Welcome to our April newsletter..

Loads to say as usual so let's get on with it.

April's Monthly Meeting Tuesday 19th April 7pm for a 7.30pm start St Margaret's House
This month we are looking at Safe Travel In London. Two officers from the Metropolitan Police Safer Transport Team will be talking to us about cycle security, safety on London's buses and tubes as well as handing out some on theme goodies.They will also be there to answer any questions you have about safety on public transport as well as what it's like to be a woman in the force in the present day.  Those of you that attended our talk about 7 years ago from a female police officer working in Tower Hamlets will know it can be a very interesting topic.
We meet at St Margaret's House on Old Ford Road in the hall which is at the back of the building which you access by going through the black gates on Old Ford Road to the left of the Gallery Cafe and follow the path round the garden to the right - you will see the hall in front of you.
Free for members, £4 for visitors, all women welcome. Refreshments provided and we welcome all donations of the financial or baked (or bought) sort
.
April Coffee morning Friday 22nd April 10.30am  The Peanut Vendor
This month we will be meeting at The Peanut Vendor on Gunmaker's Wharf just off Old Ford Road at the entrance to the park. The peanut Vendor is a vintage furniture shop but it also has a cafe and is in a great position being right next to one of the park gates and a short walk from Roman Road market. For  more info click here.

April and May Afternoon Tea 
April - Monday 4th at Marks and Spencer in Westfield Stratford 3.30pm
May - Monday 9th of May (the 2nd is a bank holiday) Genesis cinema 2.30pm - not earlier meeting time so we can fit in a film. All movies are £4.50 on a Monday and although the programme has not been announced for that date yet, on the day whoever is there will decide what to go and see.

St George's Day Tea Dance Wednesday 20th April  2pm to 4.30pm. 
Every year we help out at the LBTH St George's Day Tea Dance which is taking place at the Art Pavilion. If you are interested in helping out with the EEWI team please contact eastendwi@hotmail.co.uk but also check out the event here as you or someone you know might like to go along. It is always a great afternoon with a really wonderful band.

St George's Day Fete  at Museum of Childhood Saturday 23rd April 11.30am to 4.30pm
We will be running a cake stall at this event on the 23rd. If you can bake or help out, even just for an hour, please do let me know on eastendwi@hotmail.co.uk or grab me at the next meeting. This is a great event and obviously if you are free you should go along and enjoy it. For more info about the day please clickhere.

Blatant Self Promotion 
Tomorrow I am heading out to Palestine to take part in the 2016 Palestine Marathon. Don't panic I am not doing the full marathon. I am having a go at the half. I have never been to Palestine before and have wanted to go for a very long time. Some friends of mine, who have been many times before, and myself are raising money for a school in Jenin that has a leaky roof. If you can spare even a couple of quid that would be amazing and you can sponsor us by clicking here. And if I manage to take enough pictures I will maybe come and share them one evening if we are ever short of a speaker.

East End Women's Museum 
You may remember a number of demonstrations organised outside the Jack the Ripper Museum on Cable Street last year. I won't go into all again here but the two women who co-ordinated those events have set up an organisation called East End Women's Museum and they have an exhibition taking place at the Whitechapel Idea Store until the 21st April. For more info about the museum click here.

Upswing Classes
For those of you interested in getting fit and more specifically learning a little bit about ariel and circus, as shared with us by the amazing Vicki Amedume back at our meeting in January, they have just published their time table for the next round of 'Fit For Flight' classes currently taking place at Cardboard Citizens in Whitechapel. There are lot of other interesting classes too but for more info about Fit For Flight click here
.
Core Buds
I have been supporting the work of Core Projects who work with young people who have learning difficulties. They have a number of floristry projects and 
the items they make are available to buy. I still have my Christmas wreath on my front door as I love it so much and also have a beautiful willow heart. Their latest project involves little succulents that you hang on your window. For more info and for the contact details please look here. And if you order anything I would be happy to deliver to you - either to a meeting or to you at your convenience.

Middlesex Federation Newsletter
Please find attached here this month's newsletter from out federation 

Membership
For those of you that were members in 2015 we would appreciate it if you could renew before the end of March - not much time I realise. The fees for current members for 2016 are £37.50 You can do this via online banking - our details are;
East End WI 
02044729
30-94-57 
And please email our treasurer Jo Kelman on jo_kelman@yahoo.co.uk
If you are new to EEWI and would like to join the membership fees for this year from April are £28.10. This is if you have just started coming to us and are joining to recognise the fact you have missed three months.
Again you can do this online as above or you can join at a meeting.

We want you to be part of EEWI in whatever way suits you, so if you are only going to come a few times a year we are happy for you or just pay the visitor fees, but if you join you get 8 copies of WI Life magazine a year and more importantly opportunities across the year from EEWI such as taking part in the EEWI Bursary - more on that next month.

May meeting - our AGM
This is just a little reminder that our May meeting is our AGM. We have some fun things lined up to go along with the admin but I will be standing down as President and we will be voting in a new one. If you feel you would like to join our committee we are always looking for more people however much or little time you feel you can offer - it is good to have a wide range of heads to put together!

There is so much more to tell you but I think that has to be it for now.

Any questions of queries drop us a line at eastendwi@hotmail.co.uk or grab one of the committee at our meetings.

I hope you are all enjoying the lighter evenings even though they seem to have brought with them very strong winds!

Niki Stevens
President EEWI

EEWI meets Chapel Cinema

EEWI meets Chapel Cinema

Thank you to everyone who came along to Chapel Cinema last night that EEWI hosted this week as part of Women's History Month. The film is an interesting one taking you on a bit of a rollercoaster. Interesting in that many mainstream films, action movies, have male characters killing dozens of voiceless background actors with no exploration of the grief those deaths might cause and often we don't think twice about it - it never seems to worry the character either. In Thelma and Louise we are following the two friends through their painful exploration of killing Harlan, the hideous rapist, in the car park of a roadside nightclub and how that act, along with the baggage they both drag around with them, sends them on a crime spree that enables them to truly find themselves. If you haven't seen it, see it.

It was really well attended and almost all of the cakes got eaten so that is the main thing. A particular favourite was ......

For more info about Chapel Cinema - the FREE  cinema in the Chapel at St Margaret's House, click here.

And for information about The Insider's Guide, an annual book that celebrates all things Bow and is the product of an amazing journalism course aimed at local people, click here.

We hope to see you at our next meeting on April 19th.