3rd October, 2013 – Owls by Chrissie Harper
Members were treated to a humourous but passionate talk by Chrissie, accompanied by her assistant Mark, who spoke about her lifetime commitment to rescuing owls and birds of prey. However, the real stars of the night were the two beautiful owls that Chrissie brought with her (Nell, a barn owl and Rueben, a great owl) who delighted members with their flying skills in a confined area. Chrissie rescues over 50 owls and birds of prey each year and is on call 24 hours a day. The food bill for the birds is over £40 every 5 weeks and she relies entirely fees from her talks. Owls are fed on day old chicks and have 2 stomachs, unlike other birds which have a...
Read More5th September, 2013 – Mrs Cross History of Corn Dollies
After a most interesting talk on the history of corn dollies, Mrs Cross encouraged us all to have a go...
Read MoreJune 6th – Andrew from Carousel Costumes
Andrew entertained us all with his anecdotes of his years at the Opera House, Covent Garden and more recently with Carousel Costumes. This company he founded, today supplies handmade period costumes for stage, film and television. He brought along a selection of wonderful costumes for us to admire, and some of us got to try on!!!!!...
Read MoreApril 11th – Rachel from “Green and Gorgeous, Oxfordshire Cut Flowers”
Rachel brought a breath of Spring and a promise of things to come to a cold, damp April evening. Rachel, along with her partner, runs a six acre organic flower farm on the banks of the Thames between Wallingford and Goring. Despite not being trained in floristry, Rachel grows flowers for cutting including shrubs, perennials and annuals. The displays and arrangements are made up solely of flowers that she grows along with some items that have been foraged, with only seeds and bulbs being imported. Flowers are grown in every conceivable hue with many unusual varieties. Weddings are a large part of their business. Having only one wedding to supply during the first year, Rachel has one hundred booked for this year! Customers are welcome to visit her shop on any Saturday where organic vegetables, free range eggs and homemade jams are also available. There is also a successful mail order business and courses are held during the Spring and Autumn. Despite losing the use of her projector during the evening, Rachel gave us a feel for her work with her slides and then demonstrated how to make a hand tied arrangement. Flowers were available for members to buy at the end of the evening, including some rather unusual varieties of...
Read MoreApril 4th 2013 – Cherwell Meeting
A most enjoyable evening where we were hosts to the Cherwell Group of WIs for their Annual Meeting. Peter Lien of Denman College joined us and gave a very interesting talk about his life and cookery. The evening was rounded off with cheese and wine followed by tea and coffee. ...
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