ANNUAL REPORTS
ANNUAL REPORT 2022/2023
During the year, we continued to have our Committee Meetings on Zoom, as this fits in with Committee members who have other commitments. Fortunately our WI meetings in Ovingdean Hall have almost all gone to plan, we did have two meetings when, at very short notice, we had to find replacement speakers!
We have had a very successful year, with six new members, and we hope they are enjoying their time with us. Unfortunately two of our lovely members died this year, June Scutt and Jean Caplin, members of the Committee attended both funerals. They will be missed, especially all the beautiful knitting Jean did for our charity projects.
During the year we had talks including ‘Rise of the Mods & Rockers’, ‘Fashion Spectacle at Barker’s Store’, ‘Fire & Rescue Service’, ‘A Musical Performance’, an outing to Polesden Lacey and a Christmas Party,
As well as our monthly meetings, we arranged the Sunday Ploughman’s in April at Ovingdean Village Hall, when 60 people enjoyed the feast. The profit goes to Ovingdean Village Hall, but at £3 per head it wasn’t a great amount!
We have had various Craft afternoons during the year, card making, crochet and jewellery making. These aren’t supported as much as we would like but the only charge is for materials and the cost of this has increased like everything else, perhaps give it a try this year even if you’ve never done crafts before.
We collected many shoeboxes and contents to fill boxes for Link to Hope Charity, which we passed on to David Hunt the Coordinator and.hope members will be as generous this year.
Our varied program is only made possible by the handwork of your Committee, who make it possible.
​
ANNUAL REPORT 2021/22
​
It is a great pleasure to read this report with limited mention of the dreaded Corona Virus. The year’s activities have all taken place in the Village Hall as usual and we are very pleased to record 9 new members during the year (Chris Hunt, Brenda Knight, Janice Sorrell, Janice Foster, Allison Watson, Vicky Johnson, Rosemary Stevens, Andrea Strange and Chris Deacon) and we welcome more prospective members today.
During the year we have enjoyed another varied programme of speakers, ably sourced by Rosemary Smith and Angela Pamely. Attendance at meetings has been very good.
Maureen has mentioned some of the activities in her report. Our final speaker of 2021 was Wendy Young from ‘Off the Fence’ a charity helping homeless people get back on their feet. Our first talk of 2022 was from local author Douglas D’Enno talking about the history of the Deans. It was fascinating to residents, long-term and new.
The next talk by Bill McNaught about Charlie Chaplin was excellent, a real treat with videos and photos telling the colourful story of the film star’s life.
In March, a group of about 12 members attended the ESFWI Annual Meeting back in the Winter Garden at Eastbourne. The Keynote Speakers were two WI judges (who were excellent and very funny) and Eddie ‘the Eagle’ Edwards who told his life story.
I missed ‘The Clutter Inheritance’ by Mimi Bogeland but I understand that it inspired clearing and organising in some households. This was followed by two successive Octogenarians, Peter White who came dressed appropriately as Saltdean Town Crier and John Alden who told us about Toys and Toy making.
In July we hosted one of the best talks on bees I have heard. Lee Duyvesteyn (and her mother) told us about all the activities associated with keeping bees, including a video of a swarming in her garden.
The NFWI Annual meeting was held in Liverpool this year. Some members signed up to see it online. Sue Margolis from Brighton Belles WI sent a comprehensive report of the meeting. The Resolution on the early diagnosis and care for those with ADHD and Autistic spectrum was passed with a large majority.
We have organised more walks this year. They are a great opportunity to get to know fellow members and get some fresh air too. If you have any suggestions for routes for future walks, do let us know.
A highlight in June was another bowls taster session kindly arranged by Rottingdean Bowling Club, we had a lovely afternoon learning the basics alongside experienced players followed by a great cream tea. ESFWI Golf Tournament was played for the first time since 2019 and won by our own Sue Ford. The competition was at Horam Park Golf Club, but Sue gets to choose the venue for 2023.
Sue Cook has been our Food and Garden organiser and our 2021 Christmas meal was a selection of Tapas dishes which were enjoyed by everyone. Our Birthday party in August (44 years) was celebrated with a scones and cake made by Sue Cook, many thanks to her.
Finally our grateful thanks go to Maureen for her third year as our President. If you would like to organise a small group event or take a role, however small, please speak to one of the committee.
ANNUAL REPORT 2020/21
This year has been another challenging one for Ovingdean WI. Despite the continuing need to use Zoom instead of face-to-face meetings, we have maintained a good membership. Sadly we lost Jeanette Henson. She loved the WI and moved to join us when Rottingdean WI closed. Even when very ill she dressed in her pearls for the Zoom talk from the Pearl Lady on Zoom. We welcome prospective members today.
During the year we have enjoyed another varied programme of speakers, ably sourced by Rosemary and Angela. About half of members have joined us regularly for the Zoom talks, we were much more fortunate than many other WI’s. Even the online discussion of Resolutions had 31 attendees, so well done everyone!
Maureen has mentioned the Pearl talk, definitely a highlight of the programme of Zoom talks. This was followed by a local expert, Chris Horlock, who talked about ‘Lost Brighton’. He had plenty of old photos and reminded Brightonians, old and new, of what we have lost in the city.
The next talk was by a Celebrant, though disappointing as she gave us very limited information. What a contrast was the next speaker in May, Helena Griffiths, who revealed the workings of volcanoes, earthquakes and Tsunamis. I think we all learnt something from her great descriptions and illustrations.
The NFWI Annual meeting was held online this year. The Resolutions on prevention of Ovarian Cancer and the support of Bone Marrow donor register were passed with large majorities.
Maureen has mentioned the Zoom version of the ESFWI Annual Meeting which worked very well and was well attended. Our Federation Chair, Anita Jobling, ran the meeting, but has recently handed over to Lee Ede and Dorothy Proietti.
The Committee ran a successful Resolution discussion meeting in January, and all of the suggested motions received a good airing.
We have organised more walks since we have been able to get together outside. A highlight in June was also the bowls taster session kindly arranged by Rottingdean Bowling Club, we had a lovely afternoon learning the basics alongside experienced players and enjoyed a great outdoor cream tea. As in 2020 the ESFWI Golf Tournament was cancelled, hopefully to be revived in 2022.
The food elements of our programme have obviously been limited this year (apart from our delicious Birthday Tea in August). It was great to see everyone again and the tea party was a good way to celebrate. The hand-bell demonstration made for good fun! We have not had any members’ lunches for long time, but plan to make up for this soon. They are great chance to socialise and enjoy some good food at the same time.
Our September outing this year was to Kew Gardens. With all the uncertainty over Covid, it was a challenge to get it organised. However with the splendid weather, I think everyone seemed to enjoy it. Eve Halewood came up with the idea about 2 years ago and it was definitely worth waiting for. Over 40 members and guests travelled by coach (a novelty indeed) and we all had a good day in beautiful surroundings.
Finally our grateful thanks go to Maureen for her second year as our President. As we are such a thriving group, it would be good to get more members involved in activities. If you would like to organise a small group event or take a role, however small, please speak to one of the committee.
ANNUAL REPORT 2019/20
​
This year has been a challenging one for everyone, including Ovingdean WI. The onset of the Coronavirus pandemic has meant that normal activity has been disrupted and many events have been cancelled completely. This report is an interim one as we have been unable to hold the 2020 Annual Meeting. A further report will be written for the meeting when it is scheduled.
At the end of 2019, our Christmas party was held in the Village Hall and a lovely meal was enjoyed by a huge turnout of the members. Marion Bonne, Pam Durie and June Dunstan and others did us proud with delicious food and beautifully decorated tables.
The first meeting of 2020 was given over to a discussion of the Resolutions for the forthcoming NFWI conference. Maureen and Angie talked through the selections and the committee led brief discussions before votes were collected. A full programme of speakers had been planned for the remainder of the year by Pat Couchman. The first talk in February was from Katy Bourne, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Sussex. She described her role and was very entertaining and quite candid, even telling us about her personal experience of a stalker.
We had our first walk of the year in February, it was a beautiful winter’s day and we enjoyed the views of the Downs from Woodingdean, ending with coffee at Circa. We also had a members’ lunch at VIP Pizza in Saltdean. This was a great chance to socialise.
Our March speaker, and as it turned out, the last speaker actually in the Village Hall, was Grant Phillips from Chestnut Tree House. It was his first experience of making a presentation. He did a great job describing the work of a children’s hospice, with the aid of some lovely slides. Members raised well over £150 for the Hospice and a grateful message of thanks was received from them later.
The first Lockdown meant that meetings were suspended. We were all ready to attend the Federation Annual Meeting in Hastings at the end of March; we even had a minibus booked and Barbara Gunn had kindly agreed to drive it. This became another victim of the virus, as was the ESFWI Golf Tournament. The NFWI Annual meeting was to have been in The Royal Albert Hall, but was also cancelled.
The Committee took the plunge and began to have their meetings on Zoom. In addition, we phoned all the members to make sure they were OK. Many of the calls became regular chats for company. Volunteers began to make scrubs, scrubs bags and face masks for the NHS. Others donated materials or ferried items between people. Later some skilled knitters made scores of baby bonnets for the Trevor Mann Baby unit.
Sadly we were told that Denman College was being closed as it had become financially unviable. However many of the tutors turned their hands to online teaching. Several of our members have taken part in classes including tai chi, ukulele, history, craft and cookery. New classes are added every week and it seems a very practical way of learning without the expense and travel required previously.
In August we held the first Zoom WI meeting, with a reasonable turnout, to celebrate our 42nd birthday. We wore hats and brought flowers or a plant to share.
In September we had another social Zoom meeting, this time with more members taking part. For the remaining meetings of 2020 Pat and her successors, Angela Pamely and Rosemary Smith, were able to source speakers who could adapt their talks to use Zoom. We heard Gilly Halcrow on Churchill’s Secret Army; we have hosted Gilly before on the history of shopping and this new talk was even more interesting with some great pictures of wartime espionage agents. A lighter subject was the history of Teddy Bears from Melanie Gibson-Barton. We all took along our teddies and heard about the origins, manufacture and in some cases the traumas of teddy life.
Our final meeting of 2020 had a Christmas theme, even though we couldn’t have the planned party. We heard about Christmas Traditions from Danielle Handley. It was entertaining if not as fun as usual. A free Christmas raffle was drawn and all members received a small goodie bag from the WI.
We look forward to getting back to meeting up again in 2021. Hopefully the vaccines will enable this and meanwhile we continue to support each other.
​
This year has been another happy one for Ovingdean WI. We have maintained a good membership and during the year we have welcomed 3 new members Sadly we lost 1 member who had been unwell for a time.
During 2019 we enjoyed another varied programme of speakers. The first talk on ‘The Golden Days of Variety’ from Dean Aston brought back lots of memories. In March we were treated to some fascinating anecdotes from Peter Griffiths, recalling his 45 years in Commercial flying.
After the technical discussion of aviation, our next speaker Gilly Halcrow gave us an entertaining and gentle romp through the history of shopping. She will returning with another from her repertoire of talks in 2020. In May we had a super tour of Borneo with Ray Hale and his ‘Search for Endangered Species’. Ray and his wife Angela, a spider expert, have spent their lives researching and photographing the wild life of this important tropical island.
The next 2 speakers were Roy Payton and Malcolm Wells who spoke on their careers and achievements in fund-raising and military music respectively. Our final speaker was Martin Bartholomew who described his experience of walking the Comino trail. He was thwarted by the technology so he could not show his slides, but it was an interesting talk anyway.
​
The ESFWI Golf Tournament was organised at Dewlands Manor. We were sorry to say Ovingdean WI did not retain the trophy but we did have several participants.
The NFWI Annual meeting was in Bournemouth this year and our delegate was from Telscombe Cliffs WI. She joined us for our monthly meeting and gave a review. The Resolutions on the support of Bus transport and Cervical Smear testing were passed with large majorities. Four members from Ovingdean WI attended the meeting, which was very enjoyable.
In July the Federation celebrated its centenary with a splendid Garden Party at Fairlight Hall, near Hastings. Four members attended and had a great day with a huge variety of entertainment, homemade tea and a house tour led by the owner, a member of Hastings Ore WI.
In September a large group of members (over 20) attended the ESFWI Annual Meeting in the refurbished Congress Theatre, Eastbourne. The speakers were excellent: Anne Stamper (WI Archivist and previous Federation Chair), Tricia Stewart, one of the original Calendar Girls, a very witty speaker. Lyn Stubbings, NFWI Chair. The day was brought to a musical conclusion with the band ‘Retros’ with great 60’s tunes.
​
During the year we have been spoilt with some lovely food from Marion and her team of helpers including lunch at our Christmas lunch and 41st birthday tea (with WI crockery). The tea was funded by the hard work of those preparing three teas forvarious pensioners groups from East Sussex. Marion and her team have decided to throw in the ‘tea-towel’ after this year’s Christmas lunch. Our grateful thanks go to them and their team. Next year we shall be looking for new volunteers or perhaps a different kind of celebration.
We have organised more walks, good company and cakes while getting some exercise.
A very popular event was a members’ lunch at VIP Pizza. This was a great chance to socialise and enjoy some good food at the same time.
A regular community activity has been the Churchyard tidying, several members have helped keep St Wulfrans’ churchyard looking neat.
Attendance at Denman College and the local educational/craft workshops has been down this year.
Next year’s national campaign proposals will be introduced at a Resolutions Road-show soon. A successful discussion meeting was held in January and all six of the suggested motions received a good airing. Visits to the Water Treatment works at Newhaven and to the Recycling plant in Peacehaven were arranged.
A continuing success has been our regular craft group. A series of learning and social craft afternoons in the village hall were organised . These continue to be popular, with some members learning new skills such as quilting and others bringing along their own projects.
Our September outing this year was to Herstmonceux Castle. It was a challenge to get it organised, but with the splendid weather, everyone seemed to enjoy it. The tour was excellent and the food at lunch and tea-time was just right.
We look forward to another busy and successful year in 2020.
2018 has been another successful year for Ovingdean WI during which we have welcomed several new members.
We enjoyed another varied programme of speakers. The first talk on ‘The Beat Goes On’ was not in fact a history of pop music in the 1960’s, but anecdotes from a police officer. Our February meeting was a taster of a variety of craft skills, demonstrated by members of the Committee. Well done and thanks to them.
Later we heard ‘What makes a Superstar’ by Simon Mott, which revealed the subject to be Mantovani. Other talks included subjects as diverse as Antiques, ‘Humour with Accents’ and Fingerprints.
In March a group of members attended the ESFWI Annual Meeting in Hastings. The venue had changed from Eastbourne as the Winter Gardens are being refurbished. The speakers were excellent: Tom Hart-Dyke (the garden expert from Lullingstone Castle) and Sam Taylor (Editor of The Lady).
The ESFWI Golf Tournament was organised at Dewlands Manor by the 2017 winner. We are pleased to say Ovingdean WI retained the trophy, as another of our members won this year, and will be organising the 2019 competition.
The NFWI Annual meeting was in Cardiff and our delegate was from Rottingdean WI. She gave us a full report of the experience at our June Meeting. The Resolution on the support of Mental Illness was passed with a large majority.
It was all hands to baking for the Ovingdean Green Festival at the end of June. Several members produced large quantities of cakes and other delicacies. Refreshments were served to over 300 people and the day was deemed a great success. The Green Festival may well be repeated, but not in 2019.
During the year we have been spoilt with some lovely food from our team of caterers including lunch at our Christmas party and a ploughman’s at the resolution meeting. In August we were treated to a posh 40th birthday tea with special cake stands displaying delicious cakes. The tea was funded by the hard work of those preparing a lunch for the Retired Police Officers and the Green Festival teas.
We have had 3 walks, enjoying good company and more cakes while getting some exercise and sometimes making a small collection for local charities. As part of the WI Active Week, we played Pitch and Putt at Roedean. A fun morning was had despite a low number of participants.
A very popular event was a members’ lunch at Bella Napoli. This was a great chance to socialise and enjoy some good food at the same time.
A regular community activity has been the Churchyard tidying, several members have helped keep St Wulfrans’ churchyard looking neat.
Attendance at Denman College and the local educational/craft workshops has continued this year, some with the help of the 2017 bursaries. Courses included a leather workshop at Denman and ESFWI courses included button making, a workshop on crocheting, how to make willow sculptures and chocolate making!
2 members attended the Food and Drink Celebration at East Dean, featuring Peter Bayliss, a past winner of Masterchef. Our campaign ladies joined a London conference on ‘Plastic Soup’, which discussed research findings relating to last year’s resolution at NFWI Conference.
A big success of the year was the creation of a regular craft group by our Craft Leader. A series of learning and social craft afternoons were organised in the village hall. These have proved very popular, with some members learning new skills such as greeting card or table-decoration making and others bringing along their own projects.
Our September outing this year was to Painshill and Brooklands. It was a challenge to find a combination of places which would appeal to most people, but with the splendid weather, it was a successful event.
A very busy, informative and enjoyable year which we hope to do again in 2019.
​
​
This year has been a happy one for Ovingdean WI. It’s lovely to see a blooming membership and during the year we have welcomed several new members.
During 2017 we have enjoyed another varied programme of speakers. The first talk on ‘Out on a Limb’ had people guessing about the content. It turned out to be a lady who has made a career as a Tree Surgeon, and she had plenty of amusing anecdotes to tell us.
The next talk, on the British Astromeria and Flower Industry was given by Ben Cross, a passionate nurseryman. Several members bought his lovely flowers to take home. Other talks included the Associated Countrywomen of the World, Chailey Heritage and the British Raj in India.
During the year we have been spoilt by some lovely food from our catering team. In addition to lunch at our Christmas party and a ploughman’s at the resolution meeting, we have been treated to a Birthday tea in August and numerous delicious cakes. Special mention should be made of the Macmillan Afternoon tea and cake stall organised by one of our members. It included a popular bric-a-brac stall and the afternoon raised £520 for Macmillan Cancer Support.
In early April a group of members attended the ESFWI Annual Meeting in Eastbourne. This is always an entertaining outing, with shopping and eating high on the agenda. The speakers were the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex and Ruth Goodman, TV Historian. The latter speaker had mixed reviews due to her forthright content.
A large number of Ovingdean WI members attended the WI Craft Fair at Alexandra Palace. We hired a coach and attendees enjoyed the variety of stalls and some retail therapy.
The ESFWI Golf Tournament was organised at Dewlands Manor by the 2016 winner from Ovingdean. We are pleased to say Ovingdean WI retained the trophy, as our secretary won this year, and will be organising the 2018 competition.
The NFWI Annual meeting was in Liverpool this year and our delegate was our President.. The meeting was excellent, under the competent chairmanship of Janice Langley. The speakers were Jo Fairley from chocolate manufacturers Green & Black’s and Susie Dent from Countdown’s Dictionary corner. Both gave very interesting talks. The Resolutions about the prevention of ‘plastic soup’ pollution in the oceans and alleviating loneliness were both thoroughly debated and passed.
June was also the month of the South of England Show, and our craft organiser arranged a number of entries. We won a second in the cooperative ‘Sussex Celebrity’ class with a set of Rudyard Kipling themed handmade items and a third in the ‘Ghost Story’ class.
It was all hands to baking for the Blind Veterans UK fair at the end of June. Several members produced large quantities of cakes and other delicacies. The stall, which ran for most of the day, made £430 for the BVUK fund-raising.
Ovingdean WI Quizzers, known this time as the ‘Seagirls’ made it to the Final 6 out of 44 teams, so quite an achievement.
During the year we have had 3 walks, and enjoyed good company and cakes while getting some exercise and making a small personal collection for local charities. In addition to healthy exercise, we also had two members’ lunches at Al Duomo and Bali Brasserie in Hove. It was a great chance to socialise and enjoy some good food at the same time.
Attendance at Denman College and the local educational/craft workshops has been quite low this year, so the Committee decided to sponsor some bursaries. One person will be going to Denman and 3 on local workshops, all care of Ovingdean WI.
Our September outing this year was to Leeds Castle in Kent. It is a beautiful place and the weather was fine, despite severe traffic delays on the homeward journey, a good time was had by all
All in all, another successful year for Ovingdean WI.
​
​
This year seems to have flown by it was lovely to see a blooming membership during the year as we welcomed 5 new members.
During 2016 we have enjoyed another varied programme of speakers the first talk on ‘Eye Care in the Amazonian Jungle’ was particularly memorable. The moving description of how people had had their sight restored in Bolivia produced a great response.
The next talk, on Antiques, prompted some members to attend another antiques event in Eastbourne. We then heard speakers on Housekeeping in the ‘Upstairs Downstairs’ world of a big home 100 years ago and the History of Brighton with great photographs from the archives. Probably the most entertaining talk was the hilarious Ann Chance, who described learning to ride to fulfil her dream of becoming a cowboy. Our final talk this year was from Gillian Lloyd who showed us some amazing photographs from her new career as a wildlife photographer.
In early April a group of members attended the ESFWI Annual Meeting in Eastbourne. The speakers, Janice Langley, President of NFWI and Mandy Hickson, fighter pilot, were our two most inspiring speakers.
During the year we have been spoilt by some lovely food from the Lifestyle team. In addition to lunch at our Christmas party and at the Resolution meeting, we have been treated to a Birthday tea in August and numerous cakes. Special mention should be made of the splendid Queen’s 90th birthday cake.
The NFWI Annual meeting was in Brighton this year and several members took the opportunity of ‘popping down the road’ to attend.
During the year we have had 3 walks, during which we made a small collection for local charities. We also had a morning of Ten Pin bowling as part of the WI ‘Get Active week’.
Members have taken advantage of the courses at Denman and locally and these included Moorish Cookery, Silver Clay Jewellery and the ESFWI Taster Day. 2 members enjoyed a night at Denman followed by a boat trip on the Thames. On the educational path, 2 members attended a lecture on ‘Women into STEM’ (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). 4 members took part in a Mosaics workshop and brought home their handiwork.
Our outing this year was to Hampton Court. It is a beautiful palace and we were blessed with perfect weather. Our full coach-load included a few grateful husbands and a good time was had by all.
We are very lucky to have a new Craft Organiser this year, who has arranged several workshops for the crafty amongst us. The latest was a tile painting/ Christmas decoration taster. She has also followed up our Twiddle Muff making with a crochet session and Green-Heart making for the Climate Change campaign together with masterminding behind this year’s Craft Fair.
We look forward to another busy and successful year in 2017.
​
2015 was the centenary of the Women's Institute. The National Annual General Meeting was held in the Royal Albert Hall with the Queen attending. Our President attended the meeting as delegate but as this was a special meeting with limited seats available the meeting was streamed to cinemas nationwide. A good number of our members were able to watch the proceedings at Cineworld in Brighton Marina.
In June there was a WI Centenary Garden Party at Buckingham Palace at which two members were lucky enough to attend.
This was also a busy year for Ovingdean WI. Amongst a great variety of topics, we had talks on Lavender, Sussex Land Army, Being a Prison Governor, Hand made bags from Madagascar and Search Dogs. In addition we enjoyed a trip to Chichester which included a trip on the canal with an informative talk on its history.
During the year members have attended Federation meetings and events. They have joined courses at Denman College and events organised by the Committee including walks, 10 pin bowling, birthday and Christmas lunches.
​
​