Warp Films' Barry Ryan comes to talk

April’s meeting began with our newly streamlined monthly notices where we heard about various opportunities and events open to us as WI members. This included information about the Denman College Trip priced at £255 for members and £295 for non-members.  Also part of the new format are the notices posted outside the main meeting room with details about different spin-off group events, so remember to read them if you’re interested in joining up!

Members and guests chat before the talk begins

Then, after the usual – and very important - tea break, we sat down to hear from Barry Ryan, Head of Production at Sheffield’s very own Warp Films. With creations such as This is England, Four Lions and Submarine, members couldn’t wait to hear what Barry had to say.

Barry Ryan talks about Warp's most successful film

Talking about the history of Warp Films, which began in a spare bedroom before graduating to the garage, we learned that Warp have now won seven Baftas, have made eighteen feature films and seven television series and even have one world record for the largest collective amount of zombies at a music festival! We were shown clips of Those in Peril, Warp’s first film to make it to Cannes and Southcliffe, a TV show which aired on Channel 4 last year.

With a number of exciting projects coming up, including feature film ’71 starring up-and-coming actor, Jack O’Connell and the next installment of the This is England television adaptation, Barry told us more about the average amount of time it takes to make a low-budget British film (210 days) and how difficult it was to get Jihadist comedy, Four Lions, off the ground.

Interestingly, Barry turned the subject onto how only 12% of directors and writers in the film industry are women, which prompted one of our members to ask if they could submit an unsolicited manuscript!

At the end of the talk, various hands shot up with questions such as how could we get involved as extras, how were certain special effects created and, with regards to the instrumentality of Brass Eye’s Chris Morris in aiding the success of one of Sheffield’s best exports, how significant relationships are within the film industry? 

Committee member Ruth and President Lindsay with Barry Ryan

Eventually time ran out and the meeting had to end but members left feeling proud of Sheffield and its exports, aware of how it can stand on its own two strong feet, independent of the big city in the South. But members also left wondering how we, as the WI, can introduce and encourage more women into the fascinating industry that is the media?

Hannah Sutton, SHWI member

Fancy a WI-filled weekend away?

Some SHWI members at Denman in December 2012

Denman College Trip – New Wave Weekend

Friday 21 to Sunday 23 November 2014

This November, members from Seven Hills WI are heading to the WI's very own residential college in Oxfordshire for a 'New Wave Weekend'. This is a Denman course especially aimed at new wave WIs, giving us a chance to get away with the girls and experience a selection of workshops at Denman such as drumming, vintage corsage making, biscuiteering, meringue-making, bollywood and burlesque dancing as well as textile decorating.

Having been before, I can speak from experience and say that it is well worth making the trip. A few SHWIees went to the New Wave Weekend in December 2012 and we absolutely fell in love with the charm of the place. The building and grounds are stunning, with each room adorned with handicrafts from the different federations of WIs up and down the country. As well as a choice of workshops and two nights' accommodation, we were also treated to welcome drinks, breakfast, lunch and three-course dinners during our stay! 

The cost of the course is £255 for members or £295 for non-members - which we are sure you will agree is an absolute bargain once you've been and enjoyed the classes, the food and the accommodation. 

We have made arrangements to make a group booking with Seven Hills WI for 15 people. After this, any additional people who sign up will be subject to Denman having spaces remaining. If you would like to come, please bring £50 deposit to our next meeting on Thursday 18 April.

Come and see me (Jen) at Thursday's meeting with your cheque (payable to Seven Hills WI) or cash to make sure you bag a space! We will also need your name, address and contact details so if you bring this on a piece of paper that'll make it quicker and easier. 

Some practical info:

• Prior to the course, students will be contacted to choose three workshops from Drumming for Fun - Heather Summers, Make a Vintage Style Corsage - Louise Simmonds, Biscuiteering - Natalie Green, Making and Decorating Meringues - Kelly Mauger, Dancing Bollywood and Burlesque - Annabel Brash, Textile Decorations - Pat Lumsdale 
• To make administration easier, cheques should made payable to Seven Hills WI and we will make payment to Denman College for the whole group. 
• The remaining balance is payable by September’s meeting at the latest, this is Thursday 18 September  2014. 
• If at least 10 people sign up there will be a 5% discount
• You are responsible for travel costs to get to and from the College, and for any spending money you need whilst you're there (this would not be much on this course as all meals are included in the price. You would just need money for any drinks at the bar or things you might buy in the shop). 
• We will make arrangements for travel nearer the time. Last time, we arranged car shares and we split the cost of petrol, so you can expect something similar.

Jen (VP)

10 Things SHWI learnt about Cuban women

For March, SHWI gave its members a taste of Cuba and in the spirit of the theme also revolutionized its meeting format. Armed with delicious mojitos and limeade coolers from Blousey’s Bar we kicked off the meeting and sat down for ‘other business lite’, the new streamline version of our monthly updates. The draw for the coveted Denman bursaries was also announced, and five lucky ladies won £200 towards a Denman course of their choosing!

After a short coffee break/topping up of cocktails it was on to the main event: an insight into the lives of Cuban women entitled ‘Ten Things You Might Like To Know About Cuban Women'. I must admit, until now I knew very little about Cuba. If I had to list 10 things I knew at the beginning of the night, it would have ended after cigars and flip-flops. And then I’d have had to cross off flip-flops because it transpired Havana is actually the capital, not Havaiana. 

As it turns out Cuba is full of surprises, both good and bad. Patricia Daniel from the Sheffield Cuba Solidarity Campaign first introduced us to the history of Cuba and the events leading to the revolution. Surprisingly women played a significant role in the revolution itself and in the running of revolutionary Cuba alongside Fidel Castro. During this time the women’s platoon was established, and they also became organised nationally in a federation that dwarfs the WI, boasting a membership comprising 85% of all women over the age of 14 in Cuba. They hold equal proportions of positions in public sector jobs and have a life expectancy inline with women born in the UK. Along with supportive legislation and free healthcare, this all helps to rank Cuba 15th in the world on the gender equality index (which is above the UK!). 

Ladies from the Sheffield Cuba Solidarity Campaign

Just as I was considering a bit of swift emigration, we were hit with the cloud beneath the silver lining. Due to the embargo placed upon Cuba by the US half a century ago Cuba has struggled to build an economy, an effort that was further hampered after the dissolution of the USSR, who previously supported Cuba. They have very limited medical supplies and food is hard to come by. To try and boost the deflated economy the government decided to increase tourism to the island. This created an imbalance in the socialist society Castro forged, and has fuelled resurgence of the prostitution industry around tourist hotspots. No matter your opinion on the sex industry, where there are prostitutes there are pimps and in a society that condemns and stigmatizes sex workers this invariably leads to the abuse of women.

By the end of the talk people were bursting with questions, and the topic seemed to spark intense debate, always a sign of an interesting presentation. It was a great introduction to the complicated and contradictory world of revolutionary Cuba. Not to mention the tasty world of Blousey’s cocktails.

To learn more about Cuba’s struggle or get involved with the Sheffield Solidarity Campaign, contact them at cscsheffield@btinternet.com.

Emily Strong
SHWI member

We chose the YWHP as our charity for 2014

At our February meeting we chose the Young Women’s Housing Project (YWHP) as our charity to support in 2014.

The YWHP is a project for young women aged 16 to 25 who have been affected by sexual abuse, sexual exploitation or sexual/domestic violence. It was nominated as a charity for Seven Hills WI to support by member Kat Rex-Jones and won the member vote held at a recent meeting.

The Sheffield-based charity provides safe places to live and specialist support to help young women to overcome the effects of abuse. It is one of the only specialist projects in the UK offering outreach support and supported accommodation to young women survivors of sexual abuse. 

Seven Hills WI member Kat Rex-Jones said: "I nominated the YWHP having worked closely with the Chair of the charity which gave me a real chance to find out more about what they do and how much pressure they are under to continue to fund their service.

“Specialist housing support is a very important and valued service and I am really proud that the women of SHWI will be supporting this cause over the coming year."

Katie Ryan from the YWHP added: “We are absolutely delighted to be chosen as the Seven Hills WI cause for 2014. This is a great opportunity to raise awareness and increase the profile of the YWHP, as well as receiving much needed funds to continue this essential work with vulnerable girls and young women.”

Each year, we choose a different local charity to raise funds for and in previous years has supported Haven House, the Sheffield Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Service, Survivors of Depression in Transition and the Parents’ Association of Children with Tumours and Leukaemia (PACT). Funds are raised through raffles at meetings and events such as the Sheffield Food Festival. Last year also saw us create our own calendar to raise money for PACT.

Guest list spaces now available on Eventbrite

Due to popular demand of guest list spaces for our monthly meetings, we'll be trialling a new system from April. Instead of emailing shwiguestlist@live.co.uk every month, you'll now be able to reserve your space using Eventbrite and you'll receive confirmation of your ticket straightaway. There will still be 15 spaces available and payment of £4 per ticket will be payable upon arrival at the meeting. 

This new change is to make the booking process clearer for visitors and save committee time every month. We've decided to cap the number of tickets reserved per person at 2 to ensure more people get a chance to come along and experience a Seven Hills WI meeting. 

Tickets will be available to reserve on Eventbrite from 12:00am the morning after the previous meeting e.g. April's guestlist will open on 21 March and May's guestlist will open on 18 April.

We understand that on occasion guests may reserve a place but then be unable to attend. If this happens, please email us as soon as possible so we can open the space up to other guests. If you do not let us know in advance and then do not attend, regrettably we will not be able to allocate you a place for the next meeting. This is to help prevent people signing up and reserving a place but then not coming to the meeting, which isn't fair on others. 

If you have any comments on the process or questions about coming along as a guest, email Kirsty at shwiguestlist@live.co.uk

SHWI in Waitrose Magazine

Lindsay, Kim and Vicky at last year's food festival stall

We're so excited to be on page 73 of Waitrose Kitchen magazine this month. In an article about the resurgence of the Women's Institute, our President Lindsay, Secretary Kim and Treasurer Vicky steal the limelight in this full page photo taken by Laura Bainbridge, photographer extraordinaire. The article also features other WIs such as London's Shoreditch Sisters and Buns & Roses from Leeds. 

Pick up a copy in any Waitrose supermarket for £1.20 or free with a myWaitrose card. 

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.”

We are full for 2014! (But you can still come as a guest!)

At our January meeting we reached our membership limit for 2014 and the books were closed at 135 members. This is third year running that SHWI has reached its membership limit, despite the number being increased each year to try and meet demand.

Seven Hills WI President Lindsay Garfitt said: “We were pleased to see lots of new members sign up to join us. The popularity of our group and the WI in general seems to keep growing and growing and we have got lots of fun activities planned for the coming months, including beer tasting, badge making and a talk from Warp Films.

“Although our membership is full for 2014, women who would like to get involved can still come along to our meetings as guests and join our waiting list for 2015 membership."

See more about coming as a guest and joining the waiting list here. 

Ello, Ello, Ello!

In the club area before the meeting, there was a distinct buzz as members old and new filtered in, catching up after Christmas, tucking into homemade cake and poring over our snazzy new programmes! We’ve been at our venue Electric Works for a whole year now so it brought a smile to my face to see new members getting excited about their first ever go on the helter skelter!

 

Chella shows off her committee rosette and our new programme

Then it was into the conference room for the meeting, where SHWI president Lindsay gave an introduction to Seven Hills for those new to the group. There was lots of exciting news to share – spin-off group events, the Sheffield Food Festival in May and a welcome meeting arranged just for newbies on 4^th February. Members were also reminded that they could nominate a charity for us to support this year which we’ll be voting on at February’s meeting.

 

Getting 2014 off to an arresting start (geddit?), our speakers for the evening were Chief Superintendent Rachel Barber and Chief Inspector Caroline Rollitt from South Yorkshire Police. Both have acquired their own notoriety locally, after taking part in charity stand-up challenge, Funny Business, in aid of Weston Park Cancer Charity. A few gags even made it into their talk, showing that they can crack jokes as well as crime. (Thankfully, their jokes were were better than mine).

Members listen intently

Both started in the police force in the late 1980s and shared how they had handled being a woman in a male-dominated environment. The indelible description of Rachel having to hitch her police-issue skirt up to her crotch so she could give chase showed just how far things have come. The comical spin showed a softer side of policing, but there were also glimpses of gallows humour. Insight into how it serves as a coping mechanism for the more challenging aspects of their work, perhaps? Prostitution, guns and erm, international football all featured as they gave us a potted history of their careers in the force, with a few life lessons shared along the way.

 

Caroline and Rachel seemed largely unphased by many of the challenges – both in their work and in the organisation – although I suspect that’s come with experience. It was inspiring to see how down-to-earth and pragmatic they both were without being jaded or cynical.

 

Members Sarah and Cat join Rachel and Caroline's squad

As the meeting came to a close, Lindsay announced that we were now full for 2014 which means we’re now at 135 members. No doubt it’ll be a merry meeting next month, as we welcome Beer Central to Electric Works to give our members a taste of some of the best brews.

 

Jen

(Vice President)

x

SHWI Mad Skillz kicks off with Self Defence

It's a cold, dark, drizzly Friday evening in Dronfield. My friend and I have just pulled up outside S18 gym. Since we're early, too nervous to go in, we sit in the car luxuriating in the heated seats until the clock shows 18:00. We approach the gym - I can see a caged off boxing ring and a well built man punching the heck out of something. I pull out my phone and call Anna T. I have no idea what I'm doing and she's the one who's organised this. As soon as I hear her excited, friendly voice, inadvertently informing me I've come to the wrong entrance, I feel reassured. Because, we weren't here to start an illegal fight club. Nope, this was the inaugural session of the latest Seven Hills WI spin off group - SHWI Mad Skillz. Unlike other spin-offs that focus on one particular interest (see Book Club, SHWI Crafts, Walking Group etc.) Mad Skillz is all about finding new and interesting activities. First up was an introductory self defence class with Mixed Martial Arts trainer Andy of the aforementioned S18 gym. Once I'd shed my work gear in favour of leggings and a 15-year-old Pulp t-shirt, I went to join the other ladies. There were only six of us, but this meant we got a lot of one-on-one action (ahem). After strapping on some gloves and wondering if beautifully manicured nails (not mine, I hasten to add) would make it through the evening, we got into the "cage" and were given a lesson in throwing punches. I may have the upper body strength of a day old kitten, but I'm pretty sure I could give a decent clout if required. We then went on to cover kicking, falling over safely, wrestling (yes, really!) and then finally combining the whole lot to take on Andy in the ring. I'll be honest, this was half self defence, half an introduction to Mixed Martial Arts, but it was BLOOMIN' BRILLIANT. We weren't pushed into doing anything we didn't want to, everyone was really supportive and encouraging (even when trying to wrestle you to the floor) and the buzz afterwards made me see why people get involved in this sort of activity. Also, it was HILARIOUS - self defence is clearly a serious matter, but if you can have fun whilst learning, why not? Anyway, it's hard not to laugh when a grown man is telling you to grab his shoulder as you knee him in the gut. The next day, I did look like I'd been in a scrap. My hands were covered in delicate purple bruises and I'd managed to graze a knuckle. But they didn't really hurt, not as much as my arms and stomach, and that's only because I'd been using muscles I didn't know I had. So would I do it all again? Hell yeah! Bring on the next one... (Note: no ladies were harmed in the making of this blog. SHWI Mad Skillz will also be offering classes in more genteel pursuits - check out the Facebook group for more details.) Laura Bainbridge

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

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 goes to West Egg...

Anna and Laura with the Showroom chefs

Another month, another SHWI Dining Club..But not just any Dining Club! November saw a return visit to The Showroom, noted for being Sheffield's friendly independent cinema, but also has a fabulous café bar with chef Simon Ayres in charge of the eats. After the success of our bespoke Tudor themed banquet earlier in the year, we went back for a Great Gatsby themed affair.

The regular customers must have thought they'd entered a time-warp as the bar area filled up with ladies in furs, pearls and feathers, and gentlemen sporting trilbys, spatz and braces. Seriously – everyone looked amazing and I agree with someone's comment that we should probably dress like it's the 1920s all the time.

1920s girls

Once seated in the café area, we were treated to an array of beautifully crafted canapés – lobster croquettes, egg and cress sandwiches, bread and butter folds, and fungi flatbreads with quails eggs. They were all beautiful and incredibly moreish.

Next up, we were served potato and leek velouté, with a garlic toast topped with cavier. I've never drunk cold soup from a teacup before – but if it's always going to be that good, I'll happily do it again!
The fish course was a sharing platter of Caesar salad - seared, rare tuna steak, fresh anchovies, shavings of Parmesan, crisp little gem lettuce, chunky croutons and a tasty, tangy dressing. On the side we were treated to a shrimp cocktail – with proper little brown shrimps in a piquant pink sauce. Non-meat eaters could have a green, fresh carpaccio of kohlrabi, with a wasabi aoli and plenty of sweet broad beans.

So far – soooooo good!

As I sat there with a glass of Pinot Grigio, looking at everyone enjoying themselves, I was suddenly interrupted by my Dining Club partner Anna Pilson – who, whilst being pescetarian herself, was so excited (on my behalf) at the sight of the meat course coming out, had come to tell me to prepare myself. It's always good to get a warning on a meat feast – it gives me chance to get the camera out. And what a sight is was - a steaming mound of hot, Bourbon pork shoulder, with crispy roast potatoes, carrots and romanesco broccoli, and gravy. Oh, the gravy... At the Tudor Banquet, I may have drunk a small jug of gravy to myself. I'm a Northern lass. I love gravy. This time round, it being a more classy affair, I drank the gravy from a wine glass. (As you can imagine, I was a little thirsty later in the evening, but I don't regret a drop of it.)

The vegetarian option of braised globe artichoke, roast garlic and spelt risotto with veg friendly Parmesan seemed to go down okay – but I would have covered it in gravy.

By this time, I was getting a little full. But the food was coming out at a nice leisurely pace, which allowed a little breathing space before the dessert trolley was rolled out.

I was expecting mini bite-sized versions of desserts – but no. It was massive, actual portions in amounts we were never going to be able to finish. With this in mind, I saw no problem in having three different desserts. I asked the chef, Simon, which he would go for - raspberry meringue roulade was the answer, with a cheeky chocolatey brandy snap (cream filled of course) on the side. A jokey comment of 'if there's any chocolate cake left over, I'll take some off your hands' was met with the offering of a slice of delicious ganache covered cake.

I think some tea and coffee may have been offered around at the end of the evening – but by then I was in the middle of a gravy overdose and was trying to look gracious as everyone thanked me for organising the event.

So, I would like to thank everyone for coming. I want to thank everybody for getting into the spirit of the evening and getting glammed up. I want to thank the new faces and prospective SHWI members for coming along and being so friendly. I want to thank The Showroom for being so accommodating (again). I want to thank Anna P for doing the boring bit of Dining Club – the spreadsheets and the banking. And I want to thank anybody who has come to a SHWI Dining Club meal. We've been doing this for over a year now, and genuinely believed it would be seven girls sat around a table in various Sheffield eateries. So to have 40 people turn up looking like the cast of Chicago last night was tremendous fun. Here's to another year of local food fun!

Laura Bainbridge

SHWI Committee and Dining Club

Out on the wily, windy moors at the SHWI Getaway

Inspirational women fancy dress, from Anneka Rice to the Virgin Mary...

So I wrote this having been back from the inaugural SHWI Getaway for about 24 hours. I spent spent pretty much all of those hours (and the ones since) looking at photos of the Getaway, talking to fellow SHWI-ers about the Getaway, chuckling to myself about the Getaway, pondering wistfully about the fact that I am no longer at the Getaway and of course, watching Jane Eyre! Sigh. But rather than moping to myself, I thought I should instead try to capture the experience for posterity in this blog entry (well, it’s practically a love letter to the weekend really, sob).

We all set off in convoy on Friday from a very rainy and windy Sheffield and headed to West Yorkshire to Currer Laithe farm, the venue for our weekend of discussion, culture and refinement (!). Our forthcoming pot luck buffet, the company of SHWI ladies and a roaring fire certainly constituted a welcome arrival (particularly those who had braved the cobbled hill of doom en route). We then spent a sedate (ish) evening of chatting and laughing together as outside the wind howled across the Bronte-esque moors surrounding us.

The Bronte talk

That bit of GCSE A grade-standard descriptive writing leads us nicely to the activity planned for us the next day. We headed across to the picturesque town of Haworth to indulge in a spot of sightseeing at the Bronte Parsonage (although, to be honest, this was almost derailed by our spotting of Oscar, Haworth’s premier celebrity cat, and our subsequent feline-worship). But, eventually, to the Bronte parsonage we headed. We first embarked on a self-guided tour of the parsonage, which involved actually being in the very rooms where ‘Jane Eyre’ and ‘Wuthering Heights’ were written (eek) and er, getting overexcited by bonnets. We were then privileged enough to receive our own private talk about the history of the Brontes by a very knowledgeable and fascinating member of the Parsonage staff. In it we learned (apart from the history of the Bronte family) that poor Charlotte Bronte had bad teeth, Anne Bronte’s favourite holiday destination was Scarborough and that Lord Byron was FIT. I would highly recommend planning a talk if you visit the Parsonage, it was excellent. We followed this up by visiting the church where all of the Brontes are buried (except Anne), having a nice cuppa stop in a local craft fayre, sampling the local sweets and buying Haworth out of jewellery (cough, cough Zoe Loveday!). 

Before heading home, we thought it only right that we honoured the Bronte brother, Branwell, in his local drinking establishment, the Black Bull (they still have his seat, fact fans). That’s us SHWI ladies, all about respecting the history.

The view from Currer Laithe

Saturday night was party night with a theme of inspirational women. Once again highlighting the fantastic creativity within SHWI, we had costumes covering icons from ancient civilisations (Cleopatra and the Virgin Mary), sports stars (Billie Jean King), peerless politicians (Betty Boothroyd), historical heroines (Pocahontas and Rosie the Riveter), literary legends (Charlotte Bronte and Agatha Christie), scintillating statues (Lady Liberty), personal protagonists (Aunt Patsy and, erm, Anna Pilson), pop powerhouses (Dolly Parton and Kate Bush), childhood idols (sorry, ran out of alliterative vocab here but I’m getting overexcited about the immenseness of Anneka frickin’ RICE) and last but certainly not least, the living legend that is shoulder-pad wearer extraordinaire, Hilary Devey. We then indulged in some party games (all good, clean fun, er, honest guv) and while I would LOVE to tell you more about the escapades of that evening, I must adhere to the sacred oath of ‘what happens on SHWI Getaway, stays on SHWI Getaway’…

Sunday arrived and with it the prospect of a walk to blow away the cobwebs and of course, to explore the rugged moorland scenery. A good, hearty splash in the mud and the country air was enjoyed by all (except for the equestrian centre owner, but that’s another story…) and revved up our appetites for the much-anticipated SHWI Sunday lunch. It was a veritable feast, cooked with panache by Grace, Kirsty and Zoe, after being prepared by Laura, SHWI’s own Delia Smith (or should that be Monica Galetti?). The rest of the day was devoted to a relaxation-fest, comprising of chocolate, liqueur coffees, reality TV and board games (which my team won – naturally).

And then – Monday. It was a blue Monday for all as we reluctantly packed and set about tidying away our visit at Currer Laithe. We were no sooner in our cars than we had begun reminiscing about the amazing time we had all had that weekend. And it truly was a fabulous weekend from start to finish. I know I speak on behalf of all of the attendees when I say a massive THANK YOU to Getaway organisers Ruth and Grace. You truly made a lot of ladies very happy and planned a weekend of epic, nay, legendary proportions!

P.S. Notice how I said it was the ‘inaugural’ Getaway in the opening sentence? Well that’s because within hours of returning from the Getaway some of us were already planning the next one! Watch this space for more details over the coming months…

Anna Pilson

SHWI Committee