Merry Christmas, Love SHWI

It's sometimes hard to avoid Christmas, with tinsel being made available in October and fizzy cola flavoured beverages making adverts that manage to whip up the majority of TV watchers into a frenzy in November. But when it's actually December, then I'm more than happy to get into the festive spirit! Praise be then, that SHWI had not one, but THREE festive events to enjoy. 

First up was a Christmas Coffee morning for the Don Valley Group - a selection of Sheffield based WIs - at SHWI HQ Electric Works. All the ladies were encouraged to bring cakes and bakes, with Glee Bah Gum making a return appearance (they were our guests at the September meeting) to treat us to some carols. It didn't take long for the ladies to join in, with members of Crosspool WI and Norton Lees singing away to some festive favourites. 

Cakes and bakes at the Don Valley Group Coffee Morning

Next up was the SHWI Christmas Party - a rather less sober affair than the coffee morning, it has to be said.  Electric Works allowed us back in to take over our usual meeting room, but this time with funky red lighting and DJ K-Bo (aka committee member Kirsty) providing some banging tunes. A delicious buffet was provided courtesy of SHWI member Blanche (of Coco Catering), treating the ladies to arancini (giant crumbed balls of luscious risotto), pork pies, moreish dips, beautiful brownies and much more.  

Blanche and Vicky enjoy the party atmosphere

Thankfully it didnt get too messy - it was a school night after all - but the photos taken that night might suggest otherwise....

Last, but by no means least, was the December monthly meeting. We kicked off proceedings with the now traditional Christmas Quiz - compiled and hosted by president Lindsay.  

New members sign up and get ready to quiz!

Last year I was lucky enough to be part of winning team 'Specs and Tits', and this year we were determined to keep our title. Team Captain Anna P rallied the troops and put in some revision, by scouring gossip columns and looking at the biggest news headlines of 2013. All that work paid off, as Specs and Tits were victorious and no doubt determined to win again at the 2014 quiz.

After all that excitement, it was time for our guest speaker, SHWI member Liz. She was here to give us a confidence building class and did so in a friendly and encouraging way.

First she gave us tips on how to set goals and the best way to achieve them - by being realistic and believing in yourself. Next we were asked to compliment our fellow SHWIers and learn to accept compliments graciously. This was a little funny at first, but once we got going you could feel the love in the room. There might have been a few tears shed... But it was all good! I've kept my list of compliments to give me lift when I need it.

Finally it was time to swap Secret Santa gifts! Another festive SHWI tradition - if you bring a wrapped up present (£5 budget) you can swap it for another! Picking one to take home is more stressful than buying one for a random lady!

Some of our Secret Santa presents

All in all, December was a great month for Seven Hills... But now the 2014 programme is out I'm looking forward to seeing what the new year brings! 

Laura Bainbridge, SHWI committee

From Arctic Monkeys to Seven Hills WI...

Committee members Anna, Sarah, Lindsay and Katie with Timm (and an NME Award)

February’s meeting was my first in the Electric Works and my second as a fully paid up member of the WI. So, after unpacking my short bread biscuits and leaving them with some very delicious mojito mini cupcakes I went to explore the new home of SHWI and was surprised with the building. I won’t bore you with the details again as Laura did a great job of describing the Electric Works in January’s blog, however I feel the need to say HELTER SKELTER!

We were very lucky this month and did not only have the planned speaker, but we also had Jo Davison from the Star newspaper. She talked to us about a new women’s supplement that she is working on and how she would like us to be involved. Many SHWI ladies gave Jo their details so they can get involved in doing things like baking features, beauty and “the last five things I bought” (I couldn’t do that, I have to sneak many of my purchases home and then if anyone asks claim I have had it for ages...!).

Some of Timm's photos..spot a famous album cover?

This month's speaker was Timm Cleasby and he spent time talking about his life as Tour Manager for Sheffield's own Arctic Monkeys, who he worked with for five years and saw rise to huge fame. Timm's career so far has also included DJing at the Leadmill (where he met his wife whilst hanging out of the DJ box!), going on tour with Bon Jovi and the Darkness, and now being the festival director for Tramlines, managing Sheffield band Dead Sons, and running a successful photography business (www.thepicturefoundry.com)...busy guy!

A recurring theme throughout Timm’s story was how he set himself goals, reached each one, and the rollercoaster that journey was. Throughout his speech there was a reel of photos which were taken by Timm during his many adventures and the saying 'a picture is worth a thousand words' was definitely true of those that Timm shared with us.

February’s meeting also gave us a chance to vote on the charity we will support in 2013. Our President, Lindsay, gave an honest, moving explanation about the charity that she had nominated and the reasons why (the Parents' Association of Children with Tumours and Leukaemia - PACT- because her three year old niece has been battling cancer since last summer). I did well up towards the end of this, and so did many others, and I'm pleased to say that PACT won after the voting was completed during the break.

Jo Davison talks to us

Also during the break some of the committee members had their pictures taken for this blog and it would seem that there are some potential models on the committee (I won’t go into detail about what kind of model).

Finally, if anyone hasn’t bought their SHWI Women’s Day event ticket, there are still some left. Who wouldn’t want to celebrate women, drink cocktails and meet Jane Robinson? These are selling quickly, so get yours now!

Janine, SHWI member