Our July meeting

 

Knowledge and know-how – the WI Learning Hub and other online learning platforms

This month, our very own Sally took us through the WI Learning Hub and other options for live and pre-recorded classes and activities. It was while convalescing that Sally discovered that online learning could be of enormous value in bringing interesting activities in when she couldn’t get out. 

Sally started with some alternative platforms that she uses in addition to the WI Learning Hub:

The RVS (Royal Voluntary Service) runs Virtual Village Hall, which is free to join. There are live sessions and a library to choose from, with new sessions added regularly.

Rest Less, a platform for people over 50, is a subscription-based service at £6.99 per month. It has exercise classes, crafts, history talks and Sally showed us The Soothing Season, a session of relaxation and art making. Visit the events section of the Rest Less website to find out more.

The WI Learning Hub evolved from Denman College, which was a physical space for courses. Now, the Hub offers live courses, including crafts, exercise, talks and National Federation training, with recordings available for a week afterwards. Sign-up is free for WI members; there is paid access for non-members. To register, first register in the main WI website under My WI (there’s a video guide to registration). When registered, back on the WI Learning Hub website you can book onto courses via online form and confirmation email (initially, the booking shows a fee but for members, this reverts to zero on checkout) and you receive a weekly email update.

Our Federation, Middlesex, runs Dabble Days. These have a fee and are for WI members only. There’s also a free weekly craft get-together on Zoom, at 19:30 every Monday. Look out for news in your Federation newsletter. 

As ever with our meetings, we all had recommendations and news to contribute: U3A, the Mary Ward Centre, the Idea Store, the Guildhall Library, Bishopsgate Institute, free weekly film nights at Victoria Park Baptist Church and community activities from Sadlers Wells, which will be opening locally at East Bank in the Olympic Park.

So much to do, so little time! Now back at work, Sally’s preference has shifted to recorded activities to watch when she can – and we agreed that what we need changes with our circumstances, whether that’s in-person classes, live courses or a library of online learning that we can visit. 

A massive thank you to Sally for a great session, and to past President, Heather, for standing in for Celya to introduce the meeting.

Our July coffee morning: Friday 26th July – Meet between 10.30 and 11.00 at Bàrd Books, 341-343 Roman Road, London E3 5QR

This is a change of venue from our original plan, the Mary Ward Centre – we hope to return in term time.

Our July walk

A journey through time (with a bonus corgi) – our July walk

There's a new London-themed sculpture trail dotted through central London from Victoria to the Strand. So we joined the throng of visitors to find a few of the pieces and enjoy the many interesting diversions along the way.

Tracking down the teapot quickly, we strode out in search of the telephone box, enjoying the view of the beautiful Westminster Cathedral while we were there. The Guard was a little more challenging to find – it was away for repair – but thanks to the police on duty by Buckingham Palace, we followed the sound of a military band to watch the Belgian Cenotaph parade.

St James's Park delivered a crown and two herons, then, in search of the pocket watch, we happened on a bonus corgi, part of another trail, of corgis that had been installed as part of the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

The postbox sculpture brought us to the Supreme Court, for a pause to admire its architecture and wonder at the frieze of Tudor characters (a bit of post-walk research has revealed that it's the Duke of Northumberland offering the crown of England to Lady Jane Grey).

On our way to find the rain boots in Victoria Tower Gardens, we passed the statue of Emmeline Pankhurst. Next, along the Embankment for the top hat and near it, a tree with long seed pods which we found again in Embankment gardens – an Indian bean tree was the guess and it turned out to be right.

In search of the tea cup, in need of an actual cup of tea we peaked a little early – but it was found and along the way, a curious plaque. Most of the statues we had seen along the embankment commemorated the work of men, some with women in allegorical roles (the weeping woman is on the monument to Sir Arthur Sullivan) but the plaque to Henry Fawcett was placed there by his "grateful countrywomen". The UK Parliament website lists Henry Fawcett as liberal MP for Hackney from 1865 and a supporter of votes for women.

Before our tube journeys home from Temple, there was time for a quick look at the art terrace The Artist's Garden – including a twirl of Lucy Gregory's kinetic sculpture It's all kicking off, a row of cancan legs. 

Photos by Alison, Christine and Lydia.

Fancy joining us on one of our walks? Look out for our monthly Coming up blogposts or if you're a member, the monthly e-newsletter.

Coming up in July

Walking a new art trail, learning about the Learning Hub and coffee at a bookshop – coming up in July

Our Monthly walk: Westminster

Saturday 13th July, 11.00 at Victoria Station, meet by M&S Simply Food

A  new trail of artistic delights has landed in London, just waiting for you to find them all. To celebrate King Charles’ birthday, a series of British-themed sculptures have popped up depicting classic British emblems and iconography. Spread around South Westminster, the ‘Journey Through Time’ trail includes eleven sculptures for visitors to find. There is a trail map for download here.

Keep up to date with info on the day with the walkers’ WhatsApp group

Our monthly meeting: our very own Sally and Celya with info and demonstrations on the WI Learning Hub 

Thursday 18th July, 7.00 for 7.30 start

“Our range of courses at the Learning Hub will give you the freedom and control to learn anywhere, so whether you want friendly experts, guidance, socialisation, interaction or collaborations we have it all for you.”

Celya is working with Middlesex Federation to gather members’ opinions on the recently relaunched Learning Hub. Sally has been undertaking a selection of activities: some standalone sessions and others part of a series with the hub and other online learning communities. We will show you what content is offered and how to take part. And we’ll take a look at some of the other platforms for online learning as a comparison.

Please note the arrangements for access to St Margaret's House:

The new code will be available for our regular members via our member WhatsApp group – if you attend regularly and haven’t had an invite to the group yet please contact us via our email.

If you are not a member of EEWI our white bell will be on the wall, so ring and someone will come to let you in. Sometimes this lets us down, so you can always ring one of the committee if other means of access fail!

If you are coming for the first time, contact us at EEWI via our email to check on access so we can make sure you are able to get access smoothly.

Our July coffee morning: Friday 26th July – Meet between 10.30 and 11.00 at Bàrd Books, 341-343 Roman Road, London E3 5QR

This is a change of venue from our original plan, the Mary Ward Centre – we hope to return in term time.

Our June coffee morning

Two slices of art – our June coffee morning, at Tate Britain

With several Tate volunteers in our membership, we're always kept up to date with exhibition news. So with one exhibition having opened recently and another closing on 7 July, our June coffee morning was at Tate Britain. Our group met for café chat, followed by art, some visiting Now You See Us, Women artists in Britain 1520-1920 and the other heading to Sargent and Fashion, both enjoyed. 

We pick a different venue each month for coffee – if you'd like to join us, look out for our next 'coming up' blogpost for news of our next coffee morning. 

Photos by Christine

Our June meeting

Vintage fashion, vintage games, objects with stories and birthday cake – our Summer party

It had all started with Carolyn’s 1925 WI booklet of party games. Then there were hats, gloves, a 1940s veil, Crimplene, rock cakes, Tunnock’s tea cakes, Victoria sponge, beetroot hummus, Pimms… 

But first, there was a touching tribute to the late Michael Mosley, whose Radio 4 programme Just One Thing had often come up in conversation at our meetings and walks. We shared tips we’d taken up: squats, walking backwards, cold water swimming and poetry for breath work. A documentary about his work was recommended, available on BBC iPlayer.

In a neat hop to the games in the book, many 'too familiar to mention', we launched into the brain-stretching ‘My grandmother went to Paris’, adding with each person, in alphabetical order, a fictional thing that she had bought. She was quite a shopper, it turned out – her purchases included an aardvark, a fiddle, a Harris tweed suit, an iguana and a kaleidoscope. Next, a 1920s version of Grandmother’s Footsteps, where we made our way stealthily across the hall, freezing whenever Natasha turned to see if anyone was moving. Then ‘Blind man’, where someone with her eyes closed was turned around, held a stick out, spoke a phrase or made a sound and when it was copied by the nearest person, had to guess who it was. Finally, one for the mathematically-minded, ‘Buzz’, a counting game about the number seven.

We were ready for some birthday cake after that – the magnificent Victoria sponge, with candles.

Our party was rounded off with a show and tell, of objects with stories or that had particular meaning for us. 

Dawn, who had become interested in gemstones when her daughter took up silversmithing and had long wanted to learn how to facet one, was just back from a workshop in Newcastle and showed us a beautifully cut Rose de France amethyst. Dawn explained that the workshops were run to help keep the craft alive in the UK.

I [Lydia] told the circular tale of an embroidery hoop that I had bought with my pocket money when I was 10, and many years later used, with embroidery books the same age, to turn notes from our writing and harp workshop into a sampler.

Carolyn, who has a keen interest in Bakelite, told us about her collection of quirky Bakelite birds and brought a particularly cheery example. Researching it, Carolyn had found that it was made by the Old Street company Henry Howell, which also made pipes, and this little bird was featured in the History of the World in 100 Objects. 

Heather brought two things: first, from when she worked in Sudan, an incense burner made by a neighbour and friend. Which presented a logistical challenge in getting it back to the UK – people returning were allowed to carry very little. The second object was a photo of two dalmations, much-loved family pets and friends in testing times.

Natasha brought a pearl necklace, once her grandmother’s, on loan when she had hoped to wear it for her wedding but eventually coming her way – and told a John Singer Sargent story of the painting Mrs Carl Meyer and her Children.

Along the way, there was chat about haberdasheries, circular knitting and the human things that make an object of value to us as it passes from generation to generation.

A big celebratory thank-you to everyone who baked, cooked, brought and joined in with the fun and games, a wave to those who were on travels or otherwise unable to make it and a round of applause for Celya, for her first meeting as President.

Our monthly coffee morning: Friday 28 June, meet at Tate Britain Djanogly café, 10.30 - 11.00

Join us for coffee, chat and a chance to see the exhibition of women painters of the last 400 years. There will be complimentary entrance tickets for our members courtesy of some of our members who volunteer their time to Tate. Tate Britain is near Pimlico underground, walkable from Westminster underground, and there are various bus routes.

Our June walk

Dr Salter's Daydream, a moated manor, two Scandinavian churches, Brunel, an 18th century school, bodysnatchers, dock history, the Mayflower, beach bags, urban woodland, world trade, a burst of opera and a farm: our June walk, in Rotherhithe

This month, we had a guest on our walk, Sandy Adirondack, who lives in Rotherhithe and has done extensive research into its history. 

Heading for the remains of the moated manor house of King Edward III, thought to have been used for falconry, we diverted first to Dr Salter's Daydream, a set of sculptures of Alfred and Ada Salter, their daughter Joyce and their cat. Setting up his practice in 1900, Dr Salter had offered free medical services to those who could not afford to pay and moved into politics to bring about further social change. Ada, similarly keen to improve lives, became the first woman mayor of a London borough. They insisted on living in the place they served and sadly, their daughter died at eight years old in an epidemic of scarlet fever.

Heading for the Norwegian church, the Sjømannskirken, we happened on a confirmation, with a procession of young people in traditional dress – and a tantalising smell of pastries...

...which led us to the first of two pitstops, at a local café with an exhibition, Bags of Life by Penny Dearsley, beach bags and hats, each with a subject, part of a body of work exploring memories.

While we paused, Sandy filled us in on the history of the docks at Rotherhithe, the first, Greenland Dock, dug out in 1696, then the largest dock of its time, and renamed in the mid-1800s for its use by Arctic whalers. Expansion of traffic, including timber from the Baltic and Scandinavia and food from Canada, led to the expansion of the dock, other docks followed and there were pools to float the timber until it was moved on. The decline of the docks started with WWII air raids and then container traffic making the docs unsuitable. They lay derelict until the major redevelopment scheme of the 1980s. 

Next, to the modern Finnish church with its handsome tower behind, along to the Brunel museum, where there were kilts (a wedding was taking place) and the history of the first tunnel under a navigable river, past the Mayflower pub and through St Mary's churchyard, where the captain of the Mayflower is buried, famous also for 'The Bishop's Chair', made from timber salvaged from the Fighting Temeraire. We passed the St Mary Rotherhithe school, a free school founded in 1613, and the watch house next door that guarded against bodysnatchers raiding the churchyard next door for bodies for medical research. 

Onward, then, to Russia Dock Woodland, a moment exploring world trade by way of a metal compass set into the path showing goods, countries and distances, and through to Surrey Docks Farm, at its entrance a procession of bronze animals. Unexpectedly, opera floated out from the café, which turned out to be a customer serving up a virtuoso performance. Spontaneous applause, then in past the forge to say hello to sheep with fringes, curly-tailed pigs, mischievous goats, glamorous chickens, and to admire the hanging tomato baskets with their linings of sheep's wool from shearing. There was even time for some quick sketches – and a second pitstop, at the café, with its river views.

"That was amazing!", said Christine as we headed into Canada Water station. "It was like having a Blue Badge guide!" Indeed it was – a massive East End WI thank you to Sandy for bringing so much knowledge and interest to our Rotherhithe walk.

Fancy joining us on one of our walks? Check our monthly 'coming up' blogposts for details and if you're a member, join our walkers' WhatsApp group.

Coming up in June

 

Party games, fun at the Farm and coffee at Tate Britain – what's on in June

Our monthly walk: Rotherhithe – Saturday 8 June, meet at 11am at Rotherhithe Overground station. 

We'll be creating our own walk through parks – Stave Hill ecological park, Russia Dock Woodland and Surrey Docks Farm (pictured, its glamorous chickens). If we have some energy left, we might return via the foot tunnel under the river to Canary Wharf .

Check in with the group on the Walkers’ Whats App Group for who is going.

Our monthly meeting: Thursday 20 June, 7 for 7.30 at our usual venue: St Margaret's House, 15 Old Ford Rd, London E2 9PL and this month it's a party! We’re going back in time this month...

Our birthday is at this time of year, so we thought we would live it up like a vintage WI with a booklet of WI 1925 party games (pictured above) courtesy of one of our members, Carolyn. 

Perhaps dig out that 'New Look' frock from the back of the wardrobe and maybe add a hat...

We’re planning a show and tell which in the past have always been a source of fun and interest:- Maybe a game or board game -  if were you a brownie or guide do you have memories of games you played or the games you played the school playground. Do you have any photos of the above? Do you have a cherished piece of vintage craft? What about an object from your younger days that makes you happy/proud/giggle.

There will be the usual light refreshments, but do feel free to bring along any food that you perhaps used to have at parties or heard other generations talk about.... Pineapple and cheese on  toothpicks, vol au vents?

This will be our first meeting with Celya as our new President. Celya says, “To all our members – looking forward to another year of entertaining, informative and fun activities.”

Please note the arrangements for access to St Margaret's House:

The new code will be available for our regular members via our member WhatsApp group - if you attend regularly and haven’t had an invite to the group yet please contact us via our email.

If you are not a member of EEWI our white bell will be on the wall, so ring and someone will come to let you in. Sometimes this lets us down, so you can always ring one of the committee if other means of access fail!

If you are coming for the first time, contact us at EEWI via our email to check on access so we can make sure you are able to get access smoothly.

Our monthly coffee morning: Friday 28 June, meet at Tate Britain Djanogly café, 10.30 - 11.00

Coffee, chat and a chance to see the exhibition of women painters of the last 400 years. There will be complimentary entrance tickets for our members courtesy of some of our members who volunteer their time to Tate.

Tate Britain is near Pimlico underground, walkable from Westminster underground, and there are various bus routes.

Pictured: a speedy sketch by Lydia, made on her last visit to Tate Britain.