nights at the museum

There is something magical about being in a museum when it's closed to the public.  Not that it was quiet exactly.  The lovely women from the new V&A WI had invited London WIs to a Quilts social, so there was plenty of wine,  food and chat going on.  We were in great company,  including Ruth Bond, the National Federation WI Chair and Vice Chair Janice Langley and the ladies from the Essex Federation.  There was a chance to say hello to WI neighbours from Wanstead, Clapham and North West London.  And then, of course, there were the glorious quilts.  Sue Pritchard, the curator of the fabulous quilts exhibition, gave us a quick tour of some of the exhibits - including the evocative Rajah quilt and the work of the men from Wandsworth Prison after which we had time to look around at our own pace and be tempted by the Liberty quilting fabrics.

Massive thanks to the V&A WI for their warm welcome and generosity - and inspiring me to get on with a bit of quilting of my own,

Off to the Tower...

One of the amazing elephants that form part of the Elephant Parade that are decorating London at the moment to raise awareness of the plight of Asian elephants. For more info click here
This is the one outside the Tower.

and then on to tea and cakes in the gorgeous Armouries Cafe with Moira where we judged the cakes an overall 6.9. At some point we will publish all of our results but at the end of the day this is a great cafe and we had a fabulous time. Don't forget if you are a Tower Hamlets resident you can get into the Tower for £1. Just take proof of ID and address to the ticket kiosk.

in other news...

It's been a busy couple of weeks.  We're starting to get ready for the tea and cake season - just over three weeks now until Paradise Gardens on 19th and 20th June.  We'll be updating our events page with more information on places we'll be selling tea and cakes, and there will be more in our newsletter on how you can get involved in the events if you are interested.

In other news:

:: great evening at the the performance of Mrs Warren's Profession at the Comedy Theatre last Wednesday - much more thought provoking than I expected!  If you are especially interested in another production, do let us know.

:: sunny weather and lots going on at the Tower of London when we had our coffee morning there last Friday - pics to follow.

:: holding our breath to find out whether the ten people who attended the food hygiene course last Saturday have passed their Level 2 test.

:: made it onto the front page of the Islington Gazette a few weeks ago after serving tea and cakes at Richard Cloudesley School at an exhibition of pupils' photography.  Special thanks to Maggie for inviting us - it was a real pleasure to see everyone tucking into the cakes with such gusto.

:: went back to Chisenhale with tea and cakes for a viewing of their latest exhibition for local parents.  Looking forward to being around too for the Darktown Cakewalk in July.

:: getting ready for the WI AGM next week on 2nd June in Cardiff.

Phew.

hot stuff

It turned out to be a little warm last week at our new venue, St Margaret's House. The sun had been shining, the heating was still turned on and then we had the excitement of the power point blowing up!  We are very grateful to Karim for keeping his cool when he told us about the excellent work of the London Air Ambulance Service in providing emergency services quickly to those who need it within the "platinum ten minutes" to save lives.  Good to know that we have a crack team working at the Royal London.

Thanks too to Chris Gurney who came along to talk about the work the Food Chain does to deliver food and advice to Londoners  who are chronically sick as a result of  HIV infection.  The Food Chain is keen to attract  volunteers -  to work in their kitchen, drive, navigate or help with admin work.  If you want to know more, check their website, or have a word with Niki or Veronika who can tell you more about work as a volunteer for the charity.

We're loving the new venue and expect to have made ourselves properly at home when we meet there again for our next meeting on 15th of June when we'll be doing some summer crafting.  Looking forward to it.

cats and dogs

We had a grand day at Parklife and the Mile End dog show on Sunday.  Thanks go to all you lovely bakers and helpers (and to John for putting up the gazebo) and dealing with the challenges of no power and lukewarm tea.

We did get caught in the monsoon-like downpour at four o'clock so we all got just a little bit, erm, soaked, along with the bunting and everything else.  Pleased to say everything has now dried off nicely.  Except my addled brain.

PS Coffee morning this Friday 21st - meet at the ticket kiosk at 10.30.  If you are a Tower Hamlets resident you will get in for £1 with evidence of address ( utility bill, rates bill etc).  If you are not a Tower Hamlets resident, let Niki know so that we can make alternative arrangements.

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Shelter from the storm at Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park

This Sunday EEWI supported the Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park which looked beautiful in the rain. The cemetery park team put on a fantastic day despite the weather and the EEWI team ran the tea and cake stall which went down a storm(?) as everyone needed a hot drink to warm them up. Cakes were provided by the friends of the THCP and 75% of the money raised went to the park.

We hope that this will be the first of many events we collaborate on and are talking to Ken from the park about organising an EEWI bat walk at some point between now and September where we will be taken around a park in Tower Hamlets to watch the bats in the twilight then perhaps on to a pub.....