surreyfed

A tribute to Lyn Chalcraft of Cranleigh

DENISE Rasell has sent this: “I am writing this as a member of Ash Hill WI as a way of saying “thank you” to Lyn Chalcraft for all the hard work she has put in to Cranleigh WI. Lyn was a dear friend of mine and we met through Home Start, a volunteer charity that helps young families that are struggling. I am sorry to say that Lyn sadly passed away at the beginning of March.

“The following tribute is written by Jackie Rubie, president of Cranleigh.”

Lyn was President of Cranleigh Evening WI from 2004–2006 and was instrumental in starting the Community Challenge to raise £5,000 to furnish a relatives’ room in a proposed new Cranleigh Hospital, which never materialised.

It was decided to donate the £5,570.71 raised to our existing hospital when a new X-Ray and scanner facility was opened. The money went towards furnishing the waiting room in the radiology department with chairs, patient chairs, chairs for the X-Ray room and ultrasound rooms, plus two ultrasound beds, a sonographer’s stool and chair.

Many members organised 32 events such as coffee mornings, a Burns Night supper, Bridge supper, jazz lunch, sponsored swim and many more.

The radiology department was offically opened on May 24, 2019 by the Rt. Hon Anne Milton, our local MP.

Lyn is on the far right of the picture, in front of plaques marking the opening of the department and the WI’s contribution. With her, from left, are WI members Sue Ross, Pat Hill, and Lis Wickenden.

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WIs swing into action to help the Bees

Many of you must have been wondering how our colleagues in the prison WIs have been coping during the various lockdowns. We know how much your support has meant to them from the grateful thanks we received from the women artists of Send, some of whom are Send Inspired members, for your terrific response to their Christmas card and calendar sale. Here’s another heart warming tale of the WI at its best from JILL ELLIOTT, who was instrumental in setting up the first prison WIs in Surrey.

BRONZEFIELD Bees WI is situated at HMP Bronzefield and was the first WI to be formed in a women’s prison.

This came about in 2010 as a result of the WI mandate Care not Custody in 2008. There are now seven such WIs, including Send Inspired and Downview Dames in the Surrey Federation.

If you were able to join our Annual Council Meeting in March you will have heard guest speaker and NFWI chairman Lynne Stubbings speak of this (and what a triumph and technical achievement that council meeting was!)

Shortly before Easter I was in touch with Dee Flarry, the President of Bronzefield Bees WI. She mentioned how much it helped the women to be engaged in craft activities during lockdown and they were very short of craft materials. Knowing how generous and supportive WI members have been in the past, I contacted the Presidents of my local WIs in the Emlyn Downs Group. Members were invited to donate and drop off supplies to my door step over five days.

In addition I suggested that a card and message with the items would be welcomed.

The response was both speedy and generous, plus the added bonus that I enjoyed many socially distanced greetings! By the Friday my car was very full and when Amanda Edge, president of Great Bookham Belles arrived with their contribution, I was pleased to have her help in completing the loading up, as you will see from a photo she took!

On the Saturday before Easter I arranged to meet Dee in a car park to hand over the many bags and packages. On my return home I sent a very grateful thank you to all WI members for their kind and generous response.

Since then Dee has been in touch, having sorted the many donations and it was a great pleasure to receive her  message. We felt it would be lovely to share this story with Surrey members, many of whom have supported our three prison WIs in recent years.

In normal times my good friend and retired WI Adviser Jan Heasman would have been hoping to accompany me on such a mission, but with present restrictions that was not possible and as it turned out the passenger seat was full!

We look forward to the time when we can visit all our prison WIs again.

And a response from Dee, the Bees’ President, to all who donated

THIS message is sent with heartfelt thanks and gratitude to all of you who made donations recently to the Bronzefield Bees WI.

The donations were of a high standard and our members are very grateful for all that we have received.

The well wishing cards are also very much appreciated as the regime at Bronzefield is limited at present and our members are spending a lot of their time in their cells. The good wishes show that many people care and are thinking of our members during this time.

The prison, as with the country, is slowly moving on to the next level and work areas are gradually opening up  affording the women a chance to get back to a bit of normality.

We very much look forward to celebrating our 10th anniversary (2020) delayed by a Covid year in 2021 — if things go well this could be late summer and we will welcome as many of you as can attend.

Once again thank you so much for your support, it means a lot to our members.

Kind regards — Dee Flarry, President of the Bronzefield Bees WI

PS We are also very grateful to you Jill for organising this and have plenty of supplies to keep us going for a while.

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ACWW by JILL MULRYAN

I HAD the pleasure of voting in the Special World Conference on April 20 on behalf of SFWI on the resolution to re-schedule the Triennial World Conference to May 2023 from May 2022. I was one of the 98.6% who voted in favour.

Afrodita Roman, Europe Area President, requests feedback from ACWW supporters as to how we are coping in the strange times of Covid-19. She has missed visiting the ACWW societies, so is seeking knowledge of our resilience as we emerge from lockdown.

If you visit acww.org.uk and click on Membership you can follow the link to the latest edition of The Countrywoman, where you will find the complete list of new projects.

It is difficult to fund raise at present but you can donate direct to ACWW via their website. You can also become an individual member of ACWW for £27 and receive regular updates on their work as well as receiving copies of The Countrywoman which comes out twice a year in print and twice online.

If you missed Women Walk the World, which returned to ACWW Day on April 29, you might like to host a walk on another day for members who support ACWW. This year it is so important to focus on friendship. All our advocacy, project funding and networking is on that foundation of friendship and collaboration, so think of all the other women who have walked. If your WI has a strong ACWW supportive section or it would like to develop one, please contact me on jmulryan@surreyfedwi.org.uk

Jill Mulryan, ACWW Representative

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MEET YOUR FEDERATION TRUSTEES

The election/co-option of Trustees to serve for 2020-22 was conducted by email. This is an update of the information published in SWIN online a year ago, since when Judith Broome, Chris Butterfield and Pat Whiffin have stepped down as Trustees, and Ruth Williams has joined the Board. We thought you would like to know more about the them. Here’s what they say about themselves, including WI/Federation posts they have held, past and present.

CAROL GARTRELL:

Federation Chairman.

Member since 2009 of Deepcut & Frimley and Bagshot WIs.

WI/Federation posts held: Current Bagshot Secretary, Deepcut: Committee and Minuting Secretary, President, Deepcut & Frimley: Event Manager. Federation Vice-chair, Vicechair Home Economics, Craft and Gardening Committee, chair Communications and Publicity Committee

Married with two children, four grandchildren. Academic and author.

Hobbies: Cooking, gardening and garden design, machine and hand needlework, historic houses and gardens, Yoga.

TOTO JAMES:Member since 2010. Fulham & Chelsea, Streatham.

WI/Federation posts held: Committee member/President Fulham & Chelsea. Federation vice-chairman, Head of Digital, member Membership Committee, Digital and Public Affairs Working Groups. NFWI Trustee and member of NFWI Public Affairs Committee.

London based marketing consultant and has undertaken a number of charity projects, including establishing a visiting English teaching programme at a school in Gujarat, India.

ANGIE LEACH:

Member since 2011 of Streatham.

WI/Federation posts held: Federation vicechairman, WI Adviser, chair of Membership, Public Affairs team leader.

Married for 27 years, four daughters, various pets. Former nanny and teacher of nursery aged children at a school in Battersea, school governor for 13 years. Likes cold water swimming and is a Brown Owl.

SHEENA LANDGRAF:

Founder member of Caterham Hill, 2015.

WI/Federation posts held: Caterham Hill treasurer, Federation treasurer, Independent Financial Examiner.

Work as a chartered accountant, parttime at quieter parts of the year.

Hobbies: certificate and diploma in hand embroidery at the Royal School of Needlework, now concentrating on Japanese embroidery. Active member of Oakhall Church in Caterham.

BETTY DOMINY:

Member since 1987, New Malden.

WI/Federation posts held: In the ‘90s took Open College Network courses in preserves and baking delivered by Eileen Bowler and was invited to join the Home Economics Committee and deliver courses in nutrition and music, health and safety. Worked with NFWI setting up Let’s Cook programme working with disadvantaged families, trained tutors, served on the national cookery committee. Delivered qualifications to Surrey members in baking and preserves and Royal Society of Health qualifications. Trustee since 2012.

Retired teacher, married with four children and nine grandchildren.

Hobbies: Gardening and member of the camera group.

MARION MITCHELL:

Member since 2011. Churt.

WI/Federation posts held: Speaker hostess, secretary, President, Haslemere Group co-ordinator. Events, Leisure and Fundraising sub-committee member and current chairman.

Married, with two sons and identical twin granddaughters. Worked for Cornhill Insurance Group for 22 years and Barclays Bank for five years processing the mis-selling of pensions and mortgages.

Hobbies: reading, gardening, painting/drawing. Member of Churt Village Garden Club.

DEBBIE PLAYLE:

Member since 2015. Old Coulsdon Cupcakes.

WI/Federation posts held: Federation vicechairman, chair of Publicity and Communications Working Group, founding President, committee member, joint co-ordinator Purley Group; social media champion, member of Digital and Events, Leisure & Fundraising committees.

Married, with three step-children and one step-grandson. Last job was HR and salaries administrator at a veterinary  practice. Sits on several local committees, treasurer for local group fund raising for Christmas lights for our village.

NEW TRUSTEES APPOINTED 2020/21

HILARY BROOKS: Member since 1985, Walton-on-Thames.

WI/Federation posts held: Committee member twice for a total of 19 years, President four years; Resolutions representative since 2018, Resolutions and Campaign Advocate.

Retired district nurse and long term widow, three lovely but far-flung children.

Hobbies: genealogical research, church bellringing (tower secretary and Guildnewsletter editor). Trustee for Elmbridge Youth Theatre, enjoys sewing costumes for their productions.

JILL MULRYAN: Member since 2008. Kenley Flyers.

WI/Federation posts held: Secretary to Kenley and Kenley Flyers, Purley Group coconvenor, member Edenbridge & Oxted Show committee, ACWW rep.

Married 55 years, two children, three grandchildren. Trained as a nurse, requalified as a social worker. Volunteer meeter and greeter at Purley Hospital, treasurer and assistant to organiser of an elders’ lunch club; organised local dining club for several years.

BECKY WARBURTON:

Member since 2012, Spa Sweethearts (Harrogate); Tooting.

WI/Federation posts held: President and membership secretary Spa Sweethearts; founder President of Tooting.

Moved to London in 2015 to start a new job. Joined the WI after university, enjoyed it so much I wanted to find another group in London. Couldn’t find the right group for me so set up my own and Tooting WI was born! Event Senior Executive at Cancer Research UK, organising our volunteer awards ceremony and other recognition events. Massive theatre and film fan.

RUTH WILLIAMS

(2021) A member of the WI for over eight years, firstly with Ewell Court and then Stoneleigh where she has been President since 2017.

Ruth’s working life was in marine insurance as a Lloyds broker and then in the legal world as a Fee Earner with London solicitors in the litigation department. Ruth is a member of the Arts Society and volunteers as a church Recorder. She spent many years with amateur dramatic companies, sourcing, making and managing props, enjoys a variety of crafts and is researching her family tree, learning French, re-visiting Russian and keeps fit with Pilates and has added more walking to her regime.

THE Federation is anxious to recruit more Trustees. If you are interested, you are welcome to attend a Board of Trustees committee meeting as an observer to see what goes on and what is involved. The next BoT meetings are scheduled for Mondays July 5 and September 6, both starting at 9.30am at SFWI HQ if circumstances permit, if not they will be held via Zoom. Please notify the office if you are interested in attending either of these.

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Bursary to train as Forest School Assistant

SURREY Federation has linked up with Surrey Wildlife Trust to offer a WI member a £400 bursary towards the cost of training as a Level 2 Forest School Assistant.

Forest schools offer all people (children, young adults, and adults) the opportunity to develop confidence, social  skills, communication, adeptness and more through interacting with nature.

They are discovery and exploration-based, promoting the love of learning new things, at the same time developing one’s character, resilience, social skills, and more.

Forest Schools offer a refreshing alternative to the traditional classroom setting. The experience of having learners go into nature and be outside to learn, sparks many educational benefits.

The total cost of training for a Level 2 Award for Forest School Assistants is £490 (inclusive).

The next Level 2 courses will be held at Nower Wood Education Centre, Leatherhead, KT22  8QA on September 29-30 and October 20-21.

Participants should be over 18 years old and have some experience of working with young people or adults, for example youth workers, teaching assistants or teachers.

In addition they must:

* Be DBS checked.

* Attend the four days of theory and practice.

* Be able to assist with the planning and delivery of three Forest School sessions.

* Complete a workbook of evidence.

The course commitment is approximately 60 hours and there is an option to attend a monthly mentoring session (these are not compulsory but highly recommended).

The course should take six months to complete, although some have handed all coursework in after a few months.

To apply for the bursary, write or email the office with your name, address, phone number, name of your WI, stating why you are applying for the bursary, your experience of working within the community and the qualities you are able to bring to this role.

Applicants will be shortlisted by the Federation and may then be interviewed by a member of the Surrey Wildlife Trust staff. The closing date for applications is July 31.

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Have SWIN delivered by your postman

SURREY WI News is an invaluable source of information of Federation news and events. Would you like to receive your own copy delivered by post to your door?

Issues are posted by the Federation by the fourth Friday of every month, with the exception of the January issue which is posted in the third week in December.

The cost of the subscription for this year is £5 for twelve issues beginning with the July 2021 edition. Post and packing is £8.80 for the year. If you would like to receive the magazine by post please complete the members’ booking form on Page 19 and return with a cheque (£13.80) payable to Surrey Federation of WIs as soon as possible.

We are aware this is short notice and you might not receive these details in time for the July copy to be posted. So for this year only, we are offering a partial year at the equivalent of £1.15 per month, ending in June 2022. If you place your order to start with the August copy you will pay £12.65 for 11 copies.

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Why music is the food of life

My great grandmother, grandmother and mother all played the piano, it is not surprising therefore that at the age of five I ventured, distinctive music bag in hand, to a spooky house complete with grand piano and a cat called Smokey for piano lessons.

This set me on a path which would fashion the rest of my life. It would lead me to opportunities I would never have thought possible: a university education, a life-time career as a university academic, presenting a paper in the Rachmaninov Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, a speech to confer an honorary Doctorate on Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Master of the Queen’s Music, at the Royal Albert Hall, directing the performance of the Mystery Plays at Pannonhalma Archabbey in Hungary, to managing and quality assuring a Music Degree at the University of Hong Kong.

So for as long as I can remember, music has played a significant role in my life. For me, music is an integral part of my daily life. With my children and now grandchildren, we sing our way through the day, in both happy and sad times. Music, over the years, has therefore provided both joy and solace.

Attending West Sussex Federation’s annual meeting via Zoom, I was deeply moved by the singing of Jerusalem. Why? Because this silent performance, a myriad of intense faces, seemingly only mouthing the words, epitomised the last year of isolation and enforced lockdown, devoid of human interaction. A time in which many Pastime[s] with Good Company (Henry VIII), that we had taken for granted, were snatched from us.

When planning our 2021 Annual Council Meeting I was determined to include music. Heralding the proceedings with suffragist Cicely Hamilton’s March of the Women, set to music by suffragette Ethel Smyth (which became the anthem of the suffragette movement), with its final rousing call to March, march – many as one, Shoulder to shoulder and friend to friend seemed an admirable call to arms as we together, members of the WI, step out of lockdown.

And Jerusalem — well, the temptation to use the Centenary Annual Meeting at the Royal Albert Hall was too great, with the Royals, including Sophie, Countess of Wessex (a member of my own WI, Bagshot) and all those joyous faces of the assembled members.

Why Jerusalem?

But why Jerusalem? Some members think that it is outdated and presents a negative image. The history of the adoption of Jerusalem as an anthem of the WI is fascinating. Originally composed by Herbert Parry (1916) to a text by William Blake (1808) ‘to brace the spirit of the nation’, Millicent Fawcett sought permission to adopt Jerusalem as the anthem of the suffragette movement. Coincidentally it was first sung by massed women at the Royal Albert Hall at a suffrage rally in 1918.

Grace Haddow, suffragist, musician and a founder of the Women’s Institute, was inspired to transfer Jerusalem from the suffrage movement to the WI. She recognised the similarities between the organisations, of empowering women and fighting for their freedom of expression, so from 1924 Jerusalem became the anthem of the WI.

For me, the marker of my return to face to-face WI meetings will be the opportunity to sing Jerusalem with my fellow WI members. It will herald not only the future but will also be a poignant reminder of the loss to Covid-19 of Bagshot WI member Ruth Stockley, whose bell-like tones always shone through our rendition.

Your WI may or may not sing Jerusalem, but I am sure that singing, acting, and dancing are an integral part of your WI programme, just as it is for all cultures. I find it fascinating that in some African cultures there is a single word which takes in all aspects of singing and dance, because these acts are so inextricably linked.

A lot has been said about well-being over the past year, and how engagement with arts, crafts and music make such a positive contribution. Music also plays a crucial place in the ceremonial marking of our transition through life. Music played a central and highly significant role in the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral, whether it was Beethoven’s Funeral March, punctuated ‘with muffled drum’ as the coffin was brought out and ‘let the mourners come’ (Auden), cannon fire and the tolling of the curfew bell, to the sublime choral music. A moving and memorable moment.

As we move forward as a Federation, I fervently hope that we will be able to offer opportunities for all members to engage once again in performance. The Surrey Serenaders has long been a flagship of the Federation. It is hoped that this group will resume. If you are interested, then please email jane.randell55@gmail.com whether it be as a singer, to help organise, or both.

Heritage

Under the leadership of our most recently appointed trustee, Ruth Williams, the Federation hopes to develop its performing arts profile. I know that some of you have participated in play readings via Zoom, a super idea. If you are interested and wish to participate in performing arts activities then please email ruth.williams250@ntlworld.com — she welcomes all your ideas!

Surrey has a fine heritage in this area. I recall interviewing centenarian Joan Boxall for the Federation Centenary edition of SWIN, who talked about the many wonderful dramatic performances and choral competitions she took part in. I hope that we will be able to rekindle this spirit and engage in such endeavours.

As a music lecturer I was often asked what the value of a performing arts education is? The answer is legion but critically it enables participants to appreciate and connect with the past and present, to understand and celebrate distinctiveness, and to engage mind, body, and spirit as together we develop creative energies. I believe that these are just the things that will enrich our lives today and will help us once again to engage with and seek new meaning in the world and lead us into a new normal. Please join us.

Carol A. Gartrell, Chairman

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Give this Easter classic a try – Simnel Traybake

Try this Easter recipe — selected by Betty Dominy, chair of our Home Economics, Craft and Gardening Committee. Simnel tray bake (pictured) as tested by Barbara Cavalier. 

Originally Simnel cakes were baked by girls in service to take home on Mothering Sunday. It is now more usual to eat them at Easter with eleven almond paste ‘eggs’ on the top rep- resenting all the Apostles except Judas. 

Ingredients

• 150g butter, softened;
• 75g light muscovado sugar;
• 75g dark muscovado sugar;
• 2 tbsp golden syrup;
• 4 medium eggs, beaten;
• 200g plain flour;
• 1 tsp baking powder;
• 1 tsp mixed spice;
• zest of one lemon;
• 350g mixed dried fruit;
• 200g white or yellow marzipan;
• 3 tbsp jam; and
• icing sugar. 

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180c/fan 160c/gas 4. Grease and line a 7in square tin. 
• Sift the flour/baking powder and mixed spice together. Put the butter, sugar and syrup in a mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy (by hand or mixer). 
• Gradually add the beaten eggs, adding a little flour if the mixture starts to curdle. Stir in evenly the flour mix, lemon zest and dried fruit. 
• Spread half the cake mix evenly across the bottom of your lined tin. Coarsely grate the marzipan over the mixture and even out. Cover with the rest of the cake mixture and level the top. 
• Bake for 30 – 45 minutes or until just firm to the touch.
• Cool in tin for 10 minutes then put on a cooling rack to get cold. When cold dust with icing sugar. 
• The cake can be decorated as follows:
  • Warm the jam and glaze the top of the cake. Lightly dust your work surface with icing sugar then think roll out the marzipan. Cut into 5mm strips and weave over the top of the cake to make a basket effect.
  • Or: glaze the top of the cake and roll out the yellow marzipan on a surface dusted with icing sugar. Cover the top of the cake with the marzipan and decorate for Easter.
• The pictured cake (above) was left undecorated and cut into 16 portions. 

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There is no vaccine for climate change 

The threat of climate change has gone from something that’s going to happen ‘some day’ to something that is happening now. Hence, Climate Emergency!

Through the campaigns run by the WI we have learnt so much about how we, as individuals, can reduce the damage inflicted on our environment.WI members have been bold enough to put forward resolutions and then determined enough to follow them through. I have huge respect for their efforts. 

We have hidden the clingfilm, mended our clothes, made soup using leftovers, walked to the shops with a shopping trolley, turned down the thermostat and put on a woolly jumper, changed our energy supplier to a renewable source — the list goes on. 

I would be the last person to discourage these efforts. Individual changes to reduce our carbon footprint are good because they normalise those choices and encourage others to do the same, but on their own they are never going to be enough to achieve the level of change needed. We need to prioritise the health and wellbeing of ALL life over money and profit. 

We can learn to live without fossil fuels and luxury but we can’t live without nature. Or maybe we can learn to live with different luxury, the luxury of birdsong, of clean air, of streams and woods full of life, of children’s voices echoing around neighbourhoods instead of engines. 

Last month many of you responded to the Show the Love campaign, part of the Climate Coalition’s response to the climate crisis.You made green hearts and displayed them where you could make an impact. The WI was one of the founder members of the Climate Coalition. MPs tell us that they don’t get much correspondence about the climate crisis from their constituents. We can change that — in your February WI Life there was a postcard for you to send to your MP. 

A recent poll showed that 80% of the British public recognise that we have a climate emergency. There is no vaccine. No-one is immune. 

A Private Member’s Bill introduced to Parliament in 2005 led directly to the 2008 Climate Change Act, at the time the most radical piece of legislation in the world. But we have more data now and we know that aiming for zero emissions by 2050 will be too late. 

Why are we moving so slowly?

The measures that are needed may be unpopular. They won’t win votes. If I was an MP I wouldn’t want to risk losing my seat. BUT if my constituents were repeatedly asking me to take stronger action, I would be more confident.

The Climate and Ecology Emergency (CEE) Bill, is a Private Member’s Bill, and needs the support of over 200 MPs to progress through Parliament.It is a response to the precarious situation we find ourselves in and is rooted in science. Its three main points are: 

• We must stay with a carbon budget calculated to remain at or below 1.5 degrees C of warming and this budget must include our real carbon footprint based on ALL our consumption emissions and not based on ‘pie in the sky’ carbon capture technology. 
• ?We need to repair the habitats for our wildlife to halt the sixth mass extinction. 
• The measures needed will be much more acceptable if they come from a cross-section of society, a Citizens’ Assembly to advise the Government.
• Does your MP support the CEE Bill?

We mustn’t get disheartened by our individual efforts’ we do make a difference with every decision that we make. We can encourage each other to contact our democratically elected representatives to support the CEE Bill so that we can approach the COP 26 meeting in Glasgow with confidence and determination. 

Now where did I put that postcard?

Rosemary Horton, Climate Change Advocate

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