Herts Belles St Albans W.I: July 2014

Wednesday, 23 July 2014

A Bunch of Flappers

This months meeting kicked off with news of upcoming events in the area. Faye mentioned a ClassicCar Show in Harpenden on 30^th July. She also mentioned that Battlers Green Farm are holding Knitting mornings and Ayletts Nurseries will be holding Sewing Bee mornings.

From 19^th July to 10^th August Butterfly World will be holding the Worlds Largest Butterfly count. For more information go to http://www.butterflyworldproject.com/

Tisa took a moment to mention The Hertfordshire Roller Derby on 16^th August from 1pm – 6pm at Sportspace in Hemel Hempstead, if you would like to book tickets or for more information visit www.hertsrd.co.uk

Tisa then spoke about our Summer outing at the Luna Cinema on 23^rd July for an outdoor screening of Back to the Future. Food will be available but picnics are welcome. Please also make sure you bring a blanket to sit on. There is free parking on site. Rebecca London will be our Go-to-Gal on the night and she will update those with tickets on a meeting time and point.

Emma C talked through the WI Newsletter and pointed out that St Albans City WI will be hosting a Quiz Night on 4^th October at the United Reformed Church Hall, Homewood Road, St Albans and teams of 6-8 are welcome to join and it is not limited to WI members, so bring along friends and family and the boys are allowed in too! Tickets are £8.00 per person. If you would like to reserve yours please contact 01727 865631 or 01727 865547

On the 22^nd October the Autumn Council Meeting will be held at the Hertford Theatre, Hertford and the speaker will be Julie Summers, the author of the fabulous book Jambusters, the story of the work of the WI in World War II. Tickets are £5 and will be available from County House in August.

Emma G mentioned that we will be hosting a Clothes Swap in September (date TBC) and even if you cannot attend on the night donations of clothing will be more than welcome. We will keep you updated with information.

Emma G mentioned that the next Group Meeting for St Albans District WI Groups will be held on 26^th September and there will be a speaker on 19^th Century Photography and a Female Barbershop Quartet. Tickets are £4 and if you are interested in attending please let us know by contacting us on hertsbellesstalbanswi@gmail.com

Rebecca turned her attention to World Pomination – don’t worry she has not gone all megalomaniac on us, I said POM-ination! Kirstie Allsop is trying to Break a World Record for the longest line of pom-poms, and hey why not! You can make any size and bring them along to the next meeting where Rebecca will take them along to the local Hobbycraft for our entry to take part. For those unsure how to make pom-poms these handy how to videos will do the trick https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwKPRuhQB1A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M9Dw4leyjw

Lia spoke about next months meeting on 20^th August where we will be welcoming the amazing Jive Swing Dance Instructors to teach us a dance. We were given the option of The Charleston or a Jazz routine and after a vote we decided on the Charleston! This should be a really fun night and there will be a small charge of £5 to join in the evening.

Our July activity then kicked off with Lia introducing back by popular demand the fabulous Sarah Dunn from Doo Wop Dos.

The incredibly talented Sarah demonstrated how to create a 1920s faux bob and did a fabulous job on lucky Lia who was acting as Girls World model for the evening.

It was then over to our Belles to recreate the fabulous do and once again they did not disappoint, our talented gals did us proud once again and came up with some gorgeous creations – all whilst having a good laugh and a gossip at the same time – multi tasking at its best! Hurrah!!

And then all too soon the clock struck 10 and the evening was over and like fabulous 1920s versions of Cinderella off we fled into the night looking for the nearest Speakeasy ready for our Charleston lesson next month. So until then Belles... Stay Classy & Fabulous!

Afternoon Tea for The Scout Jamboree

One of our Belles, Fran, will be hosting an Afternoon Tea on 6th August 2014 to raise money for The Scout Jamboree in Japan 2015. If you would like to attend, or can donate some yummy bakes then please RSVP to francesca.ingamells@businesseffectiveness.co.uk

Wednesday, 2 July 2014

St Albans Wacky Races

On Thursday 3rd July there will be wacky-cycle races being held throughout the day on the pedestrianised area of St Peter's street.

It's free for all to enter and involves simple ten minute cycle routes around cones to promote sustainable transport by reminding people how enjoyable cycling can be.

Anyone entering can win a prize - success is based on participation not skill or mileage. Prizes include:

A hybrid mountain bike worth £650
A Champneys Day Spa for Two
£100 Habitat vouchers
A meal for two at Brassiere Blanc

It's a great way to show your support for sustainability and the St Albans community in general. Bicycles will be provided - all you have to do is turn up.

Please email Lizzie Allen to book a time slot for your team: lizzie@challengeforchange.com

You are also welcome to bring your own bike along and take advantage of the Dr Bike Clinic offering free bicycle health checks and minor repairs. A mobile garage from Watford Cycle Hub will also be on standby to do bigger repairs at a 10% discount.

Twisted Firestarters? Thankfully not today!

Our June meeting kicked off with our President Lia introducing the new Committee members to the group explaining a little about each of the roles.

Rebecca spoke a little about the Trade Table to remind the Group that absolutely anything can be brought along, be it something you have made, something a friend has made or even if you are having a clear out and want to see if something will sell – remember one gals trash is another gals treasure!! If you would like to bring along something to sell at any of the meetings then please get in touch with Rebecca via our email hertsbellesstalbanswi@gmail.com

Tisa mentioned that our Summer outing this year would be to the Luna Cinema outdoor viewing of Back To The Future. It is held at Highfield Park on the 23^rd July at 7.30pm, performance starts at 9.15pm. Tickets are £12.50. Tisa urged anybody who was interested to get in touch ASAP as tickets are limited. A Facebook post and email has also been sent out.

Emma spoke about Larks in the Parks and informed the Group that we will have a stall at Victoria Playing Fields on the 29^th June 2014.

Lia informed the Group that we will be hosting a Clothes Swap event to raise funds for the Group and this will be held at a time to be confirmed in September, we will of course keep you updated on this.

Anya promoted Denman College and informed the Group that there are an abundance of courses aimed at all age groups from approximately £100 per day, this includes accommodation, meals etc. Why not check out the website: http://www.denmancollege.org.uk/

Lia reminded

the Group that the July meeting would be welcoming back the fabulous Sarah from Doo Wop Dos, who will be demonstrating 30s Finger Waves, so that is not one to be missed!

We then got down to the nitty gritty of our Speed Crafting evening, we divided into two groups, basically those who couldn’t wait to start playing with fire and those who couldn’t wait to start practicing their ninja knitting moves!

Faye demonstrated what I can only describe as a very impressive lesson on how to create a fabulous scarf using a huge amount of wool tied to your arm without getting tangled up in it!

Our gals did brilliantly and everyone had great fun in the process!

On the other side of the room we had Emma demonstrating how to create beautiful organza flower brooches/hair clips by burning the edges with a naked flame.

Again there were some gorgeous results and we have only been left with a minor concern on how excitable our gals got when burning things!!