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

SHWI in a flap

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kirsty Bowen

SHWI Committee

Seven Hills WI presents...

You will have probably heard us talking about our amazing 2014 charity calendar, raising money for the Parents' Association of Children with Tumours and Leukaemia, and we are pleased to report it's shaping up nicely! 

We are in the final stages of putting it together now and shot the front cover picture this week with a little help from the lovely people at O2 Academy Sheffield! It was a proud moment for us seeing our name up there and it'll be a fantastic way to start our Sheffield landmarks calendar.

Ian Delaney, Assistant General Manager at O2 Academy Sheffield, said: "We were more than happy to help out Seven Hills WI with a photo for their calendar which is raising money for a great local charity. It features lots of the city's famous landmarks and with its rich history, our building is definitely one of them."

We've truly been overwhelmed by the support we've had from both our calendar sponsors and those local venues and organisations who have helped us get our brilliant photos. Our sponsors are Apollo Distribution, BAPP Group, Beer Central, Boudoir Hair, Dale Hirst Painter and Decorator, Exposed, Foster's Dental Practice and Sheffield Signcraft. 

Our 2014 calendar will be available at our November and December WI meetings and also through the PACT shop at Sheffield Children's Hospital. You can also order it directly from us and we'll give more details about this soon. We are only having 150 copies of the calendar printed so if you want one, you'll need to get in there quickly!

We made over £1,000 from cake!

SHWI members with the lovely James Morton from GBBO

We raised an AMAZING £1,056 for the Parents’ Association of Children with Tumours and Leukaemia (PACT) at our cake stall at this year's Sheffield Food Festival.  

We ran a cake stall in the Winter Gardens which saw members bake a variety of treats including cupcakes, cookies, cakes and muffins, and the Best in Show competition held on Sunday. Winners were announced in three categories – Victoria Sponge, Jarred goods and Puddings – by James Morton from the Great British Bake Off. 

Lindsay Garfitt, President of Seven Hills WI, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have raised over £1,000 for PACT. I would like to say a massive thank you to all our members who baked or helped on the stall across the weekend and also a big thanks to everyone who visited our stall or entered our Best in Show competition, helping us raise so much for such a worthwhile charity.”

SHWI's Lindsay, Kim and Vicky at the stall

Robin Jeeps, Vice Chair of PACT, added: “This is a fabulous effort from the Seven Hills WI team and PACT is proud to have been chosen as their charity of the year. Every pound we spend helping children and families comes from public donations like this so we are very grateful.”

The Best in Show winners were as follows:
Victoria Sponge - Neil Askew 
Puddings - Sara Curtis
Jarred Goods - Clare Savage

Well done and thank you to everyone who entered!

SHWI sings

Members of Glee Bah Gum with some SHWI ladies

In the confines of my car, or indeed in the shower, it's been known for me to belt out a few tunes. Safe in the knowledge that no-one can contradict me, I think I sound awesome. In actuality, I'm pretty sure I sound like a poor man's Barry White. So it was with a certain amount of trepidation that I went along to our September meeting to embark on a public singing sesh with Sheffield's Glee Bah Gum.

Ready and armed with some spectacular Red Velvet Cake (to calm my nerves of course - practically medicinal), we sat down to a stonking performance of Journey's Don't Stop Believing. Next, the group's leader Lizzie talked to us about how Glee Bah Gum came about and she showed real passion, pride and commitment for what they've achieved in a short space of time.

When it was time for us to join in I was enthused by Lizzie's positive words of encouragement - she really put us at ease. So much so, I dared to give my vocal chords an airing, especially on what is arguably the greatest song ever written - 9-5 by Dolly Parton. Oh yes.

There are some stonking singers in SHWI and some got the chance to shine in a solo spot during Gary Barlow's Sing - a Glee Bah Gum favourite. The highlight for me though was the rendition of Jerusalem at the end (obvs), even though I stand no chance of ever being able to hit that damn high note.

Glee Bah Gum stepped in to help us out at the last minute when the group we'd originally booked went off the radar, but you'd never have known. So thank you!

Ruth

SHWI committee

(Photo by Laura Bainbridge)

WI do DIY

We did DIY (photo by Lorne Campbell)

So SHWI took the annual Summer break in July meaning that understandably our members were practically scratching at the doors of the Women’s Construction Centre in Burngreave eager to get back to some serious SHWI action. We dutifully turned up in our scruffs, builder’s mug in hand ready to roll up our sleeves and learn some fundamental DIY skills. 

Jen, Lindsay, Kim and Louise get tiling (photo by Lorne Campbell)

We got the business section of the meeting out of the way so we could up tools. This mainly involved us all getting rather excited about our involvement in the upcoming Sheffield Food Festival in the form of a classic WI Bake Stall and Best in Show competition and hearing the latest exciting instalment of the debate that rages on about the exact dimensions the shell box entry should be at The Autumn rally.

Kay the glamorous plumber and her troupe of talented tradeswomen had done a fantastic job of organising an informative and most definitely fun evening of learning the basics of some cleverly picked DIY disciplines. A lot of thought had clearly gone into which skills we would be most likely to use ourselves once we got back to our homes. There were taster sessions of painting and decorating where we looked at different paint effects – one of these being frottage which apparently has two meanings (the urban dictionary or Sarah Willoughby will fill you on the alternative meaning of the word should you be interested...). We also had a Q&A session. I’m not sure if this was necessarily part of the plan but we (ok, it was me) had a lot of questions on various projects at home.

Di and Anna learn about light fittings (photo by Lorne Campbell)

We learnt how to change a light fitting, which only highlighted to me how little I listened in my physics classes at school.

Kay demonstrated how to isolate and take a radiator off the wall for when you’re decorating. Pretty useful stuff I’m sure you’ll agree. Not as complicated as you may think.Well when you know how.
There was also a session on tile cutting as well as bricklaying. I for one was inspired, as only this weekend I have wangled a re-pointing masterclass with my neighbour to sort out my raised beds. WICAT we salute you for inspiring us to take on jobs that are traditionally seen as man’s work.

Oh and how I could forget the ever so tiny detail that photos from our meeting and quotes from our very own Lindsay featured in the Guardian the weekend after our meeting. All in a day's work at SHWI! Some of the photos taken can be seen in this post, big thanks to photographer Lorne Campbell for allowing us to use them.

WICAT offer some tremendous courses that are fantastic value for money. See www.wicat.org.uk for further details. We’ll be filling you in on what they can offer us at the next meeting. 


Anna Tebble
SHWI Committee Member

Let them eat cake! SHWI's stall at Sheffield Food Festival 2013

Hello!

Our Secretary Kim
at the 2012 Food Festival

As many of you will remember, we've held a stall at Sheffield Food Festival for the last two years and also run the Best in Show competition. We have made over £900 from our stalls and competition since 2011 and we want this year to be the best yet!

Like last year, we will be holding a traditional cake stall at this year's event in the Winter Gardens on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 September, from 10am until around 5pm (or until the cake runs out!) on both days. There will be a delightful assortment of cakes made by our wonderful members and a raffle on each day to win something special made by one of our star bakers!

Our Best in Show competition will also be running once again, this time with three categories - Victoria Sponge, Jarred goods (jams, chutneys, curds or pickles) and new for 2013 - puddings. It costs £1 per entry, and all proceeds, along with all proceeds from our cake stall, will be going to our nominated charity, the Parents' Association of Children with Tumours and Leukaemia (PACT), which provides a range of support services for families whose children have been diagnosed with cancer.

Cake!

An extra special treat for our Best in Show this year will be the person announcing the cake results...it's only James Morton from the Great British Bake Off (you know, the one with the cool jumpers). That's reason enough alone to enter!

We raised over £700 for charity last year - this was donated to Haven House - and we hope that with your help we can beat that total and raise even more this year!

So, how can you get involved? Everyone loves cake so come along to our stall in the Winter Gardens on 21 or 22 September (or both if you really love cake!). We'd also love it if you could enter our Best in Show competition, it's all done in the name of fun but there are a few rules which you can find below. 

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

Here's to a wonderfully successful Sheffield Food Festival 2013.

Seven Hills WI x

Seven Hills WI - Best in Show. Information Rules and Regulations

1. Competition Entry

Our stall last year

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

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

c. £1 per entry, payable on arrival with product – all entry money will be donated to the Parents' Association of Children with Tumours and Leukaemia - a registered charity that provides a range of support services for families who children have been diagnosed with cancer.

d. All entries must be bought to the Festival Kitchen, top of Fargate, City Centre on Sunday 22 September between 10.00am and 11.30am. Entries submitted after this time will not be entered.

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

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

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

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

b. Jarred Goods:
i. Pickle/Relish/Chutney: presented in a clear glass jar and judged on appearance, suitability, taste, texture and flavour
ii. Jam/preserves/curds: presented in a clear glass jar and judged on appearance, suitability, taste, texture and flavour

c. Pudding. This can be any pudding. A favourite from your childhood perhaps or a recent invention of your own that you just want to show off. Please bear in mind that all the puddings will be served and judged cold.

3. Judging

Anna and Lisa get judging in 2012

a. Judging will take place between 12noon and 2.30pm on Sunday 22 September.

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

c. The winners will be announced at 2.35pm on Sunday 22 September 2013 in the Festival Kitchen, top of Fargate, City Centre.

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

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

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

4. Collection
a. Packaging, boxes etc. may be collected by entrants between 3pm and 4pm on Sunday 22 September.
b. Any items not collected will be disposed of.

6. General

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

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

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

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