Today, 190 intrepid members of WIs from all over Cornwall met at Hangloose Adventure at the Eden Project to zip wire over the Eden biomes to mark 100 years of the WI in Cornwall.
Event organiser Julia Havard, a member of the CFWI Board of Trustees, said, “It’s a wonderful thing to be able to get nearly 200 women together to do something we’ve never done before”.
The buzz in the Hangloose dome was palpable! Some WI members were nervously pacing, asking others, “Did you go yet? What was it like?” Others, post-flight, were sipping coffee and exchanging zip wire tales.
Tina Jefferis, MBE, a member of Downderry and Seaton WI, will be celebrating her 90th birthday on Tuesday 21st May, but didn’t let that stop her from hurtling across the zip wire cable. Tina said she signed up for the day because it sounded like great fun and was a chance to show people what the WI is all about – “much more than jam and Jerusalem!”
Christine Siveter and Valerie Clegg, members of Lane and District WI, were no less enthusiastic. After being un-harnessed, they said the experience had been “Brilliant! Amazing! Exhilarating!”
Because of the WI’s longstanding and strong commitment to the environment, each WI member participating in the event donated £2 to Clean Cornwall, specifically to help eliminate single-use plastics in Cornwall. Hangloose Adventure matched all funds raised by CFWI, resulting in a total donation to Clean Cornwall of nearly £800.
But above all, this was a day to celebrate the WI, to honour the history of 100 years of the WI in Cornwall and to celebrate the fearless, feisty and formidable women who are WI members.
Click here to see more photos of the zip wire event.
Well done everyone.