Newsletter – July 2025

 July 14th meeting:

    Main Speaker and Singer: Christine Purkiss – The Story of Rodgers and Hammerstein

   Additional Speaker: Dr Kristian Skoczek, Post Doctoral Research Associate for the                   REVAMP Study on Glaucoma.

    As it is the last meeting before the summer break we will also be enjoying cake!

Outings and events:

    A trip is proposed to Oakham Treasures, Bristol in October. This will discussed again with         more information about the centre.

Information
    Link to the Glamorgan Newsletters.

    MyWI site (registration and log in required)

    Art Exhibition 11–18 July at Ararat Centre for the Community 
    Paintings created by people living with Alzheimer's
    Cards and paintings available for sale.

    St Mary's Gardens Open Day 12th July / 10 am to 3 pm
    stalls and plants for sale

Groups:

    Choir: the choir will not be meeting again until September.

    Book Group: Wednesday 16th July / 11.00 am
    La Cucina da Mara, Whitchurch

    Craft Group: Monday 21st July / 10.30 am
    41 Cherry Orchard Road, Lisvane

    Tangle Art Group: Wednesday 16th July / 2.00 pm
    5 Court Close, Whitchurch

    Family History: 28th July / 2.00 pm / 113 Pantbach Road

    Sunday Lunch Group: 27th July

    Llanishen Golf Club

 
    Poetry and Prose Group: Monday 21st July / 11.00am
    The Ark coffee bar, Ararat / Topic: bodies

    

    St Mary's Gardens: Tuesday 8th July / 10–12

 

Following meeting:

    No meeting in August!    

    Next meeting: 8th September in Ararat Church Hall, Whitchurch Common, 2 pm.
    Speaker/singer: Cwei Stennett – Life in Pantomime, my father Stan Stennet

June 2025 meeting

Sheena Crossley gave a presentation on The Gardens of Wales. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed Sheena’s humorous talk, with slides of beautifully colourful gardens, from Cardiff to Anglesey. Each slide was accompanied by an anecdote describing her visits over a long period of time.

(Unfortunately we do not have any photographs from this presentation.)

The presentation was followed by a talk from Emma, the fundraising co-ordinator from Velindre, our charity for 2025. She explained how support through donations, events, fundraising and overseas challenges allows them to fund projects over and above those provided by the NHS, which improves the experience and outcomes of patients receiving treatment and care at the hospital. She explained that donations help to fund an entire team of clinical psychologists and counsellors, including a dedicated staff psychologist, providing essential one-to-one care for patients and staff; plus resources for children and families, such as specialist education books, lion teddies, toiletries, new pyjamas and digital devices to keep in touch with loved ones.

Members were reminded about Whitchurch Fete on 5th July, with a call for helpers and donations. 

The meeting closed with a poem to commemorate VE Day read by Jenny Andrews.

Chris and Glenys

The May meeting of Whitchurch WI is the AGM when the new committee is created. Two committee members, Chris Soughton and Glenys Care, decided to stand down from the committee at this time. They were both founder members of Whitchurch WI. Chris had been a committee member for 20 years and Glenys had been president for 9 years.

Unfortunately both Chris and Glenys were not well enough to attend the May meeting. The membership wished to express their gratitude and appreciation of Chris and Glenys's years of dedication to Whitchurch WI. As they could not be at the meeting, a bouquet was taken to their home and presented to them there.

 

 

💐Happy retirement Chris and Glenys! 💐

 

Newsletter – June 2025

 

 June meeting:

    Main Speaker: Sheena Crossley – Gardens of Wales.
    Members will be wearing red, white and blue in memory of VE Day.

Outings and events:

    A trip is proposed to Oakham Treasures, Bristol in early October. There will        be a request for a show of hand of those who are interested in order to judge     whether plans for the trip should go ahead.

Information
    Link to the Glamorgan Newsletters.

    MyWI site (registration and log in required)

Groups:

    Choir: Wednesdays at 11.30 am
    Memorial Hall, Rhiwbina

    Book Group: Wednesday 11th June / 11.00 am
    La Cucina da Mara, Whitchurch

    Craft Group: Monday 16th June / 10.30 am
    41 Cherry Orchard Road, Lisvane

    Tangle Art Group: Wednesday 19th June / 2.00 pm
    5 Court Close, Whitchurch

    Family History: 16th June / 2.00 pm / 113 Pantbach Road

    Sunday Lunch Group: date and venue to be confirmed
 
    Poetry and Prose Group: Monday 30th June / 11.00am
    The Ark coffee bar, Ararat / Topic: weather

    

    St Mary's Gardens: Tuesday 10th June / anytime between 10 am & 1 pm, for     any length of time

 

Following meeting:

    14th July in Ararat Church Hall, Whitchurch Common, 2 pm.
    Speaker/singer: Christine Purkiss – The Story of Rogers & Hammerstein
    Plus a short talk on Glaucoma.

Newsletter – May 2025

May meeting:

    Annual General Meeting with Amanda Powell, the Glamorganshire Federation Adviser.
    Bring and Buy sale.

Information
    Link to the Glamorgan Newsletters.

    MyWI site (registration and log in required)

Groups:

    Choir: Wednesdays at 11.30 am
    Memorial Hall, Rhiwbina

    Book Group: Wednesday 14th May / 11.00 am
    La Cucina da Mara, Whitchurch

    Craft Group: Monday 19th May / 10.30 am
    41 Cherry Orchard Road, Lisvane

    Tangle Art Group: Wednesday 21st May / 2.00 pm
    5 Court Close, Whitchurch

    Family History: 19th May / 2.00 pm / 113 Pantbach Road

    Sunday Lunch Group: Sunday 25th May / 1.00 pm / Radyr Golf club
 
    Poetry and Prose Group: Monday 2nd June / 11.00am
    The Ark coffee bar, Ararat / Topic: spring

    

    St Mary's Gardens: Tuesday 17th June / 10 – 12

 

Following meeting:

    9th June in Ararat Church Hall, Whitchurch Common, 2 pm.
    Subject: Gardens of Wales
    Speaker: Sheena Crossley

    In celebration of VE Day, members are invited to dress in red, white and blue.

   

 

Meeting – April 2025

 The main speaker at the April meeting was Nor'dzin Pamo, talking about pilgrimages to Nepal and Bhutan – please separate post.

Lynette Chappin talked to the group about making small blankets from the squares knitted by WI members. These were originally being sent to help African babies, then to a residential home, but now they are going to Ukraine. She said that she did not receive as many squares as she had in previous years. So this is a call to our members to get knitting! Lynette asks for 6" squares of any colour and design. She then crochets them together to form the blankets. Thank you Lynette for your long-standing commitment to this project and skilled crochet work

The photograph is of a representative receiving a number of the finished blankets to transport to Ukraine.

Also at the April meeting we had an Easter bonnet competition. The entries were judged by Nor'dzin and the winner received an Easter egg. Angela was the winner, third from the left.

Pilgrimages to Nepal and Bhutan – April 2025

One of our members was the speaker at the April meeting. Nor'dzin Pamo showed slides about her trips to Nepal and Bhutan. As a practising Buddhist these trips were pilgrimages rather than just tourist holidays.

Nor'dzin explained that there were three main reasons why she, her husband, and other members of her Buddhist lineage made these pilgrimages. The first reason was to visit Tibetan and Bhutanese teachers with whom they had connections, and to make new contacts with other teachers. 

The second reason for embarking on pilgrimage was to experience 'Buddhism as ordinary'. Nor'dzin said that this was important for people brought up in a country where Buddhism was not the religion of the culture. It was important to establish that one's interest in Buddhism and Buddhist practice was real and not just a fantasy because it felt unusual and exotic. One way in which pilgrims experience everyday practice in Kathmandu, Nepal, is to join the local people and other practitioners for kora. Kora is the circumambulation of a sacred place. Boudanath is a small town which used to be surrounded by fields up until the late 1970s, but has now been subsumed by the city of Kathmandu. The Great Chörten (Stupa), built in the 6th century is the focus for kora in Boudanath.

Nor'dzin then described a long hike to a nunnery called Nagi Gompa, in the Himalayan foothills (3,200m), and visits to monasteries. 

She explained a particular personal interest in an image that is usually painted on the outside wall of a place of practice. This image is called 'The Wheel of Life' and pictorially exemplifies the fundamental teachings of Buddhism. Eventually she commissioned her own thangka (painting on cloth) of this image and used it to illustrate her book 'Travelling at the Speed of Mind' about this teaching. 

 The third reason for her pilgrimages was to 'address an historical prejudice'.  Nor'dzin talked a little about the history of Buddhism in Tibet to introduce this topic. The 'first spread' of Buddhism occurred in the 8th century instigated by King Trisong Détsen. Two streams of Buddhism were established: Padmasambhava's Red Sangha (monastic community) and Shantarakshita's White Sangha (non-monastic, yogic community) and they were considered equal at that time. The Red Sangha are monks and nuns, wear red skirts and shave their heads as a symbol of renunciation. The White Sangha are non-monastic yogis and yoginis, wear white skirts and never cut their scalp hair as a symbol of embracing everyday life as practice.

 Then about 100 years later a king suppressed Buddhist practices, destroying monasteries and persecuting practitioners. This led to practitioners retreating to the outer regions of the Tibetan Empire, which at that time included areas of Nepal, Bhutan and northern India. Buddhism returned to royal favour in the 11th century and two new schools were established, but with an emphasis on monasticism as the preferred style. This was the 'second spread' of Buddhism in Tibet. The original form of Buddhism became known as the 'Nyingma', meaning 'Ancient Ones'. The trend toward favouring monasticism was compounded in the 14th century with the creation of a new, entirely monastic school of Buddhism, and with both spiritual and political power and wealth becoming invested in this school. The White Sangha came to be regarded as disreputable and undesirable by those favouring the dominant monastic school, but nevertheless continued to the present day. 

In Bhutan, Buddhism was never suppressed, and the wholly-monastic school never arose, so the religion practised in Bhutan is still from the 'first spread' where the Red and White Sanghas are regarded of equal value. Nor'dzin explained that her lineage is Nyingma, and White Sangha, so it is most valuable to go to a country and experience Buddhism without the historical prejudice against the White Sangha that developed in Tibet.

Nor'dzin talked about her two trips to Bhutan. On the first trip they flew to central Bhutan and then drove back to Paro in the west, visiting many places on the way. On the second pilgrimage they flew to eastern Bhutan and stayed there for a few days at Chador Lhakang before returning to Paro. A lhakang is a place of practice for Red and White sanghas.

She highlighted two other places of particular interest near Paro: a 15th century suspension bridge created by 'the Da Vinci of the East', Thantong Gyalpo; and a steep climb to Taksang (Tiger's Nest).

She finished with a few whimsical photographs of interesting hats available to purchase in Kathmandu!