Our amazing BHWI Community Choir turned one yesterday and they celebrated in style by belting out Bohemian Rhapsody, bopping along to sing-a-long Mama Mia, and eating lots of cake. There may have been a bit of an impromptu performance at the pub afterwards, too... And I'm pretty sure that Nick never, ever expected to be serenaded in the disabled loo!

This month we had an amazing evening with Michele Fricker from our local home-bakery, Crust and Crumbs.  We heard all about how Michele got started in the biz, learned that there's a world of difference between supermarket flour and the really good stuff (Shipton Mill, in case you were wondering), and heard how she manages to bake all night with three young children. Amazing is the perfect word for her!

The highlight of the evening was the bread making demonstration.  Michele picked four willing (and possibly over-excited) volunteers and got them weighing, mixing and kneading in no time at all.  I think everyone came away with some new-found knowledge and our volunteers got to take their dough home and bake the next morning.

I'm told that the queue at Crust and Crumbs on Saturday morning was bristling with BHWI ladies!

Crust and Crumbs
http://www.crustandcrumbs.co.uk/


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Just look at our beautiful stall!  Our members have been crafting away furiously over the last few weeks to make lots of gorgeous Christmas goodies for our charity stall at the local Handmade Christmas Market.  All proceeds from the stall were donated to our charity, South Glos. Youth Housing.

Today the women of the WI flooded social media with pictures of themselves, in an attempt to shake off the fuddy-duddy image that many people get when they think of the Women's Institute.  Search for the #iamwi hashtag on your favourite social media to see us all!

Here are some of our fabulous BHWI members.
Instead of an August meeting, we met up in Bromley Heath park for a bit of a picnic and some yarn bombing!

BHWI August 2014
With many members away during August Bromley Heath WI did not organise a formal meeting. Instead we decided to have a picnic in the park. It was a great opportunity to socialise and share some lovely food – both things our ladies seem to do so well! We also indulged in a bit of community “yarn bombing”! Several of our members had prepared bunting and other knitted articles and these were used to decorate the park. There have been lots of positive comments about it brightening up the area and it certainly brightened our evening!



BHWI News from July
The guest speaker at the July meeting was the fabulous Lou from Eclectic Avenue. Lou showed us how to restore an old picture frame, using specialist paints and wax to create a distressed effect. The finished article was impressive. Have you noticed any of our WI ladies who were inspired by Lou, rummaging in the local charity shops for articles to “upcycle”?
Cake sale
BHWI members baked a mouth-watering array of delicious goodies for their cake stall at Bromley Heath Junior School’s summer fayre. They raised an admirable £150 which was split equally between the school and South Gloucestershire Youth Housing, BHWI’s chosen charity.
Good Neighbours
The “Good Neighbours” sub-group have decided to join forces with the Bromley Heath Friendship Club, a recently formed group of local volunteers, who aim to befriend housebound or isolated residents in the area, in order to improve their quality of life.
Bra bank
Debbie Ellis had the idea of BHWI having a bra bank where we could deposit unwanted bras to raise funds for breast cancer research. We filled the box after one meeting and are on the way to filling it again – that’s a lot of bras!
Tea and Tents

At the end of June, several of our members joined women from WI's all over the country for a fun camping event called “Tea and Tents”.  They returned enthused with new ideas for events and activities. Karen Algate said: “It was amazing!! Next year we want everyone to come and join the fun. We met so many inspirational women, exchanged fantastic ideas with other WIs and made some great links with some local WIs!” So watch this space as we make some of those ideas reality over the next few months!
We went to Tea & Tents. Lots of pics/collages.
Pottery painting workshop
African drumming group.

That may not sound like the WI to you, but Bromley Heath WI never set out to conform to a stereotype! This month, members arrived at their meeting not knowing what to expect. The meeting was titled “Getting to know you” and they had been invited to bring a drink – alcoholic or not. Of course tea and copious amounts of cake were available as usual!

How do over 200 ladies get to know each other? That was the question the committee had decided to tackle. When BHWI was set up, one of the aims was that women of all ages should be brought together for lots of fun and laughter. There was certainly plenty of that this evening!

We started with some “speed dating”, all pairing up with some we didn’t already know. After 3 minutes of chat, we all changed over to the sound of the Benny Hill theme tune. This raised a giggle as well as making us move around the room faster!

Next many of us were reduced to tears of laughter as Debbie took to the microphone to tell us two truths and one lie about herself. We were intrigued to know which one of her hilarious facts about herself was a big fat lie! Then it was our turn, in small groups, to come up with two truths and one lie about ourselves, with the truths often sounding more outrageous than the lies!

Feedback at the end of the evening was very positive with several members suggesting we do it again.

Next month we will be announcing the charity that we will support for the next year. 

This month we were in for a treat at Bromley Heath WI. After tea and cake we dimmed the lights, closed our eyes and, for most of us, relaxed for the first time all day listening to the soothing voice of Jayne from Vicarage Farm. Once we were all feeling suitably relaxed, Jayne took to the stage to demonstrate a hand massage technique on a very willing volunteer. It was then our turn to give each other a hand massage. We all agreed that we enjoyed ourselves and most of us felt much more relaxed than when we arrived. Although to an onlooker it may not have seemed a very calming atmosphere amongst all the laughter and chatter!

I think it tickled her fancy...
Whilst having more tea and cake (optional!) we heard some of the nominations for BHWI's chosen charity for 2014. After short-listing by the committee, members will vote at March’s meeting to decide on the winning charity. Watch this space to find out which deserving local cause will benefit from this year’s BHWI fundraisers!

Diane Flower