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 Bicester, 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.
To commemorate the centenary of the end of WW1 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 recent monthly meetings we have learnt about the trials and tribulations of becoming a crime writer and how to design and plant the perfect garden border. In 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 is the 100 year anniversary of women getting the vote in this country. Many celebrations are taking place all over the country and Ashendon W.I. felt we couldn't let this momentous event pass without marking it in some way so in the true spirit of the W.I. we are holding a Village Cream Tea on August 19th at 3.0pm on the Playing Fields.
Ashendon Voices led by Fiona Jacobs continues to thrive and is greatly enjoyed by all those participating.
Next year we will be celebrating 80 years since Ashendon W.I. was formed. I am sure many things have changed over the years but we still adhere to the same principles of being a friendly, informative and forward looking organisation. Visitors are always welcome to our meetings, 2nd Tuesday of the month, 7.30pm in the Village Hall.
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 !!
Unfortunately the weather caused the cancellation of our December 2017 meeting but we met at 'The Hundred' a week later for our Christmas meal and had a lovely evening full of laughter, good food and wine - a very WI event!!
Film nights continue on a regular basis. In 2017 we have shown 'My Old Lady', 'Gypsy' the musical starring Imelda Staunton, 'Lion' and 'A United Kingdom' , a true story from 1948. On January 18th we showed 'Hidden Figures', the story of the women who helped land a man on the moon and whose contribution was never recognised . We have also recently shown 'Victoria and Abdul' which we all enjoyed.
Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 11th December 2018, 7.30pm in Ashendon Village Hall when the Ladies will be sharing a supper and generally getting into the Christmas spirit.
ASHENDON VOICES SINGING GROUP: Tuesday December 11th in the Village Hall at 2.0pm.
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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.
ashendonwi@outlook.com
