Our December meeting

Merry making – our December meeting

Tree decorations with Sally. Printmaking with Bridget. Making tiny sketchbooks with me (Lydia). It was a relaxed evening of crafting for our seasonal celebration, Natasha's fabulous mince pies an artwork in themselves (and light as a feather).

But it was more than that – it was full of the friendship and discovery at the heart of our WI – regulars, friends who hadn't been able to make it in a while and two people coming along for the first time to see what we were all about, everyone welcome, all trying things out just for the fun of it, chatting as we went along, putting it all together at the end into a joyous forest of variety.

All the best for the festive season. We've worked together on a great line-up of talks and activities in the new year so look out for the January coming up blogpost.

Our December coffee morning: Friday 29th December, meet between 10.30am and 11am

Grounded, a new café in Bow: 92 Bow Rd, Bow, London E3 3AA, near Bow Church Station.

Our December walk

On the trail of the Huguenots – our December walk in Spitalfields

Following up our November talk on the Huguenots, our December walk was a return to Spitalfields to explore its historic streets. 

We met at Aldgate East, wandered along Brick Lane and turned off for Fournier Street and its handsome houses. As we walked, we chatted about the serial uses of buildings, from church to synagogue to mosque, shop fronts records of communities that have arrived, thrived and moved on. We noted generational changes, young people returned to newly-fashionable neighbourhoods that their ancestors had left. At the Huguenot church, Christ Church Spitalfields, we turned down Wilkes Street and found a plaque to Mark Gertler, an artist whose name some of us knew but no more (find out more here) and in Princelet Street, we shared stories of visits to the recent Christo exhibition and 19 Princelet Street, occasionally open as a museum of immigration and diversity. In Hanbury Street, we paused to look at the tile memorial, then to the former Huguenot hospital and the magnificent Dennis Severs' House. We headed back towards Liverpool Street Station, dipping down Artillery Lane to see Sandy's Row Synagogue, another former Huguenot church, and the ceramic plaques of bakers. Which gave us an appetite: one of us heading off for bagels; another to lunch; me to buy ingredients for an afternoon's baking.

Fancy joining us for a walk? Look out for our 'coming up' blogposts. 

Coming up in December

Sparkling Spitalfields, Christmas crafts and a warming cuppa – coming up in December

Our December walk 

Saturday 9th December, 11.00am

Join us for a a bracing walk and exploration of Spitalfields 

Meet at: Aldgate East Tube Station

Following the sparkling talk by Tessa in November, we have an opportunity to check out what we know, and can follow-up, about the local  Huguenots.  Bring along any information, maps, guides or anecdotes you may have and curate a history trail around Spitalfields. Of course, there will be shops and stalls brimming with tempting crafts and gifts, and coffee shops to enjoy.

Our December meeting: Christmas crafts

Thursday 14th December

7 for 7.30pm start 

Our December Monthly meeting will be on the evening of the second Thursday of the month on 14th December - the same day as the Tower Hamlets Community Tea Dance if anyone is going there too. This is our chance to create some seasonal crafts and impress friends, family and neighbours, if you want to! Sally, Bridget and Lydia will host some craft tables, and if you have some ideas/tips, do  share them on the night.

We will be at our usual venue: St Margaret's House, 15 Old Ford Rd, London E2 9PL. If the gate is locked when you arrive at St Margaret’s House, there will be a call bell on the right hand side at the back of the gate.

Our December coffee morning 

Friday 29th December

meet between 10.30am and 11am

Grounded cafe in Bow: 92 Bow Rd, Bow, London E3 3AA Near Bow Church Station

National WI news:

Coming soon (launching in January 2024): the WI Learning Hub

Lifelong learning has always been at the very heart of the WI and it will celebrate the International Day of Education on Wednesday 24 January 2024 by inviting WI members to join for the launch of the WI Learning Hub. The WI Learning Hub will provide WI members with access to a range of online courses, with an array of formats, both live and pre-recorded, and the majority of them will be free. For more information, join the learning hub mailing list via the main WI website.

Our November talk

Huguenots – so much more that we expected

Our President, Heather, writes:

"Tessa Murdoch, the Acting Chair of the Huguenot Museum in Rochester entertained and enlightened us about another part of the rich history of our area. Whilst most of us may be familiar with the Huguenots of Spitalfields, their presence in well-known areas such as Princelet Street, and their reputation as skilled weavers, Tessa illustrated the breadth of their contribution to our society through examples of some of the wonderful gold and silverware, clocks, furniture and artefacts which they created; the community support groups; friendly societies; the educational and training structures they embedded in the community, and alerted us to familiar but remarkable architecture of some grand buildings which we owe to them. Perhaps surprising are the names, such as Courtauld, David Garrick, Lawrence Olivier, Wallace (the Collection), Mountbatten, which all have their connections with these skilled and creative arrivals, and some of our group may be curious to explore their ancestry as a result! We were also reminded that they settled in many different places, including Rochester, so we can be on the lookout for their contributions to society and culture as we travel about.

We now know that Rochester is only a short train ride away so I feel we might well be making a trip for a walk and museum trip in the spring."

Pictures of the evening by Diana; historical pictures from Tessa's presentation.

Our November coffee morning: Friday 24th November

Join us for a playful cuppa at the Young V&A museum, meet between 10.30am and 11am, Cambridge Heath Rd, Bethnal Green, London E2 9PA.

Our November walk

Following the footsteps of Gandhi – our November walk

When staying at Kingsley Hall, Gandhi was said to take regular dawn walks to Plaistow, along what's now the Greenway. So following our October talk on Gandhi, we decided to do the walk in reverse for November, starting at Plaistow station.

Somewhat later than dawn... but accidentally made authentically-solo by trips and transport closures leading to only one of us being able to make it, I walked the route for anyone wanting to follow it another time:

From Plaistow station, I turned along Upper Road to meet the Greenway, a walking and cycling route above the Northern Outfall Sewer, built by Joseph Bazalgette to solve the Great Stink of 1858. Before the magnificent Abbey Mills Pumping Station (known as the Cathedral of Sewage) there's a panorama of urban nature at the Channelsea river. 

I left the Greenway at Abbey Lane Open Space and walked towards Three Mills Green and Three Mills, where there are three artworks on The Line sculpture trail. You might recognise the landscape from Masterchef, which has been based at the film studios there.

Crossing under the main road, my walk continued through the pretty Bob's Park by Bromley-by-Bow Centre and round to Kingsley Hall, now a church and community centre, where Gandhi stayed on visits to London in a simple room on the top floor. 

A diversion round development works took me past the beautiful Drapers' Almshouses. Then, at Bow Road, a view of the church before the open exhibition at the Nunnery Gallery and a visit to the Bow Arts café.

The walk was just under three miles and took roughly an hour – without our usual chat and pauses to look at things, so allow longer for a walk with friends or family. Other café options are Three Mills, open on Sundays and during events, and Root/25 on Bow Road.

Fancy joining us for a walk? Look out for our next 'coming up' blogpost.

Coming up in November

Following Gandhi's footsteps, the rich tapestry of local history and a playful cuppa 

Our November Walk: Join us for a walk following the footsteps of Gandhi on Saturday 11th November at 10.30 am. Meet at Plaistow Station

Following our October speaker, we took our cue from the man himself. Gandhi apparently started at dawn for a regular walk to Plaistow along the Sewerbank, now known as the Greenway. If we go in reverse, meet at Plaistow and make our way back towards Kingsley Hall  via Three Mills it is about 2.5 miles and 57 mins according to the maps. Or just a few minutes more and we can have a coffee at Bow Arts – plenty of art on show as well as the café.

Our November talk: The Huguenots, with Tessa Murdoch. Thursday 16th October, 7pm for 7.30pm start 

The talk will open up another layer of the tapestry of our rich local history – the Huguenots. Bring along any of your own insights to share. Tessa Murdoch, an expert on Huguenot history is coming to talk to us about the Huguenots in London during the 17th and 18th Centuries. Tessa will speak about Britain's first refugees: the Huguenot Communities in London up to 1760.Tessa is also currently Acting Chair of the Huguenot Museum, Rochester and has forty years curatorial experience at the Museum of London (1981-1990) and the V&A (1990-2021). We will be at our usual venue: St Margaret's House, 15 Old Ford Rd, London E2 9PL. If the gate is locked when you arrive at St Margaret’s House, there will be a call bell on the right hand side at the back of the gate.

Our November coffee morning: Friday 24th November, Young V&A museum, meet between 10.30am and 11am

Time to get inside the Young V&A to explore. After the grand re-opening, the recent half term and before Christmas! Join us for a playful cuppa. Cambridge Heath Rd, Bethnal Green, London E2 9PA.

Our October talk

Gandhi and the Sisters – a talk by Peter Popham

We knew a bit about Gandhi. We have Kingsley Hall on our doorstep, where he stayed. But in this talk by Peter Popham, author and former foreign correspondent at The Independent, we heard of connections and complexities that we'd had no idea existed.

Gandhi was, of course, hugely famous – so famous that Charlie Chaplin wanted to meet him to discuss fame. Except that Gandhi didn't watch films so he had no idea who he was...

Born on the coast of Gujarat to the shopkeeping caste and married to Kasturba, he left for London to study law, becoming a suited and booted figure very different from the images we recognise now. His wife had been reluctant to let him go, worried about moral pollution, and made him vow that he would remain celibate, vegetarian and steer clear of alcohol.

Three years here changed him. He was influenced by Emmeline Pankhurst, Annie Besant (who was an active campaigner for Indian home rule), poet Sarojini Naidu, later Governor of Uttar Pradesh, and other female thinkers, their work remarkable here but unthinkable in India at the time. He remained a devout Hindu but fused it with Victorian liberalism.

On graduation, unable to get work in India, he answered the call of a friend in South Africa who needed a Gujarati and English speaking lawyer to settle a dispute. His experiences there made him determined to fight with non-violence the discrimination he experienced. He became Secretary of the British-Indian Association of Transvaal and convinced that empowering women was a way to change society, among his closest associates were women, including a fellow lawyer and a woman who would become his personal doctor and later, Minister of Health. 

Back in India, there followed the Salt March, against a tax on what had been a free resource. Only at the end of the march did the Viceroy have him arrested and jailed. His followers on the march included Sarojini Naidu. 

Gandhi was invited to Lancashire by mill owners keen to show him that a boycott he had organised had created hardship there. In a photograph from that trip was another influential British woman, the daughter of an admiral and one of his closest disciples for 20 years.

More ambiguous was his relationship after the death of his wife with young Manuben Gandhi, who he and his wife had brought up as a granddaughter. She travelled with him as his organiser, attendant and letter-writer and she kept a diary chronicling her life and Gandhi's last years. They also shared a bed, about which Gandhi was open. The nature of this was unclear but there was widespread disapproval at the time.

Gandhi's route to non-violent independence for India was far from straightforward and partition broke his heart. He was shot dead on his way to his daily prayer meeting. There was a huge funeral procession.

It was a thought-provoking talk and there was a lively Q&A. Peter also told us about his book, India be Damned, a thriller based on these events.

A big thank you to Peter for a fascinating talk. 

Our October Coffee Morning: Friday 27th October at 10.30 am

Continuing the book theme, this month we're meeting at Root/25, a coffee house with books, arts and community space where all profits go to Restless Beings' charity projects. 

Root/25, 116B Bow Rd, Bow, London E3 3AA.

News of Middlesex Federation's craft workshops

Also at our meeting, member Christine showed some silk painting she'd been doing at a Middlesex Federation workshop. To find out more about their upcoming workshops, head here.

Interested to join us? Look out for our next Coming up post for news of November's walk, meeting and coffee morning.

Our October walk

 A leafy loop in Enfield – our October walk

Inviting us outside our normal urban stamping ground, our member Christine showed us Enfield's historic heart – lanes like steps back in time, buildings with stories, lush, peaceful river walks and pretty parks. 

Looking at an artwork by Wendy Taylor, we learned that sundials' time differs from Greenwich Mean Time by several minutes, and at Enfield Town station, a plaque tells of the school on its site where Keats was educated.

A soup lunch at the library café was so delicious that I forgot to photograph it. And that this late-running straggler was not just shepherded digitally to the group but the walk's prettiest bits were retraced speaks of the friendliness of our walks.

Fancy joining us for the next one? Look out for our 'Coming up' blogposts.

Coming up in October

Coming up in October: Enfield footpaths, the Gandhi and the sisters and coffee and books in Bow

Our October walk: Saturday 14th October at 11.00 am. Meet at Enfield Town Overground station

Now part of Greater London, Enfield is an old market town, characterised by a charming network of footpaths lined by historic buildings and following the historic New River loop.

The walk will include highlights from The Enfield Society’s heritage walk and a loop through the town park. It's an easy walk of about an hour, with toilet stops en route. 

Be prepared for whatever the weather will bring. Always lots of time for chat and catching up, and there will, no doubt, be a coffee stop.

The Overground takes about 30 mins; two trains per hour. The 10.26am train from Liverpool Street arrives at Enfield Town at 11.05am.

Our October talk: Thursday 19 October  7.00pm for 7.30pm start – Gandhi and the Sisters, by Peter Popham 

To recognise Black History Month, we have a talk from Peter Popham, who has worked as a foreign correspondent, including in Albania and Mongolia, and spent time undercover in Burma. He is also an author and playwright. Peter writes:

"Mahatma Gandhi had a succession of deep friendships with women: the beautiful suffragist Emmeline Pankhurst;  Annie Besant, the social reformer who became the first president of the Indian National Congress. the poet and politician Sarojini Naidu, whom Gandhi called 'the nightingale of India.' Later, Madeleine Slade, daughter of a British admiral, became his most devoted disciple. And in his last years his 19-year-old grand-niece Manu, became his constant companion, both awake and asleep.

In my talk, illustrated with a PowerPoint slide show, I will discuss how Gandhi's ideas of non-violent revolution evolved through these stimulating and varied relationships, which culminated with India attaining independence without a shot fired."

We will be at our usual venue: St Margaret's House,15 Old Ford Rd., London E2 9PL. If the gate is locked when you arrive at St Margaret’s House, there will be a call bell on the right hand side at the back of the gate.

Our October Coffee Morning: Friday 27th October at 10.30 am

Join us for an informal cuppa – we're exploring as many different, interesting cafes as we can find in a year! As it is half term, we have chosen an off the beaten track venue, Root/25, a coffee house, arts and community space where all profits go to Restless Beings' charity projects. 

Root/25, 116B Bow Rd, Bow, London E3 3AA.

Our September meeting

Into the fold – an evening of Origami with Vanessa, our September meeting

Our President, Heather, writes:

"Despite the deluge, a plucky group made it to our (rather leaky) hall for a stimulating evening of Origami. Many thanks to Elizabeth for introducing us to Vanessa. Her work with all ages and abilities put her in a good position to introduce us to several charming creations. 

First up was a lovely 'envelope' with a pleated corner – perfect for a greeting or even a small 'enclosure' as my grandmother used to describe a gift of folded money or even a single premium bond certificate! 

The next item built on our initial skills of making folding guidelines to produce a circular decoration. The final piece was a very appealing stork with wings that flapped – some more elegantly than others! 

The pictures can hardly do justice to the concentration, dexterity and fun that went into the creations. There was plenty of co-operation –  and occasional moments of competitiveness... 

We all have the written guidelines to practise at home, so be prepared for further examples emerging at future meetings."

Pictures by Heather and Alison

Coffee Morning: Friday 29th September, 10.30

With a reputation for outstanding food and great service, the renowned team of Limpet Baron and David Hughes are now running the Ragged Café, based at The Ragged School Museum. Uniquely situated by the Regent’s Canal at Mile End, it offers both indoor and outdoor settings. Join us to try out the café at this historic location. Ragged School Museum, 46-50 Copperfield Road, E3 4RR. 

Our September walk

 

Histories, ballet, jazz, selfies, sculpture and sunshine – our September walk in Woolwich

On a scorching Saturday, we ambled to Woolwich Arsenal to explore its parks and riverside. 

We peered into a window of the new Acosta Dance Centre, formerly a military academy and officers' mess – and found ourselves peering back from a dance studio mirror. We followed the sound of a jazz rehearsal upstairs in Woolwich Works and were invited to look at a joyous family costume and props workshop by The Hundred Club x RESOLVE. We pondered women's work at the munitions factories, new parks and the intricacies of London brickwork. We spotted the Woolwich Ferry back in action. We admired a sculpture that looks like a Gormley but isn't (Assembly by Peter Burke) and a sculpture of Nike (which, thanks to a plaque, we now know how to pronounce properly – Nee-kay), a gift to the people of London for the 2012 Olympics. We took triple selfies of all of us taking a triple selfie. And we went to the beach. 

All in Woolwich.

Fancy joining us on a walk? Look out for the next 'Coming up' blogpost.

Coming up in September

A walk on the wild side, adventures in paper and canalside coffee – coming up in September

Our monthly walk: Saturday 9th September,11.00 Woolwich/ Maribor Parks. Meet at Woolwich Arsenal station (DLR) for something completely different  

Stroll through the Woolwich Park and/or the Maribor Park, and wander towards the river.  Did you know there is Woolwich foot tunnel as well as the free ferry? Latest news is that the ferry is out of operation as are the lifts for the tunnel (100+) steps. So, the option to test which is quicker may not appeal, and we may decide to enjoy the river bank instead!

Our monthly meeting: Thursday 21st September, 7 for 7.30pm start – Origami

Fold up that paper and create something delicate with  Vanessa Brightwell, who has been involved in the Mill Community running lots of art classes of different sorts. She will be leading us in the delicate art and no doubt we will all have something to treasure and take home!

We will be at our usual venue: St Margaret's House, 15 Old Ford Rd., London E2 9PL. If the gate is locked when you arrive at St Margaret’s House, there will be a call bell on the right hand side at the back of the gate.

Coffee Morning: Friday 29th September, 10.30

With a reputation for outstanding food and great service, the renowned team of Limpet Baron and David Hughes are now running the Ragged café, based at The Ragged School Museum. Uniquely situated by the Regent’s Canal at Mile End, it offers both indoor and outdoor settings. Join us to try out the café at this historic location

Ragged School Museum, 46-50 Copperfield Road, E3 4RR

Our August meeting

Enormous sunhats, family photos and impossible rock – our Summer childhood show and tell

Our President, Heather, writes:

"With plenty of Pimms (which comes with at least one of our 5-a-day portions of fruit and veg!), strawberries, meringues and cake, we had an evening of summer recollections.  Although the WI fi did not support the full blast needed to hear our summer song favourites, we did at least share a list of them and even sang a few scattered lines!

The Show and Tell produced some of the odd items that we used to collect as the obligatory souvenirs: curious shells with links to faraway and nearby places – Hayling Island for example; sticks of impossible to eat (or enjoy?) rock with the name all the way through. Even when they came in small pieces, I doubt that many were actually consumed. Huge sun hats were part of the created memory of sunny summers, and how we differently experienced the season. Some just got through it. Others seem to have had the best of it with access to beach huts - quite a luxury then and even more so now.

The photos of us as children raised some interesting conversations about how we have kept - or lost track of - those old photos.  Who in the family gets to keep the old albums?  It took some guesswork to match them to our current  selves. With a lovely range of shots we had to make use of the clues – from beautifully posed studio classics to atmospheric holiday snaps at stately homes and our gardens; places as far apart as Wales, France, Hong Kong and Egypt; and props such as camels, a teddy bear fancy dress costume, capacious and stylish jodhpurs; the period knitwear and dainty frocks with puff sleeves; the black and white compared to the introduction of colour.

Our small lives must have included hazards, as memories of TCP, Germolene and such like crept in, and not everyone's childhood was a sunny fairy tale, but we could leave our friendly, sociable evening with a piece of comforting cake and I trust everyone arrived home safely!

There was time to share family tales - enjoying blackberrying and the unforgettable blackberry and apple crumbles that followed.  Also, does every family have a story of unorthodox and unauthorised home haircuts? I am sure there will be continuing conversations.

Plus...

A very enthusiastic recommendation for a female artist came up – Alice Kettle. Textile Artist. Free exhibition, 'To Boldly Sew' at 99 Bishopsgate and 30 Fenchurch Street. 5th July - 29th September. Very highly recommended."

Our August Coffee Morning: Friday 25 August, 10.30am – Blu Ivy Cafe

Block C, 24 Stoneway Walk, Globe Town, London E3 5SH, off the Old Ford Road within Bow Wharf where the Hertford Union Canal meets the Regent’s Canal. 277 bus nearby; nearest tube Mile End.

Our August walk

Monumental stories, towering trees, ghost signs, Edgar Allan Poe, ducks, stained glass and a policewoman's hat – our August walk

We headed up to Stoke Newington this month for a walk full of stories... starting with Abney Park Cemetery, where there was magnificence but we were as interested by smaller stories, fashions in names and the language of memorial masonry. 

Stoke Newington Church Street showed us ghost signs (Fount pen repair, anyone?) and a bust of Edgar Allan Poe on the site of Manor House School, where he was a pupil. 

At Clissold Park, we paused at the wildflower planting to enjoy the cornflower blue, and admired a stylish wedding on our way to lunch at the café. 

Back on Church Street, we explored St Mary's Stoke Newington which, unusually, is two churches – the Gothic revival New Church and over the road, the Old Church.

Then, to the fire station, where there was an open day, much fun being had by small children with enormous fire engine hoses and a police stall, where we discovered that policewomen's hats have rigid crowns and were given key ring torches to take home.

Fancy joining us at one of our walks? They're on the second Saturday of each month – look out for our Coming Up blogposts to find out more.

Coming up in August

Magnificence in Stoke Newington, a picnic, a Summer celebration and a canal café – coming up in August

Our August walk: Saturday 12th August, 11.30am – Abney Park Cemetery and Clissold Park

Join us for a walk and picnic (bring your own) or buy your lunch from the Clissold Park Cafe. 

Meet at Stoke Newington Overground (four stops from Cambridge Heath) or the 276 bus stops nearby. Find out more about the cemetery here.

Our August meeting: Thursday 17th August, 7pm for 7.30pm start – Celebration of Summer

We'll provide the Pimms, Elderflower cordial, strawberries and nibbles.

Share your happy memories of Summers past! 

Bring along a photo of you as a child and we can see if we can guess who’s who…

Also, perhaps, an object that reminds you of Summer.

Got a favourite summer song or tune? Tell us and we will endeavour to play it for you!

We will be at our usual venue: St Margaret's House, 15 Old Ford Rd., London E2 9PL. If the gate is locked when you arrive at St Margaret’s House, there will be a call bell on the right hand side at the back of the gate.

Our August Coffee Morning: Friday 25 August, 10.30am – Blu Ivy Cafe

Block C, 24 Stoneway Walk, Globe Town, London E3 5SH, off the Old Ford Road within Bow Wharf where the Hertford Union Canal meets the Regent’s Canal. 277 bus nearby; nearest tube Mile End. Pictured: their luscious Instagram feed.

Our July talk

Women's safety – our July talk

Ajay from Life Centric (soon to rebrand as My Personal Safety) brought along tips, stories and devices for an informal talk and discussion. 

Ajay's interest in personal safety came from discovering that if in fending off an attack, your attacker is injured, they can sue.

Safety tips included:

• That statistically, the middle carriage of a train is the safest as it’s the most crowded
• Not having valuables on show 
• If making a call while out, having your back against a wall so that no-one can come up behind you
• Taking care when disposing of packaging of valuable items so that they don’t signal to burglars
• Walking in well-lit areas
• Thinking through whether a parking space might be more isolated after dark
• Not wearing headphones, to stay aware of our surroundings
• If being followed, going into a shop to ask for help

We discussed safety apps, self-defence versus running, reasonable force, online safety and the benefits and permission aspects of tracking. We raised the local issues of street theft, theft on public transport, crime on the canals and with knife crime common, concerns about intervening in an incident. 

With our group including a wide range of family and working knowledge, there were points and ideas contributed around opportunities to discuss safety with children and to involve young people in discussions about safety, in and out of school.

Ajay talked us through devices, from personal alarms through a combined safety device and poo bag dispenser for dog walkers to anti-spiking drinks covers, and warned against buying sprays online that might not be legal in the UK.

A big thank you to Ajay for a lively evening giving us much to think about, and for the mobile power banks and personal alarms given out at the end of the session.

And special mentions for Heather's marvellous baking, the glorious fuchsias in the St Margaret's House courtyard and the cheeky fox cub that tried to join our meeting. 

Our July coffee morning: Friday 28th July, 10.30am

Meet us for coffee and treat yourself to a delicious cake or pastry at Boulangerie Jade near Victoria Park. There is an outdoor patio we can meet in if the weather is fine.

Boulangerie Jade, 79 Lauriston Road, Hackney, London E9 7HJ.

Our July walk

A leafy stroll – our July walk

The lovely Victoria Park was our setting for a relaxed July stroll.

Our little band of walkers did a circuit of the pond, struck out to investigate the newly-reopened Young V&A and eyeing the cheeringly-long queue of eager families, decided that our return visit was for another day... 

So back to the park with us. 

Our walks are social and as we wandered, we covered a wondrous array of topics. 

If you'd like to join us – our walks are on the second Saturday of the month – look out for our Coming up blog posts.

Coming up in July 2023

A leafy stroll, women's safety and a boulangerie: coming up in July

Our July walk: Victoria Park – Saturday 8th July, 11.00am

Join us for a coffee and gentle stroll – meet at the Pavilion Cafe, Victoria Park at 11am for a walk around Regent’s Canal and Victoria Park.  As it’s holiday season and hot, we will keep it low key and relaxed.

Our July talk: Women’s Safety – Thursday 20th July, 7pm for 7.30pm start 

Ajay Ahluwalia, CEO of Life Centric will be speaking to us on the subject of women’s safety. “Life Centric is a social enterprise at the vanguard of personal safety, with a mission to promote social change, and gender equality.”

Bring along your questions relating to women’s safety.

We will be at our usual venue:  St Margaret's House, 15 Old Ford Rd, London E2 9PL. If the gate is locked when you arrive at St Margaret’s House, there will be a call bell on the right hand side at the back of the gate.

Our July coffee morning: Friday 28th July, 10.30am

Meet us for coffee and treat yourself to a delicious cake or pastry at Boulangerie Jade near Victoria Park. There is an outdoor patio we could meet in.

Boulangerie Jade,79 Lauriston Road, Hackney, London E9 7HJ

Our June talk

From Strudel to Crodough – Rinkoff Bakery, our June talk

In a story involving a chunk of the world and a slice of the East End, Esther Rinkoff treated us to the story of a Jewish family business founded in 1911.

Ray Rinkoff, Esther’s husband, started in the bakery at 15. They met when Esther was 17 and Ray 21. He would leave two doughnuts on the doorstep for her…

But the story starts with Hyman Rinkoff, one of three brothers in Ukraine. Their village bakery would have its doors open at the back to let out the flour dust and one day, Hyman, Abraham and Benet were called in to learn how to bake. If they could bake, they were told, they would always have a living. 

Hyman and Abraham came to East London escaping the Pogroms. Abraham and Hyman found work at bakeries. But testing positive for typhus, Benet had been turned back – his ship sailed for Brazil. Hyman and Abraham went all the way there to look for Benet. But Benet had died. Hyman and Abraham never left the East End again. Their language was Yiddish, a mixture of Hebrew and old German. Hyman was matchmade with his wife, Fanny. They established Lindy’s, related to Rinkoff and Sherrards. Hyman started the first Rinkoff bakery on Old Montague Street. 

Hyman and Fanny had seven children. After World War II, Barney Rinkoff wanted to expand the business, Hyman was happy with what he had, there was a Broigus (Yiddish for row) and Barney opened his own bakery in Hampstead Garden Suburb. Hyman’s youngest son Max joined the business. As a teenager, he met Sophie Perlmutter, the daughter at the butcher's shop in Old Montagu Street, Fanny did not approve and his little brother would deliver messages between their shops. Hyman died at 64, his health damaged over time by flour dust. Fanny died in 1953.

Back to Ray, a very naughty schoolboy but he loved baking and he wanted to become a patissier. He was found a job with a bakery with the Royal Warrant that made Princess Margaret’s wedding cake. Max asked him to come and work at Rinkoff. 

When Ray and Esther got engaged, Esther went to work at the bakery. Ray's brothers Derek and Lloyd joined when made redundant from jobs in fashion and advertising, bringing their knowledge with them, Derek's son Lloyd started as a little boy and Esther has brought her two daughters into the business, Jennifer, on marketing and new products, including the Crodough, and Debs, who runs the wholesale side of the business. And now there’s Lloyd’s eldest son Ben.

In the pandemic, they kept serving, delivered to those who couldn’t get out and found themselves on the BBC with their short videos on baking.

Five generations, two world wars; two pandemics, 300 products, new and original recipes and an international, multi-ethnic staff of 90, at this Jewish, yet not Kosher, venerable, yet modern, East End family bakery.

Crodoughs were tasted (delicious) and praise given for Heather’s wondrous mini Victoria sponges.

A big thank you to Esther for a fascinating talk.

Find out more about the bakery here and Esther's Walk Talk Bake walks here.

We’ll be visiting Rinkoff Bakery for our next coffee morning: Friday 23 June, 10.30am (ish),  242 Jubilee St, E1 3BS, nearest tube station: Stepney Green, or buses 25 and 205. Rinkoff’s is through the arch under the flats. 

Our June walk

Sculptures on a scorcher of a Saturday

For June's walk, Christine and Heather explored North Greenwich. Heather writes:

"Christine and I had a lovely walk around North Greenwich – even though we did not see the new Damien Hirst sculpture. It was a scorcher of a day, but the thunderstorms held off, and we saw – among so many other items – a Mermaid, a head in the wind, a Quantum Cloud, A Bullet from a Shooting Star, ping-pong tables to make your eyes swivel, half a ship, a talking tower of shipping crates, and a pointer which indicated how far you would need to travel to get back to where you were...

We revisited the Dome – recalling when we had first encountered it in its original incarnation – its immense size, capacity and its ability to evolve into a giant retail, entertainment and refreshment centre. We did not take the climb up and over, but had a restful cuppa and leisurely chat inside.

There is so much to see, and certainly worth returning to wander round all the bits we did not have time to enjoy."

If you'd like to join us on one of our walks, look out for our next 'coming up' blogpost.

Pictures by Christine and Heather.

Coming up in June 2023

Thames views, art, architecture and a double helping of a classic East End bakery – coming up in June

Our June walk: North Greenwich – Saturday 10th June, 11.00 

If you'd like some fresh air, join us at North Greenwich station to take a stroll around all the public art, architecture and landscape of the riverside scene and perhaps recapture the excitement of the Millennium Dome.

Meet at North Greenwich Underground Station, SE10 0BH at the top of the escalators at 11.00am.

Our June talk: Rinkoff's Bakery – Thursday 15th June, 7pm for 7.30pm at St Margaret's House, Old Ford Rd, E2 9PL

A representative of Rinkoff’s – the long-established East End bakery started in 1911 – will be talking to us about their family business. We will travel through the history of four generations who originally migrated to London from Kiev over a century ago. 

If the gate is locked when you arrive at St Margaret’s House, there will be a call bell on the right hand side at the back of the gate.

Our June coffee morning: Rinkoff's Bakery – Friday 23rd June, 10.30-ish  

Following on from our talk, our coffee morning this month is at Rinkoff's Bakery/café, 242 Jubilee St, E1 3BS. It is just off Whitechapel Road, so easy access. The café is small, but it does have a few tables outside and a bit of shade. 

Nearest tube station: Stepney Green, or buses 25 and 205. Rinkoff’s is through the arch under the flats. 

Our AGM and chocolate quiz

Reporting, quizzing and chocolate – our AGM

Our AGM is an important event in our year. There have been figures to prepare, the year to review and a look ahead. There's been keen-eyed admin by our Secretary, Celya, reporting from our President, Heather and thank you to Middlesex Federation for leading proceedings.

There's been some fiendish quiz-setting about chocolate too, from Sally, and a mystery chocolate tasting from Natasha. Chocolate might have been eaten...

And in all of that is a story about an active group of WI members that meets, learns, listens, walks, helps out and laughs together, that makes the most of its wide array of knowledge, interests and skills and that's built a cheerfully collaborative committee that can adapt around everyone's commitments, challenges and abilities. 

Here's to our next year.

Next:

Our coffee morning – Targa Green Café

Friday 26th May, 10.30 - 11.00 (ish!)

Join us for coffee, this month at Targa Green Café at 137a Tredegar Road, E3 2EU. 339 bus route. Adjacent to the Roman Road for anybody who fancies a bit of shopping afterwards!

Our May walk

A colourful walk in Victoria Park

Lush from the week's showers and full of blossom, Victoria Park was perfect refreshment for our May walk, full of colour – and we were a colourful group to match. 

Our walks are a chance to chat and they're always full of stories, this month of two young park workers who met there and of the old Lido.

Sally brought the knowledge, which set us talking about the origins of London's parks, this one created for public health, and there was refreshment of the café kind at The Hub.

If you'd like to join one of our walks, look out for the next 'Coming up' blogpost for details.

Coming up in May 2023

A regal park walk, our AGM and some chocolate – coming up in May 2023 

Our monthly walk – Victoria Park

Saturday 13th May, 11.00

As a nod to all things Royal we thought we would revisit Victoria Park. Does anybody know the distance to walk the perimeter? Well, bring your pedometers and we can find out! We’ll put together some fascinating facts as well to keep us entertained on the way round. Then we thought coffee/brunch/lunch at The Hub, with their delicious array of home-made cakes and savouries. Meet at Crown Gate E9 7DE - nearest the pavilion café and toilets.

Our AGM, with chocolate tasting and quiz – Thursday 18th May, 7 for 7.30pm, 

St Margaret's House, Old Ford Rd, E2 9PL

Our Annual General Meeting is an opportunity to review what we have achieved over the last year and to vote for committee members. We are always looking for more members to help us run EEWI, please consider joining the committee. 

Think you know your chocolate? Well, come along and have a go at this month's activities... In a change to the advertised programme, we now have a tasting of apparently-identical samples of chocolate, devised by Natasha, and a chocolate quiz, compiled by Sally.

If the gate is locked when you arrive at St Margaret’s there will be a call bell on the right hand side at the back of the gate.

Our coffee morning – Targa Green Café

Friday 26th May - 10.30 - 11.00 (ish!)

Join us for coffee, this month at Targa Green Café at 137a Tredegar Road, E3 2EU. 339 bus route. Adjacent to The Roman Road for anybody who fancies a bit of shopping afterwards!

Our April meeting

Two sketchy stories: our April meeting

In a change to the scheduled meeting (our best wishes to the Co-op speaker who had to pull out), our very own Lydia stepped in with two short talks – a bit of nerdery and a show and tell.

Adapted from a talk for Nerd Nite London, Pencils – a sketchy story delved into their history by way of smit marking, sourdough, a factory in Tottenham, artisanal pencil sharpening and Q. We raffled a bundle of pencils featured in the talk and joyously, the winner was our President, Heather, who loves beautiful stationery.

After a cake break, Lydia did a show and tell of her project Dispatches from a Small World. Originally a lockdown project, Dispatches reported from Lydia's East London garden in sketches. Lydia chatted through its discoveries, on materials, looking through drawing, finding stories, learning by doing and time.

Pictured above: The pencil talk; Heather winning the raffle (pictures by Alison); the Dispatches talk on screen and Lydia playing with projector selfies. 

Our April coffee morning: Friday 28th April at the Whitechapel Gallery, 77-82 Whitechapel High St, E1 7QX

Join us between 10.30 & 11.00 for coffee, chat and the chance to view the Gallery itself and maybe browse the bookshop, with some of the profits going towards the Gallery's future exhibition and education programmes.