Women’s Institute

https://austwickwi.wixsite.com/austwick-wi

Contact Details

Secretary:

Pam Smith

Telephone: 015242 51318
E-mail: pamsmithataustwick@gmx.com

President:

Angela Rogers

Telephone: 01729 823218
E-mail: angela_john@ringmat.com

Web site:  https://austwickwi.wixsite.com/austwick-wi

Austwick W I hold their meetings on the second Thursday of the month at 7.30pm in the Parish Hall. We have some very interesting speakers, enjoy exploring the area on foot and entertaining in members gardens as well as helping at the Street Market and joining in the group Carol Service. we hope to resume our outings later this year.

The AGM was held at the October meeting when the President thanked Ann Whitwell and Catherine Nicholls for their hard work as they retired from the committee and welcomed new members Margaret Barrington and Olivia Hawkins onto the committee. Angela Rogers was re-elected President and reports were given from the secretary and the treasurer. Light refreshments were served after the formal part of the meeting.

The WI would like to thank everyone who supported the coffee, cakes and craft morning in aid of the local Food Bank. It was a tremendous effort and £725 was raised for this very worthy cause.
Julia Chapman made a very welcome return to the November meeting. Her talk entitled ‘ From page to screen’ explained the processes involved in translating a book into a TV program. Julia described how ‘Date with Death’ from the popular Dales detective series has been made by a French production company into a 90 minute pilot. She showed illustrations of the locations and actors involved.

Avelina Wright sang Christmas Carols, with members joining in, at the December meeting as a prelude to a varied finger buffet accompanied by mulled wine.

Since Covid restrictions in the summer of 2020, Michelle and Iain of Cross Leigh Stores, have taken monetary donations on behalf of Austwick W.I. for our local area Food Bank and have raised over £3,000. The contributions have gone from strength to strength and Michelle and Iain are able spend the money at wholesalers so they can buy more goods for the money.

We are still keeping in touch via our monthly newsletter, as well as via our WhatsApp group, where members are sharing photos and their news with each other.

2023

Tanya Carter from Limestone Books was the guest speaker at the first meeting of the year.  Her talk entitled ‘My Desert Island books’ discussed the books that had influenced her throughout her life and she described her journey from school to her ambition of owning a book shop.

Alison Webb was the guest speaker at the February meeting. Alison spent 3 years as a social worker on the Falkland Islands where she took some stunning photographs of the landscape and wildlife which accompanied her fascinating talk.

Les Chandler made a very welcome return to the March meeting. Despite the weather conditions, several members were entertained with his remarkable story of Sir Peter Scott. His interesting, illustrated talk highlighted the magnitude of Sir Peter’s life.

John Reid was the guest speaker at our April meeting. He spoke about Settle shops in the past and present and concentrated his talk on the Station Road area. This evoked many memories for several members.

The May meeting was Members Night, when the committee were treated to an evening arranged by members. An entertaining quiz and delicious refreshments were organised by Gwen Cleverly and Pat Broadhead and enjoyed by all.

Also in May Ribchester WI were welcomed to Austwick with a walk around Oxenber Woods to see the wild flowers followed by afternoon tea in the Parish Hall.

Sarah Lister made a welcome return to the June meeting. Her talk included an entertaining celebration of the ups and downs of the lives of the navvies and their families while the Settle to Carlisle Railway was being built, inevitably including numerous antics, scandals and the occasional tragedy.

In July members enjoyed ‘A Summer Evening Buffet’ at Beck House, Austwick courtesy of  Gwen and Graham Cleverly. Luckily the weather stayed fine and guests were able to wander around the beautiful garden and eat outside.

Brian Topping entertained members at the August meeting with his tales of a Customs officer. He provided an interesting and informative journey through the many situations that he had come across when dealing with passengers travelling through Heathrow airport. He also enlightened us on his involvement in apprehending and investigating smugglers.

The President welcomed members, friends and neighbouring WIs to the September meeting where Hilary McCumiskey was the guest speaker. Hilary described her very varied and interesting life but in particular her time spent in the costume department at the Northern Ballet. Her skills in dressmaking, her meeting and working with Rudolf Nureyev and the day to day running of the ballet was described in an interesting,  informative and entertaining manner with lots of visual props.

The next meeting on Thursday October 12th in the Parish Hall at 7.30pm will be the AGM when light refreshments will be served.

2023 PROGRAMME

Oct 12th                       AGM

Nov 9th                       Butterflies of the Northwest                        Chris Winnick

Dec 14th                      Festive Sketches                                           The Three Peaks Players

Dates of outings, workshops and walks will be announced throughout the year.

Sue Dewhirst ( press secretary)

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