Whitchurch WI is a friendly and welcoming group. Monthly meetings and special interest groups; outings; competitions. Ararat Church Hall, 2nd Monday each month, 2pm.
Whitcurch WI had a stall at Whitchurch festival on June w9th 2024. The weather was kind, there were a generous number of donations, and plenty of volunteer helpers. This year the stall was offering jigsaws, children's games, and craft items.
This is one of our major fundraising events of the year, and we raised £350 for Wales Air Ambulance.
Thank you to everyone who helped on the day, and for your generous donations.
Wales Air Ambulance is our chosen charity this year. Ann Hughes came to tell us a little about their work.
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| Our co-president, Linda, with Ann. |
Since 2017 the helicopters have had consultants, doctors and paramedics on board, which are funded by the NHS. The charity has to provide the funds for the helicopters, which are leased with a pilot. This means that WAA has to raise £11.2 million a year to keep the helicopters providing their service. They have completed 50,000 missions since they began.
Ann Hughes expressed WAA's appreciation and gratitude for supporting them with our fundraising efforts this year.
Speaker – Lynda Edwards
Lynda explained that she had been a dancer for over 50 years. She described it as being like ‘joining a family’. She informed us that there are various Morris dancing traditions that date back to fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
Lynda then described the costumes of the various traditions as shown in the group dancing today. Cotswold traditions use hankies and sticks, wear bells on their shins, and also crossed tapestry baldrics. Northwestern traditions dance in clogs and wear garlands. Traditions from the borders of Wales and England wear ‘tatty jackets’. They used to blacken their faces, but this tradition ceased in 2020. The reason for blackening was to disguise the dancer. Nowadays faces may be painted in any colour or a mask may be worn.
Cardiff Morris ladies took their style of costume from the traditional Welsh lady outfit (as displayed on the mannequin). Lynda also mentioned the USA style of Morris dance costume which included a bowler hat and baldrics.
Cecil Sharp was a key figure in the folk-song revival in England during the Edwardian period. He travelled around the country and collected and encouraged the dance traditions, enabling them to survive and flourish.
The dancers then entertained us with the Lichfield dance.
Siaradwraig – Lynda Edwards
Eglurodd Lynda ei bod wedi bod yn ddawnswraig ers dros 50 mlynedd. Disgrifiodd hi fel ‘ymuno â theulu’. Dywedodd wrthym fod yna wahanol draddodiadau dawnsio Morris sy'n dyddio'n ôl i'r bedwaredd ganrif ar ddeg a'r bymthegfed ganrif.
Yna disgrifiodd Lynda wisgoedd y gwahanol draddodiadau fel y gwelir yn y grŵp yn dawnsio heddiw. Mae traddodiadau Cotswold yn defnyddio hances a ffyn, gwisgo clychau ar eu coesau, a hefyd baldric tapestri croes. Mae traddodiadau gogledd-orllewinol yn dawnsio mewn clocsiau ac yn gwisgo garlantau. Mae traddodiadau o ffiniau Cymru a Lloegr yn gwisgo ‘siacedi tatty’. Roeddent yn arfer duo eu hwynebau, ond daeth y traddodiad hwn i ben yn 2020. Y rheswm dros dduo oedd cuddio'r dawnsiwr. Y dyddiau hyn gellir paentio wynebau mewn unrhyw liw neu gellir gwisgo mwgwd.
Cymerodd merched Morris Caerdydd eu harddull o wisgoedd o'r wisg draddodiadol Gymreig (fel y dangosir ar y model). Soniodd Lynda hefyd am wisg ddawns Morris arddull UDA a oedd yn cynnwys het fowliwr a baldrics.
Roedd Cecil Sharp yn ffigwr allweddol yn y diwygiad canu gwerin yn Lloegr yn ystod y cyfnod Edwardaidd. Teithiodd o gwmpas y wlad gan gasglu ac annog y traddodiadau dawns, gan eu galluogi i oroesi a ffynnu.
Yna bu'r dawnswyr yn ein diddanu gyda dawns Lichfield.
TRIPS: KELMSCOTT MANOR Date: Wednesday 2nd October. Cost: £43. Coach: leaves Ararat at 9.15am
The cost includes the coach and the afternoon guided tour of Kelmscott Manor. There will be visit to a local Garden Centre first, where you will be able to buy your own lunch.
At the last meeting, 30 people indicated their interest in this trip. You can make a deposit of £20 now if you wish to go on the trip; the full £43 cost will need to be paid at our September meeting.
The banking details for online payments are:-
Sort code: 30-98-90 / Account number: 17814568
Account: Whitchurch Women’s Institute / Reference: Kelmscott Manor Trip
TRIPS: ROYAL WELSH COLLEGE OF MUSIC AND DRAMA
This trip will now be after the summer break. Not surprisingly, the college have been busy this term with graduation ceremonies! So we expect to give you a date for this visit at the September meeting.
WHITCHURCH FETE
We are delighted to report that we raised £351.10 for Wales Air Ambulance, our charity this year. A big thank-you to all who were able to help and all who contributed the toys, jigsaws and craft items. Arrangements will be made to sell/dispose of unsold items.
Today’s funds bring the charity account balance up to £704.74.
SMARTIES and WALES AIR AMBULANCE?
We will all be given a tube of Smarties. We did this last year and it was very successful in raising money for our charities. The idea is to use the empty tube and fill it with 20p and £1 coins over the summer, bringing it back to the September meeting. Wouldn’t it be great if we could boost the amount raised for Wales Air Ambulance to £1,000?
GROUPS: Dates for your diaries.
Please note, the only ‘group’ meeting in August is St Mary’s Gardens. The rest resume in September.
Book Group: Wednesday 10th July 11.00 am at La Cucina da Mara
Craft Group: Monday 15th July 10.30 am 24 Lakelands Court, Rhydypenau Road
Poetry and Prose Group: Monday 15th July at 11.00am. The theme is “Food and Drink”
St. Mary’s Gardens: Tuesday 16th July and Tuesday 6th August 10.00-12.00. All welcome.
Tangling: Wednesday 17th July 2.00pm at 5 Court Close
Sunday Lunch Group: Sunday 21st July 1.00pm at The Pendragon
Family History: Monday 2nd September 2.00pm. 113 Pantbach Rd. Note change of day and time.
NEXT MEETING: Monday, 9th September 2024 at 2pm.
Speaker: Sue Trussler Subject: Becoming an Artist in Retirement.
See whitchurch-wi-cardiff.blogspot.com for our activities, photos and reports from previous meetings.
