Tilehurst Triangle WI

Elvis came to rock and roll in December for our last WI meeting of 2022! It was just what we needed and we sang and danced all evening ending with Christmas songs.

Our Burn’s Night, organised by member Linda Cole and her family, was just brilliant. In the morning, we had a vegetable peeling and chopping group consisting of willing WI members and some of their partners.

For the evening, dressed with a touch of tartan, we watched the haggis piped in and then enjoyed a 3 course Burn’s Night supper, followed by traditional toasts and addresses.

We then danced the evening away to the Craigievar Ceilidh Band with great hilarity following the caller’s instructions.

As well as a very enjoyable event, we raised £585 at Burns Night towards our charity of the year, My Cancer My Choices.

Since the new year, we have had some speakers on various topics and with the talk on Victorian Railways particularly interesting. It is surprising how much we just take for granted – for instance, the routes and stations we have is the result of Victorian entrepreneurs keen to make the most profit for the railway companies they owned.

In March we held our Annual Meeting and, for the first time since our WI was formed in 2013, we held an election for a new committee as we had more nominations than places.

What a great membership we have that so many are ready and willing to support.

The Berkshire Federation Chair, Annette Dolphin and a WI Advisor attended and told us a little about how the 3 layers National, County and WI branch work together.

We then presented a cheque for £1,106.20

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(Continued from page 23) to the co-founder, Mandy Baxter of the charity My Cancer My Choices.

The charity offers complimentary therapies from specialist therapists to people in Berkshire with cancer. As a cancer patient herself, Mandy had found the disease itself was treated but with little holistic support.

Diagnosis and treatment can lead to anxiety, uncertainty and isolation. She explained how therapies such as reflexology, acupuncture, massage and yoga can help people relax and help with their well-being.

Nominated by a WI member who had used the services of the charity, Mandy was delighted with our fundraising and said it will provide 100 complimentary treatments to Berkshire cancer patients.

Wishing everyone at St Catherine’s a Happy Easter.

Ros Somerville, Tilehurst Triangle WI tilehursttrianglewi@berkshirewi.co.uk