Happy 6th birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEVEN HILLS WI!

Wow what a great night! As a relative new comer to SHWI I wasn't sure what to expect from a birthday party for a WI. Would there be party hats and cake, pass the parcel or singing birthday songs to each other?

Birthday cake!

Well, there was definitely cake amongst the vast array of yummy food everyone brought for the pot luck. I spotted a few fancy hats too, including a fascinator made from tights, very WI I must say.

After the usual business, we all formed a very orderly polite queue for the food - then could be seen shovelling in Guinness brownies, stilton bread, onion tartlets and sticky toffee things to name but a few. As we quietly stuffed our faces, we were ushered into a semi-circle ready for the next portion of the night.

Just some of our party food

This was in the form of Dotty Winters, a fabulous women with a penchant for telling fibs and poking fun at herself and others. In her defence, she did admit to the fibs after she'd lured us in so convincingly with her comedy act so I think we can forgive her. To be honest, I think we can forgive anyone who can pull off wearing a cape to do their weekly Tesco shop. This, I hasten to add, was not a fib as she brought it with her to prove it while giving us a warm and funny insight into her life as a female comedian. It was both refreshing and sometimes a little gritty to hear of her experiences as a women in a male dominated world, which is surprising to say in 2015. But her lust for the centre of attention and passion for making others giggle soon had us rolling in the aisles.

Jodie, Chella, Dotty and Jen

All too quickly the night came to an end with huge rounds of applause and leftover food snaffled up, we all went on our ways after a great night, looking forward to what the next 12 months will bring.

Jodie Winters
SHWI Member

What's coming up in 2015

2014 has been an exciting year for us as we turned five, raised a record amount of money at our Sheffield Food Festival stall and enjoyed some brilliant meetings. Our committee have been working hard finalising the programme for 2015 with an awesome year planned for the WI's centenary year.

All the events, activities and speakers are chosen from member's own suggestions - if you have any ideas for 2016 then let us know at a meeting or email us.

You can pick up a printed copy of our programme at January's meeting. 

Thu 15th January
Paul Cocker & Christmas Present Swap
Paul Cocker of Meze Publishing will be telling us how he brought together a career in local media with his love of food, by turning his hand to publishing cookbooks including the Sheffield Cook Book.

Thu 19th February
Claire Kemp Cakes
A Sheffield cake expert, Claire Kemp, will be polishing up our cake decorating skills and sharing her baking secrets. We will also vote for our charity of the year at this meeting.

Thu 19th MarchBobbins & Buttons: Jewellery Making
Lauren from Bobbins & Buttons will help us get crafty by making beaded tassel bracelets. Remember your scissors and needles! There will be an additional material charge of £2 per person. 

Thu 16th April
Sam Cleasby
Sam is a blogger (www.sobadass.me), writer and public speaker. She will be talking about body image, self esteem and how she lives with a chronic illness. An uplifting and inspirational talk on how you can feel more confident and happy in your own skin. 

Thu 21st May
Cheerleading
Give us an S - H - W - I! Jessica Stanley from Constance Grant Dance Centre will be putting us through our paces as we learn how to cheer.

Thu 18th June
Gary Cox: Security expert
Gary Cox has years of experience working for the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Justice. He’ll be speaking to us about his role in advising front-line personnel in challenging and complex areas such as use of force, control and restraint, intelligence analysis, surveillance, major search planning and hostage intervention.

July
There’s no meeting in July - but keep your eyes peeled for details of our annual picnic!

Thu 20th August
Jordon Cox
We’re back in August with Jordon Cox - The Coupon Kid. A regular contributor to the media, including the BBC, Daily Mail and ITV, he’ll share his money saving secrets, talk about the inspiring world of couponing and how his money-saving story began.

Thu 18th September
Cheese tasting and talk
One for the foodies! We’re always keen to support local artisan food producers and this month sees the team from the Hartington Creamery and Cheese Factory pay us a visit. As well as sampling some of their delicious produce, we'll find out how they've single-handedly revived the Derbyshire cheese industry.

Thu 15th October
6th Birthday party: Stand-up comedy with Dotty Winters
We're in for a treat at our 6th birthday party! Dotty Winters is an award-winning comedian with a secret life as a grown up business person. Fan of fancy words and purveyor of wrongness, Dotty has a talent for finding hilarity in otherwise sombre situations.

Thu 19th November
Felt Craft Workshop
Shelley Hughes will be showing us the basic skills of felt-making to create a beautiful little bird - perfect as a gift or as a little Christmas decoration. All materials will be provided and absolutely no experience is necessary - it's easier than you think!

Thu 17th December
Cocktail making
We'll be joined by Ed from the Broadfield Ale House, whose take on cocktail making is a perfect blend of art and science. Whether you like your cocktails shaken, stirred or merely muddled, Ed will share plenty of tips while you sup a tipple. Not forgetting our annual Christmas quiz and Secret Santa swap - bring a wrapped up to the value of £5.