Welcome to 2019!

After the joys of the Christmas Party, we all need to calm down, so this month we have a presentation from 

Diane Rodgers, Holistic Massage Therapist

on

Massage for Wellbeing.

She will speak on the benefits of massage for physical, mental and emotional health. She will also give a demo and tips on how we can share this with family and friends, and there will be an opportunity to practice together in the workshop. 

We will also be processing this year's membership forms and handing out membership cards, and finally, we will be thinking about this year's resolutions. Add in time to chat and catch up on news and it's going to be a busy meeting!

Membership: forms are available on-line. You can now pay this month's subscription by BACS in advance. If you pay online, please do so as soon as possible, so that Sally has time to process all the payments, and remember to put who you are on the payment. Whether you decide to pay by BACS, cheque or cash, please bring this year's membership form with you to the meeting.

Resolutions:
At the beginning of the meeting, members of the Committee will be giving very brief descriptions of each of the resolutions proposed this year. You will have a chance to discuss them during the evening and we will ask you to vote at the end. We will collate all the votes and send the totals to Avon for inclusion in the national figures. It's one member, one vote and all votes get counted individually (i.e. we don't just tell them which resolution got most votes from Clifton WI). 

The resolutions up for discussion this year are:
1. Improving Plant Biosecurity in the UK
2. Trees - Improving the Natural Landscape
3. Pelvic Floor Education
4. Suffering in Silence; why we need to end the taboo around menstrual health
5. A Call against the Decline in Local Bus Services
6. Don't Fear the Smear

Website:

We are hoping to migrate to a new website in the near future. Apologies that this blog is not currently well-maintained. We hope to do better soon!

Happy Christmas!!!!

Royal York Crescent Christmas Fair

We will have a stand at the Fair on 8th December, opposite 42 Royal York Crescent. Come along for some nice cakes and preserves and maybe even the odd craft item.

Our Christmas Party

Is at Nettle and Rye, 7.45 till it ends on December 12th, admission by ticket only (or if you haven't actually received your ticket, so long as we have had your payment, you'll be on the list!)

The Committee look forward to seeing many of our members at the Fair, the Party or the remaining group parties, but whether we see you or not, we are sending festive thoughts your way! 

Happy Christmas!

New website coming soon and next 6m programme

OUR WEB PRESENCE IS CHANGING. WE WILL SHORTLY HAVE A NEW WEBSITE FOR YOU TO ENJOY. IN THE MEANTIME, YOU CAN FIND LOTS ABOUT OUR CURRENT AND FUTURE ACTIVITIES ON FACEBOOK: CLIFTON W.I. OR ON INSTAGRAM.

Meanwhile, our next event is our Christmas Party on Wednesday 12th at Nettle and Rye in Clifton Village. After that, it looks like this:

January: Massage for Wellbeing

Diane Rogers, Holistic Massage Therapist

February: “My Somewhat Unusual Journey into Broadcasting”

Emma Britton, from BBC Radio, Bristol

March: Ladies Who Made Bristol

Jane Duffus, author

April:  Zentangle – a relaxing way to create beautiful images

Heather Lucie

May: Big Data and Artificial Intelligence

Heather Child, author

June: Antibiotics

Sue Easmon

July Walk and ‘refreshments’

Our popular annual walk lead by a member

Gromit Unleashed 2 - our July walk Weds 25th

Join us for a 'cracking time Gromit'!

July is the month when we head out and about from our usual base of Alma Church Hall. 

We gather for a walk somewhere in Clifton and finish at a local pub.

Patsy Rose kindly arranges the route for us each year.

On Weds 25th July we are going to see some of the statues which form the Gromit Unleashed exhibition for 2018.  Some of the statues are in Thornbury, Chipping Sodbury and Weston Super Mare so we are sticking to our locality!

We will be meeting by the Gromit statue in Royal Fort Lodge Gardens at 7.00pm, the postcode is BS8 1UH.

The gardens are part of the main Bristol University campus and if not familiar to you it might be worth going along a little earlier to see them and the mirror sculpture.

You will find Gromit on the path to the right at the entrance to the gardens on the corner of University Walk and Tyndall Avenue.

If you are not able to join us for the walk we will aim to finish at the Avon Gorge Hotel bar around 9.00pm and you would be welcome to find us there.

Alma Fayre 11th August 2018

Clifton WI will have a stall at this popular annual fayre once more.  We will be hoping to meet lots of people and answer any questions they might have about what the WI and in particular the Clifton group gets up to.

We will also be offering tempting treats to help raise funds so if any members can offer any help on the day or donations of baked goods, plants, crafts etc please do get in touch thecliftonwi@gmail.com

Dates for your diary

Party time

In August Clifton WI will be 10 years old and we will be celebrating.

Please come along to the June meeting, contact us at thecliftonwi@gmail.com for any queries or see your members monthly newsletter emails for further details.

We will supply :                               

Prosecco!

Pudding!

Decorations!                          

A Birthday cake 

Silly Games!                           

Music!

Lots of chances to chat!

We would like you to supply:         

Yourself in your favourite party outfit 

Finger food

A posy of flowers in a jam jar

2 photos of yourself one aged around 10 years and one now

old/damaged crockery                                                                    

We look forward to seeing you at Alma Church Hall on August 29th for our party

Alma Street Fair

This is on Saturday August 11^th and we are hoping to have a stand. Previously we have that this is a good way to introduce ourselves to people in Clifton as well as offering some goodies and raising funds for ourselves and our nominated good cause.

It is good fun but doesn't just happen by itself, so ......

We will need someone to coordinate it, lots of helpers and lots of goodies to sell. Previous stalls have gone really well so this should be a good opportunity for us to meet local women, recruit and earn a tiny bit of money.

If you would like to be involved in arranging this, helping us on the day or just to find out more please contact us at   thecliftonwi@gmail.com 

There are pictures of our previous stands at events around Clifton on our gallery http://cliftonwi.blogspot.com/p/gallery.html

The international theme continues at Clifton WI

Last month (May) we were sashaying around the hall to latin beats and rhythms for our introduction to Salsa.  It was fun but certainly some of us were 'out of puff' at the end.

This month (June) we will be learning about Japanese kites from Paul Chapman.

Bamboo Woodblocks and Washi

Paul Chapman, a member of the Koryu-dako traditional kite group of Nagoya, has travelled extensively in Japan to discover and experience the fascinating culture of the Japanese kite. He will talk about his experiences with a particular focus on the traditional kitemaking processes that involve the essential elements of bamboo and washi. 

He will bring a number of rare examples to show and discuss, most of which date back to the Edo and Meiji periods. These will include a kite-making woodblock and the preparatory drawings used in the making of blocks which were then used to print the traditional Kabuki Theatre images onto the washi and which are often seen in the fine ukiyo-e images of the Floating World.

Clothing from recycled materials

Our speaker at our March meeting is Linda Thomas who will explain how she uses recycled materials in the designs she makes.

Have a look at her website and this blog to see what she makes from her Bristol base.

NY Times

Resolutions
January 2018 is a time for resolutions and not just those related to eating well.  

WI resolutions should reflect the view of Clifton Members by the end of this month.
The shortlist of resolutions will need to be voted on at the January meeting on the 31st or by posting the voting slip in your copy of WI Life directly to the NFWI.

Here is the shortlist as a reminder:

1.         Positive body image in a digital age

This meeting urges every WI and the NFWI to campaign to ensure that government and the media industry promote healthy body images and ensure diversity is represented in the media.

2.        Stop female genital mutilation

Almost 200,000 women and girls in England and Wales are affected by or threatened with the risk of female genital mutilation (FGM). This figure rises to 200 million worldwide. FGM is illegal in the UK, but it is still happening. We urge the NFWI to use its collective voice and influence to raise wider awareness of the traumatic health consequences of FGM and support and partner with agencies that are working to end this practice in the UK and worldwide.

3.        Raising awareness of modern slavery in the UK

Modern slavery affects thousands of people in the UK every year, and leaves them facing servitude, forced or compulsory labour, sexual exploitation and human trafficking. This meeting calls on every WI and the NFWI to raise awareness of this important issue and to lobby for more effective support for the physical and psychological health of victims of this crime.

4.        Mental health matters

Mental health matters as much as physical health. The NFWI urges all WI members to recognise the importance of parity between mental health and physical health, and take action to make it as acceptable to talk about mental health issues as much as physical health issues, and to lobby government for better support for mental illness.

5.        Healthier Mouth, Healthier Body

Health research suggests that there is a link between gum health and serious illnesses such as heart disease, stroke and even dementia. The NFWI calls upon the government to raise awareness about the importance of oral health and the impact that it can have in preventing life changing acute and chronic health conditions.

Clifton WI have been asked to highlight these messages from good causes we have supported in 2017

The Marmalade Trust - 'challenging loneliness, one spoon at a time'

On Christmas Day local Bristol charity, Marmalade Trust, invites older people who are on their own to join them in restaurants in Bristol and South Glos for a free festive lunch. Every guest is made to feel very welcome and part of their own Marmalade family. 

They will be collected from their home by a Marmalade volunteer who will drive them safely to and from the restaurant, accompany them inside and introduce them to the other guests. The groups are kept small and everyone is very friendly.

Marmalade Trust want to highlight this opportunity whilst also seeking volunteers to assist on Christmas Day.  For further details: https://marmaladetrust.org/

SS Great Britain - Being Brunel

As you may be aware  a new national museum, Being Brunel, will be opening alongside the ss Great Britain at the end of March next year. 

 The new museum will be based in redeveloped, previously derelict, 20th century buildings on the water front including Brunel's original drawing office. Being Brunel has been designed to be interesting, engaging and fun. 

The SS Great Britain Trust needs around 80 volunteers to bring it alive, hence this message to Clifton WI members.  For further details:

http://www.ssgreatbritain.org/support-us/volunteer