Events and Activities -


SPRING - MEMBERS' ACTIVITIES

Two Abberley members have recently taken advantage of courses organised by the WFWI.

One lady enjoyed a marmalade making day and another had an excellent time on a willow weaving course where she made a beautiful obelisk and also had time to make a perennial plant support.


WFWI SPRING MEETING

KEEP BRITAIN TIDY

ALISON OGDEN-NEWTON

This was an informative and fascinating talk from the CEO of Keep Britain Tidy, Alison Ogden-Newton, who was a very entertaining speaker. She shared many interesting and sometimes disgusting facts as she explained the work of Keep Britain Tidy. It was started in 1954 and sprang from a litter campaign started by the WI. Their remit now is to cut litter, end waste, improve public places and educate future generations. They are an independent charity funded by corporate sponsorships, trusts and local authority contracts. The campaigns are based on research and behavioural science. Recent campaigns have targeted plastic bags, dog poo, household and baby wipes, fly-tipping and cigarette butts. The audience was very surprised to hear that cigarette butts are in fact 97% plastic and contain many toxic chemicals. They soon break down into the microplastics that are now such a problem in the environment. The death of small mammals on roadside verges is another concern. Verges are an excellent habitat as they are never sprayed, but they are blighted by containers thrown from cars, the smell of food attracts animals who become trapped. It is estimated that 3.4 million voles are killed annually in this way. The topic of fatbergs had the audience fascinated and repelled! They are formed from wipes and fat and grease emptied into our drains, there is a 130 ton berg in London. Victorian sewers were not built to cope with the volume of waste entering them these days, after heavy rain the sluice gates have to be opened to prevent flooding and raw sewage enters the rivers and the sea. We were left with the advice 'do not swim in the sea after heavy rain'.

THE LUCY HINGLEY MEMORIAL LECTURE – MAKE TIME FOR MENTAL HEALTH

Three members attended this year's lecture given by Dr Andrew Molodynski, Consultant Psychiatrist from Oxford. Caroline and Jane gave a brief summary of his talk. There are many mental health conditions, schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, anxiety, OCD, depression and much can now be well controlled with medication. Many factors can trigger these illnesses - alcohol, homelessness, depression. Statistically, the second highest group likely to commit suicide is women over 65, this can often be caused by loneliness and isolation leading to depression. Mental Health is a relatively new specialism in medicine and treatment has changed since the days of ECT and large institutions in the 1950s. Drugs are now very helpful but talking therapies and a sense of togetherness are now considered just as important. Treatment provision is a lottery and there are long waits in many areas. A new scheme aims to train lay people in mental health ‘first aid’.

Visit to Perrycroft House and Garden, Upper Colwall - 19th June 2019













Fortunately the rather dull damp weather did not spoil a very enjoyable afternoon at Perrycroft, where we were guided hospitably and knowledgeably by Gillian Archer. This beautiful house was designed by Charles Voysey, a renowned architect of the Arts and Crafts Period, in 1895. It was originally built for John Wilson, an MP and partner in the Birmingham chemical company of Albright and Wilson. It was planned as an ideal of pastoral simplicity and a refuge from Victorian industrialisation. His widow sold it in 1949 and it eventually became a holiday home for The Boys Brigade. Gillian and Mark Archer bought it in 1999 and have lovingly restored it. The garden had almost disappeared, but Gillian has gradually rediscovered it, uncovering old paths and ponds and rejuvenating the original yew hedges, creating whimsical Alice in Wonderland shapes. We had a lovely time exploring the house, taking in the views to British Camp and Hay Bluff before wandering around the different areas of the garden. Among many treats there is a Courtyard and Terrace, Sunken Garden, Formal Garden and Wild Garden all beautifully planted and overflowing with flowers. Finally we made our way back to the tearoom for a leisurely and chatty tea with delicious cake.

The Lady Denman Cup

The Lady Denman Cup competition is an annual creative writing competition for WI members. This year's theme was 'Amazing Discoveries' and entrants were challenged to write a 500 word piece on science fact or fiction - on a historic breakthrough or an as yet unknown invention. Angela Thompson, one of our members took up the challenge and produced an interesting essay on Ada Lovelace.

Star of the Universe

Ada, Countess of Lovelace - a name barely remembered, yet of greatest importance to our modern world. Born in 1815, only child of a brief marriage between Lord and Lady Byron, she was raised by her mother who wished to distance her from Byron, Ada's poetic father. She was tutored in Mathematics and the Sciences, subjects deemed unsuitable for women and especially young ladies. This education enabled Ada to move in the newly formed Scientific Circles where she met Charles Babbage, inventor of the Analytical Engine. This machine was designed to help calculate the new 1841 Census Returns, but only partially built.

Babbage was influenced by Joseph Jacquard, who had invented a mechanical punch-card system to automate the loom pattern weave process. This replaced the Draw-boy who lifted the shafts by hand. Any mistake ruined the cloth and the poor boy was soundly chastised. The holes in the punch-card allowed a lever to work, while a blank area reversed the function. This system was transferred to other textile machines and helped establish Britain as a forerunner in the Industrial Revolution.

Babbage gave a lecture in Italy, which was transcribed into French, then translated by Ada, who added her own theories and copious notes. Her genius was to realise that any process or data that could be expressed by numbers could be manipulated. Ada considered the Analytical Engine to be a Computing Machine, capable of digitising any function, even to generate music. She is deemed the 'Mother of Computers', but seldom credited.

The punch-card system can be described as a positive negative process or 'zero one', the basis of Computer Binary Code. It took another hundred years, into the 1940s, for Ada Lovelace's conception to become reality. Even then, computer code was first printed out onto punch-hole paper. Without the Binary System our world would be a different place. No Computers, Tablets, Phones, digital Cameras or Internet. No TV, Satellite Navigation, automated Factories, Transport or Robots. No computerised Agricultural methods, Medicine or Genetics.

Contemporary mathematician Anthony Bonato theorises that mathematics are neither Science nor Art, but take a middle path. This can be expressed by Fractal Art, based on the mathematical Mandelbrot and Julia Sets, a visual display of complex numbers forming an iteration process bounded in absolute value. As part of the structure of the Universe, this too can be articulated as Binary Code. There is no end to it.

Statisticians record that fewer girls than boys study mathematics and physics. This is hardly surprising as they are not encouraged to do so. In the 19th century mathematics were thought to damage a woman's brain. Even until the late1940s, Physics was considered an unsuitable subject for girls in the majority of schools. It is up to us to encourage our daughters - and their daughters, to embrace the glory of Mathematics and Physics as their educational right. Who knows, another Ada Lovelace may alter our future in as yet unknown ways.

Angela Thompson - Copyright

Lady Denman Cup entry 2019

Equine Facilitated Learning

Giselle Lockett is a local Equine facilitated learning practitioner and contacted us after learning of the WI's campaigning for Mental Health Matters. She was looking for practice clients to help with her training. EFL uses horses as partners in personal growth and therapeutic interventions. One of our members went along out of interest and had a fascinating time. After an initial discussion there was some interaction with the horses and she described feeling a great sense of calm. She learnt how this therapy can be used with clients who have self confidence or anxiety issues, addiction or trauma problems. It can be useful for children or adults with learning difficulties.

1st December - Worcester Warriors and The Sepsis Trust

WFWI now sponsor two female players at Worcester Warriors Rugby Club. With this new link in place WFWI provided cakes and refreshments at a charity match against Bristol Bears held in aid of The Sepsis Trust. Sheena Murray was part of the team running the refreshments and braved a cold day to help sell an awful lot of cakes including some made by members of Abberley WI. It was a very busy day for all concerned and the good news is that The Warriors won 15 - 12!