The WI Shop staff
Those of you who attended our 2022 Annual Council Meeting yesterday at the Hall for Cornwall were treated to a full day! We do hope you enjoyed it!
Our Exhibitions Sub-committee, office staff and members of the Board of Trustees arrived a full three hours before the meeting began, to help get things set up. It was still dark when some of us left home! An empty Hall for Cornwall awaited us, with the staff telling us, “It’s all yours!”
And it certainly was. We had a civic welcome from Truro Mayor Cllr Steven Webb, who always sets the right tone, and who welcomed us warmly to his city. After a bit of WI business, we welcomed our morning speaker, NFWI Chair Ann Jones. Ann told us a bit about her life farming sheep in the foothills of the Cambrian mountains, and then inspired members with the message of getting involved and saying YES! when asked.
We ended the morning session with a rousing performance from Rock Choir Cornwall, under the direction of Marcus Alleyne. One member sitting near the front – with a bird’s eye view of the stage – complimented Marcus on his ‘nice bum action’, which thoroughly delighted him and had the audience hooting with laughter!
Former Federation Chairmen Liz Anderson, Kathy Reed and Sheila Goldsworthy, with NFWI Chair Ann Jones (second from left)
After a lunch break, we reconvened in the afternoon to see the presentation of awards to members and WIs and to hear from each of our CFWI sub-committees. We do hope they inspired you to join in (and follow Ann Jones’s guidance about saying YES!).
Then it was time for our featured speaker, Dr Annie Gray, food historian, author and The Kitchen Cabinet (Radio 4) panellist. Annie told us about the remarkable life of Georgina Landemare, who served as Winston Churchill’s cook until she retired in her 70s. “Georgie” was not rich or famous, and started her working life as a teenage scullery maid. Yet she grew to become one of London’s most respected cooks and was renowned for her culinary skills. Annie told us that after Churchill gave his victory speech on V.E. Day, he turned to Georgina and said, “I couldn’t have managed it without you.” She went from a scullery maid to a woman who played an important role in history!
At the end of the meeting, Annie signed copies of her book Victory in the Kitchen, on which her talk was based. She signed some extra copies, so if you’re interested in buying a copy and reading about the fascinating life of Georgina Landemare, please visit Waterstones in Truro.
After drawing tickets for some really special raffle prizes, all our members headed home after having had, we hope, a really wonderful time. Thanks to everyone who attended.
For those of you who missed it, here’s a snippet of the wonderful Rock Choir: