THE June meeting was the garden meeting. Member Meg and husband Neil offered their beautiful garden for the event. Fingers crossed all week for dry weather, the evening was pleasant, sun shining through although accompanied by a strong wind.

For the monthly competition members were asked to decorate a brown paper parcel using whatever decoration they liked. Members were very inventive and a wonderful selection of parcels was on display, for our host, Neil to judge which was the best. Wine glasses filled, a toast was given to the winner.

Members then waited patiently for the arrival of fish and chips. Sitting on a summer evening, wrapped in shawls and blankets to avoid the cold, chatting with friends and munching on delicious food was a challenging way to spend a June evening.

A welcome cup of coffee warmed us up.

The president then reported on a lovely day on June 4, when members had attended the special screening at the Palace Theatre of the Annual Meeting of the WI held at the Albert Hall in London, celebrating the 100 years of the forming of the WI in UK.

The event was honoured with a visit from Her Majesty the Queen, with Princess Anne and Duchess of Wessex, who shared with the 6,000 members present the celebration with links throughout the country. The Royal Party was presented with a homemade cake to take home, as did delegates as a memento of the event. Celebrations will continue throughout 2015 to commemorate 100 years of the existence of the WI The president recorded thanks to Meg and Neil for their hospitality and a hearty chorus of Happy Birthday was sung to celebrate our president’s birthday. Members then made their way home.

The next meeting would be on the second Wednesday of July as usual at Cookhill Village Hall.

The WI meets the second Wednesday of each month 7.30pm at Cookhill Village Hall, providing a variety of speakers to suit all tastes together with opportunities to participate in classes and enjoy trips out to interesting venues.