First of all I want to thank Graham for our not too strenuous but far-ranging arm/plastic chair tour of Tower Hamlets, earlier in April.   Our first cake stall of the year, at the Museum of Childhood’s St Georges Day event, went very well, raising nearly £140. Our cakes as usual were very well received and extra strawberry cupcakes were much appreciated. A big thank-you to everyone who took part.   We are sending this newsletter out a little earlier than usual to give everyone plenty of time to prepare for EEWI’s 10th Birthday party & AGM on May 16th, starting from 7.00pm for a 7.30pm start, at St Margaret's House, 21 Old Ford Road, Bethnal Green, London E2 9PLE.    To find us enter via the gate to the left of the Gallery Cafe and walk around to the garden - you will see us in the hall which is behind the Gallery Cafe. If you have not been before or for a while don't lose heart – we will be there!   We would love all members, past, present and prospective to come and help celebrate our important anniversary.   There will be no visitor’s fee this month and we will be featuring local food producers, so having a more lavish spread of food and drinks than usual. If you have any favourites you would like represented please let us know by replying to this email, and we will do what we can to include them.   The AGM will feature a summary of last year’s finances and activities, and current members will be able to vote for the President and committee members. We are always open to new committee members, if you are interested please let us know.   The party will include reminiscing about what we have learnt and enjoyed with EEWI over any part of the past decade.  This could include evidence of the output from meetings - for example; tee-shirts, drawings, paintings, beading, swifts and many more. As well as stories of your favourite (or least favourite!) meetings that have been held over the past 10 years.     19th May from 9-10.30. our next coffee morning will be at Chisenhale Art Gallery, 64 Chisenhale Rd, London E3 5QZ. It will include a guided tour of the current exhibition. ***Please note the earlier time this month***     The Community Garden at Growing Concerns, 2 Wick Lane, London E3 2NA, is progressing well. We have several raised beds and have planted a range of veg. We are meeting regularly on Thursdays at 11am and would love it if anyone else wants to join in.

Hi I thought last month’s information about Freecycle’s Thursday lunches in Hackney and the embroidery with and Stitches in Time were great. I’m looking forward to seeing the finished tapestry, and wonder who will finish the bananas I started! We will pass on more information when we get it. April is looking busy, with Easter closely followed by our regular meeting and the first of our cake stalls for the year. More details are below. We have put together a list of the meetings and events we have planned for most of the rest of the year, and posted it on our website, click here. This is of course subject to change but I would highlight that May is our AGM and we will also be celebrating EEWI’s 10th Birthday, we plan to mark it with a more bountiful than usual feast of locally produced food. We will also have a competition for the best preserved work of art or curio produced at a meeting. It would be lovely if some of our past members could join current members to reminisce over old times and new. If anyone is interested in joining the committee please let us know. There is not too much work involved and it is always good to get new ideas. April’s activities 18 April - Graham Barker, will be talking about walking around the East End. He is the director of Walk East, which offers guided and self-guided walks ranging the length and breadth of our area. 21 April - Coffee morning, from 10.30, at Kafe 1788, 4 Vesey Path, Poplar, London E14 6BT. 23 April - Museum of Childhood Cake stall, 11.30-4.30. Is our first fund raising event of the year and is often a good way of meeting potential new members and raising our profile. Help on the day and cakes are needed. 26 April - Tower Hamlets St. George’s Day Tea dance, held at the Art Pavilion, Mile End Park, 2-4.30. We usually have 2-3 people helping to set-up, serve tea & coffee and tidy up at the end. There are also tickets available for Tower Hamlets residents. 14 April - Deadline for the MFWI Denman Bursary Draw There are 2x£100 bursaries for courses held at Denman to be taken between 1 May 2017 and 30 April 2018. All entrants’ name, e-mail, full address and a contact telephone number must be received at Federation Office by 14 April 2017. If you can help or want more details for any of these events please let us know. Membership Many of you have already renewed or joined for this year, for those that haven’t membership fees for the remaining 9 months of the year are just £29.25. This can be done at the meeting, or if you want to pay via a bank transfer our banking details are:- Lloyds    Sort code 30-94-57    A/c 02044729 Please email eastendwi@hotmail.co.uk to confirm that you have joined/renewed so we can keep track of who has paid.