Coming up in May

A watery wildlife walk, a bit of a bath house, well-being workshops, an update on our canals and taking care of business – coming up in May

Our monthly walk: Saturday 11th May, 11.00am – Lovely scenery, dabbling ducks and goslings at Walthamstow Wetlands, 2 Forest Road, Walthamstow, London N17 9NH

Meet at the entrance to the Engine House visitor centre. You can get to the reserve by either using Blackhorse Road or Tottenham Hale stations, both about equidistant in either direction (of note the visitor centre is a little closer to the entrance from the Tottenham Hale direction). 

There are some lovely walks around the reservoirs with a couple of bird hides to view the resident waterfowl. (If you’ve got binoculars they may well come in handy!) Currently there are also a lot of young geese and ducks. The café and well-stocked shop are also well worth a visit. There are also rest rooms. 

Find out more on the reserve's informative website. 

Our monthly meeting and Annual General Meeting: Thursday 16th May, 7 for 7.30pm start, at our usual venue: St Margaret's House, 15 Old Ford Rd, London E2 9PL

For our AGM, we will be joined by reps from Middlesex Federation to oversee the necessary elections - to the committee and the named positions.  It is a vital and important part of what keeps us secure as a WI, and we warmly invite anyone who would like to, to join and contribute to the friendly ensemble of the committee and shape the events, companionship, learning and fun of our own EEWI.

Once the business is done, Carolyn – one of our own members – will talk about the history of the canals, with a focus on women. This relates to one of the previous, prescient WI resolutions on water, which has been brought into sharp focus recently with the Mighty Thames featuring unfavourably in the pollution charts.

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 24th May – The Old Baths, Hackney Wick, 80 Eastway, London E9 5JH. Meet between 10.30am and 11am

Coffee, chat and artworks. (bet you didn’t know that there is also a community sauna here, as well as The Hackney Wick Library of things… you can discover when we visit!).

In other news: the WI Learning Hub

A few months ago we told you about the re-launch of the WI learning hub. 

As a member, the majority of the events are free of charge. You can either join them live on Zoom or catch them as a recording in the next 7 days or so.

One of our members told us that The Hub has been a very welcome distraction, informative, fun and creative during a difficult time. With that in mind we wanted to bring your attention to a special week of sessions to be held on the WI learning hub:

Me, Myself & WI Week - 13th - 17th May

"The WI has an outstanding reputation for supporting members during times of change and uncertainty; the positive, motivational, and inspirational ways in which members support one-another, both within their WIs and with fellow members across the country is inspiring and empowering. 

In recognition and support of this, the WI Learning Hub is proud to offer members access to the Me, Myself & WI programme between 13th May – 17th May. 

Join us this week, to access a range of courses and content, that will help explore practical strategies for incorporating self-care into daily routines and highlight its significance for overall well-being."

Visit the WI Learning Hub and its wealth of wonderful activities here.