Royal Memories
2022 for Asby WI began with a disappointment: the planned new year celebration lunch was cancelled. This was a case of erring on the side of caution when it was known that a number of members were being careful about mixing because they had family members still classed as vulnerable. Hopefully a similar get-together can be arranged later in the year.
But then, members were disappointed again when they learned, with just two days’ notice, that the speaker for February had caught Covid and couldn’t come! Some quick thinking on the part of the Committee and inspiration from having seen, on TV, the Queen entertaining some of the Sandringham WI members and other local volunteers to tea, lead to the decision to hold an afternoon of ‘Royal Memories’. So members were invited to bring along mementoes and stories of the coronation, jubilees, and other royal events they’d experienced.
The mention of Sandringham triggered a memory of a talk given by a Norfolk WI Adviser about a Sandringham WI’s annual meeting at which the Queen presided, gave a light-hearted personal report of her own activities during the year, and then poured tea at the informal gathering afterwards.
Asby members remembered hearing the news of the death of George VI at a specially summoned school assembly; the street parties held on coronation day; seeing it all in black and white on TV with a room full of family and neighbours; and one family spending the day at the beach!
School-linked activities at the time included going to the cinema several days later to see a full newsreel of the coronation; lining Hammersmith Broadway, with hundreds of other school children, to see the Queen drive by in an open-top car – something she did on a number of days round London and other cities; and singing in the Royal Festival Hall with massed school choirs in a special celebratory concert.
More recent royal occasions included seeing the Queen visiting Whitehaven and Norwich; being present in the marina when Princess Anne accessed her personal boat in Scotland; seeing Prince William and Prince George at Sandringham; attending and seeing the Queen at a Holyrood House garden party; and meeting Prince Philip at carriage-driving events.
A number of treasured mementoes in the form of a mug, cups, sugar spoon, prayer book and New Testament were displayed.
Immediately following the meeting President Annie Johnson, together with Anne Hulse and Helen Cooper, set off to Appleby to present a 60 year WI membership certificate to Maud Holder. Unfortunately, Maud wasn’t able to attend that afternoon’s session but was delighted to receive the deputation at home.
The main discussions of the evening resulted in a decision to meet in the afternoon for a year’s trial period, and a further decision to move the WI’s financial year by 6 months to end on 31st March. This would tie in with the new date for the payment of subscriptions that had been introduced nationally.
With the business over members enjoyed a supper of soup, roll and desserts prepared and served by Lisa Harrington, Anne Hulse and Pat Bevan.