Road Trip! Marsden and Bainbridge do the WI AGM 2013

Lots of ladies...

On the last day of May, the sun was shining down on South Yorkshire when fellow SHWI member, Laura, and I set off nice and early for our road trip. The only cloud on our horizon? Embarking on the journey from Rotherham by the mode of transport most dreaded when faced with warm weather: the coach. Thankfully, sick bags were not needed and we tootled down to Bristol nattering away to women from other WIs from South Yorkshire. 

Not being the types to waste a trip, Laura and I decided that we deserved a drink on arrival and found some, errrm, interesting drinking establishments in which we could quench our thirst. The outing served to whet our appetites for dinner back at the hotel with the marvellous South Yorkshire contingent and I managed to bag a seat on Chairman Dorothy’s table.

Next, Laura and I hot-footed it across town to meet the lovely Michaela (aka Pretty Nostalgic writer and Gloucester Rd WI member). Michaela introduced us to a novel combination of some of the south-west’s finest products: Cheddar-flavoured cider on The Apple. Knowing we had an early start in the morning – and a long day ahead – we were fairly sensible and headed back to the hotel at a time Cinderella would have been wise to observe. Before we knew it, it was morning and the time had come for the main event: off to Cardiff and the WI AGM.

(((((Yippee!)))))

To say I was a wee bit excited about this would be a huge understatement. Singing Jerusalem with 4,000 members of the Women’s Institute, witnessing history being made, and getting to listen to both Griff Rhys-Jones and John Humphrys address the flock of women was certainly enough to ensure a spring in my step!

When we arrived, the Arena was literally buzzing. Before we took our seats, I spotted the Denman stall, where I chatted to marketing manager Katie, who'd featured pictures from our December trip to the college in this year’s brochure. We were later to be addressed by WI member Anne Harrison (offt' telly) about why we had to 'use or lose' the facilities at Denman.

What I could not have been prepared for was just how FEISTY it would become! The first item to address was proposed changes to the WI constitution, which at face value seemed perfectly reasonable proposals to modernise and reflect current legislation. But WI members saw fit to point out the chasm between the legalese-filled documentation and the top-line explanation we were provided. An emotive and emphatic discussion followed, but the changes were nonetheless passed.

Hands up

In an unexpected twist, Griff Rhys-Jones brought a serious air to the proceedings and it was John Humphrys who had us in fits laughter with his characteristically playful manner. The main thread of the former’s address was about protection of listed buildings and conservation of local areas in light of government plans to allow large extensions without requiring planning consent. It was left to John Humphrys to impress us with his impersonations, through a potted history of encounters, including the late Margaret Thatcher, Her Majesty the Queen and notably, an insight into Tony Blair’s private life. And when I say private, I mean best kept between him and Cherie! *ahem*

In a more serious vein, each year the WI chooses to campaign on an important issue of the day. Over the decades, the Women’s Institute movement has trail-blazed campaigns leading to significant shifts in public policy on issues ranging from increasing female police officers (1924), equal pay for equal work (1943), awareness of drug addition (1966) and artificially-produced human embryos (1983) to human trafficking (2004). 

A member from Sotonettes WI
and Rebecca from Tea and Tarts WI

This year, it was proposed that the WI take action to halt the decline of the high street. We heard from a number of notable speakers, before the discussion was opened out to the floor. Concerns were raised about the gap between those high streets packed full of pawnshops and bookmakers, and those teeming with vintage boutiques and gift shops – neither of which reflect the primary shopping habits of the majority. Again, the debate sought to clarify rather than dismiss the notion, with a significant majority voting in favour of backing the campaign.

One of the best things about the trip was catching up with WI members from other groups. I have a particular soft spot (and suspect I am far from alone) for Jean, the South Yorkshire – North Derbyshire Liaison Officer who some will recall came to our International Women's Day Event and who gave me a big hug and a kiss when we were reacquainted! We also got taken to lunch at swanky Cardiff eaterie, Chapel1877, by local WI representatives, Becki and Clare from Birchgrove WI (who we first met last December at Denman College), together with members from institutes across England and Wales, including Tea and Tarts, Cookridge Crumpets, Sotonettes, Creigian, Renaissance, Parkstone and Holybourne WIs. The lady from the latter of these, Jean Johnson, was responsible for Channel 4's A WI Lady's Guide to Brothels. 

Jen with the lovely Becki and Clare
from Birchgrove WI

Lastly, Laura was well-chuffed to have her day rounded off by being asked if she’d consider training to be a WI Advisor. It’s undoubtedly a feather in the cap of both Seven Hills and South Yorkshire to have her as a representative. 

What a fabulous trip all round! 

Love Jen x
Vice-President

PS Next year, the AGM's gonna be in Leeds!

*Photos by the wonderful Laura Bainbridge*

Ye Olde Seven Hills WI Tudor Banquet...

SHWI member Grace
gets into the Tudor spirit!

Behold, good ladies of Seven Hills WI! On Friday 24 May, Sheffield’s Showroom Cinema Café Bar was brimming with gorebellies galore at the SHWI Dining Club’s latest event, Ye OldeTudor Banquet! The Showroom had very kindly offered to provide us with a bespoke menu of our choice and after consultation with our members, it became clear that SHWI ladies are suckers for a bit of historical action (oo-er!). With this in mind, Showroom Kitchen Chef Simon Ayres developed a menu based around traditional olde English fare from Tudor times, utilising seasonal and locally-sourced ingredients and presented with a very modern twist.

And here is his masterpiece:

Starters:
Smoked mackerel and goat's milk tart
Roast Tongue - corned beef and kidney pudding

Food for the poor:
Pottage, honey, cheese and bread

Mains:
Rabbit - posh pastry, rabbit loin, swede fondant, rabbit cutlet
Cod Mornay

Dessert:
Poor Knights’ Pudding - with rose water
Tarte of strawberries with cream…

…A feast worthy of a king, I’ve no doubt you’ll agree.

For the first time in the history of SHWI Dining Club, the event was opened up to friends and family of SHWI members and 21 of us gathered on two banquet tables and awaited the start of the scoffing, with the added nerve-wracking element of Mama Bainbridge ready to experience Laura’s organisational talent! Although the room was abuzz with excitement, it is rare that the event lives up to the anticipation. However, when our starters arrived, we quickly realised that verily, had we witnessed naught til that moment (or for non-16th Century dwellers, we hadn’t seen nothin’ yet). 

Smoked mackerel and goat's milk tart

Up first were the two starter dishes of smoked mackerel and goat's milk tart and mini steak and beef puddings with gravy and tongue. The Showroom’s clever and inventive organisation and presentation meant that, true to historical form, our dishes were presented on sharing platters, meaning that people could pick and choose at little (or as it transpired, a LOT) of what they fancied. The names of the dishes make them sound fairly straightforward but the complexity of ingredients made them a joy to behold (and munch). The flavour combination of salty mackerel with creamy goat’s cheese was enhanced by fresh dill and crunchy walnuts and additional texture was provided by the cheese-infused, crumbly, perfectly short pastry tart base. 

Beef puddings

The beef puddings were super savoury bombs of meaty goodness, packed with tender chunks of kidney and encased in a melt-in-the-mouth suet shell. These were served on a platter bejewelled with freshly podded broad beans, that dazzled like emeralds next to the chunky puds, and came with a side of intensely meaty, addictive gravy (Bainbridge actually drank half a jug of the stuff.) These may not have looked as elegant as the mackerel tarts, but who cares when they come served with gravy this good?

These culinary delights were followed by a VERY hearty serving of pottage (chunky root vegetable broth with slivers of bacon), served with three varieties of home-made bread and three British cheeses. First up was a Yorkshire Blue from Shepherds Purse - a delicate, creamy blue with a subtle tang, it was perfect drizzled with the honey and squished onto the poppy seeded bread. The most popular cheese seemed to be the Ribblesdale Goat’s cheese - not the usual soft, log-type chèvre, but a firm, mild cheese with a pretty pea-green wax. Last, but not least, was the Cornish Yarg - a nettle wrapped beauty: fresh, creamy and crumbly. There was so much bread and cheese left over, we cheekily asked for some takeaway boxes, to which the super-friendly staff happily obliged.

Most of us by this point were thoroughly glad we were not dressed in corsets as our Tudor counterparts would have been. Kudos to Grace Tebbutt, Chelle Cook, Victoria White and Jen Marsden who frankly must have managed to channel Henry VIII himself in order to finish their meals whilst be-costumed! However, despite our (historically accurate of course) full bellies, we were only half way through the banquet! 

Rabbit

Next up were the main courses of rabbit served three ways and Cod Mornay. The cod was served on a bed of peppery rocket and was cooked to perfection, soft skin holding together the beautiful cod that flaked to the touch, all covered in a mellow and creamy cheese sauce. 

The rabbit platter was a work of art laid out on a massive slate square - it was difficult to know where to start. Juicy rabbit loin, crammed with herb flecked stuffing and wrapped in pancetta was a definite highlight - t’old Bugs can be a little dry and bland sometimes, but not this time! There were also dainty crumbed cutlets served on sweet swede fondant and little posh shortcrust pasties too, because you can never have a rabbit too many ways. Amazingly, there was still room on the platter for ridiculously delicious mushrooms (salty, baked perhaps? Who cares -they were good!), super-sweet tomato, cleverly presented courgette pieces, more of those jewel-like beans and the obligatory smear of veggie puree. 

Poor Knight's Pudding

Finally, our intrepid diners were rewarded with two mouth-watering desserts of strawberry and cream tarte and Poor Knight’s Pudding with clotted cream. Many of us were intrigued at the sound of the latter dish, and there was certainly nothing ‘poor’ about it. Sweet, warm, fluffy mini pancakes were served drizzled with a perfectly tart berry compote. In glorious contrast was the smooth and simultaneously fresh tarte - a simple masterpiece of the thinnest, short-bread like pastry, filled with sweetened whipped cream and topped with fresh strawberries - it would not have looked out of place in a French patisserie window. Again, the generosity of the portioning meant many a tart was taken back home (in a box) to be enjoyed later when the savouries had been digested.

As our bonaire evening came to an end, our satisfied revellers headed home, taking with them full bellies and good memories. Universally positive feedback marvelled at the very generous portions, excellent service and the fantastic, flamboyant, fabulous culinary delights they had experienced. There was only one problem – after sampling the menus of both rich and poor Tudors, we honestly couldn’t decide if we would have preferred to be paupers living on pottage, bread cheese and Poor Knights’ Pudding, or great noblewomen feasting on an array of meat, fish, pastry and tarts. All that can be said is it’s easy to see why the Elizabethan era was called the ‘Golden Age’! To sum up: Most. Epic.Dining.Club.Ever.

Strawberry tarts

Showroom + SHWI Dining Club = Foody, Tudor-y, heaven.

Anna Pilson and Laura Bainbridge

SHWI committee members and Dining Club organisers

A beehive, victory rolls, hairspray and bobby pins...

Laura and Vicky looking lovely with their new old hairstyles!

Another month has passed and another meeting of Seven Hills Women's Institute was here, this time with extra hairspray and bobby pins. The excitement of having the coolest building in Sheffield has yet to wear thin and I still get giddy when I walk through into the main conference area where our meetings take place. 

The lovely Nikki-Lee works
 her magic on Vicky

This month's speaker was Nikki-Lee Hampton from Kojo & Lee, hair stylist and owner of the coolest beehive in South Yorkshire. She was going to show us how to rock our own vintage hair styles. We were also joined by Lisa Stevenson, a SHWI member who's been away for a while to produce our newest and youngest member, three month old Victoria Jane. I was pleased as punch to give the kid a cuddle. 

After the normal natter, obligatory cup of tea and one of Laura Bainbridge's cupcakes (this month's flavour: Coconut and Pandan), it was business time. After Lindsay's usual updates and important South Yorkshire Federation info from Kim, it was time for Nikki-Lee to do her thing. 

Laura Bainbridge and Vicky Porteous were the willing participants, receiving a beehive and victory rolls respectively. Laura's hair was put in rollers and then released, back-combed and hairsprayed to the max until she looked like Ariel from The Little Mermaid. Nikki then teased the backcombed hair into the famous beehive shape and clipped it in place. It looked awesome. 

Vicky's hair was moussed and then put in rollers, to give her hair some volume but also to help the hair curl easily into the rolls. Nikki made a three rolls at the front and used bobby pins to make them stay in shape. It looked beautiful and lots of us remarked that she should definitely have this style for her upcoming wedding! 

We all did each other's hair...

After the demo, it was our turn to try Nikki's techniques on each other. I paired with Zoe and tried to give her a beehive, almost choking her with Elnett. Honestly, it's a good job we're not allowed to smoke indoors - Electric Works would have been up in flames. 

Much fun was had by all and we do have some impressive stylists in the room! After thanking Nikki-Lee and a quick tidy, we trotted off to the Leadmill to take our photo for the SHWI Calendar. Laura got a great shot and we wrapped up before the rain began to pour. 

Another meeting was over, but time draws nigh until our SHWI Dining Club Tudor Feast! We will sup our victuals at the Showroom Cinema on Friday 24 May with a banquet of Henry VIII proportions. Fling caution to yonder winds and fare thee well!

Kirsty Bowen

SHWI Committee

**Kojo and Lee is based upstairs at the Great Gatsby pub on Division Street and is open on Thursdays and Fridays. More info.**

Danny Bryden and The Great SHWI Bake Off

Anna adds another GBBO star
to her photo collection!

Laura Bainbridge's 
chocolate and cherry cake

April’s meeting was the first time since we moved to Electric Works that the Helter Skelter sat unused and forlorn. After all, who needs slides when you have over 20 different cakes?!

This month’s meeting saw Great British Bake Off 2012 semi-finalist, the wonderful Danny Bryden, come to speak to the group. And with a baking expert at hand, it seemed appropriate to host our own SHWI Bake Off with Danny as judge. As I am already a great friend of the Great British Bake Off Stars (see April 9th’s blog post!) I was obviously very blasé and nonchalant about this particular SHWI Meeting. Er, yeah RIGHT! I had been dreaming about this meeting for months and excitement had reached fever pitch over the few days prior to it when we started getting hints dropped by SHWI members about their impending cake creations. There were two categories to enter – upside down cakes or flourless. And yet again, SHWI ladies showed their fantastic imaginations and mad skillz in the kitchen. The entries were as follows:

Upside Down Cakes

Pina Colada Sandwich Cake
Pear and Walnut
Orange and Lemon
Pineapple, Lime and Chilli
Cherry and Almond
Banana
Pear and Nutmeg
Salted Caramel, Apple and Pecan
Rhubarb and Ginger
Pear and Chocolate
Apple and Cinnamon
Pear and Pistachio

Flourless Cakes

Rose and Raspberry mini loaves
Cherry Bakewell
Lime and Passionfruit Drizzle
Raspberry and Chocolate
Fig, Pecan and Maple Syrup
Lemon Polenta
Vanilla and Strawberry Rainbow Battenburg
Carrot Cake
Hazelnut and Praline
Clementine and Almond
Cherry and Chocolate Brownie Cake

Louise Worn's amazing
rice flour rainbow Battenburg

Drool, cakey goodness… Sorry, back to business! Committee member Grace had done a wonderful job of organising the 23 entries into their relevant categories and walking round the corner to be faced with the display was quite frankly like walking into utopia – SHWI has some very talented members. The table was laden with beautifully presented cakes of all flavours and types (more of which to follow). Danny was to judge them based on three criteria – appearance, texture and taste. With my mind already boggled by the amazing array of baked delights, I decided to channel my inner April O’Neil (the journalist from the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, non-80s kids) and make notes about all the cakes on display so I could remember them all and note some of Danny’s comments. I wish I had the time, space and superlatives to describe in detail every cake, but actually I think I’ll let the accompanying photos do the talking. Danny’s first job was to judge on appearance so that Grace could slice up the cakes for the taste and texture judging (and also to feed the hungry hordes come break time). I can exclusively reveal (get me!) that she gave a special mention in terms of appearance to Sam Cleasby’s Pear and Walnut upside down cake – she loved the rustic presentation and thought the glazed pear decoration was a fantastic touch.

Danny's next job was to judge taste and texture. She approached this with slight trepidation as 23 slices of cake is a lot in anyone’s book. However, it says something for the quality of entries that she told us she enjoyed every single bite! She was bowled over by the brilliant concepts and beautiful presentation, but as the cliché goes, the proof of the pudding (or cake) is in the eating. She thought the Clementine and Almond cake was beautifully citrusy, the Cherry and Almond had very clean and distinct flavours and she loved the gorgeous home-made marmalade on the Orange and Lemon Cake, these are just a few of the many, many positive comments she made. 

As you can probably guess, the judging was EXTREMELY tight and faced with the prospect of ties, Danny asked myself and Grace to give her a second and third opinion on the taste of her favourite few. It’s a hard life. It just so happened that we were unanimous in our opinions and so after an hour of cake scoffing, the judging was over…

SHWI members enjoying cake!

The next part of the meeting was Danny’s talk and what a captivating talk it was! It was her first time speaking to a WI group and she had planned her speech around the assumption we’d want to know about her Bake Off experience and baking in general – she certainly knew her audience! Firstly she explained how entering the competition had been, in her words, ‘a bet that got out of hand’! She had first developed an interest in cooking at school thanks to her inspirational Home Economics teacher (and of course Delia) and also due to the fact that she wanted to be able to eat things she liked and nobody else in her family was particularly interested in cooking. She has always cooked and baked, especially at Christmas, and was renowned for her skills amongst her family, although she stressed it was not something she did avidly. Danny is not much of a TV watcher herself but her sister is a cookery show fan but not much of a cook herself (something I can definitely relate to). She and her husband encouraged Danny to enter GBBO because they felt it was the most suitable show for her, as she is a vegetarian and shows like Masterchef generally involve a lot of meat and fish cookery.

Upon submitting the LONG application form, Danny was selected to progress to the next stage of a lengthy application process. She had many phone interviews, spot tests on baking, screen tests, techinical challenges and more! Danny says she felt confident about these tests and attributes this to her job as an Intensive Care Consultant, where her medical training conditioned to jump professional hurdles and look for the next. Perhaps it was this attitude (as well as her amazing food!) that got her into the final 12.

Danny then let us into a few secrets behind the filming of the series which we couldn't possibly tell! 

Danny and SHWI

However we can tell you that TV isn’t all glamour and fun. The 6am starts and long hours left the contestants feeling exhausted and Danny admitted that she was happy to get to the semi-final as it had given those who had invested time in supporting her so much pleasure to see her progress, but that personally she was more than ready to go. 

All the contestants got on really well and many keep in touch still – Danny recently had lunch with Brendan and is working with James on a medical article about comparing medical feedback with the feedback you get on TV. SHWI Vice-President Jen was also able to pass on a message to Danny from fellow contestant Cathryn who told us to say hello to Danny after we met her at Manchester’s Cake and Bake Show recently! Danny said that although she doesn’t intend to pursue baking as a profession she has gained a huge recipe library and has infinitely developed her baking skills so that she has the confidence to tackle difficult recipes with gusto and was proud to be able to bake her Mum’s 90th birthday cake recently.

After her amazing talk, Danny proved again what an all-round inspirational lady she is by promoting a charity close to her heart, the Sheffield Hospitals Charity's new initiative, Charity Chef. This encourages charity supporters to host a dinner party and ask their guests to make a donation to the Charity in return for their food. For more information on how you can get involved with Charity Chef go here. 

The final act of the night was announcing the winners of the Bake Off. And (drum roll....) the prize winners in both categories were as follows:

Upside-Down Cakes:

1st Blanche Spataro’s Cherry and Almond cake

2nd Sam Cleasby’s Pear and Walnut cake

3rd Jen Marsden’s Pina Colada cake








Flourless Cakes:

1st Caryl Carson’s Carrot Cake

2nd Samantha Duffy’s Chocolate and Raspberry Cake

3rd Amy Grange’s Hazelnut and Praline Cake


Well done ladies! Although all entrants should be very proud as it was a VERY tough decision! The prize winners were presented with rosettes to mark their accomplishments. A fitting end to a fabulous night! And, of course, the icing on the cake (boom boom) for me was adding a picture with Danny to my burgeoning collection of GBBO contestant photos!


Finally – SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT! If this blog post has whet your appetite, why not come to the next SHWI Dining Club event on Friday 24 May at the Showroom cinema?! 

Notice that I used the word ‘event’ rather than meal – because we are having a TUDOR BANQUET! A bespoke menu has been created for us and in the words of the Tudors themselves, you’d be a massive fopdoodle to miss it! Look here for more details.

Anna Pilson

SHWI Committee 

Photos by Laura Bainbridge

Cake and Bake Show and a little bit of modelling...

A sneaky peek of one of our calendar pics...(photo by Laura Bainbridge)

On Saturday 6 April, some of our members had a busy day visiting the Cake and Bake Show in Manchester before hot-footing it back to the seven hills for our second SHWI photo shoot for our 2014 calendar. 

The Cake and Bake Show is one massive event over three days with talks, masterclasses and workshops from some of the biggest names in the baking industry, as well as featuring a whole host of companies giving demonstrations and samples of their baking goods and wares. 

Laura and a Fabulous Baker Brother

SHWI members Laura Bainbridge, Anna Pilson, Di Coupe, Jen Marsden and myself booked some half-price tickets, unsure what to expect. Would we get sufficient samples? Could we meet any Great British Bake Off contestants? Would we get Laura get a cuddle of a Fabulous Baker Brother?

The answer was yes. On entering the venue, we paid £5 for the Cake and Bake Show goody bag with an event programme, free copy of the Telegraph, vouchers, Green and Black's White Cooking Chocolate and some Silver Spoon cake decorations. 

Most stalls had some good tasters, from chunks of focaccia to dip in balsamic vinegar to homemade fudge. Stalls like the Lakeland section sold all the essentials (and more) for the potential baker and companies like Dr Oetker handed out even more goodie bags. Other stalls had some very interesting cake toppers (naked baby iced figure, anyone?).

Di and Edd

But some of us had our eyes on the celebs. The name at the show who drew the biggest crowds was Eric Lanlard but I confess that I'm not that aware of his programme or previous books. 

We'd missed Mr Paul Hollywood who had been there in person on the Friday but there was still plenty of GBBO contestants to spot. I'd spied Ruth Clemens (series one) entering the VIP area, Holly Bell (series two) handing out leaflets for Sainsbury's and Laura and Di spotted series one winner Edd Kimber.

One of the most popular events of the day was the Bake Off featuring previous GBBO contestants. We were there on the front row (well, sat on the floor in front of the front row) to watch John Waite (series three winner) and Natasha (series three) team up with a volunteer from the audience to make tweels. I was first with my hand up and a question for John, asking him what he's been up to since winning the show. As soon as the Bake Off finished, Jen and Anna rushed to meet James Morton (series three hottie) and Catherine Dresser. 

Jen (left) and Anna (right) with
GBBO's Catherine and James

Laura and I watched a soda bread demo by Fabulous Baker Brother, Tom Herbert, who MADE HIS OWN BUTTER. And we got to try it. 

Tom also got a picture with everyone who watched and tweeted it to his followers...and we got in on the pic!

Anna also managed to meet the fabulous Brendan Lynch outside the venue who was happy to pose for a photo and grab her arm. 

After nabbing all our freebies, we enjoyed lunch and a few beverages (ahem) in Manchester before heading back to Sheffield on the train. 

Brendan and Anna

We met more SHWI lovelies at the Showroom cinema before decamping to our first shoot location of the night: The Leadmill. The idea was to have everyone dressed to the nines and in the queue for the club. After a few variations, we got some great shots.

Next up was the 'Cutting Edge' at Sheffield station (random fact: our President Lindsay's Dad installed this sculpture!). 

I won't give the game away but the setup involved sparklers which were a devil to syncronise. After a few gos (and a crazy drunk guy harrassing us for a while) we got the shot before we got pneumonia. 

The results are amazing and I can't wait to see the finished calendar! All that modelling meant that we deserved a few drinks at the Sheffield Tap.

Kirsty Bowen
SHWI Events and Programme Officer

SHWI gets crafty

Our March meeting saw our first craft session of the year and we welcomed Yvonne of Make and Made to lead us in making a jam jar pincushion. (Make and Made is a new shop on Leopold Street - check it out!).

It was a busy one with over 80 members and guests rocking up to Electric Works, mini jam jar in hand, to learn how to turn it into a pretty pincushion. We also had a photographer from Prima magazine visiting us to take photos to go with a feature they are doing on the WI in June - exciting!

Yvonne brought lots of lovely material and ribbons for us to choose from and our members set about sewing the mini cushion together, stuffing it, sticking it to the lid of their jam jar and decorating. It was quite a simple project to do, but really effective, and everyone did a great job of making something lovely!

It was a fun meeting and it was lovely to see lots of new guests attending. 

See you next month when we will be visited by Danny Bryden, semi-finalist from the last series of the Great British Bake Off! 

Remember, if you want to take part in our SHWI Bake Off (which Danny will be judging), you need to register via email by 17 April. Details of the categories can be found here. 

See you soon,

Lindsay
President, SHWI

(Photos by Laura Bainbridge)

SHWI does International Women's Day

The SHWI Cosmo..made with jam, of course!

International Women’s Day is celebrated on the 8 March and to get involved, Seven Hills WI decided to hold an IWD event a week later on 15 March, at our home in Electric Works!

Now, I like to think that every monthly meeting we have is a little celebration of womanhood but the IWD event was open to EVERYBODY (even men!) allowing both members and non-members to see what SHWI was about and support some good causes in the process.

Grace and Hugh at Blousey's Bar

There were various stalls for people to peruse, one providing info on SHWI and the NFWI, a table of fabulous raffle prizes generously donated by various local businesses (there's more on that later) and another stand set up for Oxfam to show how they support women and raise some money.

SHWI committee member Grace brought along her boyfriend Hugh and their new business venture Blousey’s Bar along to treat the attendees to some scrumptious cocktails: a super gin-tastic Tom Collins and the fabulous, not to mention incredibly popular, SHWI Cosmo! (which was invented by Hugh for a SHWI meeting a couple of years ago). Of course, in the interests of fairness, I had to try both - and both were deliciously lethal. The drinks seemed to go down very well with everyone - which is a good job, since 10% of the money made went to Oxfam.

Another SHWI member (and past speaker) to 'set up shop' was Chella Quint with her 1913 Exhibition - celebrating 100 years since her grandmother was born. A timeline of personal and international events from a century ago was pinned up for people to check out - along with a piece on the zip! Invented in 1913 - the zipper is perhaps something we take for granted. Chella encourages people to count their zips and plot them on a board to see if there is pattern between age and number of zips worn. I prefer an elasticated waistband myself - it helps with all the cake and cocktail intake...

Speaking of cake - it wouldn't be a true SHWI event if we weren't flogging baked goods for charity! This time round, our friends at Oxfam benefited from money made selling homemade treats such as mini strawberry daiquiri cupcakes, chocolate chip muffins and slices of fruit cake.

As a WI - it’s all about supporting local charities that benefit women, which is why the proceeds from our ticket sales went to SWWOP - the Sheffield Working Women’s Opportunities Project which supports women involved in street prostitution. Perhaps some may think a slightly controversial choice of cause to support, but as we would soon find out, the WI has a history of radical choices when it comes to resolutions and causes they help.

Donna, Blanche, Lindsay and Kim with Jane Robinson (centre)

The main event at our do was the lovely Jane Robinson - social historian and author of several books relating to women and their battles with equality. She came to give a talk on two of previous books and arguably the book that held most interest for us SHWI members was 'A Force to Be Reckoned With - a History of the Women‘s Institute'. A lot of members have already read it and it featured in our Book Club a couple of months ago. I won a copy of this book on a SHWI raffle, and at first I wasn't that fussed about reading it, but when I actually bothered to pick it up - I found I couldn’t put it down. Never has a book affected me so emotionally - tears pricking my eyes as I learnt how much the WI had done during both World Wars, anger rising as read about the struggles the founding members had fought past and the warm glow that followed when I realised that I was part of something much bigger than our local Sheffield group. 

But Jane wasn't here to only acknowledge the WI - she also spoke of that book’s predecessor 'Bluestockings', a history of women’s fight for education. Her talk was illustrated by some great slides, and, as the group Photographer, it was fascinating to see pictures of WI ladies larking about in cornfields, or dressed up as Toby Jugs, and serious looking University students posing for class photos. 

Guests mingling in the club area at
our fab venue, Electric Works

I can’t have been the only one moved by Jane’s speech - a lot of women in that room will have benefited from a university education and some of those women will be members of the WI, both 'old' and new. It’s thought-provoking to find out what the women of yesterday went through to give the women of today the freedom to choose.

All-in-all, the night was a huge success! But we couldn't let Jane leave without a quick hurtle down the helter skelter and I was only too happy to take her - it’s becoming a bit of habit, me taking speakers down the slide!

Laura

SHWI Committee

(Photos by Laura Bainbridge)

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Message from Lindsay, SHWI President

We raised a fantastic £400 for SWWOP through our event and we'd like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who made that possible: Jane Robinson, Electric Works, Blousey's Bar, Chella Quint, everyone who bought a ticket and the SHWI Committee members who worked on the night: Kim Whelan, Jen Marsden, Katie Mountain, Anna Pilson, Anna Tebble, Vicky Porteous, Leanne Sunter, Blanche Spataro, Grace Tebbutt, Donna Yeates, Kirsty Bowen, Vickie Riley and Laura Bainbridge. 

While we're dishing out the thank yous, we can't forget all those lovely companies who donated raffle prizes. Here's a list of the prizes (pretty good eh?) and those brilliant people who gave them to us...

·       Beautiful flowers from Campbell’s Flowers (www.campbellsflowers.co.uk)

·       A chocolate chip cookie mix jar from Heather’s Cookies (auntieheathershomemade.wordpress.com)

·       Two sets of Our Tiny Bees British honey beauty products (www.ourtinybees.co.uk)

·       Afternoon tea for two at Martha Heritage, Millhouses (www.facebook.com/MarthaHeritageUK)

·       Two cinema tickets for the Showroom (www.showroomworkstation.org.uk)

·       A sewing class courtesy of Robyn’s Nest (www.robynsnestuk.co.uk)

·       Four tickets to see Bromheads at the Leadmill on 25 April (www.leadmill.co.uk)

·       A £20 voucher to buy a fascinator, hat or hair accessories from Imogen’s Imagination (www.imogensimagination.co.uk)

·       A voucher for a cut and finish from Boudoir Hair, Ranmoor (www.boudoirhair.com)

·       A voucher for Cocoa Wonderland on Ecclesall Road (www.cocoawonderland.co.uk)

·       Two signed books by Sunday Times bestselling author Milly Johnson (www.millyjohnson.co.uk)

·       A voucher for a meal for two at the Red Deer, Pitt Street, S1 (www.red-deer-sheffield.co.uk)

·       A cake from Tipple Tails (www.reallygreatfruitcake.co.uk)

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

You are invited to our International Women's Day event!

Exciting news...to mark this year's International Women's Day we're holding a one-off extra special charity event at Electric Works on Friday 15 March.

Author Jane Robinson, who wrote A Force to be Reckoned With: The History of the WI as well as lots of other female-focused books, will be coming up from Oxford to talk to us about the remarkable story of the first women to fight for an education, as well as a bit of WI history! You can see more about Jane here.

There will also be charity stalls, information from Chella Quint's 1913 exhibition and a chance to find out more about Seven Hills WI and other WIs in the area.

Since the event is held at the start of a weekend it seems fitting that our friends and Hugh will be bringing their cocktail bar, Blousey's Bar, along, and there will also be tea and coffee available if cocktails aren't your thing.

Tickets for this one-off event are just £3 per person (plus 83p Eventbrite fee)  and anyone (male and female, WI and non-WI) is welcome to attend, as long as they are over 18. We do only have 100 spaces though so make sure you snap up your tickets fast as we've had a lot of interest in this event already! Buy tickets here!

All profits from ticket sales will be donated to a local women's charity which we are still to confirm but we'll let you know as soon as we do.

Doors open at 6pm and we'll be starting at 6.30pm sharp. The event is due to finish at 8.30pm.

Hope you can join us!