"W.I. Lite" - come on, who belongs to the Women's Institute? I want to join!

[morningpaper]

I saw this story and was v jealous

I'd LOVE to start a young person's branch of the WI around here - the local branch is staffed by very posh ancient ladies and frnakly, I hang around enough of those at church

Where is the gap between the NCT years and the 'old' W.I. ? I think the WI should expand the idea of a 'WI Lite' across the country.

So - who belongs to the WI? And do you just hang out with oldies or do you belong to one of the younger branches?

(Have we had this thread already? I tried to search but just got lots about Nintendos...)

[overthemill]

great, will do!

[wibigcheese]

overthemill. If you contact me via the WI website we'll see what we can fix up.

[overthemill]

ok, so when will you no longer be bigcheese? would love to invite you? seriously

[wibigcheese]

You're right. I'm a bit busy now. Maybe when I'm exwibigcheese.

[overthemill]

The National Federation of Women?s Institutes (NFWI) is the largest women?s organisation with around 205,000 members. It plays a unique role in providing women with educational opportunities and the chance to learn new skills.

this must be you

[overthemill]

i've looked you up - are you called Fay in RL?

[overthemill]

as i said i wnet to my local one the other night and really enjoyed it! Not verything was to my 'taste' and I thoughtthey needed a bit of a kick up the bum as regards reading out THE ENTIRE MINUTES from teh last meeting (!) but they were lovely and so welcoming.

I am going to join. It will give me a chance to find friends of all age groups in what is for me a newish village (moved here at xmas) and i hope that they migt be interested in some of the things I'm interested in too!

like the WI campaign sbout legalising prostitution and other stuff on the website.
also a good place to find out about recipes and gossip!!

WIBIGCHEESE would you come to my WI and give a talk?

[MrsBates]

WIbigcheese you are doing a good job of making me want to join. Will look you up in my area.

[wibigcheese]

The WI started in the countryside, villages and small towns but recently city girls have cottoned on to what they are missing and started opening new branches - London at first and we hope other cities will catch up soon. We are keen to encourage any new interest wherever you live.
Each group is different - some mainly old, most are mixed and some mainly young.
Yes, I am sure you could learn to make jam. sloe gin, thai curries - you name it...
No, we have no party political affiliations at all - that's why we slow-handclapped Tony Blair when he strayed into party politics. We are political with a small p - you can't change things without being political.
It's great when generations mix - they have so much to teach each other. We have one group who teach the schoolchildren to sew in term time and the children teach the WI to surf the net in the holidays.

[MrsBates]

How weird - I was just thinking about the WI and then logged on and saw this. Never considered joining it due to the old school reputation - jam, flower arranging, people sabotaging sponge cakes and giving talks on cabbages. My husband's Granny was an active member though, and his auntie was chairwoman - or whatever the head honcho is called. The Gran was not stuffy at all - liberal atheist northerner ready with a pithy retort and a bloody good cake at all times. She did like to hear Jerusalem but just for the rousing mood. But all, as mentioned, of a certain age. I wish I knew more older people since we have no older generation left now - also wish the children did. Are there any groups with a real mix - or is there a real age divide in the versions of WI? I do have a good friend who is 85 but he is a bloke and not keen on jam or hymns.

[mazzystar]

Any ideas why there are none at all in Merseyside?
Have you any political affiliations at all? [cos that might explain it]

[Mercy]

Ok!

First of all, I see from your website that there aren't many branches in London. Is there any particular reason for that?

Also, how diverse is your membership within the larger towns and cities?

And lastly, would I really be able to learn how to make jam and sloe gin?!

[wibigcheese]

Not at all - go ahead

[Mercy]

wibigcheese, are you really?

Would you mind if we asked some questions?

[mazzystar]

that photo is just cringe-mungous
i think they ought to stop being so patronising about older people and be a a bit more broadminded themselves.

[wibigcheese]

I joined an ?old ?WI as a young mum and got a fantastic welcome. First I made lots of friends - all ages including mine. Then I learn lots of new things and now I am chair of the national organisation and trying to talk Gordon Brown into saving the planet. So come on in you young mums ? it?s your turn. There are already 6500 WIs and every single one is different. If you can?t find one that suits you we?ll help you start another one.

[Mercy]

I wouldn't mind joining a version of the WI.

But that's more because I would like to learn how to make jam, cakes, sloe gin, how to darn etc!

At my age though I may not qualify for the younger persons branch (if there was one)

[overthemill]

i went to the local group last night! and it was lovely.

a mix of 'ladies' mainly but not solely 'older' there were a couple younger than me! I thought they were a friendly bunch and did enjoy chatting to everyone. i will be going back. the fee is cheap and a chance to meet a different bunch of people in the village.

our talk was 'pelvic floor and more' - a treat to see all the 'ladies' clenching them selves while collectively holding their breath!!!

[Nanou1]

gosh it has been so long since i have been on MN that i reply to the header and not the last comment? doh!
what does tut mean?

[CostaRicanCod]

we cant JUDGE?
oh fgs
"One of them" tut

terrible grammar

[Nanou1]

Go for it
wanted to do it but never dared - but only because i moved abroad. guess what i am going to do as soon as we go back to the uk?!

[FuriousGeorge]

I went last month.I thought I;d like it,after all,I make prize winning sloe gin,chutney & jam,grow my own veg,keep chickens ect.Surely it would be a match made in heaven?

Err,no.They were lovely people,the food was fab,but it was like being back at school,with all the disagreements about outings ect.And we had to do a competition on identifying cheeses.

I won't be going again for some time.My mum did warn me that they weren't exactly progressive.She caused a furore about 35 years ago,at the same W.I,when she suggested they have different biscuits with the tea.She left shortly afterwards.

/

[faye2678]

hi i'm another wi lite member ,one of them that was in all of the newspapers ,and was very shocked by all the intrest on our group by the papers .We are a group of around 60 members not 20 as most people believe .
Are group do many normal things such as choclate baking nights that end in taste test from the members .
Visits from local organic farms showing there produce and talking about why to go organic ,with tasters and produce to buy that night .
So unless you have been to our group and see us all in person ,you can't really judge us .

[morningpaper]

thanks Bramleymum, really interesting to know!

[Bramleymum]

As a member of the Bramley WI Lite I would like to clear up a few points. We did some PR for the local paper to promote our calendar which raises money for a local children?s hospice. We were delighted that the national press were interested, but unfortunately the story turned into one of WI?s at war (not true) and something altogether more lurid. The 'hat' was used in one of the calendar photos so the photographer thought this would work well for the publicity. Just for the record we are an all inclusive group with ladies in their 20's to 50's, most of us mums, some with careers, some not, but we all have a brain. It's not all about sex and nudity - in fact most of our meetings are very tame and include gardening, local produce nights, hair clinics, and chocolate nights. Boob night is to raise awareness for breast cancer. Of course the tabloid press have only highlighted a few of the 'racier' nights which are just a bit of fun. The group have been a lifeline for so many women in the village ? I for one have made some great friends. Interestingly we have had so much interest from the press coverage so just maybe we do fill a gap and there will be ?WI Lite? groups setting up all over the country ? you should try it, you might like it.