Besides having eight different activity groups which meet on a monthly basis, Crowlas and Ludgvan WI also have a number of craft workshops, moveable feasts and lots of other outings. There is also the Family and Friends evening at notable restaurants in our area, providing an opportunity for members and their partners to come together sociably.
Crowlas & Ludgvan WI President Alison Latham MBE, ensures that there is something for everyone, to suit all ages and all interests. With the help of a hard working and dedicated Committee, members have yet again been presented with a varied and interesting programme for this Centenary year.
Already in 2019, the Walkers Group have covered a number of miles, as their leader Shirley Battle encourages members to venture out of their comfort zones and follow the less frequented footpaths further away from home. As well as enjoying the walks around some of the large estates such as Penrose at Helston where the stately paths lead down to the beach at Loe Bar, Shirley has taken the group across the moors of Penwith and Ladydowns. They have followed the beautiful Cornish lanes lined by ancient stone hedges and turned off the beaten tracks to the ancient sites of standing stones hidden on the moors such as Lanyon Quoit and Men-an-tol.
For those who prefer a less challenging walk, Kathy Merrett organises the monthly Amble. The latest meander took members along the coastal footpath between Newlyn and the picturesque village of Mousehole, the route offering such splendid views across Mount’s Bay.
If all of that walking doesn’t help anyone to shed a few pounds, Crowlas & Ludgvan WI also have a “Losers” group, which is a welcoming and non-judgmental weight loss support group. Participants don’t have any cake until after the weigh-in session!
Crowlas & Ludgvan’s anemone logo is beautiful in its simplicity and perfectly significant for the area, here in the centre of the flower growing fields of West Cornwall.
From 1893 until his death in 1939, Canon Arthur Boscawen lived and worked in Ludgvan and because of his fascination with plants, he lovingly developed the gardens laid out at the rectory by William Borlase.
It is believed that during a trip to the Mediterranean in the 1920s, Arthur collected the seeds which he used to develop the anemone and introduced it to Ludgvan as a viable commercial crop, along with a number of new varieties of daffodils, one which he named after his daughter, Karenza, meaning love.
The beautiful anemone, in all its brilliant splendour, protects against evil and ill wishes, but when rain is on its way coming in across Mount’s Bay, the flower closes and represents forsaken or forgotten love.