Tree Planting

 Poringland WI Norfolk is ahead of the game in tree planting.

An old Chinese proverb says that the best time to plant a tree is 30years ago, and the second best time is today.  Over 30 years ago, the year of ‘the great storm’ was a mast year, when every oak tree shed thousands of acorns.  On my walks around Poringland I collected many acorns and gave every WI member one or more to grow.  The resulting saplings were taken to High Ash farm (a local conservation area) and were planted in their hedges and woodland.

Autumn 2020 was again a mast year and once again I collected a bag full of acorns.  During lockdown, we had been keeping members in touch in various ways, and at Christmas everyone received a goody bag.  Along with such items as a greetings card, Centenary pen and mini Christmas cake etc, was another acorn.  All the little saplings were returned at our Annual Meeting in November.  This time, 20 were donated to High Ash farm, where they will form part of a regenerative area, where most of the trees have sprouted naturally.  A further 20, plus a few hazel saplings that the squirrels had planted in my garden, will go to our local tree warden.  These will form part of a native hedge and small woodland area to be planted on our newly designated Community land.

A batch of little oaks awaiting collection.

Joan Fountainm, President, and Lesley Sanders, Secretary handing over some of the little oak trees to Daniel Skinner at High Ash farm.

December Newsletter 2021

 Poringland WI Newsletter December 2021

We wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a Healthy New Year.

Our November Walk.

5 members and 2 husbands enjoyed a pleasant stroll around Whitlingham Broad on 16 November when the weather was again kind to us.  We were joined for lunch at the White Horse in Trowse by Hilary, whose birthday it was, and Pam Cooper, for whom it was her first outing since she came down with Covid.  We were pleased to see her, but sorry that she was still not fully fit.  We hope you are feeling better this month, Pam.

<><><><><><><><>

Local events:

Our next morning walk and lunch will be Tuesday 16 January.  Details in the January Newsletter.

Next Singalong session at Pam Lack’s is postponed to January

The next Tea/coffee pm is on Wednesday 26th January 2pm at the Octagon Barn on the Norwich road opposite the Barracks!  

If you are interested in any of our other regular events – Gym, Darts, 10 Pin Bowling, singing etc, please ask a committee member for more information.  We will hopefully be arranging Scrabble sessions in the new year.

<><><><><><><><>

CRAFT WORKSHOP

Pottery painting morning at the Octagon Barn.  9 members enjoyed this session, producing an interesting variety of pots! 

At the Annual Meeting in November, there were rather a lot of members absent for one reason or another.  As 3 members of the committee were retiring that leaves only 5 members to run the WI.  Thank you to those of you who have volunteered to continue helping with various duties, we could not run meetings so efficiently without you.  We have now co-opted Rosemary Wain onto the committee and she will take over as visitor and speaker hostess as required.  The other duties are as follows:  President Joan Fountain, Treasurer Hilary Lark, with help from Gail and Zelia if required.  Secretary is again Lesley, with the help of Maureen as Minute Secretary and Zelia as Programme Secretary.  Gail agreed to continue as points Secretary and Zelia to run the raffle.

There are still a few other duties that we would like help with, please speak to a committee member if you feel you could take on any of these:

Publicity Officer, this involves writing a short monthly report of the meeting for the Contact Magazine and for the 5Plus quarterly mag.  

Outings Secretary to arrange one or two visits during the year.

Posters.  To put a small notice on the board by the bus stop and in the Community Centre each month advertising the monthly meeting.  I could provide the poster if you are unable to do the printing

<><><><><><><><>

January Meeting, the speaker will be Sue Sursham on her visit to Vuanatu.  Tea hostesses Linda Daniels and Pam Cooper.

Competition – make something relating to Capricorn – the Goat.  It could be knitted/crocheted/sewn/painted etc or a photograph taken by you.

<><><><><><>

Birthdays for December:  Happy Birthday to 

Gail, Pam Lack, Ann Webster, and new member Marietta 

<><><><><><><><>

Community Cinema show:

Friday 10 December “Last Bus” with Timothy Spall.

£5 inc tea/coffee, doors open 6.45pm, please wear a mask until seated.

Federation Events all in WI House on All Saints Green unless otherwise stated.

Lots to choose from!

Fun Foliage and Flowers Friday 19 November New Buckenham Village Hall was enjoyed by 4 of our members. Who each made a holly wreath under the guidance of Simon Wright of Beales Roses.  After lunch, they sat back for a Flower demonstration using only supermarket bought flowers.  My bunches of flowers never looked like that!

Nosh and Natters –  New year menus are on the board.  Book early as we are only allowing reduced numbers at the moment

Jigsaw Races – Fri 18 Feb and Mon 7 March lunch served at 12.15. £8 pp

Water  Colour Painting workshop – 10 March £25.

Mah Jong Taster Day Tues 15 March 10.30 -3pm.  Bring your own lunch £12

Bridge Day with lunch Wed 16 March 10.30 -3pm £15

Auditions Day Tues 29 March.  10- 3.30pm.  Chance to see 5 new speakers.  £7.50 or £13 including lunch.

Federation Annual Meeting 21 March at the Theatre Royal , guest speaker Lucy Stevens on the life and music of Kathleen Ferrier.  We need a delegate who will have a free ticket, but is required to report on the meeting.  Visitor tickets £11.  Lunch available.  See Hilary if you are interested in attending.

Osteoporosis screening – new date 7 April 2022.

Calico Garden Workshop 12April and 31 May.  £25.  Everything provided.

<><><><><><><><><>

Thank you to everyone who grew a little Oak tree.  Joan and I took half of them down to High Ash Farm last week and Chris Skinner has already planted most of them.  He did take one into the Radio Norfolk Studio to show Matthew Gudgen on Sunday morning and we got a mention and a thank you.  The other half plus a few Hazels that the Squirrels planted will go to our tree warden for planting on the new Community Land which is across the Ridings from the Community Centre.		Daniel Skinner taking possession of the trees.
	This is one of the little trees happily settled into its new home.  We would like to keep an eye on them – so here is the location - walk down the hill towards Caistor village from the car park on the corner at the end of Chandler road.  The trees are planted at the far end of the area where lots of new young trees are growing. See the green man!

The Bolder Generation.

Granny is up to her geria-tricks

Down at the disco she swings with the chicks

She won’t have a dotage but acting the goatage

And does cooky things just for kicks.

Hanging around with unsuitable mates,

One of the girl-gang of old reprobates;

Who meet at the Crown for a night on the town

While dolled up and hoping for dates.

Why can’t she sew dainty lavender bags,

Knit fluffy jumpers and give up the fags

Attempt to be couth, reminisce of her youth,

And not tell embarassing gags?

Poem by a past member Pru Sheldon.

I have several booklets of her poems if anyone would like to read them.

Christmas Quiz

1 Who sang ‘All I want for Christmas is a Beatle’? 2 According to the carol. Who followed Good King Wenceslas? 3 How many reindeers did Santa have? Can you name them? 4 In Love Actually who sang ‘Christmas is all around’? 5 Which film originally featured the song ‘White Christmas? 6 Who was the lead actor in Wonderful Life?

7  Can you name all 7 of Snow White’s dwarves? 8. Who sang ‘Happy Christmas, War is over’? 9 In the song who did I see Kissing Santa Claus? 10 According to the Carol what must Christian Children be? 11 What gift was given on the 7th day of Christmas? 12 And at the end of the 12 days how many gifts were given in total?

Poringland Newsletter September 2021

 

Dear all Thank you all for coming to Dunston Hall on August 18th to celebrate Poringland’s 100+ birthday, I do hope you all enjoyed yourself as much as I did.  Lovely to see some members dancing to the excellent Jazz Quartet Lesley had arranged.  This will be my last newsletter I write, if Covid does not change our plans we will be going to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on September 10th for one month to visit our son, this will be a magical experience as we will be meeting our new daughter-in-law Aichurok in person and 6 month old granddaughter Olivia. After much consideration I have decided to step down from the committee.

I Sincerely thank every member for your help and support that has always been available to me when required and I will step down with lots of lovely memories.  I became President in 2010 with one year off in 2013 and I feel I have been privileged to stay this long, but the time has come for someone with new ideas to take you all forward.  Please consider going on to the Committee, more members on it would be great and new ideas and help would be gratefully appreciated and after 15 years on the committee I can prove it can be a very worthwhile experience

September’s meeting.

At last we are all be able to be back together again in the community centre.  With a talk from our old friend Cindy Brookes and after the talk Cindy will pass a multiple choice answer sheet to everyone to see how many points we would have scored if we had applied to become a British Citizens.

Once again many thanks for all your support and kindness and everyone’s eagerness to help out whenever I have asked for it.

Take care and I will see everyone at the AGM in November.

Pam.

<><><><><><><> 

What we did in August (apart from our celebrations)

We held darts evenings and 10pin bowling sessions, and on11th August, members met under the tree at the front of the Community Centre.  It was one of the warmer days so we just had a relaxing time instead of walking.  We also had our monthly tea afternoon when 10 members had another good old natter over a cuppa in the Royal Oak.

Local Forthcoming events

·         Darts evenings at the Oak 7.30pm first and third Tuesdays, next meeting 21 September, all welcome.

·         Gym restarts on Thursday afternoon 9 September at Chandler road new members welcome.

·         Tuesday 21st September walk and lunch – meet at 11am at Aldiss Farm shop, Bergate Lane.  Names to Lesley please

·         Singalong session Thursday morning 16 September  10.30am at the home of Pam Lack Hillcrest on the Bungay road.  Please let Pam or Lesley know if you would like to attend.

·         Next tea/coffee afternoon at the Oak, Wednesday 29 September 2pm.

Macmillan Coffee Event.  Friday 24^th September in the Poringland Oak from 12noon. Contribution of cake, scones savouries etc welcomed. Contact Zelia on01508 550488 or 07955 834106.

Birthdays for September

Happy Birthday to Veronica and Me!

Jumble Sale – Saturday 23rd October 10 -12am. Please bring all your clear out items, clothes, bricabrac, books  tombola etc.  Please sign up on the board to help on the day and bring any tombola items to the October meeting.

Federation Events

·         Calendar and Diary orders, please let Hilary know if you would like either at September meeting. National Diaries £5.50, Calendar £5.

·         500 Club entries to be in by 31 October.  £5 per share to be entered into Monthly prize draw.

·         Another Jigsaw race Monday 12 November 12 -3.30.  £8pp, includes lunch of a simple hot meal and dessert, served at 12.15pm.  Single entries  up to teams of 4.

·         Resolution Meeting Tuesday 23 November Mattishall Village Hall.  10am -12.30 £6.  Discussion of shortlisted resolutions to go to Annual General Meeting in Liverpool on 11June 2022

·         Nosh and Natter – now booking lunches for 6 November £12 (Burgundy Chicken followed by sticky toffee pud, and 3 December £15 (full Christmas dinner). - Numbers restricted so we may have to ballot.

For further information check noticeboard, speak to Lesley or email Helen at the office on admin@norfolkwi.org.uk

Our own ‘Jazz Band’ playing at our Centenary+1  Celebrations.

During lockdowns, I have been reading the old WI minute books, refurbishing where pages had been stuck in with sellotape, and typing them up.  I found that in the early days they often held social evenings with music by the ‘Howe Jazz Band’.  I chose a jazz band to entertain us at our centenary in memory of those early days.  They even played some of the tunes that were on the programme all those years ago. You will probably be relieved that I didn’t ask you to do a party piece or play musical chairs or other silly games, which were also part of the proceedings in the 1920s.

 

Last month we visited the Harnser wood at Elsing, where a new plaque was installed, for a belated 20^th Anniversary rededication.  Mr Doubleday, a local arborealist is forming a ‘friends of the wood’ and he gave us a talk about trees and how a wood needs to be maintained rather than just left to its own devices.  He gave this quotation:

‘Those who planteth trees are servants of God.

They provide a kindness for many generations and faces that they have not seen shall Bless them.

With that in mind, please bring any little oak trees that you have grown to the next meeting so that we can measure the tallest, and I will arrange to take some to High Ash Farm and some to our Tree warden for planting.

Rhyme Time quiz.  Answers – simple eh?

1a           what an elephant has.         Trunk 1b           Sailors sleep on one.            Bunk 2a           A Salmon                               A Fish 2b           A Bowl                                  A Dish 3a           A ruler                                A King 3b           A Gold band                       A Ring 4a           The head of a City Council Mayor 4b           A strata of rock.                   Layer 5a           a digit                                 Finger 5b           to hang around                Linger 6a           Part of the hands            Palms 6b           a book of the Bible         Psalms

7a           Hole in rock                 Cave 7b           Rescue                          Save 8a           Elizabeth 1 was ?        a Virgin 8b           A fish                            Sturgeon 9a           Classical composer     Schumann 9b           We are all                     Human 10a         a nomad                       Rover 10b         an English Port            Dover 11a         Fat school boy           Billy Bunter 11b         Prowling lion               Fierce Hunter 12a         Hot weather cooler     electric Fan 12b         Comic book character  Desperate Dan

  

We will be holding a                                                  

                                                      JUMBLE SALE 

                      Saturday 23 October 2021 10 - 12 noon,

                             Poringland Community Centre

                  Books, clothes, bric a brac, tombola, raffle etc 

Come along and you could pick up a bargain like she did!

Centenary Celebrations

 

Poringland WI Celebrate.

Poringland WI members celebrated Centenary plus 1 in style with lunch at Dunston Hall.  This was our first full gathering for 18 months and 39 members and invited guests were welcomed with a glass of wine or soft drink on the terrace before sitting down to lunch in the bunting bedecked La Fontaine room.  There was a lot of catching up, with chatter and happy smiling faces.   We were especially pleased to welcome Margaret Collingwood ,

not only was it her birthday (yes we did sing) but her own WI garden party, in her garden!  After lunch members watched a photo montage of WI events from the past before being entertained by the Black Cats Saxophone Quartet. 

The group got all our feet tapping, and a few members dancing, to tunes from Ragtime to the Beatles.  There was much light hearted repartee and a singalong session caused some hilarity.  Hiring the group was inspired by the early days of Our WI, when they would be regularly entertained by a local jazz band at social events:

In 1924, ‘A Social and Dance took place in the Parish Hall in aid of the Local Funds – and a very pleasant evening was spent thanks to the Jazz Band and other performers.  Clare and Margaret spent the morning in beautifying the Room with flags borrowed from Rev H Smelt of Brooke.’ In 2021, Pam and Lesley spent the evening before decorating the room with Centenary bunting made by the members.

1924, ‘Mrs Page very kindly gave the Doll for Competition.  Mrs Mitchell the sweets, Mrs Burgess the Cake – all the members contributing to the refreshments an ample amount being forth coming’.  Expenses came to the grand sum of £1/18/6 which included hire of the hall, prizes, lemonade and sweets.  

This year, Pam kindly donated the cake made by Nina, I donated compensation from Denman to pay for the band, and Dunston hall kindly allowed us the use of the room free of charge.  The cost of the event was rather more than £2, but a good time was certainly had by all.

 

 

 

August Newsletter

 

Poringland Newsletter August 2021

 

Hi everyone, In July our walk took us around Bergh Apton from the church through woodland and over what was once a landfill area but is now a pleasant open space and what we don’t always get, a seat at the farthest point with a view back to the church and across the valley towards Brooke.  Once again we were lucky with the weather as the heavy rain held off until we were safely in Green pastures for lunch Posers by the dancing men sculpture, relic of one of the Bergh Apton Sculpture Trails.

Dear All
It’s PARTY TIME. Get out your best bib a tucker (whatever that is)and don a bit of bling, it’s a long time since we have had the opportunity to dress up, so I hope you will all go for it and put on a good show.

Just a reminder of the agenda for Dunston Hall lunch on August 18th.

Arrive at 12:30 for 1pm lunch, welcome drink and pick up your place card, to select your table

The room is booked until 6:30pm and we are hoping to have live music, so we do hope you will be enjoying yourselves so much you will be able to stay.  If the weather is kind you can sit outside, or take a stroll around the gardens.

Hopefully you all have lifts as I have only made arrangements for 2 people to be picked up.

All that is left to do now are last minute WI decorations to be delivered and last minute arrangements and trust that everything goes fine on the day, menu’s have been checked 4 times but I am still keeping my fingers crossed you all get the correct food.

Carry on taking care so we can all be together to celebrate 100+ years.

See you all soon.

Pam.

And what other events are coming up?  For those of you who cannot make our Tuesday morning walks, we thought we would reinstate the Wednesday afternoon sessions once each month. 

Next date is Wednesday 2pm on 11 August outside the Community Centre, either to have a stroll around, or sit and chat, weather permitting, or if the cafe is open have a cuppa.

The next Tea/coffee pm is on Wednesday 25 August 2pm in the Oak or in the garden.

 Our next mornng walk will be Tuesday 14 September.  Venue in September Newsletter.

Next and first WI meeting will be on Wednesday 8 September 7.30pm when the speaker will be Cindy Brooks on her journey to British Citizenship.  Many of you will remember Cindy as Federation Secretary, and she was also a member of our WI for several years.

If like me you had a sort out during lockdown, I know the charity shops have been over whelmed by the amount of clear out items everyone has been trying to get rid of, but I hope you have saved some of your  items for our jumble sale which hopefully we will be able to hold on 22 October.

Birthdays for August

Happy Birthday to Ann Beckett Nina, Judith, Joan Porter

<><><><><><><><> 

Federation Events are getting started- its all systems go!  See Save the Date for full list

Nosh and Natters are restarting in August – first Friday of the month at HQ on All Saints Green.  Phone Helen on 01603 634580 for details/availability

Garden Get Together – Fairhaven Woodland and Water Gardens Tuesday 7 September

Bridge Day Wednesday 15 September, and Canasta Day Tuesday 26 October -  both in the office.

Jigsaw races in the Office Tuesday 14 Sept  5pm, Saturday 16 October 1.30pm,  Light supper/afternoon tea included.

Murder Mystery Evening Hempall Village Hall Friday 8 October 7.30pm £15.  Ploughman’s supper included.  Individual or group bookings.

Singles scrabble Afternoon at the office Friday 22 October 12.30 – 4pm £6.

Craft Day at Bacton –Saturday 23October 10am – 3pm, take a packed lunch. Craft workshops on Sashiko (embroidered notebook), Cards, Fabric Art, Sweet making.  £20.

For newer members, the Office is Evelyn Suffield House on All Saints Green (near to John Lewis)       Contact me for more information or application form if you areinterested in any of these.  Lesley

<><><><><<><><><><> 

Quotes from VanGogh –

Be clearly aware of the stars and infinity on high, then life seems almost enchanted after all.

For my part, I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream. 

I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night. 

We have nature, art and poetry, if that is not enough, what is enough?

Rhyme Time quiz. 

The Idea, but not the questions, pinched from Richard Osman’s House of Games.

It’s simple - The questions are in pairs, and the answers rhyme!

1a           what an elephant has. 1b           Sailors sleep on one. 2a           A Salmon 2b           A Bowl 3a           A ruler 3b           A Gold band. 4a           The head of a City Council 4b           A strata of rock. 5a           a digit 5b           to hang around 6a           Part of the hands 6b           a book of the Bible

7a           Hole in rock 7b           Rescue 8a           Elizabeth 1 was reputedly 8b           A fish 9a           Composer 9b           We are all 10a         a nomad 10b         an English Port 11a         Fat school boy 11b         Prowling lion 12a         Hot weather cooler 12b         Comic book character