Old Buckenham Women's Institute

January 2019 meeting
President, Kate Lloyd, welcomed members of Old Buckenham Women’s Institute to the first meeting of 2019 including the new secretary Betty Stacey and WI Adviser Carol Cousins.
A minute's silence was held in memory of Marjorie Greenwood, a member of Bunwell and Carleton Rode WI and a long serving judge at Old Buckenham's Produce Show.
Members and friends had enjoyed a trip to the Theatre Royal for the Norwich and Norfolk Amateur Operatic Society's production of Guys and Dolls.
The speaker for the evening was Helen Reeve who owns a 60-head herd of Dexter cattle in the Waveney Valley, one of only a handful of Dexter breeders in Norfolk. She also teaches at Easton and Otley colleges. Helen spoke about the organisation 'Ladies in Beef'. This was set up following the realisation that other groups promoted aspects of farming for instance Ladies in Pigs, Farm Women's club and the NFU but there was nothing specific to celebrate beef production. Launched by Princess Anne in 2011 it is now countrywide and champions high welfare status beef concentrating on the health and welfare of cattle. It also runs an annual Great British Beef Week which raises funds for the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institute.
In January all WI members vote for one of the year's Resolutions which this year covered the environment, women's health and rural buses. The majority of Old Buckenham's votes went to plant bio-security with the promoting of smear tests coming second. The one or two resolutions gaining most votes throughout the country will be discussed and passed for campaigning on at WI’s national AGM in June.
Vouchers were awarded to those members gaining most points in the two competitions held at each meeting throughout the year. Barbara Frost won for Flower of the Month and Kathy Fleckney for the monthly competition. A posy of flowers was given to Susan Hunter for consistently entering both categories.
At the next meeting on Thursday 28 February Norma Howell will be taking about medical detection dogs. Then on Thursday 28 March at 7.30pm in Old Buckenham Village Hall the speaker will be Christine Humphries on 'Laura Eke and the fisherman who painted in wood'.