Welcome to Ashendon WI website
We are a lively group of women of all ages and from all walks of life. Our members are not only from the village of Ashendon but also Calvert Green and Fleet Marston.
If you are looking for something new to do why not come and join us at our interesting & fun monthly meetings which are held on the 2nd Tuesday of the month in the village hall at 7.30pm.
It's an opportunity once a month for all ladies to enjoy each other's company. We even have a glass of wine on offer! We promise you will be welcomed warmly and will join a proactive WI where you will make new friends.
Ashendon WI was formed 80 years ago in February 1939 and we will be celebrating during the year with various events. Click on the link to read the article published in the Bernwode News. 80 years old Bernwode News
Our next meeting will be on Tuesday September 10th 2019, 7.30pm in the Village Hall when the talk will be entitled 'A River Flows' , anecdotes of a river course , Oving to Olney by Mr Bignall.
You may also be interested in ASHENDON VOICES SINGING GROUP which meets every other Tuesday in the Village Hall at 3.00pm. (next meeting Tuesday 30th July).
ashendonwi@outlook.com
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Ashendon WI was founded in March 1939 and we celebrated with an 80th birthday party.
Ashendon WI was started by a small group of forward looking women who felt that Ashendon ladies should have the opportunity to partake in WI values promoting education and friendship. Present members feel exactly the same and were delighted to celebrate this milestone with past members who have relocated, representatives from the Bucks Board of Trustees, members of other local WIs and friends of Ashendon WI. We all enjoyed a wonderful 1939 themed evening.
To see all the photos please go to the gallery and follow the path to AWI 2019.
Bernwode News Report - August 2019 (To see photos of the reported events please go to the gallery and follow the path to AWI 2019)
There always seems to be so many good events to include in my reports and this month I am beginning on ‘the highest of highs’. In April Ashendon hosted the Ashbern Spring Group Meeting when many of the local WI members have a chance to get together and we try to organise something a little special. This meeting was held in Brill Church (as our church was still undergoing renovations) and our guest was the harpist Llewelyn Jones. Llewelyn has played before much more distinguished guests (royalty) than local WI members but he gave a magical performance of eclectic pieces which had us all completely enthralled. I feel I had full value of my annual subscription in that one meeting.
In May we held our Resolution meeting to discuss this year’s campaigns - ‘saving local bus services’ and ‘the importance of cervical screening’. As always a lively discussion took place.
June was our ‘surprise evening’ organised once again by Sue Rand. This year we were given a historical tour around Quainton and finished with a delicious supper in Quainton village hall. There is so much of interest about our local villages but we rarely get the opportunity to learn about them.
At our meeting in July members made flower posies which we then distributed around the village. We all enjoyed making them and hope the recipients enjoyed receiving them.
We do not have a meeting in August but a group of us will be visiting Preston Bissett Nursery for a demonstration and lunch. Also in August Ashendon WI is entering the WI ‘co-operative’ competition at the Bucks Show so if you are going please make a point of having a look at our entry.
Ladies Visiting the DSI Workshops in Croydon where theatrical costumes are made for many productions including 'Strictly'
To commemorate the centenary of the end of WW1 in November 2018, the ladies of Ashendon WI, together with other village residents, crafted approximately 500 poppies and arranged them over the War Memorial outside the church. It looked spectacular and made Rememberance Sunday a poignant day for all those who saw it.
At our last monthly meeting we learnt about 'Women in Racing, The Queen of Sports' which was a fascinating insight into the history of horse racing from John Slusar. Most of us learnt a great deal about local race courses, most of which we had never heard of. Recent meetings have included the trials and tribulations of becoming a crime writer and how to design and plant the perfect garden border. Last May we discussed the resolution to be put forward at the National Federation Annual Meeting on the subject of 'mental health matters as much as physical health'. Both ourselves and National voted unanimously in favour of the resolution.
On August 14th members visited the Pitstone Windmill which is owned by the National Trust and were treated to a guided tour by two of the enthusiasts who have been involved in its restoration. This was fascinating and much enjoyed by all. We followed that by lunch provided by Pitstone and Ivinghoe WI at the Heritage Park Pitstone Museum and once again were given a guided tour around the exhibits. The variety of objects from a model railway to a working racksaw, with everything in between, was a lot to absorb. However there was much 'kitchenalia' exhibited which was far too familiar to most of the ladies who had grown up using it, and in one case still is !!
Members have attended recent events organised by Bucks Federation, two highlights being the Investigation and Discovery Day which is always a fascinating and mind boggling meeting and the Annual Council Meeting held at the Waterside Theatre where the main guest speaker was the gardening expert Christine Walkden known to many through The One Show and Christine's Garden.
2018 was the 100 year anniversary of women getting the vote in this country. Many celebrations took place all over the country and Ashendon W.I. felt that we couldn't let this momentous event pass without marking it in some way so in the true spirit of the W.I. we held a Village Cream Tea on August 19th on the Playing Fields.
On May 9th 14 of us, including partners and friends, set off in a minibus on a day trip to London. We toured the Globe theatre and then walked down the South Bank on a sunny afternoon arriving at Southwark Cathedral and Borough market for lunch. Our guided tour of Tower Bridge in the afternoon was fascinating, if a bit alarming on the glass walkway above the road surface. The Victorian engineering is incredible. We finally made it home about 8.0pm but it was altogether 'A Grand Day Out'.
We enjoyed our April 2018 meeting which was entirely organised by Sue, as our 'Surprise Night'. We followed her in a car convoy to the village of North Marston where we enjoyed a retail experience and heard all about how the community village shop is set up and run. We then visited the artisan pottery and saw a demonstration of how to throw a pot and admired the beautiful bowl and jugs which were the finished results. After that it was a scenic tour of the village hearing about it's unique history as a place of pilgrimage to the holy well in the Middle Ages. Henry VIII apparently visited on two occasions to help cure his gout but there is no record of whether the holy water performed a miracle for him. We finished the evening with a super supper in the newly converted Wesleyian Chapel and our thanks go to Sue and all her friends from North Marston who contributed to a wonderful evening for us.
We also arranged a fascinating day trip to London where he heard all about the London sewers (or lack of them) prior to the Victorians. We then visited the pumping station at Crossness near Woolwich which they installed to solve the problem and where they created a 'cathedral' to house four huge beam engines which pumped millions of gallons of sewage from the tunnels up to a level where it could be discharged into the Thames downstream of London. It was a really grand day out !!
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July 2018 'Enraptured with Raptors' with Sue Mitchell
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May 2018 A Grand Day Out in London
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April 2018 Surprise Night at North Marston
March 2018 Visit to Wheelpower at Stoke Mandeville
December 2017 at 'The Hundred of Ashendon'
The Team ready for ACTION (providing lunch for Great Milton Neighbours Club) November 2017
At Crossness during The Great Stink
The Entries for the 'Flowers in a Teacup' competition at our October Meeting
The Ladies Singing 'Jerusalem' Outside Downing Street during the Suffragette Walk in July
June Surprise Night
Greetings from Ashendon WI - making flower posies for the ladies of the Village
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Dinner at The Long Dog January 2017
Enjoying a Committee Meeting - June 2016
BFWI Walk in Westminster with a Blue Badge Guide and the Suffragettes
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Fund Raising for Denman College at Hill Farm
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Blewbury Manor Gardens
The Poppy Factory at Richmond
NFWI Annual Meeting Brighton
Visit to Ray Meadows BBOWT Heritage Site
An Evening at the Chilton Estate - June Surprise Meeting
Visit to the Royal Hospital Chelsea - March 2016
Christmas with Ashendon WI
Making Corn Dollies
Ashendon WI Visits Broadcasting House:
The 2015 BFWI Co-Operative at the Buckinghamshire County Show:
This year the theme was 'A WI Inspiration' and the Ashendon Ladies chose to highlight the campaign to save the Bees. The ladies worked hard with knitting, crochet, baking, flower arranging, jam making and accessorising. Our entry came second by 1/2 a point!!!
The 2015 WI Centenary Celebrations: The WI was founded in Anglesey in 1915 and after 100 years we are celebrating in Ashendon!! The flower 'Parterre' has been planted outside the church gate and our members have been present at the Centenary Garden Party at Buckingham Palace, the Centenary Annual Meeting at the Albert Hall and the Buckinghamshire Federation celebration at Waddesdon Manor. The WI Centenary Baton visited Buckinghamshire and Ashendon WI was involved in welcoming it to Winslow in 'Ethel', the 1937 Morgan driven by Geoff. We also visited the Judges Lodgings in Aylesbury for our June meeting which event was kindly hosted by the Chairman of Bucks County Council, Bill Chapple OBE and his wife, Sue.
The Centenary Flower Display
Ethel with the WI ladies at Winslow
Dressed for the Palace
Ashendon Ladies on site at the EFW Plant
On 4th August Ashendon WI made a site visit to the EFW plant at Calvert. The visit was very informative as well as being enjoyeable and we think we now feel a little more comfortable with the prospect of this huge operation so close to our village.
The Ladies in the Telegraph Media Offices
On August 3rd Ashendon WI took a bus up to London and spent the morning at the Palace of Westminster touring the Houses of Commons and the Lords and being guided through the history of the Palace courtesey of John Bercow, our MP. We also visited the Speakers House which was fascinating.
After lunch we walked (or taxied) down to Victoria Station for a private visit to the Telgraph Media Offices and we learnt a lot about how modern multi media journalism works.
