More about our 2017 charity MHAGS

SHWI’s chosen charity for 2017 was Mental Health Action Group Sheffield (MHAGS). The charity started as a campaign group set up by Dorothy Gilman in the 1980’s under the name Mental Illness Action Group. In 1992 Tim Jones set MHAGS up as a day centre after NHS cuts resulted in the partial closures of mental health day centres across the local region. Tim still volunteers at MHAGS as lead campaigner and project coordinator, and was there to show me around their Hillsborough based premises when I went to visit them.

They currently run as a drop-in centre, providing hot meals (with food donations from Fareshare) and support to local people who are suffering from mental health conditions. Some of MHAGS’s service users are not just affected by mental health conditions, but also learning difficulties and other disabilities. In the past, MHAGS were able to offer day trips, activities and workshops to their service users, as well as access to psychiatric nurses who would be put on placement with the charity. The walls of MHAGS HQ are covered in artwork made by service users in the past. There’s a trophy shelf showing off the accomplishments of the sports teams MHAGS used to run. The office has files full of photographs developed in the darkroom MHAGS used to have.

Unfortunately, Sheffield Council are no longer funding MHAGS and now they do not have the money to run the charity in the same way they did in the past. Having been based in the city centre for many years, MHAGS is now less conveniently located up a hill on the Langsett Estate. Whilst the building itself has disabled access, the new location has proved difficult for some service users to get to. They are looking to start new groups in the near future in order to support their service users, such as a gardening group and a tropical fish-keeping group – the main room in the centre is full of donated tanks of beautiful tropical fish.

But the reality is that without funding, MHAGS wil have to close. This is a unique, “user-led” centre providing friendly support to some of the most vulnerable adults in Sheffield.

Therefore, I just want to thank everyone and anyone who has helped us raise money for MHAGS in the past 12 months. We’ve raised over £3000 for them so far and the final total will be made available in March.

If you want to learn more about them, check out https://www.mhagsheffield.org/ 

Laura B-H
President

CSI: Sheffield

As a true crime nerd, crime drama fan and upholder of the law (admittedly, health and safety legislation) I could not have been more excited for our August meeting! We welcomed two ladies from Huddersfield based Think Forensic (www.thinkforensic.co.uk) who brought a case full of crime scene investigating goodies for us to play with.

But before we got our Horatio Caine on, we welcomed Cavendish Cancer Care, who we presented with a cheque for £300! Whilst not our 2017 charity, CCC were kind enough to let us share their charity stall at this year’s Sunfest. Money made from our boozey bake sale was split between SHWI’s chosen charity Mental Health Action Group Sheffield and Abbeydale Brewery’s chosen charity, Cavendish Cancer Care.

First up for Think Forensic, CSI Sue gave a little presentation showing all the fun stuff they get up to at their centre in West Yorkshire. This included checking out a variety of crime scenes and looking at bloody splatter patterns by whacking dummy heads in until red paint flies out. Who doesn’t want to pretend to be Dexter?

Of course, testing out blood splatter patterns isn’t really appropriate in a church hall – so we started off by learning about footprints! Turns out CSIs are unlikely to give an exact foot size when looking at footprints as the environment can distort them. In fact – CSIs try to be as non-specific as possible when giving evidence in case it comes back to bite them in court. So a black fibre found at a crime scene would be noted as “dark coloured fibre” just in case the defence try to argue specifics. Committee member Victoria volunteered her shoe for a demonstration and sunk her foot into some foamy polystyrene that was then filled in with a quick drying orangey substance. It was dry enough an hour later for her to take home! A unique paperweight methinks.

Next up we looked at fingerprints. We all had the chance to take our own fingerprints using black tiles and squirrel hair brushes pre-loaded with powder. We also learnt that there are hundreds of powders available to CSIs, to handle all the different colours and textures of materials that need testing – including magnetic powder for paperwork and fluorescent coloured powders that I wanted to stash in my makeup bag.

Our last demonstration looked at hair and fibres. CSIs can take a sample of hair and tell you if it belongs to a human (and what race they are) or an animal (and what animal it is!) Apparently, rabbit hair is the prettiest to look at. We looked at teeny slices of human hair and cross sections of animal hair, and various types of fibres before moving on to THE COOLEST TOY I HAVE EVER SEEN CONNECTED TO A LAPTOP. A super tiny microscopic camera that focuses on an area the size of a pin prick. SHWIers volunteered their sweaters so the group could see what type of fibres were involved in the clothing. Then Sue started putting the camera in volunteer’s hair – she could tell what product they had used on their bonce! As a group of mature and sensible ladies, you’ll be pleased to know we all resisted the urge to shove the camera anywhere unsavoury.

Laura Bainbridge-Hattersley
SHWI Secretary (and Health & Safety Advisor)

More fundraising at Sunfest

We're really pleased to say we raised £600 at Sunfest beer festival at the Rising Sun on Fulwood Road.

It was the second year that we've been invited by Abbeydale Brewery and had a stall selling cake and savoury goods for those hungry beer drinkers.

This year, the money will be split equally between Mental Health Action Group Sheffield, our charity of the year, and Cavendish Cancer Care, who Abbeydale are supporting this year.

A massive thanks to Laura Rangeley for organising and all our bakers and volunteers. Thanks once again to Abbeydale Brewery for inviting us back!

Not just fundraising: A post on becoming a trustee for Light Sheffield

Our members have been involved in more than just fundraising for Light Sheffield, our charity of the year. Emma Clarke has volunteered to be a trustee for the charity and has written the following post to introduce what she has been doing so far and why the charity is so important. 

It was her smile upon leaving the room at the end of the session that stuck with me. Its softness, that it reached her eyes.

As I drove home I thought of the labels which had been attached to this young woman over the previous six months. Teen mum. Mental health service-user. Perinatal mental health patient. Post-natally depressed. I wondered at what point she lost her identity and I tried to imagine just how alone she must feel.

It was Sarah's* first visit to Light Sheffield's weekly group. She came with her mum and her beautiful six-month old daughter. She'd travelled across the city and was too nervous to join in at first, so Jess, project manager, and Amy*, a volunteer, welcomed her in a separate room, telling her about Light, offering compassion and tea, letting her know she'd found a safe space, that she was amongst people who understood. She had found her tribe.

As the three generations of this family - grandma, mum and baby girl - sat on the floor with other mums, surrounded by toys, with a jungle gym providing helpful distraction to an inquisitive little one, I witnessed the power of fellowship. A group of mums who, through conversation, laughter, the swapping of tips and the provision of a listening ear, generated Light and shared it with one another. In professionalised terms this is called peer support, in the real world it's called friendship.

As Sarah headed out of the door at the end of the session – showing that soft smile - she took with her information on sling types, an alternative to Bonjela which came with high praise, the phone number of another mum whose own daughter was only a few weeks older and had joined a WhatsApp group to use in those lonely moments in the middle of the night or to share the good ones. But the most precious thing she took with her was the knowledge that she is doing just fine and there is Light ahead.

The two hours I spent getting to know some of the mums who use Light Sheffield confirmed in my mind becoming a Trustee was the right thing to do. And I hope this small insight in to the work of the charity shows the difference your cake-baking, beer brewing and general drum-banging makes for women in Sheffield.

Emma Clarke 

SHWI member

Visit Light Sheffield's website for more information on their work and support

Raising money with cake at Eroica Britannia Festival

We've just about recovered from a weekend in Bakewell at Eroica Britannia festival - and what a fab weekend it was! 

Photo: Brook Hayes

It was at the beginning of the year when Eroica invited us to have a stall at the festival. They had seen how successful we had been at events like Sheffield Food Festival and wanted us to bring some WI flavour to Eroica. 

Eroica (not Erotica like some people think!) is a 3-day family lifestyle and cycling festival in the Peak District not far from Sheffield. Now in it's third year, the festival is based on the original L’Eroica (meaning 'the heroes') cycle ride held every year in Gaiole, Tuscany, since 1997. It's a of good old-fashioned cycling before carbon fibre, lycra gear and energy gels.

But it's not just cycling - there's lots of vintage clothing, crafts, music, entertainment, and most importantly for SHWI, food! 

Photo: Brook Hayes

Grace and I worked together on organising our stall like previously at Sheffield Food Festival. We try and divide it straight down the line - she deals with our WI volunteers and I sort the logistics and liason with the organisers. 

This time we were camping which provided an extra layer of complexity! But luckily, we had some excellent help all weekend from Charlotte, Brook and Cat who helped Grace and I get fed and stay dry. We had been concentrating so hard on our stall that we forgot essentials like toothpaste, wellies (we arrived to a mud bath on site), and food. 

We were supplied with extra hands bringing fresh cake every day too which meant we got to have a wander round the festival, soak up the atmosphere or go for a much needed kip! 

Photo: Brook Hayes

Saturday was our best day and we had a steady stream of customers buying our brownies, flapjack and lemon drizzle cakes. It was great to see so many WI members too from groups around the country! Grace and Lucy had entered the Best in Show cake competition and Lucy came third place. Other competitions included Best Dressed, Best Home Brew, Best Dressed Dog and Best Moustache! 

Photo: Brook Hayes

Sunday was the day of the big bike ride and cyclists set off from Bakewell early to ride 30, 55 or 100 miles through the beautiful Peaks. It was a quieter day for us as families and friends were busy watching the ride. However, we still had a good day and loved watching all the bikes arrive at the finish line. 

We're so happy that we raised another £600 for Light Sheffield, our charity of the year who support families affected by perinatal mental health illnesses. 

Photo: Ellie Last

Thank you to everyone who made cake or volunteered, or came to buy some cake from us! And a big thanks to Eroica for inviting us. 

Our next fundraising event will be SunFest - Abbeydale Brewery's beer festival at the Rising Sun, Fulwood Road, Sheffield. 

Seven Hills WI return to Sheffield Food Festival

South Yorkshire’s largest Women’s Institute group, Seven Hills WI will be selling cakes once again for a local charity at this year’s Sheffield Food Festival.

The group have taken part in the festival since it began in 2011, selling homemade baked treats by women from the group. 

Members at Sheffield Food Festival 2015

This year, the Seven Hills WI stall will be in the Peace Gardens on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 May 2016. All money raised will go to local charity, Light Sheffield.

Light Sheffield is a small local charity run by volunteers providing support across Sheffield to families affected by perinatal mental health illnesses, including post natal depression and anxiety. Seven Hills WI’s members voted to support Light Sheffield as it’s charity for 2016.

Kirsty Bowen, President of Seven Hills WI said: “Every year, our members pull out all the stops to bake some impressive cakes for visitors at Sheffield Food Festival.

“We hope to beat last year’s amount raised and help Sheffield Light who provide a really important service to women and families in our community.”

Jess Rennie from Light Sheffield said: “We are absolutely delighted that Light Sheffield were chosen as Seven Hills WI’s charity of the year.

“We are a small charity so the money raised at Sheffield Food Festival will really make a difference to our work supporting women and families who are affected by perinatal mental health illnesses.”

Sheffield Food Festival is an annual event in the city centre, celebrating the quality and diversity of food and drink produced within the region.

We raised £1024 at Sheffield Food Festival 2015

Anna, Jen, Kirsty, Grace and Chelle help on the stall

We're very happy to say that our stall at this year's Sheffield Food Festival raised an amazing £1024 for our charity of the year. Our members worked really hard to bake some delicious treats and volunteer on the stall all weekend. Committee member Sam made two beautiful rainbow pinata cakes for us to raffle on both days. Thank you to everyone who helped, bought a cake or raffle ticket from us!

All the money we raised will go to SAYiT Sheffield. They provide support for young people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) or who are affected by HIV.
 

One of Sam's incredible pinata cakes

Sheffield Food Festival this weekend

Last year's volunteers on our stall

It's Sheffield Food Festival this weekend (Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th May) and once again, Seven Hills WI will be peddling our wares! We have a stall in the Peace Gardens (close to Browns Restaurant) selling homemade cakes and baked goods from 10am - 5pm on Saturday and 11am - 5pm Sunday. All the money raised goes to our charity of the year, SAYit.

The Sheena Amos Youth Trust (SAYiT) is an independent charity which has been running in Sheffield since 1999. A sexual health charity, they work with young people up to the age of 25, particularly those who are most vulnerable or marginalised including LGBT people or those affected by HIV.

Please come down and help support our charity of the year!

We choose SAYiT as our charity of the year

At our February meeting, Seven Hills WI members voted SAYiT as our charity for 2015. A local independent organisation, SAYiT (Sheena Amos Youth Trust) supports young people who are LGBT or who are affected by HIV.

Fundraising events planned include Seven Hills WI’s annual baking stall at Sheffield Food Festival. Last year, we raised £1170 over two days by selling cakes and organising a best in show competition.

Sally Carr, Strategic Manager of SAYiT said “In the on-going quest to address homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in our society we know that we still have a long way to go, and the support of the WI will help to address this outdated and hurtful prejudice. We will use the money raised to continue our educational and awareness raising work which aims to make society a better place for everybody.”

Kirsty Bowen, President of Seven Hills WI said “I am very pleased that we have chosen SAYiT to be our charity in 2015, the WI’s centenary year. The WI has never shied away from important issues and we hope that we can make a real difference to young people affected in our local area.”

For more information on Seven Hills WI and our fundraising, email us at sevenhillswi@live.co.uk

We baked our way to £1,170 at Sheffield Food Festival!

Members at this year's Food Festival

We are celebrating after raising £1,170 for the Young Women’s Housing Project through our stall and competition at this year’s Sheffield Food Festival.

We raised the sum by selling cakes, biscuits and buns made by SHWI members on their traditional stall and through entry fees for their Best in Show competition at the Festival held last month. It is the fourth year running that SHWI has taken part in the event.

Seven Hills WI President, Lindsay Garfitt, said: “We’re thrilled to have raised such a lot of money for the Young Women’s Housing Project. Last year, we made just over £1,000 at the Food Festival and really wanted to beat that total this year so we are very happy to have done so. We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who came along and bought cakes from us or entered our competition.”

Jo Meagher from YWHP added: "It really motivates the team knowing that people want to support the project, and the young women are really grateful that Seven Hills WI wants to raise money to help them get back on their feet.

“With the funds raised we are hoping to take the young women and children on a family day out to the seaside, something many of them will not have done for many years, if at all. We will also be able to provide some specialist parent and child sessions to support these young families to build strong, trusting relationships and develop their strengths for coping with difficulties. The support from Seven Hills WI will make a real difference for these young women; we can't thank the members enough."

The winners of the Seven Hills WI Best in Show competition were as follows:

Strawberry Jam – Clare Savage
Victoria Sponge – Neil Askew
Bread – Clare Savage
Children’s Cupcakes – Lia Touhey and Frances Williamson (joint winners)

Seven Hills WI at Sheffield Food Festival 2014

Our 2013 Food Festival stall and GBBO's James Morton!

It only seems two minutes since the last event but it's time for Sheffield Food Festival again! The event has moved from its usual September date and will take place on May bank holiday. 

Like last year, we will be holding a traditional cake stall at this year's event on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 May, from 10am until around 5pm (or until the cake runs out!) on both days. There will be a delightful assortment of cakes made by our wonderful members and a raffle on each day to win something special made by one of our star bakers! This year the event is taking place on the Moor and we will be located in the old Woolworth's shop.

Our Best in Show competition will also be running once again, this time with four categories - Victoria Sponge, Strawberry Jam, Bread and new for 2014 - children's decorated cupcakes. It costs £1 per entry, and all proceeds, along with all proceeds from our cake stall, will be going to our nominated charity, the Young Women's Housing Project. See below for further information and the rules. 

We will be selling copies of the new Sheffield Cook Book which features lots of delicious recipes from around the city, including a recipe from us!  

We raised over £1,000 for charity last year - this was donated to the Parent's Association of Children with Tumours and Leukaemia - and we hope that with your help we can beat that total and raise even more this year!

So, how can you get involved? Everyone loves cake so come along to our stall on 24 and 25 May (or both if you really love cake!). We'd also love it if you could enter our Best in Show competition, it's all done in the name of fun but there are a few rules which you can find below. 

SHWI members - we also need you to help us by baking lots of yummy cakes and volunteering to help on the stall, please email sevenhillswi@live.co.uk to get involved.

Here's to a wonderfully successful Sheffield Food Festival 2014.

Seven Hills WI x

Seven Hills WI - Best in Show.
Information, rules and regulations

1. Competition Entry

a. All entries must be submitted with a completed entry form. Forms can be downloaded here and emailed to sevenhillswi@live.co.uk prior to competition date or submitted on the day along with product.

b. You can submit one Entry per Category. Your Entry must be your own work. 

c. £1 per entry, payable on arrival with product – all entry money will be donated to the Young Women's Housing Project - a registered charity that provides safe places to live and specialist support to help young women to overcome the effects of abuse.

d. All entries must be bought to Seven Hills WI's stall in the former Woolworth's shop on Sunday 25 May between 10.00am and 11.30am. Entries submitted after this time will not be entered.

e. We accept no responsibility for incorrectly completed, lost or delayed entries or other documents related to the prize.

f. All entries must be presented ‘ready to judge’.

g. If you would like further information on competition entry please contact sevenhillswi@live.co.uk 

2. Entries
a. Victoria Sandwich: cake to be 8” round, filled with raspberry jam, and presented boxed or plated. The entry will be judged on presentation, appearance and suitability as well as, of course, taste, texture and flavour.

b. Strawberry Jam: presented in a clear glass jar and judged on appearance, suitability, taste, texture and flavour.

c. Bread: presented boxed or bagged and ready to eat; judged on presentation, appearance, suitability, taste, texture and flavour.

d. Children's (aged up to Year 6 at school (11 years old)). Six decorated cupcakes presented boxed or plated; judged on appearance, suitability, taste, texture and flavour.

3. Judging
 a. Judging will take place between 12noon and 2.30pm on Sunday 25 May.

b. Winners will be selected from each Category by the judging panel. All judges’ decisions are final.

c. The winners will be announced at 3.35pm on Sunday 25 May 2014 in the Festival Kitchen on the Moor. 

d. First, second and third places in each Category will all be awarded with rosettes. We reserve the right to provide a substitute prize of similar value should the specified prize become unavailable for reasons beyond our control.

e. Any winners not present will be contacted to be informed that they have won a prize and will receive their rosettes by post within seven days.

f. You allow us to take photographs of you and use the photographs together with your name in publicity connected with the competition and prize.

4. Collection

a. Packaging, boxes etc. may be collected by entrants between 3.35pm and 5pm on Sunday 25 May. Any items not collected will be disposed of.

6. General

a. We are required by law to make all the names of the winners publicly available. These details can be obtained by sending a signed handwritten request along with a stamped self-addressed envelope detailing your request to J Evans, Festival Assistant, Sheffield Business School, Sheffield Hallam University, Howard Street, Sheffield S1 1WB and marked with the name of the competition or alternatively email j.evans@shu.ac.uk

b. Information that you have provided to us will be collected, stored and processed for the purposes of administering the competition.

c. We reserve the right to suspend, cancel or amend the promotion and/or review and revise these terms at any time without giving prior notice and by continuing to take part in the promotion subsequent to any revision of these terms and conditions, you are deemed to have agreed to any such new or amended terms.

d. This promotion is governed by English law and is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

SHWI do beer tasting

February brought with it Valentine’s day and a lot of SHWI beer love as the long-awaited beer tasting meeting came around. Members had been asking for a beer tasting night for a couple of years so when my former colleague Sean Clarke, a former College teacher, set up a craft beer shop in the new Moor Market I knew we’d found our man!

Di and Lindsay enjoy their bottles with Beer Central's Sean Clarke

Sean’s shop, Beer Central, stocks all manner of local, national and international beers, real ales and ciders, and he, along with colleague Tommy, brought along four of these for us to try at our meeting.

From Bradfield Farmer’s Blonde to Saltaire Triple Chocoholic stout, Timmerman’s fruit beer to Maisel’s Weisse, we mostly enjoyed them all, although I felt let down by the chocolate stout which tasted nothing at all like chocolate! Afterwards, to check we’d been listening (the teacher in him coming out there!) Sean gave us a quiz on the beers we’d tried and some other beer trivia…plus a cheeky question on Tommy’s age - we all guessed too low, much to Tommy’ delight! There was tension as the quiz went to two tie-breakers before the ultimate winners bagged a bottle of Farmer’s Blonde each, which incidentally we also voted as the favourite beer of SHWI.

Saltaire's Chocolate stout had mixed reviews from our members

SHWI has within its ranks some proper beer fans, we even have a beer ticker on the committee, but I’m not a big beer fan myself - give me a cocktail over a beer anyday - so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the evening. Sean is a great speaker who I’d recommend to other groups in the area and I even bought a couple of bottles of Timmermans to take home…maybe Beer Central will make a beer lover of me yet!

Members enjoy tasting the beers

We also voted for our 2014 charity at this meeting. Many worthwhile charities were put forward by members but the winner was the Young Women’s Housing Project, as nominated by Kat.

It was great to see so many new members getting involved at the February meeting, remember you get from the WI what you put into it so we always love to see enthusiastic people enjoying meeting new people and doing new things.

See you at March’s meeting for a talk on Cuban women and cocktails from Blousey’s Bar. 

Lindsay

President, Seven Hills WI

WI calendar raises almost £1,700 for city cancer charity

L-R Seven Hills WI’s Kim (and her son Dex), Jen and Laura present the cheque to PACT dad Kevin Jacobs,
and PACT family Ellie Thompson, Lindsey Thompson, Josh Thompson and Carl Thompson. 

South Yorkshire's largest WI group has raised £1,690 for Sheffield cancer charity, the Parents’ Association of Children with Tumours and Leukaemia (PACT), through sales of their city landmark calendar.

Members from Seven Hills WI (SHWI) spent months creating the calendar which features them at some of Sheffield's best loved landmarks, including the Lyceum, Castle Market, the Botanical Gardens and Don Valley Stadium.

Local businesses sponsored the printing of the calendar so every penny of sales could be donated to PACT and the limited edition calendar was sold out in a matter of weeks.

Seven Hills WI chose to support PACT after the charity helped group President Lindsay Garfitt's four-year-old niece Isabelle Touhey who was diagnosed with a rare form of childhood cancer, Neuroblastoma, in July 2012. After undergoing surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, Isabelle is now doing well with no sign of the disease. 

The calendar project was organised by SHWI Secretary Kim Whelan and Vice President Jennifer Marsden and committee member Laura Bainbridge took the photos. The sum from the calendar takes the money raised over the year for PACT by Seven Hills WI to £2,746.

Jennifer, 32, said: “PACT is a fantastic charity and we are so pleased to be able to donate almost £1,700 which will be put to great use helping children with cancer and their families. We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who bought a copy of our calendar and helped us to make this happen.”

PACT Vice Chair Robin Jeeps added: “It is great to have the support of Seven Hills WI; we thank the members for their donation which will help us to continue to provide support to children with cancer and their families.”

SHWI say it with flowers

Tracey from Campbell's Flowers demonstrates

Even though we’re hurtling towards Christmas, it’s the start of the new year for Seven Hills WI! We’ve entered our fifth year (I know, I can scarcely believe it either) and that means that the third Thursday in November saw us hold our Annual Meeting. It also saw members queuing in droves to renew their membership. We began the meeting by naming those members interested in taking up committee roles – and much to the relief of our willing volunteers, there were no objections!

Exciting news about our all our upcoming events, including the fabulous-sounding Christmas party followed. We also heard that our charity calendars are selling like hot cakes which was fitting since Robin Jeeps, trustee of our chosen charity, came along. Robin was kind enough to share with us why PACT is so important to him and to other parents whose children have battled with cancer, as members listened attentively. Then our photographer, Laura Bainbridge, snapped away as he accepted a cheque for the money we’ve raised so far this year. 

Kim, Vicky and Jen give Robin from PACT our cheque

In our looking back at the past twelve months, we remembered our meetings, outings and first sighting of the helter skelter at Electric Works! Then, all the women in the room stood and joined in for that great WI tradition – a rousing rendition of Jerusalem.

Next, Tracey from Campbell’s Flowers was introduced and explained that she’d be showing us how to complete a hand-tied bouquet, before giving us all the opportunity to make our own wrist corsage. The room hushed to complete silence. Believe me, this could-have-heard-a-pin-drop atmosphere is a rare occurrence at SHWI and a blatant sign that we were utterly engrossed as we watched Tracey work. The result was a natural-looking, vintage-inspired bouquet of seasonal flowers – and a round of applause for Tracey. The lucky winner of our raffle got to take the bouquet home, but none of us went empty handed. We had a demo on how to make a simple-looking wrist corsage, followed by Tracey and her daughter dishing out flowers and ribbons so that each of us could have a go. Some women were undoubtedly naturals, whilst others (me included) could probably do with a tincy bit more practice.

Our members make some lovely wrist corsages

As we all prepared to head out, adorned with our corsages, we were reminded that next month, people on the waiting list can also sign up for membership next year. It’s a meeting not to be missed - and not just because of Secret Santa or President Lindsay’s infamous annual quiz. WI member and force to be reckoned with, Liz Mellors, joins us to talk about the award-winning women’s development programme, Springboard.

Right, I’m off to write my Christmas card list….

Jennifer (Vice President)

The SHWI 2014 charity calendar

Look how pretty it is! 

So, you’re interested in our lovely charity calendar? That’s great news!

We’ve spent the past few months creating the 2014 calendar which features our members at some of Sheffield's best loved landmarks, including the City Hall, the Leadmill, the Cutting Edge sculpture, the Lyceum and the Peace Gardens fountains, and we are really proud of the result!

The calendar is raising money for the Parents' Association of Children with Tumours and Leukaemia (PACT), a charity based at Sheffield Children's Hospital which supports families whose children have been diagnosed with cancer. We chose to support PACT this year after the charity helped our President Lindsay Garfitt's three-year-old niece Isabelle who was diagnosed with a rare form of childhood cancer, Neuroblastoma, in July 2012.

The calendar photography was done by SHWI member and talented photographer Laura Bainbridge and the cover design was done for free by Daniel Rose of DRD Studio. 

Local companies Apollo, BAPP, Beer Central, Boudoir, Dale Hirst, Exposed, Foster's Dental, Gregory's Haulage and Sheffield Signcraft also got on board to sponsor the printing of the calendar, meaning that every penny from sales can go to PACT.

One half of the Calendar Team, Jen and Kim 

The money bit

Each calendar costs just £10 and you can feel good knowing every penny is going to help children with cancer and their families.

If you’d like us to post your calendar to you, the cost is £12. The extra is to cover the envelope and postage.

The calendar is limited edition (and we've already sold more than half!) so if you want one, please act fast before they all go! Simply email us at sevenhillswi@live.co.uk with your name and how many calendars you’d like (plus your address if you want it posting) and we will reply with our bank details so you can transfer the money. Please ensure you use your name as the reference when making an online payment.

Your calendar will be posted via Royal Mail second class once payment is received. If you’d like to collect your calendar from us instead, please let us know when you email us. You can collect from the Chapeltown or Meersbrook areas or from Electric Works on our meeting nights (Thursday 21 November and Thursday 19 December from 7pm to 7.30pm). Please note if collecting, we must receive cleared payment beforehand (either bank transfer or cash on collection).

SHWI in a flap

It’s October. The leaves have turned brown and there’s a distinct chill in the air, which can only mean one thing – it’s time to renew WI membership. At Seven Hills WI, members have both October and November meetings to bring their cheques or cash (exact money please!) before we open up the doors to the numerous ladies of Sheffield who’ve been on the waiting list to join South Yorkshire’s largest group. 

On Thursday, Treasurer Vicky P-M and Assistant Treasurer Leanne were ready and waiting to collect payment before the meeting began. They do a great job - just a glance at their incredibly detailed spreadsheet baffled me!

Women busied themselves making all-important cups of tea, catching up and having a slice of Di Coupe’s amazing SHWI pie – handmade sausage, chicken and stuffing pie. It was the star prize on the raffle at our Sheffield Food Festival stall and I was keen to have a slice (or two!) with picallili. Nom.

It was soon time to settle ourselves in the main room of Electric Works where Lindsay went through meeting business before we could kick off with the activity. We had the debrief on our visit to the Don Valley Rally (the Don Valley group of WI’s recent get-together) and Lindsay thanked those who had helped put together our brilliant yet unsuccessful entry into the seaside themed table competition. Zoe Loveday, organiser of our stall at Sheffield Food Festival was presented with a gorgeous bunch of flowers as a thank you for all her hardwork in raising £1,056 for PACT.

Our next fundraising effort for PACT is the SHWI calendar which is soon to be finished. Featuring famous landmarks of Sheffield, the limited edition run will go on sale soon so get yours quick!

We had a quick sneak preview of next year’s exciting programme and Lindsay also announced the new committee for 2014 who will take their position’s after next month’s AGM. After spin-off group updates, it was time for a quick break before our dance teacher Sue would start our Charleston lesson.

Charleston was very risqué at it’s time – Sue compared it almost to pole dancing! Flappers caused a bit of a stir so we had to keep that in mind with our movements. We would be learning the dance routine to Fat Sam’s from the musical ‘Bugsy Malone’. It sounded a bit ambitious to me but we rose to the challenge! Sue broke it down into chunks and we swapped places in the room to ensure she could see everyone – including those hiding at the back! After completing the first session, I nipped out for a quick drink of water which meant I missed the last bit of the routine. As a spectator, I was able to see the routine in full which looked amazing! Well done ladies!

It was soon time to pack away and say our goodbyes until next month’s meeting – flower arranging! How traditional!

Kirsty Bowen

SHWI Committee