Activities and Forthcoming Events

  Each committee has separate aims and events, communicating with every member via a monthly newsletter known as News and Views. While each WI has extra meetings amongst its own members, the county is responsible for organising larger events that might otherwise be difficult for smaller groups to arrange or finance.

A Selection of events to look forward to

MALAYSIAN DAY 25 November

CHRISTMAS SONGS 7 December

*CHRISTMAS TINGLE Tuesday 8 December at The Corn Exchange, Witney - spectacular seasonal flower demonstrations by NAFAS demonstrator, Andrew Lloyd.

PIG DAY 29 January 2010

DAY OF DANCE 15 February

COME TO ITALY 23 February

See newsletter for more details.

  Most events are by ticket only. Members can obtain these through their own WI. Occasionally, events are open to the public (marked *) giving non-members the chance to see a small part of what we do and join in with our activities. Non-members are advised to check with the office (01869 331081) prior to attending these open events.

Please visit our site again for regular updates.

Activities within the OFWI

Rural Affairs Committee

The newly-formed Rural Affairs committee has taken over some of the interests of the Environment and Agriculture Committee - we are concerned with the state of agriculture and food security, the well-being of our farming community, as well as farmers world wide. Our current resolution SOS for Honey Bees is of great interest to us, and we will keep you up-to-date with any developments.

As villagers, we are also concerned with problems which particularly face those of us who live within the rural communities - transport, lack of affordable housing, closure of village pubs and shops, lack of broadband connection - issues which do not impact upon urban dwellers, or indeed, upon those members of rural communities who do not really 'live' within their villages, with working and social lives outside their communities.

We are still short of committee members, however, and this will impact on the events we are able to undertake. If you would like to attend a committee meeting, please come along and see if we suit you!

Events Each year we organise a selection of day trips to places of interest for our members and their friends. In 2009 we have been to Petworth House & Chichester, revisited the Tresham Trail and celebrated our 90th anniversary with a private visit to Hatfield House, pictured here. In July there is a Blue Badge Guide tour of Hidden London which includes an afternoon narrowboat trip down the Regents Canal. In September we are off to Bristol which provides a wide selection of things to do from ships to shopping with a large slice of culture in between. At the beginning of December we are rounding off the year with a trip to Winchester Cathedral Christmas Market to hopefully brighten up a winter's day and help you with your Christmas shopping.   We are always looking for new ideas and welcome any suggestions to help us provide varied and enjoyable days out together.

Combined Arts From poetry to painting, theatre tips to music appreciation talks, this Committee covers all aspects of the Arts. The Committee members are pictured here in Oxford Town hall with Christine Whild at the piano.

Foreign Affairs organises events which highlight specific countries and their culture and education. This year we've already held a Japanese Day and a Thanksgiving event. The work of ACWW, see Links, is included in the brief of this Committee. The aim is to help women and their families in the developing world. Each year OFWI choose an overseas project to sponsor and this year we have successfully funded sanitation in early childhood centres in Sri lanka. The pictures show a teacher and a social worker at one of LMS's early childhood centres and two toilets at one of the centres.

  

Purchase and Retail.   The committee is responsible for offering an ever-increasing range of cards, fancy goods, some kitchenware and tea towels.   Our full range of goods is available at all of our large meetings and functions throughout the year and a reduced selection at many of our other events. Individual WIs are encouraged to collect a box of goods from our office to sell on our behalf at their meetings.   As most other committees we serve a dual purpose, to offer something fresh and innovative for members at an attractive price whilst raising funds to boost the operating income of our Federation.

Our newest item is this OFWI bag. This reusable bag adorned with the OFWI logo, is only £2 and very sought after providing a practical alternative to supermarket plastic bags.   One of our most popular sales items is the OFWI calendar. This useful appointment calendar with tear-off postcards is very favourably priced and can be obtained from the OFWI office on 01869 331081. The 2010 calendar, featuring Sunrises and Sunsets across Oxfordshire, is pictured on the left.

400+ CLUB

  The Club exists for WI members, WIs and Country market shareholders and now has over 400 subscribers. Half of the funds raised are given back in prizes and the rest is given as a donation to the Federation. It costs £10 per year to join and the year starts in January with a draw every month and bumper ones at the Annual meetings of both the Club and the Federation. Contact the Federation Office to 'join the Club'.

Home and Garden tries to encourage high standards in home-craft, horticulture, food production and presentation. The subjects covered include cookery, crafts, flower arranging, gardening and interior design. Workshops, exhibitions and demonstrations are arranged for members to watch and have a go. Competitions are organised county-wide to help further these aims.

  How sporty are you ! This committee aims to promote, and encourage OFWI members to take part in, various sport and leisure pursuits, whatever their age and abilities.
  It also encourages them to take matters of health and fitness seriously. Various tournaments and competitions are arranged throughout the year and include golf, skittles, table tennis, bowls, darts and scrabble. Any new suggestions are always welcome. Pictures here show members having a go at bowls, archery, flying and table tennis.

The Year Book Committee is responsible for the production of the Year Book, which is the "Who, Where, and When?" of Oxfordshire WIs, covering the Office, the Board of Trustees, Committees, Groups and individual WIs. The Year Book contains a list of speakers and demonstrators on a wide variety of subjects. The Year Book Committee arranges Speaker Selection days, when those wishing to be on the Speakers List are auditioned and the audience, comprising WI members, are asked for their comments on whether or not a new speaker should be included. A popular speaker in Oxfordshire is Chrissie Harper who speaks on Owls, their history, behaviour and conservation. Chrissie is shown here with one of her owls.