March 2025

A Message from Kate

What an interesting and informative talk we had at the last meeting by Ruth Lamont, introducing lots of facts that many of us were unaware of.

That was the last speaker arranged by the retiring programme team. They have given us an amazing variety of fascinating speakers and activities over the last two years, have looked after the speakers at each meeting and, in one case, organised a substitute speaker at short notice when the booked one was taken ill, as well as doing the vote of thanks at the end of each talk. On behalf of us all I would like to say a huge thank you to Angela Slattery, Pat Flatley and Sarah Swarbrick for all their hard work over the last two years, they have done a fantastic job and are a hard act to follow.

This month’s speaker is Barbara Wilkinson who is a medical herbalist and this should be an entertaining talk so it will be an interesting meeting. Don’t forget the competition which is a bake using herbs.

As you are aware we are holding a coffee morning to raise money for our charity, Stockport without Abuse, on Saturday 5th April. The April President’s coffee morning will take place at the same time and place and it would be great to see you there.

Best wishes

Kate

Birthday Greetings

Many happy returns to members celebrating their birthdays in March

Lindsey, Val, Ann W., Deborah, Esther, Kath G., Sue W., Sarah S., Ann L., Annette, Kate F., Hayley

IMPORTANT NOTICE-Register and Evacuation Procedure-It is important that you sign in BEFORE finding a seat at the beginning of the meeting. This is for your safety as, if we have missed adding you to the register and we have to evacuate the building, we will not have an accurate record of who is in attendance. This also applies if you arrive late or leave the meeting early. Please let Linda McD. know or Sally in Linda’s absence. Our evacuation meeting point is on the field opposite the car park entrance.

Monthly Meeting

Thursday, 20th March

7.30pm

Speaker-Barbara Wilkinson, a consultant medical herbalist and trustee of the Herb Society.

Competition-A bake using herbs.

Rota Volunteers-Door-Trish  Raffle- Sue I.  Refreshment-Pat Flatley   Meet & Greet-Chris Benson, Kate Wragg

Raffle

We would be grateful if those of you on meeting duties please arrive by 7.15pm. If you are unable to attend the meeting please contact Linda McD. so that she can send out an email to fill the slot. Thank you.

February Meeting Report-Attendance: Members-45 Visitors-1  Income: Visitors: £5  Raffle: £55 Refreshments-£6

April Meeting-Lisa Walker-Armchair yoga

April Competition-None

Reminder-The bar at the Sports Club is card only. Please note that tap water is freely available from the bar. 

Heatons WI News

Rota-The new rota for the next WI year is now available. Please could all members, where possible, take up a duty?

Treasurer Role-We are still looking for a new treasurer for November.  It is imperative we have a treasurer as if we do not have one our WI will not be able to carry on. So if there is anybody who would be interested in taking over please speak to either Deborah or anyone on the committee. This could be a job share with two members taking on the role. Deborah is happy to train somebody so that they would be in place for November and would support them in the months after. The WI do organise training for treasurers so you would not be on your own.

Members’ Welfare-In order to support our members the committee would like to offer help to those who may need it while preserving their privacy. If you want or need support of any kind, from a chat to more practical help, such as with shopping, then please contact Angela B. or Perveen, on WhatsApp so we can provide the best support for you as an individual. Just let us know or ask a friend to get in touch on your behalf.

Charity Coffee Morning-We are holding a coffee morning on April 5th at the Heatons United Church on Stanley Road between 10.30am and 12 noon. (Please note the change of date.) This is our final fundraiser for our chosen charity Stockport Without Abuse. If you are able to volunteer on the day or make a cake please add your name to the sign-up sheet. You need to either drop cakes off at Sue J's house on Friday 4th April between 4pm and 6pm, or bring them to the church on the morning. Please leave cakes whole as they will be cut on the day. Please list the ingredients. If you are able to donate chocolates for the chocolate tombola could you please bring them to the meeting on 20th March? Sue J. is busy knitting chicks and bunnies and is providing all the materials, but she needs Cadburys cream eggs to fill the knitted animals.  All donations of cream eggs gratefully received and can be left in Sue's porch anytime up until the 3rd April. Thank you for your generosity and for your support.

WI Outing-We are planning our outing for 21st June to Skipton and Boundary Mill. The cost will be £12 for the coach (this is being subsidised from funds). This will need to be paid in full in cash by the April meeting. Please place money in an envelope with the amount, your name and the trip. There will be a sign-up sheet. If you are unable to attend the meeting please contact Perveen or Sue W. More details to follow.

Resolution selection results 2024-2025-Thank you to everyone who selected a resolution from the 2024-25 shortlist.  Our selection choices were as follows (numbers in brackets):  Bystanders can be Lifesavers (20) Let’s talk about incontinence (14) Join the repair revolution (5) Recycling tablet packs (8)  

At National level, Bystanders can be Lifesavers came first with over 90,000 members choosing this particular resolution. For those of you who take a keen interest in Resolutions and Campaigns, you will have noticed that this is the first time in a long, long while that our local first choice i.e. Bystanders can be Lifesavers, falls in line with the National result; or as Karen recently said, National agree with us!  The Resolution sub-group is now actively engaged in finding a speaker or CPR demonstrator to join us at our May meeting.

Social Media-We have recently closed our Twitter account and can now be found on Bluesky. We are the Heatons WI -@heatonswi.bsky.social.

Raffle Prizes-We are in need of prizes for our monthly raffle. If you have any new and unused items to donate please see Perveen. Please note, if you bring an item to the monthly meeting it will not go into that evening’s raffle. Perveen will hold it over until another meeting.

Heatons WI Events

Saturday, 5th April-Charity Coffee Morning at the Heatons United Church from 10.30am to 12.00pm. Please come along to support this final event for Stockport Without Abuse. Bring your family and friends.

Sunday, 15th June-Save the date. A fundraiser for our WI to coincide with the Heatons Open Gardens. We will be holding an event in the garden at St. Paul’s Church, Heaton Moor. More details to follow.                  North East Cheshire Group News

If anybody is interested in any NEC Group activities please contact Karen 

Tuesday, 29th April-Spring meeting at Poynton Civic Centre at 7.30pm. The speaker is Sally Kettle who rowed single handed across the Atlantic and then again with her mother. Tickets are £5, available from Karen and must be paid for at this month’s meeting.

Cheshire Federation News

If anybody is interested in any Cheshire Federation activities please contact Angela 

Details and signup sheets for all these events will be available at this month’s meeting.

Saturday, 17th May-Adventures in Textiles. At Winsford Constitutional and Conservative Club from 10.00am to 4.00pm. Explore salt dyeing and make a unique fabric. Tickets are £21 and include all materials and refreshments. Please bring a packed lunch. Closing date 8th April.

Wednesday, 11th June-Literary Lunch. The speaker is Caroline England, a writer of domestic, psychological thrillers. From 12.00pm to 3.30pm at Hartford Golf Club, Northwhich. Tickets are £30 which includes a welcome drink and a two course lunch. Closing date 16th May.

CFWI Virtual WI-If anyone is interested in joining, as a dual member, or has a friend who would be interested in finding out more, please contact Angela.

NFWI News

Learning Hub-Here is a link to the WI Learning Hub where you can access a variety of courses for free

Member’s Notice Board

If you have a notice you would like to be included in the Members’ Notice Board section of the newsletter, or know of any local events other members may be interested in please send details to Linda McD. 

St Martin’s Foodbank-1st Wednesday of the month. Please drop off at Kate J’s house. There will be a box for donations on the drive if the weather is dry or in the porch if wet, from 10am until the evening. URGENTLY NEEDED ITEMS: Tinned meat e.g. ham, corned beef, tinned fruit, baked beans, tinned puddings, rice pudding, rice, coffee (small jars), tinned tomatoes, toothpaste, toilet rolls, soap (bars). They currently do not need tinned soup, cereal or pasta.

St. Paul’s Church Community Café-The church is open every Wednesday morning from 11.00am-1.00pm serving hot soup and a warm space. There is no charge but donations are welcome. If you know of anybody who would benefit from this service please let them know-all are welcome.

The Children’s Society-The shop at Moor Top is in need of books, jigsaws, and CDs. If you are having a clear out please could you take them to the shop where they will be gratefully received.

Recycling

RNIB Stamp Collection-Shirley S. is collecting used postage stamps for the RNIB. She will bring boxes to WI meetings for members to put their used postage stamps in. You will need to separate UK mainland from the rest of the world, including Isle of Man, Jersey etc. Shirley will collect and send them to the RNIB, who get £20 per kilo.

B&Q is recycling plastic plant pots, small electrical items, batteries, light bulbs and fluorescent tubes

John Lewis is recycling duvets and pillows.

Superdrug Pharmacy at the top of Merseyway Shopping precinct is collecting empty medicine blister packs.