SHWI do Tai Chi

My first meeting of the year, and the first I had been to since November owing to Christmas do’s and work overruns, I was excited to get my Tai Chi on with David Lipka from Mindful Tai Chi.  When I say excited, what I mean is that I was looking forward to an evening of relaxation with my favourite ladies, to going home in a floaty like state to my bed where I would have the best night’s sleep ever, a full night’s sleep is something I get very excited about as it so rarely happens!

Before we got started with some relaxation shenanigans, we welcomed a large number of guests as we decided to spread the love by inviting members to bring a friend along to our Galentines Day special meeting; a number of our guests have gone on to part with their cash and join us on a full-time basis so we must be doing something right.  Laura and Bex completed the WI business in record time, we marvelled at our SHWI merchandise store (more of a camping table) ‘manned’ by the beautiful Anna Tebble pedalling our SHWI related wares including our charity Christmas cards, OK its 10 months away but you can never be too organised can you?? 

We were also excited with the inaugural use of out iZettle card payment machine, a revolutionary purchase which will hopefully mean our future sales at Sheffield Food Festival and other events will be much higher as we can take contactless payments as well as cash, it’s a win win situation, imagine being able to pay your WI annual subscriptions by another method other than cash or cheque, it’s the future.

Following a quick pit stop for tea and cake, we got moving the chairs in the Church to create a circle for our Tai Chi experience with David’s velvety voice which sounded like a Jackanory story teller (familiar, soothing and relaxing) giving us directions as we got settled for an hour of relaxation heaven.  As I volunteered to write the blog I didn’t sit within the circle so that I could make some notes and observations and this is where I realised that my legs are considerably shorter than they perhaps ought to be….

David started his demonstration by asking us what we knew about Tai Chi, my own personal experience was Helen Daniels on Neighbours back in the day wafting about in her front garden in pink pyjamas with Brett Stark – ridiculously, I can’t remember what happened yesterday but this is a very vivid image of my teenage years and has totally checked out on the Neighbours episode guide from 1995. http://www.neighboursepisodes.com/index.php?year=1995&episode=2415

He asked whether we had invited him to the meeting because of the WI connection?  Cue a lot of blank faces until he reminded us of the ladies in Calendar Girls going Tai Chi on the moors in Yorkshire, whilst we could claim this was exactly the reason we had invited him, it was more that we are all more aware of being kinder to ourselves and Tai Chi seemed like a decent introduction to another element of self-care that some of us may not have considered.

David asked for what words immediately sprung to mind when thinking of Tai Chi – grace, community, wafting hands, baggy trousers, relaxation we all words our ladies came up with and hopefully we demonstrated some of this as he took us through his approach to the conscious awareness of movement.  He took us through starting positions of sitting well, this is where I found my feet don’t quite reach the floor if I sit correctly on a chair, I am 40 years old and have only just found out this fact. He spoke to us about relaxing the body and postural relaxation from sitting still, this is a concept that is alien to me as I am always on the go, so I found the sitting still, correctly and relaxed to be hugely beneficial, but then events within our group that evening took a different turn and with her permission, I will now write about my good friend Holly.

Holly is a long-standing member of SHWI, is married to Pep with a new son Enzo, who is 8 months old, Holly is also epileptic.  Diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy at 22 years of age, Holly has been open about her condition with us, her friends at SHWI, we have been with her when she has had a focal seizure, also known as a complex-partial seizure, where she appears to be spaced out and vacant, she usually recovers in 10 minutes or so and although tired afterwards she rarely injures herself.  At our February meeting Holly had a tonic-clonic seizure which is probably what a lot of people think of when they think of epilepsy, Holly knew that she was going to have a seizure and had alerted another friend Emma of how she was feeling, very quickly things deteriorated and Holly was on the floor convulsing and biting her cheek which resulted in a bloody mouth; this continues for what seemed like a lifetime but was probably only minutes. 

We are fortunate that a number of our new members in 2018 are Doctors and they were all in attendance that night and helped us to help Holly – thank you all for your assistance which was gratefully received!   Getting Holly home to Pep and Enzo was an interesting way to end the night, as she was still quite confused and refused to get in the car unless she could cuddle Bex who had been cradling her as she regained consciousness, but got her home we did to her fabulous husband who took great care of her. 

Holly made a video a year or so ago about epilepsy which I think is useful to share again http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04280m0, she also had her Emergency Details saved in her Health App on her iPhone which meant I could get in touch with Pep to tell him what had happened and reassure him she was OK and we would bring her home; this is something that I hadn’t got set up in my phone but this was rectified immediately when I got home that night. 

When we got back to the Church the Tai Chi demonstration was all but over, and the number of dreamy like faces around the room told me that the evening had been a great success; everyone was concerned about Holly but were reassured she was fine and that she will be back at SHWI in March when our fabulous member Ellie Last will talk about her Great Wall of China escapades in 2017 when she raised loads of money for Multiple Sclerosis.

To top off the night, as we were finishing tidying up the Church getting ready to leave a chap came into the room and walked down the aisle asking for bus fare to get back to Broomhill where he was a rough sleeper, as she had done with Holly, Bex immediately responded and took charge of the situation escorting our gentlemen caller out of the Church and giving him a quid to be on his way #bemoreBex

Rachel

Vice-President

Welcome to 2018!

After the success of our January 2017 meeting – we decided to do the same thing again! A relaxed crafty catch-up allowing new and existing members to say “hello”, grab a cup of tea and a homemade bake, then settle down to their chosen workshop if they were feeling crafty.

It's fair to say the start of the meeting wasn’t as smooth as usual due to a mix up with room bookings and some issues with the floor being freshly glued down – but the committee pulled it together and made it work as they always do!

Once we’d settled down and covered “the business” (local and national federation news), this year saw us make a new batch of bunting for SHWI. We still have our bunting banners which members made at a meeting a few years ago and they get used at a lot of our fundraising events. But you can never have too much bunting! So I prepared a load of fabric triangles and invited members to bring any crafty bits and bobs lying around at home to make our bunting look extra fabulous. Meeting Host and sewing guru Cat was in charge of our “bunting station” and has very kindly offered her skills to string them all together.

Fundraising and Events lady Jodie taught members how to “finger-knit” necklaces out of t-shirt yarn – which looked rather fiddly, but plenty of ladies were sporting a new handmade necklace by the end of the evening. Maybe it was just me who couldn’t find the patience to get one done!

Secretary Bex set up a mindful colouring in station for anyone who didn’t fancy getting arty with fabric.

I was supposed to be running an introduction to crochet – but ended up running around all meeting sorting things out and nosying at what everyone else was doing – so big thanks to SHWI members Liz and Holly who stepped up and took over with the teaching.

As President, I feel totally okay saying this meeting really was an example of SHWI at their best – all members working together to get things done, a lovely buzzy but friendly atmosphere and the creation of beautiful handmade things. What a wonderful way to start the year! Here’s to an awesome 2018!

Laura B-H

President

Happy birthday SHWI!

Our beloved WI turned 8 last month, and we celebrated in style with member Di's Famous SHWI Pie (quite literally, it's in a nationally available cookbook), which lasted all of about 3.5 minutes.

Before and after...

There was also plenty of delicious cake of course, it was our birthday after all! And obviously there's no way I'm passing up the chance to share a Colin the Caterpillar photo...

Birthday cake!

Business as usual came first, and it was a big one this month as at the start of the meeting this year's wonderful president Grace handed over the baton to the fantastic and enigmatic Laura B-H. Grace has done an absolutely amazing job and we all wish her lots of love as she steps down from the presidency. We're all excited to see what Laura will bring to the role though and I have a feeling it's going to be a corker of a year!

VP Rachel and Grace

On to the meeting activity which this month was led by our very own Bex, who taught us all about the history of Dorset buttons, a crafted style of button originating from the county of Dorset, would you believe! We learnt that one of the most popular buttons amongst our 18th century contemporaries was the Dorset knob (also, amusingly, a rare type of biscuit).

Unsure which of these, if any, is a knob...

We then had a crack at making our own brooch version of the Dorset button, with varying degrees of success it has to be said - me personally needing 4 different people to get me as far as having a threaded needle (it had been a long day) but with many others around the room creating beautiful and delicate designs which looked stunning once finished! So simple once you get the hang of it but a very effective little craft and a well-timed lesson for us to all get going on some unique stocking fillers. Thank you Bex for your fun, informative and very patient tuition!

Here's to another brilliant year with this amazing girl gang!

Laura Rangeley
Communications Co-Ordinator

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)

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.

SHWI do Ceilidh dancing

Before the the last meeting, I had never been to a ceilidh. I didn't really know it was, but suspected it would be like line dancing with more tartan and less denim. My only "experience" of ceilidhs was knowing that my old high school held them for charity. But no way would my 15 year old self go to a dance with her parents in hall used for assembly! (But then my 15 yr old self thought the charity ale festivals were lame too, so...how things change). 

Beautiful cupcakes are de rigour at our meetings

The meeting started off as any other - business first, a little break for natter, tea and cake, then on to the activity. What made June's guests extra fabulous is that they included one of our own. SHWI lady and leader of our Sheffield Food Festival stall for the past two years , Zoë Loveday is the caller for local ceilidh band Big Stuffed Fish. Her boyfriend Tom and his father make up the rest of the band.

Zoë had come with her own megaphone (handcrafted by super-handy Tom) and the menfolk were equppied with a washboard and melodeon. The chairs were pushed to the sides and everyone gathered in the meeting room - unbeknownst to me, this was the calm before the storm.

Zoe and her megaphone told us what to do

Anyone who had no idea what they were doing needn't have worried. Zoë explained everything - where to stand, what moves to do and where to go. There was skipping about, ducking under arms and "stripping the willow" as the room filled with catchy traditional music and big smiles all round. I had NEVER seen so much physical activity in that room before - there were ladies dancing around all over the place! I had wisely chosen to stay out of this - someone needed to take photos of the ladies flinging each other around as Zoë called out instructions. Plus I have zero co-ordination and had a belly full of beer. So how I ended up dancing is beyond me. The moves in a ceilidh are relatively simple. But not when you have had a Russian Imperial stout. Once Vice President Jen's shoe came off mid dance, I was gone and spent the rest of the dance laughing hysterically. Good job the other ladies knew what they were doing and were able to manouvre me to the right places.

Our members have a go at ceilidh dancing

I cannot tell you how much laughter was in that room. Everyone seemed to have a really good time and it was dissapointing when it ended after one big final dance where everyone got to strip the willow*!
 

The good news is Big Stuffed Fish can be found playing at events all over South Yorkshire - so be sure to check them out.

(*stripping the willow is a dance move and does not involve any actual stripping or willow. So no funny ideas!)

Laura Bainbridge
SHWI Committee member