In the 2023/24 subscription year FEWI introduced an educational bursary scheme to encourage our members to learn a new craft or skill and then share their knowledge with their WI.  One of the conditions of taking up the bursary is to write a report with photos which will be printed in Essex WI News.  There isn’t room for all the photos in the magazine so the full reports are shown below.

If you would like to know more about the bursary or would like to apply, please click link below for the information and form.

EDUCATIONAL BURSARIES 2025

RADWINTER – October 2025

As part of our response to the national Bystanders can be Lifesavers resolution, and with the support of an educational bursary from FEWI, Radwinter WI arranged a CPR and defibrillator training session for village residents this October. The session was open to all and free of charge. 24 people attended.

Living as we do more than half an hour from the nearest A&E, learning how to respond if someone suffers a cardiac arrest really is a matter of life and death. Studies show that a patient has a maximum of 14 minutes without assistance before they are beyond recall so it is vital for rural communities like ours to know what to do in an emergency. We are lucky enough to have a defibrillator in the village centre, located in the old telephone box, but not many WI members or other residents felt sure how to use it.

The trainer, Dot Parker, from Community Heartbeat Trust who provided our defibrillator, gave an animated and very practical presentation explaining clearly what to do from the moment you realise that something has happened to the arrival of the paramedics. Having shown us how to do CPR, there was then an opportunity for members of the audience to try it for themselves.

As Dot pointed out, if you do nothing the patient is dead. Following the session, we now have the knowledge and confidence to try to help.

PURLEIGH – September 2025

We used our FEWI bursary to give our members some First Aid training in support of the recent Bystanders can be Lifesavers Resolution.

LITTLE BADDOW – August 2025

Our members voted to use the FEWI Educational Bursary for a speaker. We were able to afford a speaker who was not normally in budget. The Speaker was Dr Aruna Merne, a retired Histopathologist Consultant with her talk “Rags to Riches”.

She started explaining how so much fabric and clothes go to landfill and the effect their production and then discard has on the environment. She regarded this waste textile as treasures being used to create things of beauty. During the powerpoint demonstration, she explained how each piece had been produced from inspiration gathered from her worldwide travels.

Her demonstration involved microscopic slides. She used some of the slides of heart and veins to create the most beautiful collages. One piece was of a dried drop of vodka on a slide, which was used for inspiration of a particular beautiful piece of work. No scrap of fabric was too small to be used.

Her final statement “Some people take pills to keep sane, I take 100% fabric”. Those of us at the meeting who do craft can certainly relate to this. It was an interesting and thought-provoking talk, and all agreed a splendid use of the bursary money that benefitted all our members and guests.  It was all so fascinating the we forgot to take any photos, but we hope to use some of the techniques in future craft workshops that we run at Little Baddow.

THE WIGS – April 2025

We received an educational grant which we used to fund a fantastic willow weaving workshop.  This allowed us to do something more expensive than usual for our members.  In April 2025 the hall was full as 52 members enjoyed learning to make a shaped willow wreath and then decorate it. 

A lovely and productive evening was had by all. Wendy from Terling WI and her associates did a great job of instructing and coaching us.  We all achieved lots of different shapes and looks.

MILE END – August 2025

In August we welcomed a local bookbinder to instruct our members in making small notebooks or memory keepsake books. 17 members turned up & had great fun making these items, materials for which were provided by the tutors. We spent most of our hall time making them.

FELSTED – May 2025

We were delighted to receive an Educational Bursary from FEWI for a crochet workshop to learn how to make a chunky shopper.   We applied for the bursary for various reasons – we enjoy crafts and learning new creative skills but also wanted to consider using crochet as a possible means of raising additional funds, such as making small items to sell, as we are a relatively small WI with 37 members and always need to fund raise to meet our outgoings.

The 3-hour workshop was organised for Saturday 10 May and was held in the Memorial Hall in Felsted. Half of the £100 bursary went towards the cost of the room hire and the remainder went towards the fee for the tutor.  The balance was funded by each attendee paying £19 which included all materials. 

On a bright, sunny morning seven of us met in great anticipation.  While one or two had some prior limited experience with crochet, and some could knit, it was safe to say we were pretty much all novices, and some had never even picked up a crochet hook before!  Tutor Lynsey clearly had her work cut out… but she was very encouraging as well as incredibly organised and had already prepared our individual bags of materials including yarn (everyone had chosen their preferred colour in advance), giant crochet hook, and row markers.

The most difficult bit was definitely the start – the magic ring – and we were all hilariously fingers and thumbs, puzzled looks and concentrated frowns.  Once we got past that hurdle, we were off!  We soon got the hang of the chain and double crochet and were delighted to see the bag starting to take shape.  Lynsey was constantly on the go round the table, advising people, counting stitches, and cheering us on.

We had a little break for coffee and cake to recharge the batteries, but apart from that we had our heads down all morning, focussed on the counting.   First to finish her bag was Margaret Fearn who unbelievably had NEVER done any crochet before!  People really enjoyed the class and, even if we did all have sore thumbs the following day, we were all amazed at what we had managed to achieve!  Thanks to Lynsey for being such a great teacher.

The next stage of the plan (once our thumbs have fully recovered) is to have a go at making some simple crocheted Christmas decorations that we can sell at the Felsted Christmas Fair.  Further update to follow in due course…

Finally, thank you again to FEWI for giving us this great opportunity.

CRANHAM ENGAYNE – March 2025

What a blooming great time we had at our March meeting, when Claire Thripp from “Bliss Flowers” came to showcase her wonderful flower arranging skills. We used our FEWI bursary money to fund Claire’s visit. Within minutes she had us all under her spell. She showed us how to make a Spring front door display, a basket arrangement and an artificial vase arrangement while entertaining us with her commentary throughout. Claire taught us many handy tips on which flowers to use as well as how to spot the freshest flowers so that our displays lasted for at least three weeks! Because she made it all look so simple we felt we could have a go ourselves, soon while her instructions and guidance were still fresh in our minds! At the end of her visit the three beautiful arrangements were won in our raffle by three very happy members. 

GREAT & LITTLE LEIGHS – March 2025

We had a full house at our March meeting, so took the opportunity to update our group photo!  All 22 of us!  The Bursary from the Essex Federation had enabled us to invite the Mid Essex Guild of Weavers, Spinners & Dyers. It was a brilliant evening.   We learnt all about wool! From sheep, to fibres, to fluff, to yarn, to use! We saw it all (and had a go). Carding, spinning, weaving and everything in between. We were all totally fascinated. And, along the way, we found out how to care for our woollies in the wash! Thanks to FEWI for the Bursary.

 

 

RAYNE – May 2025

A group of 16 of us attended a fused glass workshop on Saturday, run by the very talented Katie Lynn from Molten Wonky Glass.  This was partly funded by a bursary from Essex Federation.

After much discussion on the choice of design and template, Katie expertly guided us all through making two items of glass, using a very large array of coloured ‘frits’ (small pieces of glass).  There was a lot of concentration and discussion, but we all ended up with our two items, ready to be taken by Katie to be fired in her kiln.  There were a variety of designs chosen, from coasters and sun catchers, to a small picture or hanging bird and they all looked very colourful.

It was a very enjoyable morning’s work and we can’t wait to see our final creations once they have been fired in the kiln.

SANDON – April 2025

Danellia Crick entered with beautiful buckets of roses, tulips, and lovely pink carnations. She proceeded to bring in round tubs adorned with laurel leaves tied around them.

This was a lovely treat made possible by a grant from the Essex Federation.

“Jerusalem” was sung with the sun pouring in through the windows, creating a warm atmosphere. After a few items of business were shared, we were introduced by our president, Kay Lodge, to Danellia Crick, who would be demonstrating how to make a flower cupcake for our meeting. It was clear that Danellia was a professional, as she masterfully arranged the flowers with such ease. Within a matter of minutes, she had finished, and now it was our turn.

Each member who wished to participate either made a cupcake display or a small arrangement in a teacup. This was a great idea, especially since one of the categories for our spring show is an arrangement in a teacup.

The hustle and bustle of members exchanging ideas and flowers was an enjoyable way to spend the afternoon. Each person congratulated the other on their arrangements. The teacups looked exquisite and were perfect for a side table, while the cupcakes made for a delightful display on any coffee table. It was another craft learned at Sandon WI.

After tea and delicious cake, members were asked to nominate individuals to join the committee. Let’s hope a few new members want to be part of making our WI the best it can be!

LANGLEY – February 2025

We received an educational bursary from FEWI which we decided to use for a first aid morning with St Johns Ambulance.  Three members of St Johns came and demonstrated many invaluable tasks which included use of the defib which is at the hall.  Living in a very small country village, this bursary enabled us to know what and how we can help in an emergency.  Several of our members attended and we also decided to open it to other villagers (which included local farmers) to help the community in general. This was very well received and we all went away with quite a bit of knowledge which we didn’t have before!  The morning finished with a cup of tea and cake and much discussion of what we had learnt!

Our thanks again for enabling us to run this event and thanks to St Johns Ambulance for the education.

TERLING  – Lucy Harrington and committee – November 2024

Several of our committee attended a candle centrepiece making course in early November with the help of the Educational Bursary from Federation.  They then gathered everything we needed to show all our members how to make them.  Wendy’s hardworking husband made 50 wooden lanterns for us to work with.  It was such fun making such pretty items for our homes.

GREAT & LITTLE SAMPFORD – October 2024

At our monthly meeting in October, we used our Educational Bursary to fund a talk by local bee keeper, Stephanie Green. Stephanie arrived with one of her hives and a wonderful selection of items including honey, beeswax polish, and candles, all made as a result of her bees hard work. We learned about how she started her interest in bee keeping, she also explained that she had to sit various exams in the course of her time keeping bees. She told us of the fascinating life cycle of bees and the hive through each of the seasons. Clearly bees are very important, even more so today as their numbers are reducing. We learnt about the importance of protecting bees for the future of us all. Many questions were asked during the course of the talk and at the end of it we all felt that we had a greater understanding of how bees are so important to our future and that of our children and grandchildren.

OLD MOULSHAM MAVENS – Donna Keane – December 2024

Member Donna shared her recently acquired cookie decorating skills, having successfully applied for a FEWI educational bursary to attend an online course. Donna had baked sugar cookies in a range of festive shapes, such as gingerbread men and Christmas baubles, and assisted members in icing them and then decorating them with edible gel paint. Once the icing had dried, the cookies were wrapped in gift bags, ready to take home. A produce sale was also held, with items for sale including wine, Christmas decorations, artwork, and other craft items, all produced by our talented members. 

MANUDEN – November 2024

Our November meeting featured a special speaker funded by a bursary from Federation – Eliza McClelland. Eliza is a theatre and TV actress; her talk “To Bead or Not to Bead” told how she grew up in a theatre family and learned needlecraft as a young girl. When her career in rep took off, she found herself drawn to the costume workshops, where she acquired scraps of fabric, crafting from them bright, amazing handiworks for her house. These creations are full of memories for her and she can identify every theatrical costume that links to part of a beautiful quilt.  She developed a passion for beading, working on projects while touring. Her theatre work and travels inspired her to create and she would weave historic architectural designs into her works. Eliza brings her works to life by using many shades of beads, with costume jewellery for extra sparkle; her top tip was to look for old jewellery at car boot sales. Eliza was an entertaining speaker whose enthusiasm for her craft was infectious.

GREAT & LITTLE SAMPFORD – October 2024

At our monthly meeting in October we used our Educational Bursary to fund a talk by local Bee Keeper, Stephanie Green. Stephanie arrived with one of her hives and a wonderful selection of items including honey, beeswax polish, and candles all made as a result of  her bees hard work. We learned about how she started  her interest in bee keeping, she also explained that she had to sit various exams in the course of her time keeping bees. She told us of the fascinating life cycle of bees and the hive, through each of the seasons. Clearly bees are very important even more so today as their numbers are reducing. We learnt about the importance of  protecting bees for the future of us all. Many questions were asked during the course of the talk and at the end of it we all felt that we had a greater understanding of how bees are so important to our future and that of our children and grandchildren. And of course after the talk we all enjoyed the shopping experience buying gifts ahead of Christmas!

DODDINGHURST DABBLE DAY – November 2024

In November 2024 18 members attended a Christmas Craft session at WI Centre. The programme was to make a Christmas card and a small decorative Christmas tree. Not only did the Cookery and Creative Crafts (CC&C) team host the event, but it was partly funded by the Educational Bursary from Federation. Team lead, Fiona, welcomed us and introduced our tutors, Gill and Paulette. Everything was organised beautifully with all the materials needed available on the tables. There was plenty of chat and laughter as we set about our tasks. The card-making was quite daunting as it involved an intricate system of paper folding and sticking. However, the instructions were clear, and help was on hand so that everyone achieved a pleasing result and were determined to have a go at home. The little trees were lovely and quite simple. The most challenging part for some of us was threading the needle! At coffee break, Fiona made us tea and coffee with her own delicious home-made mince pies. We had a lovely time, and I highly recommend these sort of craft sessions in which anyone can have a go. Well done Essex Fed.

ST LAWRENCE BAY – November 2023

In November 2023 we were treated to an extremely interesting and creative floristry course let by Jane Cowell and Janet Thurgood.  These are two local ladies who have done flower arranging courses with us in the past and are quite expert in their craft.  We had been granted a Bursary from the Essex Federation of £100 towards the cost of the evening. 

We were encouraged to bring along a pair of secateurs or old scissors and a carrier bag of greenery from the garden.  The objective of the evening was to create our own Christmas wreath to hang on our front door or lay on a side table indoors with a large candle in the middle.

First Jane told us about the components of the wreath as she demonstrated how to make it.  She tied string around the soaked Oasis which was in a circular plastic holder, and made a loop with the ends.  They are ‘living wreaths’ as they will last right through the Christmas period and into the New Year if kept watered and cool or outside.

She then showed us how to cut the correct length of stems of the various greenery and arrange them in leaf types and colour groupings around the oasis base, so as to produce a well-balanced circle with emphasis in colour either at the top or bottom of the circle as we each preferred.

After covering all the base with leaves, she began adding highlights of all or any of the various decorations she had provided.  These included pinecones – some painted, dried fruit, flowers, sparkly baubles.  These were all wired using 10” lengths of florist wire, doubled up for strength, then poked into the oasis.  Finally, a large tartan bow was created from ribbon and wired on at the top (or bottom) of the circle.

Then it was our turn – and everyone produced wonderful and very professional looking wreaths.

The results were amazing and all enjoyed the crafting and chatter.  There was, however a lot of clearing up to do !

Thanks to Jane and Janet for a fun and interesting evening and also to Essex Federation for providing the Bursary – we encourage other WIs to do the same.

RAINHAM VILLAGE BELLES – August 2024

We were very excited to receive confirmation that we had been awarded a £100 bursary from the Federation!  A few members had said they would like to learn to arrange flowers, as when they placed their bought or gifted blooms in a vase or oasis it didn’t match the lovely arrangement images they had in their mind.

Two of our members, Hilde and Janet, attended a Summer Floral Art course run by Havering Adult Education and Janet then volunteered herself and reluctant Hilde to lead a session with interested members and therefore applied for the bursary.

Hilde and Janet went off to buy a selection of flowers from a local floral warehouse. After informing the warehouse staff they were from the WI they were able to negotiate heavily for all the blooms that were required to be bought. Armed with their blooms, oasis and florist tape they made their way back to Hilde’s garden where the floral session was to take place with 12 members eager to learn the art of flower arranging.

Janet and Hilde taught us, step by step, how to arrange a floral posy using carnations, chrysanthemums, roses, gypsophila and eucalyptus whilst the sun shone, and silence fell as we all concentrated hard on the task at hand.

Everyone went home delighted with their work.  A very therapeutic afternoon with a new skill learned, was enjoyed by us all. A huge thank you to Janet and Hilde for all their hard work!

WICKHAM ST PAULS – March 2024

At the end of 2023 a few members were discussing that we haven’t had a craft event in a while, and how they would like to try something different. So, we got in touch with the ever-enthusiastic Fiona from the Arts & Crafts Committee and came up with the idea of a “Dabble Day”, where members could try four crafts. We had a successful application for a £100.00 Federation Bursary to help with the costs.

So Wednesday 13 March, 2024 was set for Fiona and three colleagues from the committee to put on a Dabble Day at the village hall in Wickham St Pauls.

Fiona taught us Chicken Scratch Embroidery, Gill instructed us in Origami, making an Easter Chick & Bunny, Lesley showed how to be stylish with handmade brooches and Pat instructed us in crocheting.

Twenty members were in attendance and it was a lovely day, dabbling in these four craft, that some of us had never attempted before and we all left with our own interpretation of four handmade craft items.

ST LAWRENCE BAY – February 2024

Anne Hendry, a local crafter in the Dengie area. Anne showed us how to work with Polymer Clay. The session was the result of a bursary from FEWI. Thank you!

We made necklaces, keyring pendants and earrings. We were shown how to ‘condition’ the clay by folding and then passing pieces of clay several times through a pasta machine. They were shaped using a variety of pastry/fondant icing style cutters. As it was Valentine’s Day, there were quite a few heart shapes used. The finished pieces were baked in Anne’s halogen oven, we then threaded leather thongs and took home our finished articles.

RADWINTER – Kelly Cole – February 2023

When one of our members was diagnosed with a medical condition that meant she was finding it increasingly difficult to speak and be understood, we wanted to do something that would help. Knowing that she herself was learning British Sign Language, we decided to apply for a FEWI educational bursary to allow two members to attend a six-week introductory online course so that they would be able to chat with her at meetings.

In the end a third member, at her own expense, also attended the course taught by the fantastic Lindsey Barrell. The six weeks flew by as we tried to take on board huge amounts of information amid much laughter. We learnt much useful vocabulary from greetings to describing ourselves and our families, and learning how to ask and answer questions. Perhaps most importantly of all, this being the WI, we now know the signs for please, thank you, tea, coffee, milk, sugar, biscuit and cake!

As with learning any language, practice is very important. As well as practising at home we also wanted to share what we had learned with other members so that everyone could join in. Over a number of meetings therefore, we demonstrated what we had been learning; showing members how to sign the alphabet and how to sign key phrases such as ‘How are you?’ and ‘Sorry, again please slowly’. We gave everyone a sheet with both the right- and left-handed alphabet and also shared some useful online resources that Lindsey had introduced us to. The short sessions were much enjoyed by members, many of whom wanted to know more.

As a follow-up, Lindsey herself is coming to speak at our next meeting. We are all looking forward to it!

HATFIELD BROAD OAK – February 2023 – Interim report

We held a meeting in September 2023 our Centenary table runner project and how each member would like to consider their part in designing it.

Following that meeting, we were pleased to come together in October 2023 to spend 3 hours working together on our crafting squares.  Led by Karen Odinga our external experienced crafter, we worked with a number of different mediums to enable the members to take on new skills in applique, paint, pen and embroidery.  The morning was fun and informative and everyone went away with a completed project or a project started.

All members have now been given a further few weeks to complete their contribution to the final runner and over the month of February, each will be collected in by a committee member who has generously offered to bring all the separate elements together.  When it is completed, then the members will be invited to record their thoughts into a centenary book of celebration to accompany the table runner.

We are looking forward to pictures of the finished article.

HAROLD WOOD – February 2023

A group of 10 of us attended a lino printing course on a Saturday morning in January. This was partly funded by a bursary from Essex Federation. The course was run by Eleanor from Wee Bothy Art.

The hardest part was choosing which picture we wanted to make our lino print template from. Eleanor then talked us through the various tools we would be using to cut out our templates. It was surprising the effects you can get from different tools.

Next we had to trace our template onto the lino, Eleanor explained about reverse pictures. Then we cut around our templates and added any additional cuts which would add effects to the finished prints. This was fun and we were all keen to see how our prints would turn out.

The next stage was to ink our templates using rollers, then we were able to finally see the results of our morning’s work.

We had a thoroughly enjoyable morning being introduced to a new craft skill. We plan to offer more craft Saturday mornings in the future

HAROLD WOOD – Mandy Fox – February 2023

I was lucky to be a recipient of an Essex Federation bursary to use on a sliver clay workshop to make charms and a stretch bracelet to put them on which was run by Marion Edgar of CaptureSilver in Romford. This was a full day workshop held in Marion’s dining room, with tea on tap.

Silver clay is fine particles of real silver mixed with a non-toxic organic binder. It looks just like pottery clay, but once fired the binder burns out and you are left with a pure silver piece. Magic!

The day started with making moulds for my charms from a moulding plastic. Once these had hardened I was able to practice using playdoh, this was good to do as it gave an insight as to how the silver clay would handle. Then it was time to use the silver clay…….not as scary as it sounds as it is pliable and can be handled easily. My charms were then left to harden before firing while we had our lunch break.

Once hardened I was able to file off gently any rough edges, silver clay once fired is harder than ordinary silver. Then came the magic! Marion demonstrated how to fire with a small burner and then it was my turn…..bit nerve-wracking, but Marion watched over the whole process. After firing was time to polish the pieces, amazing to see transformation.

Finally I made a stretch bracelet and added one of my charms, the others have also been added to bracelets I made at home.

It was a great day and I made some pieces I was able to take home and make use of.

MORETON & DISTRICT – November 2023

In November 2023, Digial Media Team Lead Jan Curtis and Federation Chair Moyra Jackson travelled to help Moreton & District WI with their technical issues. They helped with Zoom, deleting photos, updating and backing up data as well as how to safely order items online. Moreton & District used the bursary funding to book the venue and include a light lunch for attendees.

OLD MOULSHAM MAVENS – Christine Byford – November 2023

I was interested to attend the Become Mental Aware course to gain a basic understanding of mental health conditions and issues, which are becoming increasingly prevalent in people of all ages in our society. The course was run by MHFA (Mental Health First Aid) England – a social enterprise with the vison to improve the mental health of the nation.
The aim of this half day course (which I attended online via Zoom) is to raise awareness of mental health. It covers:

  • What mental health is and how to challenge stigma
  • A basic knowledge of some common mental health issues
  • An introduction to looking after your own mental health
    and maintaining wellbeing
  • Confidence to support someone in distress or who may be
    experiencing a mental health issue
    Course attendees were provided in advance with a course workbook (for notes and reference during the course), and a 44-page manual with further details on all of the topics covered. The main areas covered were The Mental Health Continuum, Stigma around mental health and Mental health conditions. There were takeaway points for me on each topic and we were given The Take 10 Together Toolkit which can be used to start a conversation with the person in whom you may have spotted signs of mental health.

WALTHAMBURY – November 2023

Over 30 of us had a most enjoyable evening with Deb Hart, the renowned Essex Willow artist, who gave a talk and demonstration on a Christmas Decorations theme, followed by a practical session. Deb shared lots of tips and advice on making Christmas wreaths, with both a moss and willow base. She kindly donated the resulting wreath to our raffle.

Using willow she showed us how to construct both a reindeer and star. As we need to make stars for our local Christmas Tree festival, Deb also made stars out of paper.

It was then our turn to be productive! With her expert guidance we produced lots of stars that will decorate our tree. Thanks for the contribution to the costs.

TERLING – November 2023

We used our bursary to help fund a lovely meeting hosted by one of our members, Wendy, who is a local florist.  With the extra funding we were able to provide all the ingredients needed to make some wonderful festive topiary trees.  We all had a wonderful evening snipping evergreens to poke into the oasis and then adding a myriad of baubles, ribbon and mini pine cones.  Many thanks to Federation for the additional funding!

RAINHAM CLOCKTOWER – November 2023

Despite storm Ciaran, Covid and hospital appointments 24 members attended our meeting yesterday afternoon the November 2nd.

Our demonstrator Naeema from Cocoa Bocoa London started by giving a talk about the growing of chocolate, how the pods are picked and the process of getting the chocolate from this into the form that we know. She explained about the tempering of chocolate and finally how she uses it in the making of her truffles or as she called them Bon Bon’s, she told us about adding flavourings and the difference between white, milk, dark and vegan chocolate and making ganache. When this part of the demonstration ended Naeema came to each table and gave a demonstration on how to make our own truffles, she provided us with three ganache’s milk, dark and vegan, the vegan was flavoured with mint, we could also dust them with the choice of toasted coconut, chocolate dust with cinnamon or pink sugar.

There was a lot of chat, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon we tasted our chocolates there and even took some home. Most of us agreed we will be making more and we all agreed we learned a lot from the afternoon. At the end of the session Naeema gave us all a Bon Bon that she makes and sells which was flavoured with caramel.

The cost of the afternoon was £170.00 and without the bursary we would have missed out on a great learning experience.

WALTHAM ABBEY ICENI SISTERS – November 2023

With the bursary we were able to book Andrew Summer from Essex 100 for his talk called History of Boudicca and her rebellion.

Andrew led the group through the myths and facts around Boudicca.  Members were taken first through the reason behind the inconsistencies in names, Boudica, Boudicca and Boadicea.  Where a mistranslation of Latin created Boadicea and the Victorian flair created Boudicca.  Now that members were straight on the name, Andrew moved onto the history of the Iceni, where they were based and how Boudica came into power, which involved her husband’s death and Rome overruling her inheritance of the “crown” so to speak. 

Finally, after speaking about various accounts of her life, from various sources, some not proven or embellished, Andrew covered Boudica’s death and resting place.  Waltham Abbey’s own claim as her death location has apparently been debunked, with most, if not all historians believing that the claim has no merit.

While it was disappointing to find out that our claim is not valid, it was felt by all members that Andrew’s talk was incredibly interesting and informative.

OLD MOULSHAM MAVENS – Janine Kent – November 2023

Member Janine Kent attended an online course arranged through Hobbycraft with the money from Federation’s Educational Bursary. All the materials needed, and written instructions, were delivered a few days in advance. The tutor was excellent and demonstrated a couple of different knots to produce this plant holder. Janine has supplies left over and is looking forward to showing the Old Moulsham Mavens what she has learnt soon.

LITTLE BADDOW – June 2023

We had an enjoyable and productive day led by Susan Sparrow.  16 people attended and made a broach from leftover fabric, a reusable Christmas Cracker, table decoration and a card decorated with quilling.  Thanks for the contribution to the costs.

TEA N TIARAS (CHELMSFORD) – Dawn Hoyle – August 2023

Our WI art group Tea and T’Art shared a fabulous evening exploring acrylic paints led by our super subgroup leader Dawn Hoyle. Dawn recently attended a workshop with Suffolk artist Christopher Humphries funded by a FEWI Educational Bursary. Inspired by her experience Dawn shared lots of tips and tricks as we experimented with the new medium. We daubed, stabbed and brushed the paints all attempting a beach scene of crashing waves onto rocks to capture sea spray and texture. With guidance we tried out applying paint with palette knives and will continue the beach theme with more painting individually at home. As the sun set on our endeavours we reflected on what an enjoyable evening we had spent together and just how far we have come as a group on our painting journey.

Dawn was delighted with the workshop at Christopher’s studio in Yoxford. She had a wonderful day starting with an introduction to his studio filled with paintings before setting up her easel and starting a painting of Southwold beach with guidance and advice on composition and painting techniques. The day with a professional artist gave Dawn the confidence to introduce acrylics to the subgroup with great enthusiasm and very pleasing results. Building on this success our WI is planning an acrylics painting meeting for all our members to enjoy next year.