APRIL 2024 MEETING
With a gale blowing around the Village Hall, it was great to see so many members, new members and a visitor at our April meeting. We are slowly getting back to the number of members we had before Covid struck and, hopefully, some of our more recent members will volunteer to join our Committee when we have our AGM in May.
We were entertained by Bob and Dinah Wilcox, plus two of their colleagues, who, dressed appropriately, and in character, related Tales from the Workhouse. It was fascinating to learn so much about what the Workhouse did and how it operated. It was certainly better that people turned to the Workhouse, rather than ‘going on the parish’, although workhouse life was spartan.
We were reminded that our annual membership fee, £48 this year, was due and our Treasurer was swamped with members paying their subs.
Our next meeting is on May 14th, 1.30 for 2.0 pm and is our AGM. Guests are always welcome.
MARCH 2024 MEETING
Our March, 2024 meeting celebrated our W.I.’s 90th Birthday, and it was great to see the Village Hall full of members, old and new.
After trying to complete a quiz comprising conundrums about sweets, committee members circulated dispensing drinks, and in no time we were ready to demolish the buffet. In addition to a variety of hot dishes, salads and glorious desserts, special diets were catered for with vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options. The raffle proved popular, with a vast variety of prizes, which ensured that as many members as possible won a prize.
Birthday parties take a lot of planning and hard work, and the committee always does a wonderful job. All we members have to do is turn up! Through joining the W.I., friendships are forged that can last a lifetime and it’s good to be able to catch up with each other.
This report wouldn’t be complete without mentioning our Treasurer, Pam McVay. Being Treasurer isn’t an easy job, and Pam has been working away for us for twenty years now, ensuring our accounts and paperwork are always up to date, and the committee had clubbed together to get her a gift, of an Azalea plant for her garden as a small way of showing their gratitude.
The afternoon ended with birthday cake, made and iced by two members with tea and coffee. The perfect end to a lovely afternoon.
The Coddington WI Committee with Helen Ainley, Chair of the WI Support Team Nottinghamshire. Our Committee members are (Left to Right) Sue Sprigings, Sheila Bache, Jan Phillips, Helen Ainley, Gill Southgate (President), Diane Everitt, Jan Burton and Pam McVay. Unfortunately Kate Handbury was unable to attend the 90th Birthday Celebration.
Our 90th Birthday Cake
FEBRUARY 2024 MEETING
Quinton Quale, the speaker at our February meeting, talked to us about drones, and how they can be used for a great variety of reasons to enhance our modern world. They certainly seem to be the future.
Our monthly walk, led by Bridget and Robert Goodall round Stapleford Woods, will be followed by lunch at the Five Bells at Bassingham. WI members’ partners are always made welcome on these walks.
Our monthly coffee morning at the YMCA in Bowbridge Road, has proved to be a great success, and gives us time to catch up with each other while eating cakes. Chat and cakes, the perfect combination.
In March we celebrate our 90th Birthday. The WI has survived world war, rationing, covid, strikes and recessions, changes of government and the death of two monarchs. We have adapted to change and in 2024 are as relevant as we’ve ever been. An organisation run by women for women. The resolutions going forward to our Annual General Meeting this year are – Dental Health Matters; The Impact of Poor Housing Conditions; and Say ‘no’ to gambling advertising. A final vote will be taken at our national AGM and will be used to lobby government.
If you fancy joining us, please come along to one of our meetings, 2pm on the second Tuesday in the month, at the Village Hall. We look forward to welcoming you.
TALK BY PROFESSOR SIR JONATHAN VAN TAM
Coddington WI hosted a talk by Professor Sir Jonathan Van Tam on Monday 22nd January in the Coddington Community Centre. All proceeds from the evening will be donated to Beaumond House, Newark. We raised £600 in ticket sales and £323 on the raffle. Together with the donation buckets a grand total of £971.50 will be given to Beaumond House
The former Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, agreed to share with us some facts about “Science, Policy and Leadership during Covid 19. He very generously drew no fee, but specifically asked that any monies raised could
benefit Beaumont House.
President Gill Southgate welcomed everybody who enjoyed a most informative lecture and a question and answer session.
BURNS LUNCH – 24 JAN 2024
Eight members of Coddington W.I. attended the Notts Federation Burns Lunch at the Hostess Restaurant near Sookholme, Mansfield
JANUARY 2024 MEETING
The sun shone on our January meeting, with over forty members and one visitor present. As usual committee members have been busy organising the monthly walk, a talk by Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam and our monthly coffee morning. Professor Van-Tam has kindly waived any fee for his talk and all proceeds will go to Beaumond House Hospice. There will, additionally, be a raffle at the event and a member has already donated a large cross stitch framed picture of kittens and we are still accepting donations of additional prizes.
Our January speaker was Dave Moylan, who jogged our memories with songs, stories and magic tricks, and it was good to hear members laughing as he told a fund of jokes, interspersed with magic tricks and music.
Please feel free to come to one of our meetings as a visitor, there is no obligation to join if the WI is not for you. Our next meeting is on Tuesday 13th February, 1.30 for 2 pm. Why not give us a try?
DECEMBER 2023 MEETING
We met on 12th December at the Village Hall for our annual Christmas Party. Each year the Committee produce a buffet and circulate offering various drinks. We members can just sit, eat and chat and enjoy the afternoon.
Every year we provide sweets and toiletries for the Women’s Refuge, which are delivered by one of our members, and this year we seemed to have managed to get together a bumper haul!
Gill Southgate, our President, welcomed everyone and commented that our numbers were increasing steadily, as we slowly recovered from the covid epidemic. There was a positive feeling in the air that Coddington W.I. was beginning to thrive again.
Sheila Bache had devised two fiendishly difficult quizzes, or perhaps it was just our table that couldn’t get the answers right . Our table was directly in front of the buffet and when it was our turn to be served, I tried not to look too eager as my eyes took in all the different things on offer.
Once we were well fed and had caught up with everyone’s news, there was one final surprise. Suddenly a crocodile of children accompanied by two teachers arrived, and we were entertained by a choir of pupils from Coddington School. Although some of the children looked nervous, they sang extremely well, accompanied on the piano by one of their teachers. It was a lovely ending to a lovely afternoon, and the choir had been the high spot of the party. Our thanks go to everyone from Coddington School who made the entertainment possible.
Wishing everyone a Happy Christmas and a joyous 2024, and if you feel like getting a feel for what the W.I. is all about our next meeting is on 9th January at 3 pm in the Village Hall. Our speaker is Dave Moylan who is giving us a talk on Variety Entertainment. Perhaps we’ll see you there.
NOVEMBER 2023 MEETING
41 people attended our November meeting. Numbers are slowly rising to a pre-covid number, and it was good to see new members and returning members.
Our Secretary, Sue Spriggings, read out forthcoming events. These included our National Annual Meeting at the Royal Albert Hall next May, and Coddington W.I.’s walking holiday in Norfolk setting off on 21st May. We also, of course, have our monthly walking group, this month led by Gill and Colin Southgate when members and partners can explore the grounds of Belton House plus lunch at The Stag at Barkston , and a coach trip to Thursford before Christmas arranged by Sheila Bache. Members are able to bring partners along when we organise an outside event.
Pam McVey, our Treasurer, told us that the raffle raised £35.50 and £15.95 had been collected to go towards the W.I.’s national scheme that raises money so that women overseas can be helped to support their families through small village initiatives.
Members will also be providing mince pies and cupcakes for Carols around the Christmas tree on 13th December.
Our Christmas Party in the Village Hall is on 12th December, with an earlier start time of 1 pm, and children from Coddington Village School are coming to sing to us.
Our afternoon ended with Louise from Bells and Blooms showing us how to make a Christmas wreath. Louise kindly donated the wreath to add to the raffle prizes.
OCTOBER 2023 MEETING
At our October meeting more members attended than at any time since the outbreak of Covid. The move to having meetings in the afternoons has proved popular with our members and avoids us having to venture out on cold winter evenings.
Our pre-arranged speaker had to cancel at short notice, so we were delighted when Jill Berry, a local author, agreed to step in. Jill, who publishes on Amazon, gave us an insight into the life of an author and gave short readings from her three published novellas. After questions from the audience, she signed copies of her book, and she has promised to deliver further copies to allow more members to buy a copy.
At our November meeting Louise, from Bells and Blooms, will be demonstrating how to make a Christmas wreath. Why not come along as a visitor? Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of the month in the Village Hall and start at 2 pm. You can come for a couple of times before deciding whether you want to join. A warm welcome awaits you.
AUGUST 2023 MEETING
Our August meeting centred on our attempts to master Kurling. If you’re wondering how we managed in an ice free Village Hall, we simply used the wooden floor. Although Kurling appeared not to be too difficult, once we started playing we realised there was more to it than we’d thought. Members who played short mat bowls were able to master Kurling without too much trouble, the rest of us soon realised that there was more to Kurling than met the eye. However, it was a great way to spend the afternoon and gave us all a chance to laugh at ourselves and have fun.
On 12th September Pam Chard is speaking to us about the New Life Children’s Charity in Gambia. Why not come along as a visitor? As usual our meetings start at 2 pm in Coddington Village Hall and new faces are always welcome. Hope to see you there.
JULY 2023 MEETING.
Sheila Bache, standing in for Gill Southgate, welcomed two visitors and one new member to our July meeting. Sheila encouraged everyone to speak to the person next to them, which gave longstanding members the chance to talk to our newer members. We now have forty-two members, so are gradually building our numbers following Covid.
Members had enjoyed a coach trip to Crich Tramway Museum, and the planning for a trip to Thursford later in the year was well under way.
The Secretary brought us up to date on forthcoming W.I. events throughout the County, and our own local events. And the Treasurer listed the amounts raised at the June meeting from our raffle, sales table and Pennies for Friendship collection.
Our speaker was Sue Smith, who runs 7th Heaven Hedgehog Rescue, and we’re hopefully now prepared for any ‘hedgehoggy’ eventuality!
Our next meeting is on 8th August, 2pm at Coddington Village Hall. We’re going to try our hand at Kurling! Hopefully this will be easier than axe throwing. Time will tell.
A VISIT TO CRICH TRAMWAY VILLAGE – 14 JUNE 2023
A visit to the Crich Tramway Village in Derbyshire was enjoyed by 40 members of Coddington WI and quests on the 14th June. Some members of our party had been to Crich before, many years ago. The Tramway Village has grown over the years and now has many refurbished trams from all over the country, which are housed in exhibition sheds. Stories of their previous life in some of our cities are explained. Many of us enjoyed a ride on one of the trams. Our fare was one old penny, issued with our entrance fee, the clippy on the tram issued us a ticket and off we went up the line. On route we could see the picnic and play areas plus a beautiful woodland walk and sculpture trail.
The village has the Red Lion Pub, a Tea Shop,
Sweetie and Ice cream parlour, where many enjoyed their delights on what was a lovely warm day.
Here are some pictures of our day.
JUNE 2023 MEETING
Our June meeting at the Village Hall started with our President, Gill Southgate, thanking the members who had organised the annual walking holiday. These annual breaks have proved a great success over the years and are open to members and their partners.
Sue Sprigings, our Secretary, outlined the events that Nottingham Federation are currently organising. These included a day making something in willow, and axe throwing! Well, nobody can say that Women’s Institute members aren’t versatile.
Sheila Bache, who is organising our trips, gave out final information about the trip to Crich the following day, and the arrangements for our trip to Thursford later in the year.
Speaker, Helen Barrow, spoke to us about lip reading. I came away with lots of ideas I can put into practice, plus I now know that hearing aids are very popular with W.I. members!
Next meeting, on 11th July, we have Sue Smith talking about 7th Heaven Hedgehog Rescue. Hedgehog numbers seem to be much depleted, so it will be good to see how they are rescued and then, when fully recovered, reintroduced to the wild.
If you fancy learning about hedgehog rescue, why not come along to our next meeting. 2 p.m. Tuesday 11th.
You’ll be very welcome.
CODDINGTON W.I.
Our Spring meeting in February saw John Whitfield speak to us about Louis and Edwina Mountbatten. John has been to us before, and, as usual, his talk was fascinating and informative. The competition for the February meeting was to bring along a childhood photo, and our photographs raised a lot of smiles. Had we ever been that young? Were we really so old? The answer, of course, to both questions was ‘Yes’.
The March meeting saw us celebrating our 89th Birthday, with a buffet, desserts and, of course, birthday cake. The Notts Federation Chairman, Helen, came along to join in the celebration and, of course, to cut the cake! We were also joined by several W.I. members from across the County. Sheila Bache had devised two quizzes, one specifically about the W.I. Several of us realised, when the answers were read out, that we didn’t know as much about the W.I. as we thought we did! Note to self, ‘must do better’.
At the April meeting our speaker was Lynne Carter, who gave us a talk on quilting, and enthused us with her skill. Many of our members are quilting enthusiasts and the monthly competition asked members to bring along a piece of work to be judged.
Towards the end of March, we held a coffee morning at Hardy’s Farm Shop. Getting together outside of Monthly meetings gives us a chance to do two of the things most of us like, chatting and eating incredible cakes.
Sheila Bache is now finalising the details of two trips. One to The National Tramway Museum at Crich in June, and another to The Thursford Christmas Spectacular at the end of the year. Our trips are open to husbands, partners relatives and friends, some from other W.I.’s in Nottinghamshire.
Our regular W.I. meetings are held on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 2 p.m. in Coddington Village Hall. If you want to give us a try why not come as a guest and see if you like what’s on offer. Guests can come up to three times per year and each visit costs £4 including refreshments. Hope to see you soon.
CODDINGTON W.I.
The Coronation Big Lunch on the Coddington Primary School Playing Field on the afternoon of 7 May 2023.
The WI raised £120 which will go towards the school library.
CODDINGTON W.I.
On Tuesday 14th March, Coddington W.I. celebrated its 89th Birthday at the Village Hall. This year we decided to have the event in the afternoon, with a meal and dessert, followed, of course, by birthday cake. We were fortunate to have Dr Helen Rose, Chairman of the Notts Federation of Women’s Institutes, as our guest, as well as members from a neighbouring W.I.. Sheila Bache had produced two quizzes, one specifically about the W.I., and we gamely tried to answer the questions, although some groups of members were more successful than others!
We are fortunate in having a committee and group of members who keep our W.I. ticking over, headed by our President Gill Southgate, who is pictured watching Dr Rose cut our birthday cake. The Village Hall has been ‘home’ to Coddington W.I. for many years, and hopefully we’ll still be going strong in our centenary year, eleven years from now!
Lesley Walker
CODDINGTON WI – TRIP TO NATIONAL MEMORIAL ARBORETUM
On Wednesday 2nd November some 46 members of the Coddington Women’s Institute, their husbands and friends made a trip to the National Memorial Arboretum near Stoke-on-Trent. Although the weather was a bit on the cold side, the rain held off right until the last minute and only started as we boarded the bus to come home.
Thank you to Sheila Bache who organised this fantastic day out. Where are we going next Sheila?
