March Meeting - Howard Middleton from Bake Off!

We had an excellent talk from Howard Middleton about his 'bake off' experiences and life since then. There were a few nerves as he sampled the March members' cakes but he was very complimentary!

FoPV Easter Ducks March 2017

We're knitting ducks again! We worked hard at  the Needles and Natter evening last week (helped by a glass of wine)  Here is our first flotilla of 25 ready to swim off to the 'Friends of Porter Valley' duck race. Buy them (with treats inside) in the park cafes or at the race on Easter Monday in Endcliffe Park.  http://www.fopv.org.uk/

Archer Project - The Star

We featured in The Star this week, when Sue presented Tracy Viner at the Archer Project with our 2016 donations. Click on the link to read The Star - WIER Article

February Meeting - The Eyam Plague!

David Bell gave a fascinating talk on The Eyam Plague and the treatment of everyday ailments 350 years ago.

It was an entertaining account but not for the faint hearted! By the end we all felt very relieved to be living in the 21st century!

Majestic Wine Tasting 02/02/17

I am trying to think back to Thursday and looking back through the pictures I can see some of us went wine tasting at Majestic (hiccup)!
We were hosted by Karl (vintage since 2006), who gave us an insight into French wine. We tried pink champagne, various white and red followed by a desert wine, some tasting had canopes which really compliemented the taste.
Thank you to Karl and the team for making us feel welcome, and sharing his passion for wine.
Majestic do offer wine tasting events which you will find in store at Majestic on Abbeydale Road and have a tasting station free at any time to try different spirits, beers and wines.

Assay Office Visit 27/01/17

25 member's of our WI attended a captivating visit kindly organised by Julie Lockwood.

We sat down for a fascinating presentation professionally delivered by Emma Paragreen, Curator/Librarian and Archivist.

We learned about the history of hallmarking, and why it is indeed called 'hallmarking'

To 'assay' means to test and assess the precious metal content of an item. 

We were informed that it is impossible to tell the precious metal content of an item just by looking at it. Gold, silver and platinum are too soft to use alone for making jewellery, cutlery and other goods. They need to be alloyed with other, baser (and cheaper) metals for manufacturing.

The talk was followed by a tour of the area where the testing and hallmarking takes place, supporting the knowledge that we had now gained

January Meeting

January meeting

thursday 12th january 2017

Katie Pruszynski

Public speaking with 
Katie Pruszynski

Katie gave us a fascinating insight into the perception of women in public life, and her time at Westminster. We also got some great tips on public speaking, including that going red happens to everyone!

Marlene B presents Hannah with quilt for Baby Basics

Marlene B held a craft evening making a fantastic quilt for Baby Basics, which was presented to Hannah.