in the USA and how Radio Leicester helped raise the funds and make it possible for him to go for treatment.
He survived and just finished his A ‘levels. She gave some funny stories about other people she had encountered and how fascinating she found people she met to cover stories on. She admitted she will talk to all kinds of people and find that everybody has a story to tell.
These ranged from “Charlie” a local tramp who chose to live in Abbey Park Leicester, to themagpie murderers and a Jam Jamboree. It was an interesting and enjoyable evening..
June
At our June meeting we held a 1940’s themed evening in memory of 80th Anniversary of the D-Day landings. Members were encouraged to dress up in 1940’s attire to add more fun to the evening.
There was some wonderful outfits and prizes for the best ones. A Sailor with a kit bag and two land girls with their spades won the best outfit competition.
Member Karen Morgan made us all a delicious carrot cake which we enjoyed with a cup of tea and coffee.
Margaret Lawrence displayed some wonderful photographs from the 1940s from Hinckley Past and Present.
We were entertained by the very talented local actors Craigie and Daniel Morrison who gave a poignant display and talk on the history of D-Day landings. Craigie told us of the important roles in which women played in World War II.
They sang songs from that era and gave a display of photographs from the war and the beach landings. We all had a good sing along to The Lambeth Walk and We’ll Meet Again.
May
We had an entertaining evening once again by CADS (Canalside Amateur Dramatic Society).
They did another murder mystery evening, this time based on a holiday resort on a Greek Island called The Big Fat Greek Deading. It took place at The Ocean-Spit Hotel and the tour operators were Ars-Sun Travel.
The players were dressed in appropriate costumes and characters were Mel and Kim, Tezza and Nipper, Mags, Jazz Hands, the wonderful Greta and Wolfgang.
The members all had a fun time trying to work out the murder or murderers who were responsible for Wolfgang’s untimely death in the pool.
We had prizes for the winning team and the most comical answer.
April
Semi-finalist on BGT, John Parnell, aka The Hoop Guy, offered an entertaining talk about his audition for the show: a long day with continuous interviews, including one with Stephen Mulhurn, and finally appearing on the stage at 6.00pm!
John wanted to appear on the show not only to fulfil an ambition but to also raise awareness of the health benefits of hula-hooping.
John offers school workshops across the country. John is multi- talented and learnt a range of skills at various ages, including juggling at 41, stilts and unicycle at 42, balloon modelling at 45. He didn’t learn to hula-hoop until 53.
After sharing some useful tips on the art of hula-hooping, John invited members to have a go themselves and we were introduced to the song John had recorded called 'Hoop Guy’. It was a fun filled evening!
March
Ghosts in Grandeur
We had a fascinating talk on Wednesday by Jo Golby an ex-tour guide of both Warwickshire Castle and Calke Abbey. Jo talked firstly about Warwick Castle and
the history of the castle and what went on behind the scenes by both the living
and the not so living! She told us tales of seeing people in full costume walk by and then realising they were actually previous employees of by gone times and not on the pay roll today!
Jo explained how Calke Abbey was built hidden in the hillside as a secret house and then had been extended and added to over the years making it appear topsy turvy. She told us about a hidden staircase she found with colleagues only to discover a bricked-up room where a skeleton of a lady was found.
Jo talked fondly of her time at both venues saying how privileged she felt to work in such beautiful places and surroundings and how magical both Warwick Castle and Calke Abbey were..
February
From Fleece to Finish by Amanda Dewes
We had a very interesting talk this evening from a Sheep Farmer who uses her very homegrown wool to produce amazing woollen
products such jumpers, bags, hats, socks, scarves and rugs. She explained the whole process from the shearing of the sheep to the skirting, washing, dying, combing and spinning of the wool.
Amanda has 75 sheep and has named them all. She talked fondly of Colin and Miranda. She explained the different types of breeds of sheep, their wool type and texture depending on their breed, where they come from and whether they are highland or lowland sheep. She
explained how she dyes the wool or keeps it natural and how it is stored. Amanda was initially bought 16 sheep by her husband and this has grown to 75. They have their own lambs and are kept very busy this time of year with lambing. Most sheep have one to two lambs a year.
Amanda told us about her first spinning wheel and how she then became hooked on spinning her own yarn and experimenting with different types of spinning and dying of the yarn. She has also learnt how to weave, first on a peg weave and then on a more complicated loom. It was fascinating to watch her spin the wool and make the yarn both on her drop spindle or spinning wheel.
We all had an enjoyable informative evening.
January
Our first meeting of 2024 was certainly a different one. We had Susie Feltman, AKA Amanda Smith who gave us an insight into her bizarre hobby of being a professional gate crasher.
She has been doing this for 30 years. She explained how it all happened, by accident. She used to stay away with work in hotels and out of loneliness and curiosity, she decided to join a large wedding one night.
When realised she could just blend into the background and had thoroughly enjoyed it, she decided to see if she could carry on with this and attend different parties, weddings, corporate events and
conferences.
She gave us hints and tips on how to do it and how to behave. She explained in great detail the different events she had been to and this was very entertaining.
December
At our December meeting we had our Christmas party with the usual fabulous buffet and beautiful flower arrangements made my Margaret Lawrence.
For the second year running we had the Rock Choir and they did not disappoint, providing us with high energy entertainment for the evening. They were so inspirational and brilliant once again. They sang a mixture of songs including some well- known festive songs. The Rock Choir was great for lifting our spirits and getting us all in the festive mood.
We had the talented Cath Greenwell on the organ playing her festive tunes and a great Christmas raffle. We finished with our tradition of “The 12 days of Christmas” which was fun and entertaining as usual.
We had a collection of toiletries, chocolates and toys for the Women’s refuge and Mandy Cutler kindly arranged to take the leftover buffet to Lawrence House.
November
At this month’s meeting we had our Annual General Meeting and Becky from Step Into Fitness gave a demonstration of her different dance routines in her classes. Many of our members enthusiastically joined in. They were all keen to learn some new dance steps and routines and said how much they enjoyed this.
At the meeting our new president Ann Bowles was elected and Mandy Cutler our former president of eight years was presented with flowers and garden vouchers showing our appreciation for all her hard work and dedication.
The Annual Report and Financial Report were delivered by our secretary and treasurer.
The new committee members and their roles were presented to the members.
October
Lynne Sharpe NAFAS Flower Arranger.
We were lucky enough to have the pleasure of meeting Lynne Sharpe, who is a talented NAFAS Flower Arranger.
She did several floral demonstrations with a Christmas/Pantomime Theme. She was very entertaining telling us about all the treasures she collects from various car boot sales which she adds to her floral displays. Lynne admits she often collects the foliage for her displays from various sources. Whilst demonstrating some beautiful flower arrangements, she was able to take us on a trip down memory lane to her own childhood Christmases and how magical they were for her.
Something we could all relate too. She told us some useful tips when preparing and looking after flowers. She then raffled off all the floral displays and made several of our members very happy to win them. A most enjoyable evening was had by all.
September
On our first meeting back from the summer break we had the lovely Phillipa Guy do a talk and demonstration on Colour Me Beautiful. She was able to talk us through this Autumn’s colours and trends.
She explained how Colour Me Beautiful works, looking at a person’s skin tone, hair, eye colour, body shape and personality. It was a very interesting talk giving us plenty of ideas on how to be more stylish and how best to make the most of our features.
She demonstrated on two of our members with different colour scarves and swatches in different shades. Colour Me Beautiful use six different colour types, personality types, tones and styles.
There are six colours with 42 shades. Phillipa also demonstrated make up, lipstick and the use of accessories to enhance an outfit and make it more stylish.
It was an enjoyable evening leaving the ladies with lots of hints and tips on fashion and style.
June
We had a lovely meeting with guest speaker Alan Gray MBE, retired Wimbledon tennis umpire. Alan gave a very informative talk about the highs and lows of Wimbledon and what actually goes on behind the scenes of this magnificent sporting institution. He gave us an insight into his role as an umpire with some funny stories and quotes from his time working there. He explained the workings of Wimbledon and the costs involved from the strawberries and cream to the 300 officials Ralph Lauren Uniform. He told us about the prize money given to the winners and all the runners up. It was a truly fascinating talk.
He enlightened us on the history of tennis and the Wimbledon tennis club, the workings of the automatic covers on centre court and court one. He was very amusing in his jokes and anecdotes about tennis, the players and Wimbledon. He had got to know many famous players over the years including Andy Murray, Boris Becker and Serena Williams.
To round the evening off and continuing with the “Wimbledon tennis theme” we had Pimms and Lemonade and Strawberries and Cream, which everybody seemed to enjoy.
May
Murder Mystery Night – Murder Most Foul
We had a very different WI meeting from normal this month. We had our very own talented WI members act out a murder mystery night. The acting skills were superb and they should all be very proud of themselves. Cathy was on the organ again, doing a great job with the sound effects! We had such a fun evening trying to work out the clues as to who did the terrible deed of killing poor Amos! All the characters, costumes and accents were fantastic. It was a very entertaining evening with prizes for the winning team (who got the most clues and the correct two suspects) and a prize for the team who gave the most comical answer!
We had lovely coronation cup cakes made by our very talented WI member Karen Morgan, which were delicious. We accompanied this with a glass of prosecco, raising a glass to the forthcoming coronation of our King Charles III. Many ladies had dressed in red white and blue for the occasion. Our craft clubs had made a fantastic job of making red white and blue bunting from pom-poms and had decorated them around the room brilliantly. Gill kindly did the raffle and a great time was had by all.
April
Maggie Cooper - Willow Weaving.
We had a very interesting talk and demonstration from Maggie, a traditional willow weaver and basket maker. Maggie Cooper who is a Yeoman Member of the Worshipful Company of Basket Makers. She began learning the craft in the 1960’s in the arts and crafts circuit in Birmingham. She went to art school and gained a City and Guild in basket weaving.
She prefers to weave baskets in the traditional way and loves the historic connection of how baskets were such an important part of life centuries ago. She brought with her bee hives, eel traps, salmon traps and crayfish traps all made from willow or cane from their local habitat. Maggie gave us an insight into the different sort of baskets that had been made and developed according to their local need and purpose.
There were flat edge baskets from Kent from the apple and pear orchards, all sized appropriately as to how much a person would be able to carry whilst fruit picking. It was such a fascinating talk not only on the talent and skill of Maggie’s basket weaving but also the history that went with it. Maggie had travelled to Australia, Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Ireland to learn new skills in weaving. Maggie had moved from Birmingham to Castle Donnington in Leicestershire and has since discovered that Castle Donnington was a basket weaving village. She was invited to give her input at The Leicester Museum when archaeologists and had found some giant eel traps embedded in a riverbank in Leicestershire and help produce replicas of these.
Maggie also brought twine in for us to have a go at making twine bracelets, some were more successful than others, but we all had fun having a go.
March
A Toastmaster’s Tale - Geoffrey Harris
Geoffrey Harris gave us a lively energetic talk on the history and role of the Toast Master.
He became a Toast Master later in life and had been a school teacher and then a professional clown for 30 years prior to this.
He wore the famous red coat uniform and explained the origin of this. He explained the level of training and how long it takes to become a Fellow of the British Toast Masters. It took him seven years. He told us some amazing stories of the various events he had attended from weddings, funerals and corporate events.
He was very entertaining, stating not only the formal role of the Toast Master, but also how organised they have to be, ensuring the day runs smoothly.
February
At our February meeting we had the very talented wildlife photographer Nick Martin give an excellent talk on Wildlife in The Blue Mountains of Sydney Australia.
Nick was a brilliant speaker, giving us an interesting talk on the wildlife he was able to capture with his camera on his last trip to Australia. He took photographs of various wild birds both in the urban areas, harbour and blue mountains of Sydney.
He gave us hints and tips on how best to position yourself when taking photographs in the wild.
There was an array of amazing colourful birds, Kangaroos, Wallaroos, Koala Bears and Wallabies. He gave us a fascinating insight into their habitat, mating and feeding habits. He explained what a Wallaroo was and why the mountains were blue.
Nick's Articles can be found at https://allthingswildlife.co.uk/
January
At our first WI meeting of 2023 we had exotic dancer Roxanne Dinsdale give us a demonstration of her amazing dancing and a very informative talk on the myths and origins of “Belly Dancing”. She myth busted a lot of what we think belly dancing is today. She was very entertaining and inspiring and whilst dancing and wearing amazing costumes she was able to deliver a fascinating insight into exotic dancing.
We were shown traditional dance costumes and the different style of dances that originate from each country and how they have been blended together over the years .Roxanne danced with props such as a veil, for veil dancing, angel wings and a sequined cane.
It was truly captivating to watch and we were all mesmerised by the brightly coloured sequined costumes she wore.