Kibworth & Smeeton WI – September 2023
Busy Summer
The summer months have been busy for our WI, Beginning in June with a fascinating talk by Alison Emery,’Walking the Camino de Santiago‘. A pilgrimage which finishes at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in the northwest of Spain.
People have many reasons for making the pilgrimage, such as spiritual, cultural to experience their beautiful surroundings. In Alison’s case, she had joined a running club after her husband’s cancer diagnosis. Walking the Camino with eight friends from her club helped her to cope. With several lengthy routes to choose from, many people only walk the final 100 miles. Their route signposted with shell symbols and arrows to guide them. They had a special passport which had to be stamped at stages on their journey. Then on arrival at the cathedral, they received a lovely signed certificate. During the six days of the walk, they met people from many cultures and new friendships could be forged. What an experience!
WI Annual Federation Quiz
On 8 July, we entered two teams for the yearly WI Federation Quiz. It was our turn to host, welcoming members of other WIs to the Grammar School Hall and providing tasty refreshments. The quiz and a raffle were conducted by Mandy Cutler, one of our Federation trustees, and her husband. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening and we were pleased with the comments about the friendly atmosphere and our lovely Hall.
Assistance Dogs
On Thursday 13 July Glynis Myall talked to us about Canine Partners: Amazing dogs. Transforming lives. Based in Osgathorpe, the charity trains assistance dogs to live with disabled people and enable them to live as normal a life as possible. The dogs are usually Labradors / retrievers. It takes about two years and costs £30,000 to train and equip a dog from puppy to retirement. The charity always needs puppy parents to care for the young pups and give them initial training. At 14 months they go to the centre at Osgathorpe (near Loughborough) for training by experts. Anyone interested in puppy parenting can find out more by visiting caninepartners.org.uk
Launde Abbey
Our summer outing in August was to Launde Abbey. Were we enjoyed walking in the beautiful gardens before sitting down to a delicious afternoon tea.
Knee Blankets
Our ladies have continued to knit or crochet knee blankets. We have now given 34 to Mandy, the RVS lady, to use with dementia patients at LRI. Delighted to receive some colourful blanket squares from members of Billesdon WI who heard of our project and wanted to help. We would like to thank them all.
WI Meetings
Our September meeting – Sausage Making with Bridge 67 Butchers – will take place after the Chronicle goes to print.
Bill Haley will speak to us about Life On Board Britannia on Thursday 12 October at 7.30pm in Kibworth Grammar School Hall.
Sandra Bryant and Pat Sharman
Voluntary Drivers Urgently Needed
