Our Summer picnic

 

Happy 110th birthday, WI!

Christine writes:

Our summer picnic celebrated 110 years of the WI. The capricious weather was too chill for the garden, but we were very comfortable in the hall. Our President Sally put us through our paces with a quiz about the WI, which lead to lots of interesting spin off chat. We decided to dispense with making  paper name badges at every meeting and crafted some decorative reusable ones. What a creative bunch we are!

Pictures by Christine

Our monthly coffee and meet-up: Dialogue Express Café

Friday 29th August, meet at 10.30-11.00, 96 Gibbins Road, Stratford E15 2HU

A chance to support an innovative local enterprise housed in an old train carriage... 

“Dialogue Express Café has a very strong commitment to social inclusion and change. We encourage our customers to order in British Sign Language to spark a conversation between visitors and our deaf or hard of hearing baristas." 

Our August walk

The Magnificent Seven and a four-legged friend – walking the Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park heritage trail

While running the tea and cake stall at the Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park Summer Community Fair, we had spotted a new heritage trail map. So for this August's walk, we've set off to explore, a four-legged friend joining us for our wander.

Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park is one of the Magnificent Seven London cemeteries, (the other six are Abney Park, Highgate, Kensal Green, Nunhead, Brompton and West Norwood) opened in 1841 in response to rapid population growth and overcrowded urban burial grounds. Now, it's a leafy place full of human stories.

We started at the Grade 2 listed Westwood monument, then paused at the Barnardo's memorial nearby, to three of his children and the many Barnardo's children buried in the cemetery. Beyond the Masonic graves was the grave of music hall artist and pugilist Alexander Hurley. There were anglicised names; seafaring stories; the victims of the Bethnal Green tube station disaster in WWII kept quiet at the time. In a row of carved angels was the monument to celebrated Poplar publican Charlie Brown, who had a proper East End send-off – on the day of his funeral, the pavements were lined six people deep. And we looked for the primary school teacher and settlement worker Clara Grant, who changed the way her school worked, providing hot breakfasts, clothes, shoes and 'farthing bundles' – tiny toys made from scraps. 

As we walked and chatted, we took a closer look at graves' text where it had worn away, wondered about the burials marked only by reference letters and dates, spotted wildflowers, berries, butterflies dancing and admired a magnificent tiger moth perched obligingly on an information board.

Our stop for coffee and delicious snacks was the Mile End Sandwich Bar, where the cheery member of staff coped admirably with the sudden arrival of seven of us.

Fancy joining us for a walk? Look out for our next Coming Up blogpost for news.

Our thanks to Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park for publishing this new way to explore the park. Printed leaflets are available on its shop, or there are free PDFs of the map and text.

Coming up in August

Coming up in August: leafy heritage, a celebration in the garden and signs of coffee

Our monthly walk: Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park

Saturday 9th August 11.00, meet by the main gate near the war memorial.

While running our cake stall at Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park's Summer Community Fair, we saw that a new heritage trail leaflet had been published. So this month, we'll be walking the trail. Download a free PDF leaflet with map here.

Meet by the main gate near the war memorial.

Our monthly meeting: a 110th birthday celebration

Please note – the date for our meeting has changed: now Thursday 21st August, 7 for 7.30pm at St Margaret’s House, 21 Old Ford Road, London E2 9PL, entrance via the gate to the left.

(If you’re joining us for the first time, feel free to email us and someone will meet you at the entrance on Old Ford Road.)

The WI is 110 years old! Groups are encouraged to celebrate with a party in the park. Thanks to the lovely team at St Margaret's House, we'll be in the beautiful garden beside our meeting hall at the back of the café. There will be quizzes, refreshments and something to make.

If you are able, please bring food that you might have as a picnic tea, to share, or if you have specific dietary requirements, you may want to eat your own. We will supply the drinks.

We also plan to discuss what we think should be the vision/s for the future women of the WI. The National Federation of Women's Institutes would like us us to consider:

"In the WI, we proudly stand on the shoulders of giants, the army of women who forged our path for 110 years, but what of the women who will come after us, the WI members of the future? What do you wish for for those women? Maybe it’s safety on the streets and in their own home, a planet that sustains them, or the confidence to be everything they want to be.  

Whatever your wish, we want to hear it. In these challenging times, when women still face so many obstacles to achieving their dreams, we ask: what is YOUR message of hope?"

We may share our suggestions with the National Federation afterwards.

Our monthly coffee and meet-up: Dialogue Express Café

Please note – the date for our coffee has changed: now Friday 29th August, meet at 10.30-11.00, 96 Gibbins Road, Stratford E15 2HU

A chance to support an innovative local enterprise housed in an old train carriage... 

“Dialogue Express Café has a very strong commitment to social inclusion and change. We encourage our customers to order in British Sign Language to spark a conversation between visitors and our deaf or hard of hearing baristas."