Gloucester Road WI

How to talk about death and dying, and why women are reclaiming the conversation

This fascinating and informative talk by Delia Ryding from Divine Ceremony, charted Queen Victoria’s creation of the high street Funeral Parlour, and the rise of the men in their black suits, to the progressive female pioneers who are currently leading the way in Funeral care in the 21st Century, including Delia’s personal journey. 

Many attendees took the opportunity to ask questions they had around death and dying.

Doors will opened at 7.45pm

Mental Health Awareness Week ran from 13 to 19 May 2024.
Every year 1 in 4 of us will experience a mental health problem (MIND).

We all know how it feels to be stressed or anxious, but what’s happening in our brain at those times? We joined Sally to learn about how the brain works and how we can ‘hack’ its quirks to feel better.

This was followed by a 20-minute guided meditation destress. We got comfortable and let soothing music and visualisations take us on a journey to deep calm and inner peace. Sally was also be available to answer questions on wellbeing, self care, and mental health.

Sally Hare is a local Solution Focused Hypnotherapist and facilitator, and is Head of Communications for the Association for Solution Focused Hypnotherapy. www.sallyharehypno.co.uk

We indulged in some self care under the guidance of Rob Mackay.

To aid our appreciation ancient martial art Rob provided an inspiring over view of the history of Tai Chi and why he has so passionately practiced it for the past 30 years.

He then led us through some gentle warm-up exercises and into some of the sequence which took us about 40 minutes. There were some fine flying geese on display!

The system Rob teaches is called TMW (Tai Chi Movement for Wellbeing). Whilst traditional Tai Chi takes many years to learn, TMW was developed to make the benefits of Tai Chi accessible to all in a simplified form.  It can help anyone, of any age, regain and maintain some flexibility of the body and it promotes a state of well-being in both body and mind.

Above all, the movements were beautiful, wholesome and made one feel relaxed, enlivened and able to face life anew. A refreshing night!

Cash was required for drinks and the raffle. 
The cost to visitors was £6.50 cash for this event.

Doors opened at 7:45 pm

This March, we immersed ourselves in a captivating talk by our guest speaker, Geoff King as he vividly brought to life the stark realities of Victorian-era surgeries, in all its gory glory !  
 
As promised this was an entertaining and informative evening.

Doors open at 7:45 pm

In February our meeting was a Quiz with a difference.

Karina, one of our members will organised the quiz and there were some great prizes too. 

This quiz with a difference was really fun night … no boring sports round, no need to swot up on the news, no advantage for hardened quizzers.

Some fun rounds, some random rounds and some just weird – such a good nose needed for the Herbs and Spice Round.

Teams varied in size between 3 and 5 members and it was a great opportunity to make new friends by getting to know some members who you don’t normally speak to.

Doors opened at 7:45pm with a prompt start at 8:00pm and still we over ran slightly with the head scratching, laughter and chatter.

A terrific evening.

In January we started the year in style with a clothes swap – clearing out the old and heralding in the new. Attendees brought along unwanted Christmas gifts and clothes or accessories they no longer wear, to our clothes swap event.

In addition, our guest Becky Barnes, a personal stylist, gave an informative talk on ‘How Your Wardrobe Could Save the Planet – the journey of a pair of jeans from cotton field to landfill.’

In December, we booked a table at the Royal Oak for those members who wanted gather for a Christmas meal.   The cost was £19.50 for 2 courses and £22.50 for 3 courses.  A £10 deposit was needed to secure a place.  A sign up sheet was in circulation at our November meeting and subsequently, an email circulated requesting payment of the deposit and confirmation of meal choices.
So as not to exclude anyone from this get together, everyone was welcome to join us for a drink beforehand.   

We met from 7.30 pm for a 7.45pm start on Tuesday 12th December at The Royal Oak, 385 Gloucester Road. BS7 8TR.

We held our usual Christmas raffle with prizes of donated gift hampers and cookery books. An enjoyable evening was had by attendees.

In November, we prepared for Christmas with a wreath-making workshop. Our committee organised and ran it using locally sourced and mainly compostable materials. The wreaths were on a moss base, allowing them to last throughout the festive season. We encouraged people to bring along fir cones, rosemary sprigs, bay leaves, holly etc that they may have had in their garden, to share or add to their own wreaths. Ribbons were provided but some people brought along their own.

As expected, this was a popular event and the evening had a great buzz to it. Pre-booking was essential as spaces were limited. Visitors were welcome but needed to email in advance to secure a space. The cost to visitors was £15. The event was free to members but booking was required. We confirmed reservation requests by email.