News

The time was NOW — and it still is 

In July’s letter to members our Chairman, Carol Gartrell, again raised the importance of addressing the question of climate change. 

Over a year has passed since the Time is Now lobby of Parliament was held. Rosemary Horton of Dorking Ranmore WI was among those who attended. She wrote thanking Carol for again highlighting the issue, saying: 

“Little has changed, the government has been obsessed with Brexit and now the COVID-19 crisis,” and enclosed a copy of a letter she has written to her MP “just to let you know that WI members are still active in raising awareness about the climate. We may be in lockdown but the climate crisis is still with us and we need to keep up the pressure.” 

This is what she wrote to Sir Paul Beresford, MP for Mole Valley: 

“This time last year I came up to London to represent my WI at the Time is Now lobbying of MPs in relation to the Climate and Environment Crisis. You were good enough to see me and other constituents of Mole Valley and listen to our concerns. Since that day I have taken a greater interest in the way we are living now and how this will change the planet that our grandchildren will inherit. We are on a slippery slope!” 

“You yourself in your address to Parliament on Commonwealth Day, March 9, 2020, talked about the importance of the Commonwealth; was the fact that it makes up 33% of the world population, 60% of whom are under the age of 30. The Commonwealth consists of 54 member states including 47 coastal states which are the most likely to succumb to rising sea levels caused by global warming. This is not just a possibility it is a fact. 

You know that children’s teeth are are protected by having fluoride in the water supply, that is a fact, so you encourage authorities to put fluoride in the water.” 

Frustrated

“Why, if you know that burning fossil fuels is damaging the future for those children, do you not ensure that as our elected member of Parliament, pressure is put on the government to take more urgent steps to address this?”

“As a result of the lobbying last year I have been increasingly frustrated by the lack of progress and been drawn to express my feelings through the activities of Extinction Rebellion.” 

“I had thought that they were a bunch of extremists looking for opportunities to confront authority and as a law abiding, conservative member of the public, I tended to sneer at their activities. I couldn’t have been more wrong.” 

“What I found was a group of angry, intelligent, well informed, law-abiding, hard-working people who had being doing all the right things for years — writing to their MPs, holding meetings to inform the public, printing leaflets at their own expense and tirelessly trying to draw attention to what we were doing to ourselves by damaging the planet. It didn’t work and the frustration came to a head in October 2018 with non-violent civil disobedience.” 

“I can’t put it better than a local member of Extinction Rebellion, a retired environmental scientist who helped co-ordinate teams of scientists on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): 

“My familiarity with the topic over decades had, I had to admit, blunted my sense of urgency. These people had come much later to the recognised the gravity of the threat and the urgent need for effective action.’ 

“I appreciate that COVID-19 has sent the world into turmoil, but we need to learn from the way we have dealt with it. We may gain immunity from COVID-19 but no-one is immune to the climate crisis. The majority of the population are not aware of the severity of the situation. 

Truth

Please tell the truth; the current target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 is too late. We have the science to back this, we have the opportunity to reduce biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Jobs will be lost, the economy will suffer, it’s not going to be easy but we have to do what is right. 

“Please reassure me that by this time next year, the Conservative Party can look their constituents and far flung members of the Commonwealth in the eye and know that they have been brave enough to take the measures necessary to protect the environment we live in.” 

• As Carol said in her article, each one of us can make a difference. How did you get on with Plastic Free July — has it made you think twice? Perhaps Rosemary’s letter might inspire your WI to write to your MP and pose the same questions. After all, they work for you. 

back to News

Our treasurer Sheena Landgraf reports that she has had a couple of queries from WIs where the operators of the halls they meet in are asking for COVID insurance. 

Her response is that the insurance policy held by Surrey Federation does not cover COVID-19 — and Sheena doubts that there is any policy in existence that does as it is generally considered to be an “Act of God” event. 

“Our insurance covers injury or damage resulting from negligence,” she explains. “As long as a WI completes risk assessments and complies with latest government guidelines, it has done all it can to mitigate risk of all incidents, not just the spread of COVID, and you have fulfilled your role to make things as safe as possible.” 

She says she is not exactly sure what the halls in question actually want to be covered and has suggested the operators contact her directly by emailing her at info@surreyfedwi.org.uk so that she can answer any specific questions about the Federation’s insurance cover. 

She adds: “If they want all their tenants to have COVID insurance they will be waiting a long time before their hall gets any use.” 

back to News

The Chairmen and Vice Chairmen of the Federation’s committees and working parties have been working hard over the last few months to bring a full and exciting programme of events for all members, starting this month. For safety reasons the vast majority will take place online, many via Zoom, a video conferencing provider which some of you are already using. 

The Federation’s Digital team is more than happy to help members to use Zoom safely and efficiently, so please do not hesitate to get in touch by sending an email to the office if you, or a fellow member, would benefit from this support. 

In order to manage the implementation of these virtual events, booking will not take place via the office as before, but will instead be via Eventbrite, an online booking service. 

The name of the event and the relevant link to book on Eventbrite will be advertised in SWIN, on the Federation website and through social media in the same way that events are usually advertised. 

The main difference is that as with other online booking providers, tickets are available on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. If you want to browse through the upcoming events, click here and watch out for updates. 

We hope that you are as excited about being able to come together as a Federation as we are!

Digital Working Group 

back to News

Annual Meetings Made Easy – Presentation & Notes

A huge thank you to everyone who attended the recent Annual Meetings Made Easy workshop at the start of September, which was organised and run by our WI Advisers in the Membership Committee.  We hope that you found it helpful and informative.

Please click here to access a copy of the PPT presentation and notes.

back to News

Message from our Federation Treasurer 

Help: We need more IFEs* 

(*Independent Financial Examiners)

Could you be a Surrey Independent Financial Examiner? 

It is a requirement that all WIs have their annual financial statements examined by an Independent Financial Examiner (IFE). 

Many Surrey WIs know of someone local to them that can per- form the examination. However many do not know someone suitable, and so use an IFE appointed by Surrey Federation. Members of this small team each examine the financial statements for several WIs to make sure the figures presented to members at the annual meeting are in accordance with the objects of the WI and are a correct summary of the transactions in the year. 

As most Surrey WIs have September year ends and November annual meetings, we have a flurry of work in October and early November but not much at any other part of the year. A small fee is paid to examiners for undertaking the work 

We are always on the lookout for more examiners. If you, or anyone you know, might be interested in joining the team please contact me. The examiner does not have to be a WI Treasurer or a WI member; for example if you have a recently retired partner at home whom you think needs occupying they can volunteer (or do I mean can be volunteered?). Or do you have a friend who has time on her hands? The role requires a basic under- standing of spreadsheets as the majority of our WIs prepare their financial statements on a spreadsheet. A reasonable competence with numbers is advisable and an enquiring mind essential. Training is provided to enable understanding of the WI rules and objectives, our Treasurer Handbook and the spreadsheet. 

?Please email Sheena at the office, info@surreyfedwi.org.uk if you are interested or would like more information. 

Sheena Landgraf, Federation Treasurer

back to News

Time to face up to a new future 

For the past 60 years I have travelled to Cromer, ‘Gem of the Norfolk Coast’, for a family summer holiday. I now have the dubious pleasure of being one of the oldest, whereas I was once the youngest member of the party! 

Cromer 2020 did not seem a possibility in the current situation, but it was, and it was wonderful. It was made particularly special as this marked our reunion with our daughter and family, who we had not seen since February, and what a joyous occasion it was. 

How can that be? I ask. Cromer always offers me the opportunity to reflect on the past year, and this seemed particularly apposite, a double bonus. Our return from Cromer always marks the passing of the seasons, we leave Surrey with long summer evenings, and return to much shorter ones, heralding Autumn. 

August 2020 also marked the passing of ‘shielding’, and for many, a gradual, tentative, nervous, somewhat hesitant entrance into the ‘world outside.’ From a place, almost frozen in time, characterised by loneliness and loss of community, to one with an element of hope. I suspect that hope may be our greatest strength as we emerge. 

Some things, sadly however, may never re- turn. Denman — can we really believe that this gem of the WI will, most likely, never welcome WI members again? We can only hope for a last-minute reprieve from a benefactor, currently in short supply I fear. But maybe we will find solace in our memories of a 72-year old institution, a place that has enriched our lives, provided us with skills and learning, life-long friendships and memories never to be forgotten. 

We also have hopes for the future. What are yours? What do you wish to take forward from your imposed change of lifestyle? What skills have you acquired? What new friendships have you made, even if at a distance? How will you harness the inner strength that you have developed for the good of your community? 

And what of our WIs? How will they fare? How will you contribute to their refashioning, their rebirth? 

It is up to us all, as members of the WI, to realise a new future for our organisation, to inject new life into our institutes, to revive, to restore, to reinvent and to revolutionise. What do we value most about our WIs and how can we sustain and enhance these characteristics? It challenges us all. 

I recently came across these words of Goethe that seem to have a particular resonance for us today and the path we have followed: 

Talents are best nurtured in solitude, but character is best formed on the stormy billows of the world. 

Does this describe what we have all just experienced? It is ‘Now the Time’, not only to re-enter the world but to engage with it and to make a difference using the talents that we have all acquired and that have sustained us through lockdown. 

Modern slavery is one of the most significant injustices of our time, and a recently launched WI campaign has been thrown into the limelight during the pandemic — and close to home. Not in a distant country but in the garment district of Leicester, when a spike in COVID-19 infections was tracked to a tiny sweatshop where women worked in cramped, unsanitary conditions for £3 to £4.50 per hour. 

These illegally underpaid women were found to be more efficient and cost effective than expensive state-of-the-art machinery. They believed, possibly rightly, that the government did not feel them worthy of the protection of the law. 

Can we make a difference here in our own small way? Can we change our clothes buying habits, and make cheap, wear once, throw away clothes a thing of the past? During lockdown our purchasing of clothes dropped significantly. Can we embrace this practice by continuing to wear the clothes we have, rather than buying new ones? This would benefit very many women across the world as well as preserving valuable resources. 

Another casualty of the COVID-19 lockdown has been the stem cell donation register which has seen a drastic reduction in new applicants, from 35,058 in March to May 2019 in contrast to only 10,661 for the same period this year. Stem cell treatment is often our last hope when all other treatments have failed. But how can we make a difference? Some of us may be too old to donate but we can publicise the campaign and encourage friends and family to register. 

Both campaigns serve to prove the benefits of WI campaigns. Together we can make a difference to the lives of very many women. 

As our lives return to an approximation of normal and our WIs reopen, let us greet change with confidence. Managing change is never easy but it will be our new challenge. Remember: “Change has become a constant; managing it has become an expanding discipline, the way that we embrace it defines our future.” (Queen Elizabeth II, April 30, 2020). 

So, as fellow members of the WI, I call on you all to proudly embrace our future with renewed strength and determination. 

Carol Gartrell, Chairman

back to News

NFWI has just launched a national newsletter filled with the latest WI news, stories, campaign highlights, recipes and more. Anyone can subscribe to this whether you’re a member or not!

To view the first first August newsletter, please click here.

To have the free digital newsletter delivered to your inbox each month, subscribe via the NFWI website here.

back to News