Afternoon Tea & Resolutions
Fine china, delicious sandwiches, scrumptious cakes and smiling waitresses were in evidence in the village hall when Asby WI held a formal afternoon tea in aid of the Ankoma Outreach Project. Despite rather poor weather the event was well attended and raised £181 for the Ghanaian charity – an endeavour warm to the hearts of Asbeians as it is the project of local couple, Asha Richardson and her husband, Craig. The money raised will go towards the charity’s work in Ankoma’s Presbyterian Primary School, the Health Clinic there and the community in general.
The monthly meeting saw 12 members gather for the annual ‘Resolutions Evening’ at which resolutions going before the national Annual Meeting are discussed so that the local delegate to the meeting can be informed and vote accordingly. The resolutions represent the national membership’s recommendations on policies about which the national federation should be campaigning.
There are two resolutions for 2019 – one, briefly described as ‘Don’t Fear the Smear’, relating to the importance of women attending their appointments to check for early signs of cervical cancer. Asby WI recommended by a majority that their delegate should vote for this.
The other resolution related to the decline in rural bus services. It was not surprising, given that Great Asby has just learned that it is likely to lose its one and only service on a Friday, that this resolution received a unanimous vote in favour. It was revealing to learn that the national federation received 8 suggested resolutions on this issue from across England and Wales.
Following her presentations on these issues, President Annie Johnson, gave a brief introduction to the “MyWI” website to show how easy it is to access and use it.
The evening’s competition, for a children’s game, was won by Rachel Forrest, second Pat Bevan. Hostess for the meeting was Carol Smith aided by several Asby members in the absence of her planned assistant.
