paradise found

Paradise, it seems, is full of cakes, but only if you get there early.  This was all we had left at the East End WI marquee today at five o'clock.  So if you want to enjoy our baking, turn up early to Paradise Gardens this Sunday, meet lovely people, have a cup of tea and cake with us, buy one of our bags, and bliss out.

See you there.

june meetings

Get away from the football  at our summer crafting meeting on Tuesday 15th June when ceramics expert Murude Mehmet will show us how to make ceramic jewellery. You should bring an apron to protect clothing, a small board (small wooden cutting board is ok) everything else will be provided including clay, firing, glaze and ribbon. Whatever we make on the night will be fired after the event and distributed at a later date.  

Along with the jewellery, alternative crafts will also be on offer, including newspaper bag making, led by EEWI members.  If people would like to share a craft skill, do get in touch.  

We will also be making a temporary sign for our tea and cake stalls. Long term we are looking at getting something we can use forever and a day but we need something fairly swiftly for the next events. We liked the idea of making it at the next meeting so that everyone can have some sort of input. 

7.30pm for an 8pm start at St Margaret's House 7.30pm for an 8pm start

St. Margaret's House Settlement 21 Old Ford Road Bethnal Green E2 9PL

Entry to our new home is through the garden.  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,

Free for members £3 visitors.  Tea and coffee will be provided - please feel free to bring a bottle. All welcome so if you have never been before and you would like to see what we are all about please do come along.

Please bring along your old bras, newspapers, towels, pens and blankets for our various charitable causes.

Our coffee morning will be at Rich Mix on Friday 18th June at 10.30am.  For details on how to get there, follow the link or check out our newsletter.

Newsletter

Please find June's newsletter by clicking HERE

Please find Jo's Olympic Community Engagement Team notes HERE and HERE

weekending

If you are looking for a little outing this weekend - and it just might be sunny - you could make your way go to the Abbey Gardens Summer Fair this Saturday, 12th June from 12-4pm.

Abbey Gardens is an artist led community garden and they'll have plants for sale, teas, coffees, cakes, a photography exhibition, family activities and garden games. This is how it looked last time I was there in October - hope to see lots of vegetables this time round.   Follow the link to the  website for further information - the gardens are opposite Bakers Row (E15 3 NF) - map here.


Edited to add: More open gardens over the weekend at St Mary's Community Garden.  More details on our newsletter or follow the link

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.