what's your WI like?

My own group has about 50 members, is mainly older in age [50 to 80's] but has some brilliant speakers to visit and outings and also hosts coffee and cake mornings to help new villagers integrate.

I'm not in a WI but I visit a lot of them doing talks. They always seem to me to have very nice members. Often ladies who have known each other for years. Usually a welcome is extended to several potential new members who sit looking a bit embarrassed!
There's frequently competitions or raffles. Sometimes I'm asked to judge a competition or contribute to a silent silver auction for eg best single bloom etc. So far I've won a packet of biscuits and a box of (on its sell by date!) Turkish delight in raffles.
I can count on my visits being interesting and good fun. There hasn't (so far) been one where I haven't wished I could join!

My WI has about 50 members and about 70% of them are very elderly and have been members for decades. I've only been a member for about a year and haven't felt particularly welcome. The established members have to sit in the same seats, at the same table, with the same people, every month and scowl if you try to join them. They're even resistant to offers
to help wash up after tea and cake because it's "their job". Speakers have sometimes been very interesting but some have failed to turn up and we've ended up playing bingo instead. Doubtful I'll be renewing my membership in January.

Oh dear Chewy that doesn't sound great.
there are designated tea makers and washer uppers every month, usually two or three, which is likely why help was turned down.
when new it's sometimes good to join the committee, you really get to know people then.

Jane10 we have quite a few author guest speakers like yourself, in fact they are usually the better speakers, certainly the most interesting ones.

Our village is in the process of trying to resurrect WI meetings and lots of younger women have shown their interest. We have several new estates surrounding an older established community. However we are two and a half miles from the nearest town; have a village hall and a population around 1500 so I am keeping my fingers crossed that something positive will result from our next meeting.
I am sure Facebook community has encouraged this involvement.

I joined a local one for a year and that was enough. I was amazed they still sang Jerusalem and when I queried it the reply was "oh we have always done that" and in the next breath they wondered why no "young" women joined the group.

It was a group of older ladies extremely set in their ways, aghast and judgemental of my lifestyle (travelling alone leaving OH at home and so on.)

Having said that it did provide a mutual support system for those needing it and a lot of the ladies obviously gained a lot from being part of a group. It left me screaming and fearful for my future Should I ever get the same.

I have only met some of the committee of our village one. They were very pushy and made me and my fellow members of the library committee feel very uncomfortable when we couldn't accommodate them. That put me off joining them.

My WI is small, about 22 of us, age ranges late 40s to 100. It is in a small friendly village institute so we join together with 6 other WI’s to form a Group so we can afford more expensive speakers at least twice a year and annually have a group walk, quiz and Harvest Supper. At our own WI we have speakers, do a litter pick through the village and hold 2 activities a year for the village. We are a very welcoming WI, a few of us do not live in the village but travel, so it must be good, our latest initiative is combating mental illness. May I suggest if you do not like one WI. you try another, you can sit where you like at mine, no offer of help is ever turned down and every member is valued.

Forgot to say Dorset Federation.

I too used to be a WI Speaker so when I retired I chose the WI near my home who had treated me well as a guest.

I have made some wonderful friends over the 10 years I have been a member. There are about 50 of us with a waiting list. Our ages range from early 60s to 94.

As well as having a speaker once a month we have a book club, craft and chat, Rummykub, ramblers. We have trips out to places such as a Gin Factory, Silk Mill, London museums, Westonbirt Arboretum, theatre trips and many more.

One or two of our members are unwell so they are supported, visited and generally cared for.

All in all I think we are a pretty fab group.

I am currently President of my WI and we have have 92 members, up from 64 in January so we must be doing something right! We tend to have about sixty ladies at each meeting. We formed almost five years ago and are in a large village/small town which has another well established afternoon WI. We meet in the evenings at a venue with a bar and our membership is aged from mid thirties to mid seventies - the bar is very popular!

We tend to have interactive speakers rather than slide show talks, our last meeting was with a local artist who painted a picture while talking us through the techniques, totally fascinating. Thus year we have had a go at Bollywood dancing, Pilates, self defence and also learnt about our local wildlife and healthy nutrition. We have several sub groups which meet in between the monthly meetings and also extra trips and events- a trip to a gin distillery was very popular! We are lucky to be part of Cheshire Federation which arranges trips and speakers and also have a local group of 12 WIs to organise even more activities. In fact next week I am out on four nights with WI groups!

We do not sing Jerusalem but do make cakes!

As you can tell, I love my WI!

I left my WI last year. I'd been a member for a long time - possibly 20 years, took my mum for some years and an older member too until they both passed away but it became very cliquey and I started to feel an outsider even though I'd known some of the members for many years previously. The club had 50 members with ages ranging from 40's - 80's and we'd had some great speakers and outings. The fact that no one has made contact with me since the day I left has made me feel I did the right thing.

If you like the WI so much, Jane10, why don't you join? My WI is lively and active - so much so that we always have a waiting list of people wanting to join. We have excellent speakers and several 'off-shoot' groups.

None have mentioned doing a calendar...hahaha

We have 43 members in our small village, mostly from 60 to over 80. We have interesting speakers, two meals out each year, bring and share suppers and a book club.
I didn’t join until just before I retired, mainly because I just didn’t have time with a demanding job and children at home. One of the extra benefits is access to the WI Travel Insurance which is reasonably priced, and you don’t have to declare any medical conditions. It saved me a couple of hundred pounds a year.
I have also been to Denman College with friends to take their interesting residential courses.
I have met several new friends from it, and husbands now join together for eating and drinking too.
We do wish more of the younger women would join too.

We don’t sing a Jerusalem either!

I agree that it is a good idea to try different WIs to find the one that suits you best. I joined one which did a lot of performing on stage at events, which wasn’t my thing However they did have some very interesting and varied speakers. I joined another one when I moved to a new area, but the Chair was very disorganised, it was very cliquey and there were no young members
However in defence of the WI, the one my Auntie goes to is brilliant and the day I visited it they were playing indoor curling, raffled one of the cakes a member had made and donated the money to a local charity.

We have two WI groups in our village, one morning and one evening, both are very active. I was made very welcome when I joined the morning one. We have very good speakers, lunches at the local, craft group and lovely outings as well as supporting local charities. We do not have a monthly competition, the evening group do.

Our WI is only just 2 years old and is mainly younger members in their 30’s and 40’s with a few older members in the 50’s and 60’s. It is a very modern branch and we try to do things a little bit different . This last year we have had Charleston (the dance) lessons, nude drawing ( the model not the members ) , Burlesque dancing etc. We also have several “clubs” within our branch including cinema, wine, arts and crafts, book club, games club and several others .

We support our local foodbank and women’s refuge.

Before I relocated to my current home I was a member of a lively 150 member WI in London. When I moved the local WI was just closing due to aging & low membership.A while later I set up a new WI & we attracted a good cross section of women. 2 of the committee were in their 20s and our ages ranged from 20s to 80s. We were quite innovative and varied in our programme & outgrew our first venue & moved into the centre of town. I had said from the start that I would only stay on the committee for the first few years as I wanted it to reflect the whole membership. After a while things slowly became more tradtional WI. Numbers fell. I was asked to stand for committee again so I did but resigned quickly as there were too many post- meeting directives from the President that contradicted the decisions of the committee. I eventually left altogether. It is now a small traditional WI relocated to a 3rd venue, with mostly elderly members..whose numbers are dwindling to 20 ish & with events cancelled due to lack of support. Sad situation.

I only joined WI after I retired mistakenly thinking it all happened during the day. But I am pleased to be part of a group of great ladies with a large range of life experiences and to be able to go and do things my OH wouldnt be interested in. I think it is good advice to visit 2 or 3 before choosing one to join. I see the need to update the image of the WI and progress with times is hugely important for the future sucess of the WI~ its not all Jam and Jerusalem ~ it’s about making women’s voices heard and it is heartening that new and younger groups are starting up. There is room for all. What have been all your best speakers? Ours has been Acme Whistles ~ priceless, who would have guessed?

When my husband retired we moved to the boon docks which seemed a good idea at the time, a fresh start for both of us ?
The local WI branch holds a weekly plant and produce market which a well meaning elderly neighbour told me about and, realising I was lonely suggested I became a member. It was like a entering a scene from a Western film, the chatter of voices fell silent as walked in and fifty or so very elderly faces looked up from their coffee and biscuits. Feeling rather unnerved I made a beeline to the plant sale and tried a little chat with the lady who had made a show of leaving her elevenses to see to the stranger. It was quite clear they did not welcome newcomers and I was later told each branch tended to be cliquy and everyone sat with their friends (often from schooldays) and had no desire to include outsiders. I scuttled away never to return.

Granfran I loved the Acme whistles guy. Such a brilliant speaker and intersting history too!