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Our extra activity this month was to have an enjoyable walk down Mill lane to the river. It was an extremely hot day but we found a lovely shady spot to set up our picnic table and chairs where we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon drinking chilled homemade Elderflower cordial and chatting about anything and everthing.  David Worham, who had been a volunteer Ranger and Lock Keeper with the Canal and river Trust for over 11 years was our speaker for June. He presented a historical slide show on the restoration of the Droitwich Barge Canal and the Droitwich Junction Canal. He took us through the history starting in 1758 when James Brindley was asked to survey feasibility of a Canal from Droitwich, through its construction, its use and its abandonment in 1939. Then in 1959, there was a campaign in the local press and with the Councils for restoration of the canals. Eventually in 1971, restoration work began until finally the Droitwich Barge Canal and Droitwich Junction Canal were reopened in 2011, A fascinating talk showing the determination of getting this valuable asset being brought back to life.  The W I was recently given a canning machine that was found in a members loft that was used by Eckington WI during World War 2. As the theme for this year’s Eckington Open Gardens & Flower Festival was VE Day, we decided that it would be wonderful to display this canning machine at the church Flower Festival as Eckington WI played a vital role during the war by preserving fruit and vegetables by bottling, jam making and caning.  We were fortunate to have 39 garages taking part in this event and although it was rather a chilly dayit kept dry. The WI ladies were kept very busy in the village hall serving refreshment of tea, coffee and home-made cakes.We have had positive feedback that the garage sales had been a very successful event for the stall holders and a lovely friendly atmosphere about the village.  The month started with our Annual Meeting and Worcestershire Federation WI advisor Sally Grainger was in attendance. Sally talked about the 2025 resolution "Bystanders Can Be Lifesavers" and highlights the critical role of bystanders in improving survival rates from cardiac arrest. She emphasized the importance of early CPR and defibrillation, and the resolution calls for increased public training and access to defibrillators. We in Eckington are fortunate enough to have two defibrillators in the village and many people have taken the opportunity to be shown how to use them. The winner of the Presidents Challenge was announced as Veronica; she was presented with ‘The Presidents Bowl’ which had been planted out by Mill Lane Nursery (see the picture below). This bowl will be held for the year by the winner and was given to the WI by a past speaker and it is made up of pieces of pottery decorated by our members. The two runners up were also presented with a gift of a plant.  Jake Freestone manager at Overbury Estate was our speaker at the April monthly meeting. Jake gave a fascinating talk about the fact that Overbury Estate use the method of regenerative farming. He explained how water management is hugely important and can be very challenging for example during 2024 there was 200% more rainfall than the average and many fields were flooded and couldn’t be planted. The estate has gone from ploughing to direct drill planting not only has this reduced the carbon emission but has encouraged the worms to be closer to the top soil which improved the land. They try to adopt the no dig system and also try to use the land all year round with infill crops and the cover system of crops as it is extremely important not to have bare soil. The estate plants flower meadows of poppies and cornflowers to encourage ladybirds that are know to eat aphids and other insects which is beneficial to agriculture to help control pests. They are also making some new wetlands to encourage more birds and insects. We all found this talk and slide show exceptionally interesting and if you would like to know more about regenerative farming there is an ‘Open Farm Sunday’ at Overbury Estate on Sunday 8th June. Worcestershire WI’s celebrated international Women’s Day on March 8th at the Guildhall in Worcester and our President Jenny Doyle had a display highlighting our recent campaigns. WI has been campaigning for over 100 years on women’s rights, equality and environmental issues. Our display showcased some recent ongoing campaigns such as Dental Health Matters, Clean Rivers and Seas and the Green Heart campaign for climate action. We partner many other organisations such as the Climate Coalition. All WI members have the opportunity to submit a resolution and vote, from a short list, for which they would like to go forward to our National Annual Meeting for discussion and voting. We are not just Jam & Jerusalem!  Ready for Easter? Well we took the opportunity in March to make cards & gift tags using a variety of methods and in readiness for Easter, some of us made Easter cards as well as the usual birthday cards. Stencils and stamps were used to create attractive cards as well as learning how to make a beautiful & unusual origami card. We were also introduced to the art of Hapa Zome - a very satisfying method of making cards using a hammer! As spring approached, our March meeting reminded us of the natural beauty spot we have at our doorstep which is not only magnificent in the spring but has beauty throughout the year. This is of course Bredon Hill. Guided by Roger Umpelby, the journey through the seasons on Bredon Hill revealed the wonder of the flora and fauna with his slides and experiences. A timely reminder for us to get out there and explore. The Presidents Challenge continued the theme of Bredon Hill’s natural beauty with a photo challenge of members best photos of the hill. It’s that time of year when coughs and colds are everywhere. However, with the help of our own Simone Southern, we were introduced to the potential benefits of homeopathic remedies to tackle these. Simone gave a brief history of how the use of homeopathic remedies developed and as a trained homeopath, she was able to provide an informed explanation of the benefits and how they can be used alongside conventional medicines. There was a lot of interest from the audience and her talk was well received. The Presidents Challenge was for members to submit their favourite home remedy. |
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