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On the 16th May Catford WI hosted teams from Lee Green, Peckham, Petts Wood and Blackheath & Greenwich WI’s for a friendly darts tournament. A fun time was had by all. Thanks to Pauline for organising…..and we even made WI Life!
On the 22nd April our favourite guide, Kate Boyle, led a walk around the city of London from Cannon Street to Cheapside. A small area with an enormous amount of history from Roman times, through the medieval guilds and the Great Fire of London to the modern city.
Our presentation this month was from Ben and Freya who are Rangers from Kent County Council with responsibility for the 9 country parks in the West Kent area, including Lullingstone our regular Christmas lunch spot. They spoke about their conservation work and its increasing importance. It was also fascinating to hear about the new methods being used in their work, including the introduction of goats to keep the scrub down.
We were joined, in person this time, by Paulus the Cabaret Geek. he talked about the show he was touring called “Looking for me Friend” his tribute to the late, wonderful Victoria Wood and entertain us with some songs from the show self accompanied on his trusty Ukulele
At our February Catford Extra a group of us learned how to paint sunsets in watercolours. The results were beautiful and it was agreed that we would hold another painting class later in the year
We held a craft meeting in February when Caroline demonstrated making tea light holders
We had our Christmas celebration with a special performance by the College Park Players with Christmas readings and versions of the 12 days of Christmas…including one from the point of view of the recipient of all of those strange gifts! Our food for the evening was a Caribbean feast provided by many of our talented members including a delicious Rum Punch!
November brought us Kayleigh Vincent the landlady of the Coach and Horses in Beckenham who told us about her life in the pub trade. Whether coping with rowdy customers or thinking up new promotional ideas it’s hard work but rewarding and she answered lots of our questions.
Saturday 12th November saw our group visiting the Cockney Museum where they got to see an amazing collection of outfits worn by generations of Pearly Kings and Queens followed up by Pie and Mash…what else!
On the 29th October we joined Kate on a tour of Islington starting at the Angel and wandering through the Georgian and Victorian sites to the commemoration of Bob the Cat
October also sent us on a walking tour of discovery in Farringdon where we learned of the lives of many women who were persecuted as witches.
Catford WI returned to more active pursuits with 2 sessions of Axe Throwing in October. As you can see we were rapidly showing some expertise!
This was a craft evening with Stephanie and Shirley showing us how to make Brooches out of zips, as you can see there were some very impressive results!
Our latest wander through London with Kate took us through the redeveloped Kings Cross Area
Our first meeting back after the summer was on 13th September and we welcomed Caris Grant-Hickey who told us about her life as a bee keeper, a passion she has had all her life. She told us about the different species of Bee and encouraged us to support the bee population by not using pesticides and growing wild flowers.
We had a talk and demonstration from John Baker, a professional Dowser. Lots of members tested their divining skills with varying degrees of success. Some of our members followed up the evening with Dowsing sessions with John in Greenwich park.
On June 24th the Semi and the Final of the Darts Tournament took place at Istead Rise and both Catford Wi teams were in with a chance. They were up against each other in the semi final with the Furballs coming out on top. The final between the Furballs and Petts Wood Spitfires was a closely fought match with Petts Wood finally coming out on top
On June 16th, Kay led a walk around more of the London landmarks including the state of Emmeline Pankhurst and the Buxton memorial…and an encounter with a horse!
Sadly our planned speaker was struck down with Covid so with the committee arranged an improvised evening of quizzes and Bingo keeping everyone entertained.
The 11th June brought many members to Beckenham Place Park for a picnic. With everyone bringing lots to eat and drink. A grand time was had by all in the sunshine
CATFORD WOMEN'S INSTITUTE