Articles

Illston-on-the-Hill WI met in December for the last time in 2023. A few members were absent due to party and visiting commitments. However, this did not deter us from our activities.

There is a lot written about mental wellbeing these days and taking exercise as a means of staying healthy. BBC Radio 4 has many programmes detailing ways to keep healthy and avoid going to see the Doctor. Getting outside and going for a walk with a group of people has to be one of the best ways of achieving this.

Saddington is 10 miles south-east of Leicester and 6 miles north-west of Market Harborough. The pretty village of Saddington has a population of around 250 and is almost a suburb of its nearest neighbour Fleckney.

Not long ago I was sitting outside a café with my wife enjoying a coffee. Nearby was a young mum with her little boy, who was about four or five years old. He was playing a game of rushing up to his mother with a menu and asking her what she’d like to order. She’d examine the menu, pick something, and the boy would run to the building next door, pause and then run back and hand mum the pretend item. Then the whole cycle would start again. The child was totally engrossed in his game and, to her credit, his mother joined in patiently.

Going Live
Crossing the ‘Tin Bridge' the electrification of the Midland Main Line from Kettering to South Wigston is getting closer to completion. Soon the installation of the sections of the pedestrian bridge will be installed - timetabled to be in March- however new signage has now appeared on the Tin Bridge warning everyone that the wires are now live.

It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for Boboli…
And we’re feeling good.

An annual event which is developed each year by a different country chosen years in advance. This year, coincidentally, it happens to be Palestine which might seem to some rather apt.

In 1974 I remember buying a bottle of the world’s greatest Chardonnay, Montrachet, for £5 (reduced from £8 thanks to the oil crisis). Adjusted for inflation over 50 years, that’s £65 reduced from £104.

Our December activities began on the 11th when our skittles team played against Loddington WI. The match was held at The Rose and Crown in Thurnby. The skittles alley, which was decorated with greenery, Christmas baubles and lights, looked really festive.

Following the Christmas lull, the Kibworth Community Hub (At the Grammar School Hall) is gearing up for the 2024. We have our usual mix of regular users, Pilates, yoga, dancing and u3a etc. We are also looking forward to Last Minute Theatre’s annual pantomime. This year, it's Dick Whittington which will be performed on 20/21 and 26/27 January with matinee and evening performances.