Our June talk

From management to civil celebrant – our June talk by Ruby Warnock

East End WI member Christine writes:

Our June meeting saw an engaging talk by Ruby Warnock, civil celebrant. Ruby changed career from corporate events management to celebrant, as helping people is important to her. 

We learned that celebrants began in Australia and started in the UK in the 1980s with humanists. Unlike registrars, celebrants' events do not carry legal status (for example, a legal marriage would be needed before a celebrant wedding). Celebrant events are therefore free to be bespoke and unique. 

Ruby told us about her training and the skills needed. Celebrations can include community rituals, one of which, 'handfasting', was gamely demonstrated by our volunteers Natasha and Heather!

Pictures by Christine

This month's coffee morning: The Nunnery Café, Bow Road (Bow Arts Trust), Friday 27th June 10.30 - 11.00am

One of our favourite cafés and a chance to continue the art theme of our June walk with a look at Bow Open: Connections. 

The Nunnery Gallery, 181-183 Bow Road, E3 2SJ, nearest stations: Bow Road tube and Bow Church DLR, plentiful buses nearby.

Our June walk

Hampstead Heath, Kenwood House and Sargent – our grand June walk

What a contrast... our last walk on the Heath had been on an icy day, Parliament Hill views obscured by mist; June saw us striding out in lush greenery and dappled sunshine. 

Our walks being chatty, we covered all manner of topics as we wound our way through woodland and grassland.

We were heading to Kenwood House for our café stop and for walkers who hadn't seen it, its exhibition Heiress: Sargent's American Portraits. 

In 2022, East End WI member Natasha, a Tate volunteer, had given us a tour of John Singer Sargent's portraits in Tate Britain's Wertheimer bequest, a rare opportunity to hear from someone who's related to the people in the paintings. On our walk, Natasha gave us the back-stories of some of the women in this exhibition, who included the UK's first sitting female MP. 

Those of us heading on to the exhibition (via a look at Kenwood's restored bath house) were fascinated by the freshness and modernity of the drawings and how his loose brushstrokes described cloth and drapery.

Two of us stayed to explore the house; one got interestingly lost – which presented an opportunity for a reprise of the view from Parliament Hill. It's nice when that happens.

Fancy joining us for a walk? Look out for our coming up blogposts or if you're a member, for the monthly e-newsletter.

This month's coffee morning: The Nunnery Café, Bow Road (Bow Arts Trust), Friday 27th June 10.30 - 11.00am

A chance to visit one of our favourite cafes and to continue the art theme with a look at Bow Open: Connections. 

The Nunnery Gallery, 181-183 Bow Road, E3 2SJ, nearest stations: Bow Road tube and Bow Church DLR, plentiful buses nearby.

Pictures by Lydia and Christine

Coming up in June

A grand walk to Kenwood, a civil celebrant, coffee at the Nunnery and exhibition news – coming up in June

Our monthly walk: Saturday 14th June, Hampstead Heath and Kenwood

Our walk takes us a bit further afield this month. Meet at Hampstead Heath station on the Mildmay line at 11.00am.

Then we’ll take a stroll across the Heath to Kenwood House for refreshments at its lovely café and a diversion if we wish to the John Singer Sargent exhibition Heiress: Sargent's American Portraits. On the Kenwood section of the English Heritage website: 'the real stories behind the fascinating American women who crossed the Atlantic to marry British aristocrats in an exchange of money for titles. These women include a war-time nurse, a helicopter pilot and the first sitting female MP.'

Our June talk: Ruby Warnock, Civil Celebrant, Thursday 19th June, St Margaret’s House 7 for 7.30pm

(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)

For this month’s meeting we welcome Civil Celebrant Ruby Warnock:

“My name is Ruby and I am a Civil Celebrant for all of life’s celebrations. I want to make sure every milestone is honoured in a way that truly reflects who you are, whether it is a wedding ceremony, a funeral service, a baby naming, or anything as outside the box as an office opening or a divorce! I love to work with clients, couples and families in depth, crafting bespoke, personalised ceremonies – from the style to the content – that mean no one will ever have the ceremony that you do, it’s yours.”

This month's coffee morning: The Nunnery Café, Bow Road (Bow Arts Trust), Friday 27th June 10.30 - 11.00am

A chance to visit one of our favourite cafes and to continue the art theme from our walk earlier in the month with a look at Bow Open: Connections. Bow Arts writes: 'work from our studio holders and artist educators, providing a snapshot of some of the most exciting art being made in east London today.'

The Nunnery Gallery, 181-183 Bow Road, E3 2SJ, nearest stations: Bow Road tube and Bow Church DLR, plentiful buses nearby.

In other news

Our new Secretary Janet, who gave our talk on The Archers in April, has her fabulous quilts on show in the upcoming London Quilters exhibition Quilts at the Library, at Swiss Cottage Library, 88 Avenue Road London NW3 3HA, 3 June to 3 July.