Christmas Lunch 2011

Well, this was the last meeting for 2011. 

Vice President Menai Moore welcomed members and guests to this years Christmas Lunch at the Maenan Abbey Hotel. 

 

After a lovely three course meal, coffee and mince pies we drew the raffle. A big thank you to everyone who donated a price.

The competition, a tree ornament, was judged by David (manager).

1st Ann Hopkins

2nd Liz Steadman

3rd Barbara Evans

The next meeting is on January 9th, the speaker is Alan Pritchard - Snowdonia Warden and the competition is a picture of a tree.

And now I want to wish you all a very

Merry Christmas
and a 
Happy New Year

Last meeting of the year.

Our next meeting and the last one of 2011 will be our Christmas Lunch on Monday the 5th of December at Maenan Abbey.
The competition is a Tree Ornament.

WI food range

As you may have read in the latest edition of WI Life, the WI started their own food range. Well, their website is up and running and if you would like to take a look please click on the following link: http://wifoods.co.uk

WI Foods is the closest thing to home made – inspired by the heritage of the WI and crafted by British independent family producers.

November Meeting

To our November meeting we welcomed John Griffiths from Tal Goed Nursery. He brought along a lot of plants for use in pots and baskets that will tolerate the cold temperatures during the winter month and houseplants like poinsettias,cyclamen and azaleas to name a few. He planted up a hanging basket and tub and gave us some useful hints and tips on how to care for your outdoor and indoor plants.

The competition, a small vase, was won by Chris Thomas, 2nd Barbara Evans and 3rd Averil Jones.

TV: Kirstie's Handmade Britain

If you like Kirstie Allsopp from TV programmes like "Location, Location Location" or "Kirstie's Homemade Home",then you might like to watch her new television series"Kirstie's Handmade Britain" in which she joined Disparate Housewives WI, Hampshire and it follows her entry into a heavy schedule of craft and baking classes in some of the nation's most prestigious county fairs and shows. 

And if you like to read more about Kirstie, her interview "On with her show" is in the latest issue (39) of WI Life.

AGM

On Monday the 10th of October 2011 President Mairwen Jones welcomed members and WI Advisor Lea Oram to this years AGM and election of the new committee for 2011/12
First on the Agenda were the reports by President Mairwen Jones, Secretary Ann Hopkins and Treasurer Margaret Begley, who after 8 years of being the Treasurer of Llanddoged WI decided to retire.
Next on the list was the voting for the new committee. 
The result for the 2011/12 committee is
President Mairwen Jones
Secretary Ann Hopkins
Assistant Secretary Averil Jones
Treasurer Barbara Evans
Assistant Treasurer Chris Thomas
Press Secretary Megan Lloyd Owen
MCS Rep Kathie Roberts
Sales Table Eve McKenzie and Iola Lewis
After the official business, member Barbara Evans had prepared a craft session where everyone could decorate a mini book, made from a 12 x 12 piece of scrab book paper, to take home. All the members had a lot of fun. Shame I didn't have my camera with me. 
If you would like to make a mini book yourself click on the link:
http://youtu.be/QRSdd-P8AZ4 
it will take you to the tutorial by Tim Holtz.
The competition was for a small handmade item:
1st Chris Thomas
2nd Barbara Evans
3rd Barbara Evans

Welsh Meeting

On Wednesday September 28th, seven members of Llanddoged WI attended the Welsh Meeting in Llangernyw. For members that didn't understand welsh a translation service was available by Menter Laith.
Federation chairwoman Anwen Hughes welcomed fellow members  and invited Llanddoged WI president Mairwen Jones to say a few words. She then introduced Jan Wilson-Jones, Winner of the S4C Television Cookery Series "Chez Dudley". Jan prepared for us maroccan style lamb burgers with couscous and two desserts, a dark Chocolate Amaretto Mousse and a white Chocolate Baileys Mousse.
The refreshments after the cookery demonstrations were provided by Llanddoged WI.
And here are the recipes that Jan used:

Monday, September 12th

At the first meeting after the summer break we welcomed speakers Janet and Dawn, two nurses from the Special Care Baby Unit, Glan Clwyd Hospital.They gave a talk and slideshow about the 2009 Women for Women Cycle Jordan Challenge, which they took part in, to raise money for the Genesis Research Trust.
Genesis Research Trust raises money for the largest UK-based collection of scientists and clinicians who are researching the causes and cures for conditions that affect the health of women and babies. If you like to find out more about the Trust and future Women for Women challenges please click on: www.iogt.org.uk

The baby photo caption competition was won by
1st Chris Thomas
2nd Trefina Roberts
3rd Liz Steadman

September meeting

The next meeting after the summer break is on September 12th, 2011. It's an open meeting so anybody is welcome. The speakers on the night are Janet and Dawn, nurses from the Special Care Baby Unit at Glan Clwyd Hospital. They give us a slideshow and talk about their charity cycle ride through Jordan.
Tea Hostesses on the night are Jo Reeves and Chris Thomas.
The competition is a caption for the baby photo that has been handed out at the last meeting.
If you didn't get a copy of the photo, please let me ( Barbara ) know and I will send you one as soon as possible.

Do you love libraries?

The WI's library petition has just gone live at http://bit.ly/oSYuEJ. Sign it and pass on the link to your friends. Help us reach 100,000 signatures to secure a parliamentary debate.

Blueberry Cake with Streusel Topping

With all these lovely blueberries in the shops, I think it's time for a cake recipe again. So here it is, a blueberry cake with  streusel topping.


Streusel Topping:
⅓ cup (45g) all purpose flour
⅓ cup (65g) granulated white sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup (56g) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Monday 11th of July, Rufus Adams

At last nights meeting, Rufus Adams gave us the second talk about the later years of David Lloyd George.
After his talk we carried on with WI business. Menai told us about the AGM in Liverpool last month. The vote to save local libraries was passed with a majority of 97%, but no vote was taken on the issue of granting planning permission for large-scale factory farms.

The competition was for an item with or a picture of a historical building:
1st Barbara Evans
2nd Iola Lewis
3rd Christine Fisher

There is no meeting in August.

Cheques saved

James Andrews, 15:36, Tuesday 12 July 2011

Plans to scrap cheques as a form of payment have been dropped following an outcry from consumers, charities and small businesses.
The UK Payments Council has now said cheques will continue as a form of payment for as long as customers need them. Previously they had planned to phase them out by 2018.
"This is a victory for the consumer and a common sense approach. Scrapping cheques would have had serious ramifications not only for the elderly and most vulnerable in society but also for small businesses and charities that rely on this payment method," said Gary Follis, head of policy at Nationwide building society.
"Whilst the number of people using cheques continues to fall, the Payments Council has reached the right decision to keep cheques and cheque books as an essential payment method for consumers, businesses and charities."

Thank you.

I would like to say a big thank you to everyone that supported our WI stall and my craft stall at this years village sports. It is very much appreciated.
Diolch yn fawr.

Another installment from Ruth Bond's blog

Factory farming debate rumbles on

There has been extensive press interest in the proposed “factory farming” resolution, both before and after the AGM, and whilst most has positively recognised that more discussion is needed, an article in Farm Business recently caused me to put pen to paper to try to explain the situation to the Editor. I have copied the letter I sent over to him below for your information.

Dear Sir,

I am writing to respond to the recent article “Time to Focus on Jam again” (Farm Business 24 June 2011) which fails to recognise a key factor; the National Federation of Women’s Institutes does not have, and never has had, any kind of mandate to work on the issue of large-scale farming. Delegates at the AGM rejected a vote on one of their resolutions looking at planning permission surrounding large-scale farming units on 8 June 2011, calling on the industry and relevant bodies to open up a rational and transparent debate on the future direction of UK farming.

The WI Real Jam Festival, 8th & 9th of October 2011

Welcome to the WI Real Jam Festival 2011, proudly sponsored by Stoves Building on the success of the first competition last  year, this event aims to bring together the best of the best preserve connoisseurs and to find the ultimate jar of jam for 2011.The Women's Institute, famous for cooking up an amazing array of preserves, is encouraging people to get into their kitchens and cook up their best jar of jam for the competition. At this year's festival, there will be classes for everyone including children, celebrities,WI members and a class just for men, so the whole family can take part and enjoy turning delicious produce into prize-winning entries. New on the competition schedule will be classes for hot and spicy jam or jelly, boozy jam and a set recipe to challenge the best of the best jam makers!

Village Sports, Tuesday 28th of June.

The village sports is on Tuesday 28th of June, at 6pm.

Next Meeting

Just a quick reminder that the next meeting is on Monday, 11th of July 2011. Rufus Adams will give us the final part about the life of Lloyd George.
The competition is an item with or a picture of a historical building.
The tea hostesses are Kathy Roberts and Christine Fisher.
Vote of thanks Eve McKenzie and raffle Trefina Roberts. 

Extract from Ruth Bond's blog about the AGM

An AGM to remember

Not since 1992 was there such an instance at an NFWI AGM. During the meeting, a member begged leave "to move to the next business" but it was not granted. In 2011 when the same thing happened, leave was granted and we all moved to the next business.

Siwgr a Sbeis

On Monday the 6th of June we went to Siwgr a Sbeis, a bakery based in Llanrwst.
We started the evening with a lovely meal of baked potato, mixed salad, ham and quiche followed by bite size fruit flans, mocha choux  and meringues filled with strawberries and cream. All prepared and baked by Siwgr a Sbeis.

June Meeting

Our next meeting is on Monday, June 6th at Siwgwr a Sbeis, Llanrwst.
We meet there at 7 pm and the cost is £ 8.95 per person.

May Meeting

At the start of this month meeting we discussed the 2011 Resolutions regarding Mega Farms and the Closure of Libraries.
And then Fiona Braithwaite -National Trust, gave us an interesting talk about the history of Bodnant Garden.
The competition was a funny postcard:
1st Megan Lloyd Owen
2nd Barbara Evans
3rd Ann Jones

May meeting.

Our next meeting is on the 9th of May. It's the 2011 Resolutions and Fiona Braithwaite will give us a talk about the history of Bodnant Garden.
The competition is for a funny postcard.

Easter Greetings

Wishing you all a very Happy Easter

Simnel muffins

As it's Easter soon, I thought I give you a variation on a Simnel cake. Enjoy.

April meeting, Kim Collis, House of Colour

At our April meeting we welcomed Kim Collis, Colour Analyst and Image Consultant from House of Colour.
She told us that because we have a unique skin tone and eye colour, some colours make us look great and some colours have the complete opposite effect. So knowing and wearing the right colours will make you look healthier and feel more confident.
Kim gave two of our members a short colour analysis.   

Bursting cranberry blondies

Here is another yummy, tried and tested cake recipe.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Here is a delicious cupcake  recipe.

April Meeting

Our next meeting is on the 11th of April. Two of our members will get a colour consultation from Kim Collis - House of Colour.
The competition is: a scarf

Dathlu Gŵyl Ddewi

President Mairwen Jones welcomed members and guests to this years St David's Day celebrations.We sat down to a meal of leek and potatoe soup and a choice of desserts.
 After the meal we were entertained by former pupils of Ysgol Llanddoged with welsh songs and clog dancing.

The competition: a welsh dragon,
was won by:
1st Ann Hopkins
2nd Christine Fisher
3rd Barbara Evans

Where and When

We meet on the 2nd Monday of the month at 7pm in Llanddoged school, which has wheelchair access and facilities.
A warm welcome awaits everyone.
If you like to join Llanddoged WI, the membership for 2012 is £31.50, or £3 per meeting to help cover our costs (hire of the hall,speakers etc.)
So come along and join in the fun.

February 14th

For our February meeting we welcomed Dewi Roberts from the National Trust. He gave an interesting talk about the Carneddau and Glyderau mountains and that the aim of the National Trust is not only to protect the landscape and wildlife, but also the way of life of those who live in it; while enabling others to visit and enjoy it and to help minimise any damage their presence might inadvertently cause.

The competition was  a Bookmark:
1st. Barbara Evans
2nd Chris Thomas
3rd Ann Jones

The next meeting is on the 14th of March
Dathlu Gŵyl Ddewi - Cawl a Chân
St David's Day - Soup and Song
and the competition is: Y Ddraig Goch
                                      Welsh Dragon