News
2024 at Longwell Green WI
Our meetings started off in January with a very interesting talk by Sarah Hemmings on both poetry, she read several of her own poems, and Oldland Common Library.
In February, Sandra Hill organised a brilliant games night, with Bingo, the Left/Right game and Scattergories. March saw us all being put through our paces by Philomena Connolly with a session of Armchair Zumba.
April was quickly upon us and we were given a fantastic talk and demonstration on flower arranging by Coral Gardener who then very kindly donated her displays for our raffle.
May was our Resolutions meeting where we overwhelmingly voted for ‘Dental Health Matters’.
In June Lottie Dale regaled us with hilarious memories of her time as a nurse, while in July Katie Bell gave us a very interesting talk about her time working at Bristol Hippodrome, with a really in-depth behind the scenes tour.
September saw us receiving a talk from an incredibly eloquent young lady, Zoe Lewis, on her time volunteering with the Girl Guides in Malaysia.
This year we reached an incredible milestone - Longwell Green WI is 70 years young! We celebrated with a meal followed by delicious cake made by Elisabeth. Every member received a beautiful coaster and the evening was rounded off with entertainment by Andy Tee.
Christmas saw us enjoying another lovely meal and entertainment by Tracey and John which brought the festive season to life.
Our Social Secretary has organised a programme of outings and members have been to Fonthill Garden Centre for a demonstration and Windsor for a boat trip & lunch.
August saw us enjoying our Summer Event – an afternoon of garden games, strawberries and fizz. 52 members attended plus 9 visitors and 7 children.
Our four Book Clubs meet regularly and our three walking groups appeal to members with different walking abilities and take place on different days of the week to allow as many as possible to take part.
Once again the Knitting Group has excelled themselves, with a Post Box Topper for Easter and crochet/knitted stock for Bristol & Weston Hospital Trusts to sell in their shop.
We are once again offering a social suppers and I know that many members look forward to trying different restaurants throughout the year. We also continue to meet once a month for tea and chat in the Chapel Café.
2023 at Longwell Green WI
Our meetings started off in January with a very competitive quiz, which was enjoyed by all, followed by a surprise visit from Tony Rance, who spent some time talking about how our donations to the Christmas Tree Appeal have made such a difference to so many lives. He presented us with a beautiful cake for social time.
In February and March we heard two very interesting talks. One from Megan Watts of the Bristol and Western Hospital Charity on the work done by the charity and Fiona Edwards on ‘working with glass’ and we were shown some brilliant examples of our members’ own work.
April was quickly upon us and we were regaled by amazing stories from Dorothy Cook on ‘being a midwife’. May saw us holding our Resolutions meeting where we overwhelmingly voted for ‘Clean Rivers for people and wildlife’. This was followed by a brilliant evening with Choir Master Beth Morgan from The Great Day Choir. We started with singing exercises which caused a lot of laughter and then she taught us some well-known songs with harmonies. A very lively and uplifting evening was enjoyed by all.
In June Storm Force 10 gave us a rousing rendition of sea shanties, including lots of audience participation while in July Susan Symons gave us the 3rd of her very interesting and informative talks on Queen Victoria, this time focusing on ‘Victoria’s Daughters’.
September had an evening of poetry by Sarah Hemings. Then we held another, extremely competitive, quiz night.
We have again been entertained at our Birthday Party by Andy Tee and Francesca from Double Trouble (unfortunately her mum was unwell so maybe we should call it Single Trouble?) brought the festive season to life at our Christmas Party. Our Social Secretary organised a programme of outings and members have been to Fonthill Garden Centre for a demonstration, Malvern Spring Show, a tour of the RNLI Training Depot, a tour of Warwick Castle and a Dinner & Disco at Saltford Golf Club to name but a few.
August saw us enjoying our Summer Event – an afternoon of garden games, picnic food and fizz. 39 members attended plus 9 visitors and 7 children. Thankfully the weather was kind to us and everyone had a wonderful time.
Our Royal Chase Group Meeting was great fun when it took the form of a Hoe Down with a live band and caller.
2022 at Longwell Green WI
Fun and games in January started the year followed by a Toastmaster's amusing stories about members of the Royal Family and celebrities he encountered. We were let down by a couple of speakers but being resourceful WI women two members stepped up to the plate and we enjoyed Tai Chi and a Quiz Night instead. A visit to the Kingswood Heritage Museum brought back memories of bygone days and we learned about the hard work to create Downend in Bloom and women wood turners who are adept at making beautiful objects rather than just spindles, chairs and door knobs. History featured with a talk about Victoria, the Widowed Queen, and we were given colour and shopping advice by a personal stylist. We have enjoyed our Birthday and Christmas parties with a meal and entertainment by singers.
Our outings included a trip to a nursery for a hanging basket demonstration, Chavenage House of Poldark fame, Windsor with a boat trip to Runnymede, a train ride in the Brecon Beacons and Waddesdon Manor ready for Christmas. Social suppers, and a 60s/70s band-led Shindig with other WI group members also featured. We continue to meet for Tea and Chat in a local cafe and a Cream Tea on a sunny day in August was great fun. The three walking groups, to suit different abilities, skittles and book clubs met regularly.
The Knitting Club rose to the challenge to decorate Longwell Green for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee with a display of bunting and a post box topper, complete with a crown and corgis. Sadly, the post box topper was re-used, this time with just the crown to mark the passing of the Queen. Poppies adorned The Centre in November and we weren commissioned to produce a Christmas display. Two successful Craft Days were held when members were able to try their hand at several crafts which included stone painting, card making, wreath making, tile decorating, making Japanese Cherry Blossom branches, sugarcraft and Christmas decorations.
We continued to support the Christmas Tree Appeal with donations for women and children in refuges. Two members made bags for sale which resulted in a £100 donation to our local St Peter's Hospice and £90 to our local Project Linus Group to make comfort quilts and blankets for sick and vulnerable children. The RNLI benefitted from all the used postage stamps we collected.
Our membership is growing and we look forward to seeing existing and new members throughout 2023.
Longwell Green WI thriving into 2021
We started 2021 with optimism and a determination to keep enjoying our WI membership. As the months went by our Speaker organiser was able to find speakers who use Zoom. Our Tea n Chat and Wine & Nibbles sessions continue to be popular and more and more members are joining in with the monthly meetings and the fun and games via Zoom - quizzes, handbag bingo and scattergories to name just a few. As well as monthly meeting records members have been sent quizzes, word searches, a green heart knitted by the Knitting Club members and an Easter card, They have exchanged books and jigsaw puzzles and are currently swapping plants. Fingers crossed for a summer social event as well as a full monthly meeting programme for the rest of the year.
2020 was quite a year
Longwell Green WI Committee has worked hard to find innovative ways to keep members connected. We have been sending out emails, posting and hand delivering letters and local information guides, and learning to use Zoom, WhatsApp and other social media. We set up weekly 'Tea n Chat' sessions on Wednesday mornings and monthly Wine & Nibbles evenings on the first Friday of the month via Zoom. One of our members gave one-to-one tuition to Zoom newbies and we are pleased that eventually half our members were able to join in. Separate WhatsApp groups were set up for all members, our Committee, our Book, Knitting and Craft Clubs and for our Walking Groups. Members without email were kept informed by committee members keeping in touch by phone and by letter.
Members were sent a Christmas card containing a packet of wild flower seeds to encourage us to look forward to brighter times in 2021.
2019 saw Longwell Green WI reach 65!
On Friday 26 April 2019 Longwell Green WI celebrated its 65th Birthday when we were served a buffet meal followed by members joining in enthusiastically with the singing of and dancing to familiar songs from the sixties and seventies led by Rocking Gerry.
Longwell Green WI ready to 'Show the Love' on 
14 February 2017
Thanks to our Craft Club we were ready to 'Show the Love' on 14 February 2017 in support of the Climate Change Coalition's campaign to raise awareness of climate change. At the January meeting all members were given a hand-crafted green heart.
Her Majesty The Queen's 90th Birthday Commemoration 2016
Longwell Green WI's 60th Anniversary year 2014
Longwell Green WI has had an exciting year. We have been entertained with Banjos, treated to sights from Africa, been amused by a 'Weakest Link' contestant's stories, heard about the work of Avon Riding for the Disabled, and seen a colourful array of real pearls. We attempted the art of origami, sang along to songs from the musicals, and 
discovered marine life around our shores.
Members have been on outings, pub and family and friends walks, played skittles, enjoyed meals and read books together, spent a day at Denman College, made jewellery and attended an IT workshop.
In the summer we held a Cream Tea and 60th Anniversary Exhibition and the year ended at our Annual Meeting when our drama group entertained us and we shared the Anniversary Cake made by our President and decorated by our Secretary.
Longwell Green WI's 60th Birthday
The formation meeting of Longwell Green WI was held on 2nd April 1954 with 54 people present. The first official meeting was held on 23rd April 1954 when a further 15 members were enrolled and the first President to be elected was Mrs Ivens.
On Friday 25th April 70 members attended a celebration Anniversary Party. Our longest standing member, Mrs Pam King who had joined in 1955, was with us. We had a three course meal with coffee and mints and each member and guest was presented with a commemorative bookmark.
Members were able to see if they had won one of the raffle prizes which had been generously donated. We then enjoyed entertainment from Will Grealish who sang songs from the 1950s to the present day. The fittest of the members got up to dance and those who knew the words of the songs joined in. A wonderful celebration!
Family and Friends Walking Weekend 7th-9th March 2014
This year's walk was around Weymouth. After spending the afternoon exploring the beach and town we had a superb dinner followed by games and 'Pass the Parcel' in the lounge with thanks to Joan and Mick - what fun when someone else had to perform the forfeit!
On Saturday we climbed to the top of the ridge above Abbotsbury where we were presented with a 360o view of Dorset and the coast in the hazy sunshine. The next part of the walk was level and straight and we stopped for light refreshment by one of the many Queen's Jubilee beacons. We passed a trigpoint on our way to an Iron Age Fort and then dropped down to cross the Weymouth to Bridport road.
We encountered some boggy ground but managed to bypass it before heading down to the midpoint of Chesil beach. The pebbles change from fist size near Portland to pea size at West Bay. We stopped for lunch in glorious sunshine before heading east along the stoney beach track back to Abbotsbury.
We had another evening of fun and games before a good night's sleep and awoke on Sunday with time to pack before a stroll along the sea front and round the harbour in beautiful sunshine. We had lunch in the Nothe Arms, then headed up to Nothe Fort for a leisurely walk around the gardens before setting off for home. Another enjoyable weekend.