Lockdown competitions
April ~ a word search of embroidery terms
April group meeting ~ a city quiz
May ~ memories of VE day
June ~ a short written piece on your favourite flower and why
July ~ Limerick beginning "There once was a singer from ....."
August ~ book quiz
April group meeting ~ a city quiz
May ~ memories of VE day
June ~ a short written piece on your favourite flower and why
July ~ Limerick beginning "There once was a singer from ....."
August ~ book quiz
from Weightwatchers manager to vicar and beyond
12th March 2020
When the booked speaker cancelled, Maggie Rode (one of our members) stepped in to give us a fascinating talk on "from weightwatchers manager to vicar and beyond". She shared funny stories from her time with weightwatchers, and some sad ones too, drawing parallels with the care given as a leader in a weight loss programme to that given as a vicar. Her children were adults when she became a weightwatcher leader and later trained and was ordained as an Anglican priest, proving you're never too old to start something new.
The competition was "something woolly" and we had some interesting and beautiful entries - I was glad I didn't need to pick a winner.
The competition was "something woolly" and we had some interesting and beautiful entries - I was glad I didn't need to pick a winner.
A Century of School
13th February 2020
The memories of our school days came flooding back as we watched the film Rita Bailey and members of Breadsall WI made as part of the DFWI centenary celebrations two years ago. Rita described how the idea for the film evolved and the fun everyone had making it. The film, which intertwined historical events with (sometime hilarious) scenes of girls at school through the ages had us giggling throughout. A great evening.
Our competition was a "memorable school dinner". One lucky member went to a school where the dinners were good, but most entries shared memories of grim meals.
Our competition was a "memorable school dinner". One lucky member went to a school where the dinners were good, but most entries shared memories of grim meals.
Kits for Girls in Nepal
We heard about the plight of girls in Nepal (and other countries) who are unable to go to school at certain times of the month and the serious impact this has on their education and future prospects. Working out how we could help them, Ashbourne WI produced kits last year which will be delivered to a group of girls in Nepal later this month (February) by Joyce, one of our members. We hope these will improve the girls' life prospects.
French Resistance and Ordinary Life in World War2
9th January 2020
We had a fascinating talk at our meeting last night about ordinary life in France during the second world war. Max Tiano started with an overview of the key events in France in that period before moving on to talk about how it affected ordinary lives. Life was hard and he illustrated this with stories from his research and through stories of what happened to his own family. He showed us photographs of relatives that hadn't survived and shared extracts from a diary of the time.
Our competition was "a collage in bleu, blanc et rouge" with some interesting and varied interpretations. Well done to all who took part.
Our competition was "a collage in bleu, blanc et rouge" with some interesting and varied interpretations. Well done to all who took part.
Christmas Lunch
18 December 2019
Our Christmas celebrations continued with Christmas lunch at Carsington Water. We were joined by several of our previous members who are no longer able to make our meetings - it was lovely to see them again.
Group Carol Service
Sunday 15th December
It was Ashbourne's turn to host the Dovedale Group carol service this year. It was held in St Oswald's parish church where we were joined by members from Clifton, Kniveton and Tissington WIs. The service was led by one of our members, Rev'd Maggie Rode, where she told us about the hidden message carried by jelly babies, which were previously called peace babies. The service was followed by a chance to talk over mince pies, cake and tea in the church hall.
Christmas Party
12th December
There was a festive atmosphere for our meeting which was our annual Christmas party. Members were not put off by the bad weather and enjoyed the decorated tables, interesting food and silly jokes from the Christmas crackers.
Our photograph albums, early minute books and registers, a scrap book of one of our very talented early members, and WI publications through the years were on display. These evoked many memories and members had a great time looking through them during the evening and reminiscing about the events they showed.
Our photograph albums, early minute books and registers, a scrap book of one of our very talented early members, and WI publications through the years were on display. These evoked many memories and members had a great time looking through them during the evening and reminiscing about the events they showed.
Annual Meeting
14th November
We had a busy time at our annual meeting. The president and secretary's report of the past year reminded us just how busy we have been with visits to local attractions, Dovedale Group events, making things to support community events, and entries in the Ashbourne Show in addition to our monthly meetings. We elected the committee and president for the next year, which promises to be as action packed as this one has been.
After the formal meeting we chatted while we made sugar cane mice which will be used to decorate our Christmas tree in St Oswalds church - part of its Christmas tree festival.
Members have been knitting angels to contribute to the “craft and chat” initiative. These will join 100s of others and be distributed around town early one morning before Christmas for people to take home. There's usually a lot of excitement in town that morning as the angels rapidly disappear.
After the formal meeting we chatted while we made sugar cane mice which will be used to decorate our Christmas tree in St Oswalds church - part of its Christmas tree festival.
Members have been knitting angels to contribute to the “craft and chat” initiative. These will join 100s of others and be distributed around town early one morning before Christmas for people to take home. There's usually a lot of excitement in town that morning as the angels rapidly disappear.
Dovedale Group Tea at Betty's Vintage Tea Shop
Tuesday 12th November
Members from Ashbourne WI and other Institutes of the Dovedale Group were joined by friends for a cake decorating demonstration by Julie. Once she'd shown us what to do it was our turn to have a go. Two lucky ladies won Julie's cake toppers in the raffle. The rest of us will have to get busy perfecting our techniques. Though there were some creditable results produced that afternoon.
The demonstration was followed by an excellent tea and time to chat.
The demonstration was followed by an excellent tea and time to chat.
The True Anglo-French Crime Story
12th September 2019
We had a really busy meeting in September as we welcomed two new members. There was much to discuss after the long summer break. The blankets knitted for the prem baby unit at the Royal Derby hospital were on display; they were beautiful - we have some very talented ladies. It was the final meeting for collection of items for gifts for young carers and there is a big box full to take to the council meeting in Derby (sorry I forgot to take a photograph).
Our speaker was Vivien Tiano talking about "a true Anglo-French crime story". She gave a fascinating insight into the events around the murder of the eminent British scientist Sir Jack Drummond and his family near Marseille in 1952 - a murder that has never been satisfactorily explained. The competition was "an autumn collage" with some excellent entries.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable evening.
Our speaker was Vivien Tiano talking about "a true Anglo-French crime story". She gave a fascinating insight into the events around the murder of the eminent British scientist Sir Jack Drummond and his family near Marseille in 1952 - a murder that has never been satisfactorily explained. The competition was "an autumn collage" with some excellent entries.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable evening.