Reports
Photos and reports of some of GFWI's recent events.

Inter County Bowls match
Diana Colbeck writes: Waterproofs, anoraks and winter woollies were the order of the day for the annual inter county bowls match against Avon Federation, this year hosted by Avon at Olveston on a cold August day. Strong winds and light showers made playing conditions difficult but this did not deter the Gloucestershire members who played a well-contested match to regain the shield. Everyone enjoyed the friendly atmosphere, making new friends or meeting old rivals both on the green and afterwards over a delicious tea. Congratulations to all our players, well done to the newcomers and grateful thanks to our captain, Glen Wood, who did an excellent job. If anyone else is interested in playing bowls for the county do send your details to Liz at WI House.

GFWI takes to the air gliding
Fantastic. Amazing views. Something I’ve always wanted to do. I’m so glad I tried it even though it made me feel queasy. Just some of the comments passed by WI members on landing after their gliding experience.

Despite doubts about the wisdom of offering members the opportunity to try gliding, it proved so popular that two sessions were held to allow all thirty-eight members and family to take to the air from Nympsfield airfield. Everyone was greeted at the Bristol & Gloucestershire Gliding Club clubhouse and then transferred in small groups to the ‘control bus’ at the end of the airfield. After being introduced to a friendly, reassuring instructor we walked to a glider. Lying there lopsided on the ground it looked very small, compact and lightweight to carry two people but the long wings and sleek appearance were to be admired. Now the fun started. First, putting on the parachute, surprisingly heavy, and when instructions followed not to touch the D-ring except in an emergency the heart started pounding. Next came the tricky part, getting into the seat. ‘Imagine you are getting into a bath’ came the advice. Have you tried lifting your legs high over the side then lowering yourself into a very narrow bath, laden down with a heavyweight? Thank goodness there were no marks given for speed or elegance. After safety instructions and demonstration of the control stick from the instructor sitting behind, the canopy was lowered and the towline to the tug plane attached.

Lie back and prepare for take-off. A little bumpy at first until the glider rose into the air flying higher than the plane until that too left the ground. A quick wave to the others waiting at the clubhouse then the ascent to 2000ft before the tow release and at last that gliding feel of being free in the air. What a contrast in scenery. The contours of the Five Valleys converging on Stroud, the seemingly flat arable landscape towards Wiltshire, the magnificence of the River Severn and the Arlingham loop backed by the Forest of Dean and Welsh mountains, the Severn Bridge and the Cotswold escarpment. ‘Would you like to take over the control stick?’ Up, down, left, right, it sounded quite straightforward until you realised how sensitive it was. No one quite managed to loop the loop though I admire the instructors for their nerves of steel and diplomatic comments. All too soon it was time to hand back for the descent and gentle touchdown. Then the last obstacle of climbing out, simple just reverse getting in, but as someone said afterwards  ‘Well I can’t get out of the bath either!’
One member, Dot Vines, from Cam WI had a special reason for taking to the air, to celebrate her 80th birthday and fly over her old home. Our youngest participant, Hamish, 14years old, came with his Uncle and WI Grandmother to enjoy a family outing. So it just proves age is no barrier.

Finally our special thanks to all the Bristol & Gloucestershire Gliding Club volunteers who made us so welcome and gave us a truly unforgettable experience.

GFWI Walking Weekend, Abergavenny
Shirley Wood writes: This year’s venue for GFWI’s weekend walkers was Abergavenny and what a fantastic choice it turned out to be.  We stayed at The Hill, an educational and conference centre on the edge of the town.  The original lovely old house has been extended to provide plenty of good accommodation with many single rooms, so all 46 members, husbands and friends were easily catered for.  The house is set in extensive grounds with a beautiful walled garden containing many interesting plants and features, which is looked after by RHS students.

On Friday evening, after a good meal, we settled down in the bar where Ian, the barman, gave us an interesting impromptu chat on the history of the house and the town.  We awoke to a rather misty morning on Saturday, but no rain.  Our walks leaders arrived and described the walks for the day: Mike’s was steep, Mark’s less steep, and Andy’s only slightly steep; plenty of choice there then.  But we were ready for anything after our excellent breakfast.  The hardest walk was up the Sugar Loaf, the conical shaped mountain visible from the Cotswolds and May Hill on a fine day.  From a distance the summit kept appearing and disappearing in the mist, but from the top we managed fleeting views of Abergavenny and the surrounding hills.  The weather brightened up in the afternoon and we were enjoying ourselves so much that we asked Mike to extend the walk.  We did question the wisdom of our request when it looked as though we were about to scale the summit for a second time, but it was a beautiful walk and we were well fuelled by the large packed lunches supplied by The Hill.

Mark’s party enjoyed extra refreshments on their walk: they climbed up onto Deri Ridge and the lower slopes of the Sugar Loaf, then stopped for tastings at Abergavenny’s vineyard on the way back.  Andy’s walk went to Llantilio Pertholey and Pantygelli via a craft centre, so at least one member has a new leather bag.  We were welcomed back to The Hill with tea and cake, but left enough room for another delicious evening meal.

The sun shone on us on Sunday and our walks took us on to the lower slopes of the Blorenge and Little Skirrid, and along the canal and old tramways of the area.  Every walk was enhanced by the beautiful views and lovely wild flowers along the way.  On our return to the town we looked around the castle.   After more tea and cake, it was unfortunately time to return home.

It had been a most enjoyable weekend: comfortable accommodation, friendly staff, good food, and beautiful location. Thankyou Diana for organising it. Where are we going next year? The Hill at Abergavenny, of course! 

County's “Women of  Importance”  return to Denman.
Rosemary Bishton writes: On April 17th. the second group of Presidents from Gloucestershire drove themselves from all parts of the County to Denman College for a special day-just for them- a “thank you” from the Federation.

The event was organised and coordinated, as last year, by the WI Advisers who joined the  group of 50 in Tai Chi  -a very gentle way of exercising- under the watchful eye of tutor Jason Boden.( when we found out he hailed from Stroud, we were quick to mention how easy it would be for him to tutor the members again!) and, later ,after a delicious buffet lunch in the new café style area in the teaching centre, the groups changed places  and “Dressing with Style” became the next excitement.  The ever stylish and diplomatic, Liz Prest, steered us all towards making the most of ourselves and encouraged us to come home and weed out all the clothes we had not worn for ,at least, a year. “Into the black bag” the very next day went many of my old T shirts, at least!

A happy group photograph to close the day said it all-“Thank you, we had a really splendid time!”

Campaign and Debate Day
In April members representing many Gloucestershire WIs attended the first Campaign and Debate Day organised by the Federation’s Public Affairs committee in St Andrew’s Church Hall in Churchdown, chaired by Pam Sparrow, its chairman and
Executive member. Read a full report by Jan Turner, of Woodmancote WI.

Laurence celebrates Siddington's 85th birthday!
Local resident Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen was the Guest Speaker for the 85th Birthday celebrations of Siddington with Preston WI. He gave a witty and anecdotal talk on his family's first year of living in the Cotswolds. The evening was a great success on this special occasion

Visit to the Houses of Parliament
Pam Sparrow and Poppy Moss report:

This event, organised by the Public Affairs Committee, is always very popular, again demonstrated in November and December when three coaches of members made the trip to London. Despite the fact that on both days traffic caused the late arrival at the Houses of Parliament, it did not seem to present any problem to the tours.

Guided by enthusiastic, friendly and well informed guides members walked the corridors of power, learnt about the history of the building, the working of the two houses, marvelled at the architecture, artefacts and sumptuous decoration particularly of the gold around the thrones in the House of Lords.  The tour ended in the magnificent and historic 900 year old Westminster Hall which has witnessed so many great occasions in its life.  In December the members were welcomed when they entered the Hall to the sound of carols.  The Salvation Army was holding a carol concert around a huge Christmas tree around which a large crowd gathered enjoying the singing.  In December David Drew, the Stroud MP, was able to obtain passes for those members who wished to sit in the galleries to hear the afternoon’s business.  At 2.30 we stood in the Main lobby to watch the Speaker’s procession into the House followed by prayers after which the public is admitted.  Very tight security was much in evidence throughout, there were officers constantly watching and there was a huge bullet proof screen around the gallery for the MPs’ protection.  Unfortunately the time spent in the gallery was very short as the coaches departed promptly at 4.  Those members who did not wish to hear the business of the House amused themselves by visiting other local sights and so one way and another all members enjoyed their day trip to London.

Resolutions Shortlist meeting January 2008
Sheila Hughes of Chedworth WI writes: Those keenly interested in public affairs and able to attend a morning meeting look forward to this, one of the first events for GFWI in the New Year.  St. Andrew’s Hall, Churchdown was the warm, welcoming venue, with six informal circles of chairs set out for discussion groups.  Everyone had been provided with notes from NFWI on the six resolutions and committee members had undertaken further research, each into one subject.  As group leaders they moved (after a kitchen timer’s discreet sound indicated ‘time‘) on to the next group.

All six resolutions call for government action: Fairer Funding in Education calls for more equable distribution of finance for schools in England and Wales. This aims to close the huge gap between the highest and lowest providing authorities.       No smiles about the title Ban on Bottom Trawling when we discussed the destructive scouring and devastation of the seabed.  Quite a banner headline for the press! Concern for children prompted the resolution on Artificial Additives in Children’s Medicines and raised further anxieties in prescribing for children. A lesser-known problem is Group B Streptococcus in New Born Infants passed from the mother at time of birth, for which screening is sought. Inappropriate Imprisonment of the Severely Mentally Ill is an issue of widespread concern in view of high rates of self- harm and suicide in custody. The title ‘Greenways’ summarises the need for Safer Routes for Non-motorised Users.  As yet a greenway does not have legal status unless designated as a Right of Way.

Voting revealed the Ban on Bottom Trawling as this meeting’s first choice, just two votes ahead of Inappropriate Imprisonment for the Severely Mentally Ill with Fairer Funding in Education third. These will be taken from Gloucestershire to the National Council where the final decisions for the national AGM will be made. Will our selection be representative - we shall see. Our thanks to the Public Affairs Committee for a well organised event in which everyone present could take part.

Birdwatching
A flash of brilliant blue and the thrill of seeing a kingfisher was the highlight for a few lucky WI members birdwatching at Keynes Country Park near South Cerney. However, it all happened so quickly that the majority were not quite as fortunate but watching a flock of widgeon suddenly take to the air or seeing a great crested grebe swim majestically by were memorable moments. To the uninitiated all the waterfowl looked similar but our very knowledgeable leaders David Cramp, Chairman of the Gloucestershire RSPB, and friend Mike helped with identification as they led walks round the various lakes on a crisp sunny November day. Very soon members could differentiate between teal, tufted duck, gadwall, and mallard to name a few. Watching from the hide gave our legs a rest while binoculars scanned the water. Little grebe shyly swam in and out of the reeds, a shoveler made a brief appearance, a pair of teal dozed in the sun, lapwing flew overhead while coot and moorhen chased each other in friendly pursuit. Mute swans, Canada geese, cormorant and a heron plus many common hedgerow birds were added to the list of thirty-one different sightings one group counted while other groups just enjoyed the walk. How fortunate we are in Gloucestershire to have such opportunities for birdwatching and if you have never ventured to the old gravel pits in the Cotswold Water Park give it a try, but best with an expert on hand to answer such questions as “What’s that little brown duck over there on the right behind the black one with the white front?”

Bishops Cleeve WI walk the Cotswold Way
Yvonne Cole of Bishop's Cleeve WI writes: we have now finished the Cotswold Way Walk.  We started last October 18th and did walking till Jan 07, then we stopped as two ladies were away for a couple of months, started up again in May.  We have done 12 walks in all and the final miles being 104, ending up in Bath on Thursday 4th Oct. outside the tourist information office, which is the official place to finish.  We then went to Sally Lunn's Tea Shop and had a proper Sally Lunn's Bath Bun and a cup of tea, which was wonderful.  The last walk was really beautiful, a lovely day and not to much climbing up so we thought, but once arriving at the Royal Victoria Park we had to climb up before then going down into the centre of Bath.  We certainly needed that cup of tea.  One of the lovely features we went through was the Lansdown Civil War Battle which happened on 5th July 1643.
 
Yvonne took about 280 photos.  If anyone else is interested in doing the walk they should email Yvonne about her photographs.

SILENCE IN COURT
This event proved to be extremely popular and was heavily over-subscribed for the 2 days of visits to Cheltenham, Gloucester and Stroud magistrates’ courts early in July.  On the first day members to all the courts were treated to being able to sit in on business being conducted which everyone found to be interesting.  At the end of all the sittings the members of the Bench visibly relaxed and became ‘people’ and welcomed the WI members inviting any questions resulting from hearing the trials.  The numerous questions which bombarded the Bench were all happily and fully answered.  The ‘minder’ magistrates then answered more questions when the members returned to the meeting rooms.  For the second days’ visits there was no business being conducted in the afternoon in any of the county’s courts due to legal staff training.  However, this did mean that more time could be spent describing the structure, history and working of the magistracy and in each of the courts the magistrates had prepared outlines of cases for members who sat in ‘Benches’, i.e. in three’s to debate the sentence thought appropriate for the various offences.  I can only speak for Stroud but I am sure that it is the only time that there was much chatter and laughter legally allowed in the courtroom.

Certainly all members thoroughly enjoyed the visits, found them to be very interesting and I know of certainly one, maybe two institutes that intend to have an outing to a court because of course any member of the public may attend a hearing sitting in the court’s public area.

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