WI: AS we reach December, members of Williton WI look back at the year when the branch celebrated its 90th anniversary. It is good to think of the women of Williton enjoying this fellowship over so many decades. On the morning of Monday, November 10, a group of members met in the Stroke Unit at Williton Hospital to present a picture of wallflowers, beautifully painted by local artist, Peggy Stradling, to the Ward Sister, Caroline Case. This will be hung in the corridor and we hope it will be a joy to staff and patients, as well as commemorating our special year.

Members are busy joining in the many WI events that happen in the Seven Sea Group at this time of year and some will be at the Advent gathering in Crowcombe and at the annual carol service at Well Cathedral. At our own December meeting on Thursday, December 4, we were joined by a number of friends, which made for a good rendering of Jerusalem at the start. The president, Ann Smith, welcomed everyone and thanked Mary Parsons for the beautiful floral arrangement with a candle, later used as one of the raffle prizes. After the business part of the meeting, we were fortunate in having as our speaker, Grace Dives, who entitled her talk, “But Once a Year.” She kept us very well entertained, with amusing and serious reading of poems, extracts from books and pieces of interesting information about Christmas traditions. This was interspersed with carols. Some she sang beautifully herself but with ones we were encouraged to join in and included were a round about Little Jack Horner and finally The Twelve Days of Christmas with actions. Glynis Maule proposed the vote of thanks for a very happy afternoon’s entertainment.

Coffee skittles will resume in January on 15 and 29 and scrabble continues on Monday afternoons as usual. The committee have an interesting programme planned for 2009.

Williton WI wish everyone a happy Christmas and New Year. We meet again on January 8, NOT THE FIRST THURSDAY but the second one, to avoid New Year’s Day. This meeting will be at Danesborough View common room at 2.00pm.