The WI is... Our 4th Birthday Celebrations

“The WI is...?” That was the question members across the country were recently asked, as part of the WI’s 104th birthday celebrations. It was the perfect opportunity to reflect on why each of us joined the Women’s Institute and what it means to be a member.

I’ve been in the WI since 2012; I joined because I wanted to meet people and make
new friends. I’d been bed bound, then house bound with ME for a long time and I was lonely; I wanted to get out and spend time with other young women. All I expected was a fun social evening once month, but it quickly became much more. I joined the committee, then went on to set up Swallowtail WI. For me, the WI is where I met my closest friends.

During Swallowtail’s own special birthday meeting, we asked everyone to write down their experience of what “The WI is...?”. In just a single sentence people expressed the essence of what the WI is and there were three recurring themes: friendship, cake and chat. I’m not surprised at their answers, we have lovely members, excellent cakes and great conversations at our WI.  

People also shared how much they enjoyed learning new things. We have had some brilliant speakers and the topics are always very diverse. You never know what you’re going to learn from one month to the next. At the last meeting Kim from Romeo and Succulent gave us a talk on how to set up a terrarium, a small, self-contained garden in a glass jar or container. She made it fun and accessible, and I was inspired to go away and have a go.

Autumn has a back-to-school feel about it, it’s the time we start thinking about joining clubs and exploring new ventures. It’s no surprise that we always see a surge in visitors around this time, the WI has so much to offers.

​I’m looking forward to getting to know the new members. Even now, eight years after I first joined the WI, it’s still helping me meet people and make new friends.