Lerryn WI

JAM AND JERUSALEM - AND THE REST!

- a welcome and introduction to Lerryn Women's Institute

Julia castrating sheep

Lerryn WI has been an important part of village life ever since it was founded in 1948, and its traditions of mutual support and shared activity still continue. One of our founder members, who for many years served as President,continued to attend until her death in 2010, and the daughter of another founder is still an active member. In other respects, however, Lerryn WI – like its members! – goes way beyond all the conventional assumptions about the Women’s Institute.

Programme

(See what we're up to)

Our lively programme of meetings and outings, combined with our sponsorship of attendance on courses, has involved members in recent years in making shoes, playing the harp, studying languages, doing carpentry, upholstering furniture, rearing pigs, designing jewellery, winning prizes for craft activities at the Royal Cornwall Show, foraging for wild food (and, even more bravely, cooking and eating it!) learning about sewage processing systems and undertaking a one-year intensive study of local woodland.

We are also involved in more traditional domestic craft activities, and our long association with the local Produce Association means we organise and arrange judging for the cookery sections of the village’s annual Produce Show. Our interest in food doesn’t stop there however. We also have concerns about its production and marketing, and we have actively campaigned on behalf of local dairy farming and in support of local shops.

To see this year's programme CLICK HERE

Community links

(How we support our village and locality)

We are supported by the Cornish Federation of Women’s Institutes and join together for some activities with the other members of Restormel Group, which includes the WIs at Lostwithiel, St. Pinnock and Luxulyan & Lanlivery. Our monthly meetings often attract very good speakers and we have never kept these to ourselves. On the first Wednesday of most months, we hold our business meeting at 7.15pm, but at 8.00pm the doors are open and anybody in the village is welcome to come in and join us for the talk and for refreshments afterwards.

If you are interested, follow the link to our Programme, which will give you an idea of what we are getting up to this year. You can also click on Community links, which will show the ways we have worked to support both the village community and the Memorial Hall.

NFWI

CFWI

For more information about National Federation of Women’s Institutes, click on NFWI, or click CFWI to find out more about the work of the Cornish federation based in Truro.

Our membership numbers have climbed steeply in recent years, but there is always room for newcomers! If you are thinking about joining, why not come along to one of our meetings for a “free sample”? You will be very welcome.

For local contact details, just look up the WI on the directory of community groups on the Lerryn.net home page. We'll be glad to hear from you.

LINKS WITH THE LOCAL COMMUNITY

Lerryn WI is part of Lerryn and we have always wanted to make a useful contribution to our local community.

The appearance of the village

Daffodils planted by two rustic benches in the village

One of our first moves, once we could afford it, was to work in consultation with the Parish Council to buy and plant daffodil bulbs in public spaces within and around the village. These are now naturalised and something to look forward to every year.

The Memorial Hall

We are grateful to be able to meet in such a comfortable and attractive hall, and we have tried to find ways to maintain and improve its facilities:

We have bought cushions for all the folding chairs. Not only do these make long meetings more comfortable but they have also had the unexpected but very welcome side effect of making the seats less creaky in use.
In consultation with the Hall Committee we provided new fire-retardant curtains, professionally lined and interlined, with a view to improving heat insulation and possibly also the acoustics.
Also after consultation with the Hall Committee, we bought good quality fabric that toned with the curtains and made two sets of matching tablecloths for use by all those meeting in the hall: one set for the large tables and one for the small ones.

Other local organisations

Lerryn is a lively place with many thriving clubs and societies and we work in active co-operation with many of them:

When the Film Club showed the film, ‘Calendar Girls’, we provided a cake and refreshments to make it a celebratory joint enterprise.
We have worked with the Tuesday Club, another local women’s organisation, to run fundraising meetings for local charities.
We take a very active part in the Produce Association’s annual show. This is run in conjunction with the WI, whose members arrange the judges and schedule for the cookery entries. We have in recent years made very successful efforts to involve more children and teenagers as competitors.
We cannot, as a registered charity, give our own funds to other charities, but we regularly raise money among ourselves, by means of raffles at meetings and by providing refreshments to guests. This enables us as individuals to provide a small but constant flow of donations to local charities such as the Precious Lives appeal.

Open meetings

Our monthly business meetings are for members only, but most meetings end with an outside speaker. These are often very good, and we do not keep them to ourselves. The talks are widely advertised and anybody in the village is welcome to join us. Sometimes, such as the night two of the original Calendar Girls came to speak, this makes for a big event and a packed hall. On other occasions, just one or two people join us to hear a speaker on a topic of special interest to them. Either way, all are welcome, and there is usually no admission charge.

PROGRAMME OF MEETINGS, OUTINGS AND EVENTS

DATE	EVENT	DETAILS
All year, the first Sunday after the monthly members' meeting	Sunday lunch group	Contact Jan Collett (01208 872860)
Wednesday 7 September 2011	Members' meeting, followed at 8.00pm by a talk and demonstration at which all are welcome - members and non-members; women and men	TRURO FENCING CLUB by Maggie McWilliams and Maxine McCombie Hostess: Ilaina Hines Refreshments: Pam Drayton and Gwyneth Hambidge Raffle prize: Cynthia Stuart-Smith Competition: Six home-grown runner beans
Wednesday 5 October	Members' meeting, followed at 8.00pm by a talk to which all are invited - members and non-members; women and men	TALES OF A WILD LIFE PHOTOGRAPHER by David Chapman Hostess: Nina Bacon Refreshments: Lin Briggs and Kay Broadway Raffle prize: Sue Hancock Competition: A magazine wild life picture or wild life photograph
14 and 15 October	Members' workshop	Basket weaving
October TBC	Members' visit	Cullacott House/Bodmin Recycling Centre
Wednesday 2 November 2011	Members' meeting, followed at 8.00pm by a talk and valuation session to which all are invited - members and non-members; women and men.	ANTIQUES ROAD SHOW by Mr Ian Morris (Bring an item for valuation) Hostess: Leslie Bonsey Refreshments: Mary Jones and Ann Henderson Raffle prize: Anne Butter Competition: The best antique brought in by a member
November TBC	Members' visit	HM Naval Base, Devonport
Wednesday 7 December	Members' party	Hostess: Rosie Brown Refreshments: Contributions from everyone Raffle prize: Ann Henderson Competition: A home-made Christmas place mat
Wednesday 4 January 2012	Members' meeting, to be followed at 8.00pm by an illustrated talk to which all are invited - members and non-members; women and men.	TRURO CATHEDRAL by Miss Eileen Bell Hostess: Cynthia Stuart-Smith Refreshments: Marie Farey and Anne Butter Raffle prize: Kay Broadway Competition: A winter flower and/or foliage arrangement
Wednesday 1 February 2012	Members' meeting, to be followed at 8.00pm by a talk to which all are invited - members and non-members; women and men. Members and guests are invited to bring along any old or interesting buttons they may have in their button jar!	BUTTON MAKING AND THE HISTORY OF BUTTONS by Caroline Cudmore Hostess: Mary Jones Refreshments: Nina Bacon and Leslie Bonsey Raffle prize: Sue Daw Competition: A home-made muffin
Wednesday 7 March 2012	Members' meeting	ANNUAL MEETING Hostess: Jan Collett Refreshments: Rosie Brown and Sue Daw Raffle prize: Pam Drayton Competition: Flower of the month