theWI Adderbury & District Minutes of the meeting on Thursday, 5th March 2015
1. President’s welcome Caroline welcomed 29 members and 2 visitors and then introduced Stella Oakes, our WI adviser. Seven apologies were recorded in the register. 2. The minutes of the meeting held on February 5 2015 were agreed and signed by the President. 3, Matters arising: Unfortunately the social evening planned for later in the month has had to be postponed because of a clash of dates in the current President’s diary. Members will be informed as soon as a new date has been arranged. The votes for this year’s Resolutions were announced: 13 for Failing to care, 11 for Ending FGM and 3 for Cutting back on food waste. Diane asked members to contribute seasonal photos of Adderbury for the WI 2016 calendar. As yet not many pictures for Autumn have been received. 4. OFWI trustees: Our nominations have been forwarded. These are for the two candidates known to us – Stella Oakes and Pauline Goddard. 5. Future activities: 7.30 Wednesday 11 March Book group evening at Carda Traunero’s; Friday 20 March Adderbury circular walk starting from Holly House, Manor Road at 9.30 with a break for coffee at Cotefield; 7.30 on Wednesday 25 March Needlecraft group meeting at Janet Morgan’s. Members wishing to go to Sulgrave Manor on Thursday evening 28 May from 7pm were asked to add their names to a list. A minimum of 15 people are needed at a cost of £9 per person to be paid in advance. The farm visit and supper at June Stilgoe’s on 25 June is open to members’ husbands and partners. The farm walk is optional. 6. Community items: the next Community Market is on Thursday 12 March at the Institute. Also at the Institute there will be a Spring Fling Ceilidh to raise funds for Party in the Park on 28 March. 7. Any Other Business: The tea rota for 2015-16 will be circulated shortly. Meanwhile Val, Carrol and Wendy will provide refreshments at the April meeting. 8. Date of next meeting: Thursday 2 April when our speaker will be Chris Windass, leader of Adderbury Ensemble. This meeting was followed by the Annual General Meeting for which there are separate minutes....
Read MoretheWI Adderbury & District WI Annual General Meeting Agenda – Thursday, 5th March 2015
Adderbury and District Women’s Institute Annual General Meeting To be held at The Institute, Adderbury, 5 March 2015 7.30 pm Part A Ordinary Business: President’s welcome Minutes of the meeting held on February 5 2014 Matters arising: March social evening. Resolutions. OFWI trustees Future activities Community items Any Other Business Date of next meeting: Thursday 2 April Part B Adderbury and District WI AGM: Minutes of the AGM held on 6 March 2014 Financial Statement for 2014-15: Presentation by Pauline Brown (Treasurer) and vote to adopt the statement Annual Report for 2014-15: Presentation by Bernice Mansell and vote to adopt the report Election of Committee for 2015-16: Resignation of current committee members. Invitation for nominations from the floor. Voting for committee members. Nomination of committee members. Voting for President: Distribution of nomination papers by WI adviser Stella Oakes Outgoing President’s address Election of President: Announcement of result of ballot. Declaration of President for 2015-16 Any Other Business Date of 2016 AGM Social event ...
Read MoreNFWI COOL Campaign on BBC Countryfile Programme & FaceBook Page – Sunday 1st March 2015
NFWI Mandatory Country of Origin Labelling (COOL) Campaign Reflections on BBC Countryfile Programme for St. David’s Day Sunday, 1st March 2015 from Pembrokeshire for St. David’s Day, with presenter Tom talking to members of Hanbridge WI Group, Chester, and to Marylyn Haines-Evans, Chair Public Affairs Committee, (COOL) with regard to WI campaign for mandatory country of origin labelling for all meat products to enable customers to make choice applicable purchases of meat food items. Countryfile’s presenter also spoke with Premier Foods Management Consultant about the pros and cons of sourcing meat for their products, increased food labelling and its effect on purchase price for food providers and customers. The programme was instantly reviewed and posted on by WI FaceBook Page commentators including our Adderbury & District WI Page. The content of BBC’s Countryfile is always compulsive viewing and last night’s production particularly interesting since it aired an interview with ongoing NFWI Campaign for mandatory country of origin labelling (COOL) with Chair Marylyn Haines-Evans, and comments by WI Hanbridge Group, of Chester, members on the importance of increased food labelling for all meat products designated as UK products and embossed with the Union Jack. See Adderbury & District WI and The WI.org.uk comments on FaceBook from last night, Sunday, 1st March: Adderbury & District WI Page on FaceBook “Watching BBC programme Countryfile from Pembrokeshire, Wales for St. David’s Day which featured content on increased food labelling campaigning by the Women’s Institute over the last five years. The Presenter Tom, visited local WI Group at Hanbridge in Chester to discuss with members the importance of exact Mandatory labelling to advise buyers that the product they were buying contained only UK produced items. The programme also featured WI Chair of Public Affairs Committee, Marylyn Haines-Evans, who highlighted a British sausages product as an example, citing the use of non-UK meat in a product designated by the use of the Union Jack Tom also spoke with Premier Foods Management Consultant about the pros and cons of more exact labelling for consumer and producer alike. The programme highlighted the fact of the WI’s campaigning action since the very beginning of its first centenary, way back in 1915, and here we are in 2015 and still campaigning for good food matters and practices. We Are WI….thank goodness xxx” And reported on FaceBook by me and others. “Countryfile programme for St. David’s Day from Pembrokeshire with WI Group at Hanbridge in Chester for members views and comments and to hear Marylyn Haines-Evans speaking about a British product Pork Sausages using pork from another country with reference to WI COOL (mandatory Country of Origin Labelling) for all meat products to assist shoppers choice for buying the food they want for their consumption and use.” FaceBook Page Comment from “The WI.org.uk “Posting about Countryfile programme and WI COOL Campaign (mandatory Country of Origin Labelling) with input from Marylyn Haines-Evans – Chair of Public Affairs Committee re new/extra meat labelling to show country of origin – campaign over last five years. The NFWI is campaigning for mandatory country of origin labelling for all meat products. WI members believe that shoppers want accurate information about where their food comes from, so they can make informed choices about the food they buy. However a current loophole in the law means that current food labelling practices can be confusing. Foodstuffs are labelled as the product of the country in which they underwent the last “substantial change”. “This means that a pork pie made in a factory in Britain can be labelled as “made in the UK” even if it is made with...
Read MoretheWI Adderbury & District Meeting – Thursday, 5th February 2015 –
Two Campaigns from previous year’s Resolutions still being acted on: Notices from the NFWI 2015: SOS for High Streets and Town Centres About the mandate – SOS for High Streets Delegates at the 2013 AGM on 1 June passed an NFWI Board resolution on the ‘decline of our high streets and town centres’ with an 87% majority: ‘The NFWI notes with concern the continuing decline of our high streets and the damaging effect this has on local communities. We call on every member of the WI to support their local shops and make the high street their destination of choice for goods and services. We call on decision-makers to work collectively, at all levels, to help bring an end to the decline of our high streets and to ensure that high streets flourish and provide a focal point for local communities.The face of the high street is in flux. High streets dominated by butchers, bookshops and bakers are no longer the norm, but the WI’s campaign is not about nostalgia. We want to see high streets and town centres that are fit for purpose in the 21st Century and meeting the needs of communities as well as consumers. – See more at: http://www.thewi.org.uk/campaigns/current-campaigns-and-initiatives/sos-for-high-streets#sthash.DJa7lZ3N.dpuf “Our campaign for a high street of the future. The challenges facing our high streets ad town centres reach to the heart of all of our communities. Share your views in our survey.” Did you take part in the “nation-wide day of action to celebrate the 98th anniversary of the first WI meeting on 16 September 2013?” Did you know you there’s a downloadable “action pack” and a SOS for high street poster for downloading; there’s also the opportunity to “make a high street pledge to send to Headquarters.” Then what about the Campaign – SOS our Bees: “Honey Bees play a vital role in the pollination of food crops and in our environment. In view of concerns about the accelerating decline in the UK honey bee population, this meeting urges HM Government to increase funding for research into Bee Health.-Hindon & Fonthill Bishop WI – Wiltshire Federation. The decline of honey bees represents a major loss in biodiversity as honey bees are not only responsible for producing honey, but play a vital role in pollinating plants. Approximately a third of our human diet is directly dependent on bees, making them central to our existence. Despite some recent improvements, winter 2012/13 was the worst on record for colony loss of honeybees. Wild and solitary bees are in trouble too; two bumblebee species are already extinct in the UK, and solitary bees have declined in over half of areas studied. Bee decline is multi-faceted, with decreases in availability of habitat for forage, changes in the climate, pests and diseases, and pesticide use all playing a role in accelerating that decline. Such declines amount to a major threat to biodiversity, not just for bees but for the many species of plants they help to pollinate. Resources to help you take action for bees: Bees gardening leaflet Bees recipes leaflet Contact Public Affairs for hard copies New resources available to help call for a strong Bee Action Plan. The government has recently published a Bee Action Plan; the draft National Pollinator Strategy. CONSULATION NOW CLOSED. During the last year, the NFWI has worked hard to help persuade the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs that a joined-up, comprehensive Bee Action Plan is needed if we are to tackle bee decline effectively. The Plan is currently out for public consultation, providing a key opportunity to tell government...
Read MoreFairtrade Fortnight, Banbury – February 23rd to 7th March 2015
It’s Fairtrade Fortnight again – 23rd February to 7th March – and two “Big Brew” Events have been arranged for Banbury. I had not realised that the Fairtrade Fortnight was a NFWI current campaign and neither had I realised that the NFWI was a founder member of the Fairtrade Foundation in 1992. I had known that the Fairtrade Foundation came into being to help improve the lives of farmers, workers and their families in far-flung countries, get a fairer deal for their poverty driven existence, be more in charge of the future and strive to end the poverty of that future. Here’s a quote from – theWI INSPIRINGWOMEN Page for Fairtrade Fortnight – “During Fairtrade Fortnight (24 February – 9 March) campaigners up and down the country celebrate the difference Fairtrade makes to the lives of farmers who grow the products we enjoy in the UK. Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability and fair terms. This year’s event will see the launch of a dedicated campaign aiming to bring about a landmark change in the banana industry. In the last 10 years, a bitter price war has seen the UK supermarket sector almost halve the shelf price of loose bananas while the cost of producing them has doubled. This is trapping many of the farmers and workers who grow them in poverty. Whilst Fairtrade provides a vital safety net for some banana farmers and workers, many still suffer. The WI is backing the campaign for change. To campaign in your community this Fairtrade Fortnight, click below for all the resources you’ll need (campaign guides, leaflets, t-shirts etc): Click here for all the resources you need. And don’t forget to sign the petition and support Fairtrade Fortnight on Facebook and Twitter. – See more at: http://www.thewi.org.uk/campaigns/news-and-events/current-news-and-events/current-campaigns-and-initiatives/fairtrade/fairtrade-fortnight#sthash.bXvqzVrS.dpuf” Reading through this page I clicked “here for all the resources you need” and “And don’t forget to sign the petition and support Fairtrade Fortnight on Facebook and Twitter.” – well I did, only to find the relevant links not available. May I suggest you go onto Facebook and Twitter and search for the Fairtrade Fortnight Page on both sites and find the resources and petition…. Fairtrade Fortnight in Banbury – 23rd February to 7th March 2015: Big Brew Events: Thursday, 5th March: – 10 – 12pm – the Whistling Kettle on Market Place for Fairtrade Tea and Coffee Saturday, 7th March: 11 – 1pm – The Community Action Group at Marlborough Road Methodist Church Hall for Fairtrade Tea and Coffee plus eco material to view and community members recyclable items to give away. Margaret Halstead And here’s a Fairtrade Fortnight Poster for: The Whistling Kettle “Big Brew” Event on Thursday, 5th March 2015 –...
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