Newsletter 185 – September 2024

WELCOME BACK EVERYONE!

We hope you have enjoyed the ‘summer’ break.

Have you remembered to return your Smarties tubes filled with 20p and £1 coins? (Our charity this year is Wales Air Ambulance.) When you hand them in, collect a raffle ticket: there is a prize far the lucky winner!

Today, we welcome our speaker, Sue Trusler who is going to tell us about ‘Becoming an Artist in Retirement’. 

KELMSCOTT MANOR  

If vou have signed up to go on this trip on Wednesday 2nd October, and haven't yet paid the balance or paid at all yet, you need to pay today please. See Gill Irwin.

Coach departs at 9.15am from outside Ararat. Lunch is NOT included but food is available at a Garden Centre near Kelmscott. The visit to the Manor is in the afternoon and we will not depart from there before 4.30pm. 

ROYAL WELSH COLLEGE OF MUSIC AND DRAMA (RWCMD)

Apologies, but we cannot give you a date yet for this ‘behind the scenes’ tour. Hopefully details will be available ready for the next meeting. 

‘SWING INTO CHRISTMAS’ with DOWN FOR THE COUNT ORCHESTRA at the RWCMD.

Saturday 23rd November 2024 at 2.30p.m — Tickets £30.40 – 25 places available. Please see Elizabeth Woods today to sign up. Tickets distributed in November. Payment by 14th October – either at the monthly meeting or via Internet Banking, reference RWCMD.  

GLAMORGAN CORRESPONDENCE – please see the notice board especially if you are interested in the Autumn Circular Federation Walk, Rhossili, Singing Yoga or the Craft Spectacular at Margam.

HOTTER shoes.

For the W.I. Hotter offer a 30% reduction on full price, and 10% on sale items for an organised party of 10 PEOPLE MINIMUM and ON A SPECIFIC DATE. It would be at 4.30pm and you would make your own way there.

Dates are now limited, but Sheila is willing to organise this for Tuesday November 12™. There will be a sheet to sign up at the next meeting.

GROUPS: 

Book Group: Wednesday 11th September, 11.00 am at La Cucina da Mara
Choir: Wednesday 11th September, 11.30-12.30 in the Memorial Hall, Rhiwbina
Craft Group: Monday 16th September, 10.30 am at 24 Lakelands Court, Rhydypenau Road
St Mary's Gardens: Tuesday 17th September, 10-12 noon... Working Party – all welcome.
Tangling group: Wednesday 18th September and Tuesday 1st October, 2pm at 5 Court Close
Sunday Lunch: Sunday 21st September, l pm at Llanishen Golf Club
Poetry and Prose Group: Monday 30" September, 11 am at Ararat Centre for the Community

NEXT MEETING

Date: Monday 14” October at 2pm.
The scheduled speaker is unable to attend due to illness. There will be a short presentation before a social (and sociable!) session with a variety of group activities. Also, bring some cash with you because we will have a table sale of craft equipment, jigsaw puzzles, craft and gardening books and good quality second hand toys. PLEASE – DO NOT BRING ANY ITEMS TO SELL

See whitchurch-wi-cardiff.blogspot.com. for our activities, photos and reports from previous meetings.

Whitchurch Fete - June 2024

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

Wales Air Ambulance is our chosen charity this year. Ann Hughes came to tell us a little about their work.

Our co-president, Linda, with Ann.

They began in 2001 with one helicopter operating from 8 till 5, five days a week. They now have four helicopter that operate 24/7, and also five rapid-response vehicles. 

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.

Morris Dancing – July 2024 meeting

(Cymraeg)

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.

The musicians were Ian and Phil playing piano accordion and an English button melodian.

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.

After this, members had a go at learning this dance.

This lively and most enjoyable session ended with the performance of a jig.

Dawnsio Morris – cyfarfod Gorffennaf 2024

(English text)

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.

Y cerddorion oedd Ian a Phil yn chwarae acordion piano a melodian botwm Saesneg.

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.

Ar ôl hyn, cafodd yr aelodau gyfle i ddysgu'r ddawns hon.

Daeth y sesiwn fywiog a phleserus hon i ben gyda pherfformiad jig.

Newsletter 184 – July 2024

July 8th is our last meeting before the summer break. Today, we have a talk by Lynda Edwards entitled “Morris Dancing Traditions’ – and a small demo/display of this traditional form of folk dance.

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.    

Glamorgan Federation Newsletter – diary dates

Volume 15, issue 6
June/July 2024

Diary dates—2024

Table top games and Afternoon Tea—£12—All Hallows Church Hall, Miskin—Saturday 13 July 2024—Closing date: 14 June 2024

Court & Castle Holiday—£199—Windsor & Hampton Court Palace—Friday 19-20 July 2024—Closing date: 23 February 2024

An evening with an Author—£21—Hi Tide Inn, Porthcawl—Wednesday 11 September 2024—Closing date: 26 July 2024

Malvern Flower Show—£35—Malvern—Sunday 29 September 2024—Closing date: 13 July 2024

Federation Quiz—£10—Hi Tide Inn, Porthcawl—Tuesday 22 October 2024—Closing date: 27 September 2024

Craft Fayre—£20—The Orangery, Margam Park—Saturday 16 November 2024—Closing date: 9 October 2024