A nice thread

I have to say that I'm an author but the topic of my novels has moved on to become a social history topic rather than anything to do with my books. If people want to buy them they can but I do emphasise that they are novels and are not what the talks are about.
I enjoy doing the talks mainly because I like meeting so many ladies and love hearing their reminiscences of the old department stores.
Quite often I'm given a speakers fee which I pass on to the charity I volunteer at.

When booking speakers ( a thankless task) you can only go on reviews by other WI’s or word of mouth local people.
We have had some humdingers in the past, spectacularly good and spectacularly bad.
Sometimes, subjects that sound as if they would bore you to tears turn out be really interesting, and ones that the subject already interests you, have speakers that should never be on the circuit!
Authors are usually good. The worst speaker that comes to mind was an ex policeman ( dog handler) in which his dog,
Also ex police, was the most interesting thing, even though it spent most of the time asleep near his feet.

The worst talk I experienced at our W.I. was from a dowser, but fortunately it was so bad that many of us got the giggles and it turned out to be hugely entertaining; although we won't be asking him back or recommending him to other groups.

It costs nothing to say a kind word and benefits both the speaker and listener, so why not be kind?

We've just had a talk by a local author and I must say he was young(ish) and rather gorgeous and an exceedingly entertaining speaker. I've ordered a copy of his book, cheaper than it will be on that site named after a large river.

aggie yes, road workers do work at night in the UK.

aggie
The meeting ended at 10 but I helped clear up and Hoover the floor for the nursery club next day.
They tarmac and paint lines at night in the area where the WI used to meet. It's quite rural but with a well used B road passing through it.
I've never been to NI, only down south to visit the O'Briens stud. Lovely place.

we do clean our teeth and I haven't noticed any farting

and it is in Co Armagh Northern Ireland

No it isn't called that , it meets at 10am so no cup cake eating roadmen around . It was called the seniors as a joke ,

The only place I ever saw road men working at that time of night was in Japan , they repair roads at night to keep the traffic flowing

aggie
Is it really called a seniors club? You must live in the USA as they have enclaves of seniors who travel the local roads in golf buggies.
I'd hate to be called a senior. I'm 16 going on 17 and, when asked if I had proof of age for a concessionary pass, I replied that I'm 26 but have had a hard life.
Senior? Never

Oh that’s a shame, I was going to book the speaker on Dorothy Babbage. By heck that was late (11pm) for WI.

Jalima1108
I agree, but some have an older membership than others and the one I visited had just such a group. I'm old myself but I'm a tad tired of visiting National Trust properties and having speakers on subjects such as the life of Dorothy Babbage who died in 1913. (made up title) and activities such as putting swirls of ready-prepared buttercream on a pre-bought cupcake.
TBH, I gave the two I made to workman who were on a night shift tarmac-ing the road at 11pm on my way home from that particular meeting. It cost £10.

LemonGrove
No, it was not. No-one that anyone here would really remember, in fact, I can't even remember her name right now, I'd have to look at her book. It was a factual book but, to say more would identify the speaker and the WI's. There are those who love to dig, then plant knowing hints that they have ID'd you. I have no problem with that as my name on here is my real name but better to be cautious re other people...just in case.

Our WI ages range from early 60s to late 90s. We support the local Refuge, Women’s Aid, children’s charities. We have lots of fun, eating and drinking and generally enjoying ourselves. We also knit for premature babies, the list goes on.

WIs are not all full of boring old farts

Mind you Gabriella if it was J K Rowling then they got their moneysworth.
Yes, some WI’s do mainly consist of older women but more and more new WI’s are springing up, and they are mainly younger (30 and 40) which is good to see.My own one has very mixed ages in it.
I don’t know about others, but I always try not to fart.?

We have a lovely Seniors club in the village , lots of the ladies knitted one piece bears in bright stripes for one member who was going out to a foreign hospital where there were lots of orphaned children , they had nothing of their own so her Charity was getting these toys for them

I used to be on the committee of my local WI and enjoyed the cameraderie, talks, occasional outings etc.
The majority of members were young mums and those of young-ish middle years and it was vibrant and modern.
It (sadly) closed.
I tried another local branch but after looking around me, they were almost all in my age group but looked like clones. During the talk, the lady in front of me farted and I have never held my breath for so long as on that evening. To top it all, I patted the seat next to me to encourage a lone member to sit within the group I was with. She whispered throughout the talk and I could feel my ear withering away due to her halitosis.
Assaulted on two fronts, I decided that it wasn't for me. I felt as if I had one foot in the grave and yes, I know all WIs are not like that.
A funny thing was, in my former WI we had a talk by a local lady who had appeared on tv.
She brought copies of her latest book (large-ish hardback) which she would sign and we could buy after her talk.
I declined to pay £15 but many shelled out and went home very happy.
The following day I looked on Amazon, bought the book (new) for £2.60 (free p&p) and showed it to my WI friends at the next meeting.
"I thought you didn't buy one", came the cry.
"Ah! I did, from Amazon, but you paid £12.40 for a signature".

The Dali Lama said he has no temples or cathedrals, his place of worship is inside his head, and his mantra is 'Be kind - it is always possible to be kind'. How true, and there are some wonderful people who quietly go about making life easier for those who have been dealt a bad hand in life. My Mother grew up in a very poor family, and she said that they would have gone under without the Salvation Army - they did wonderful things to help the poor in the East End of London.

I'm afraid she can't seem to stop herself, ladies. Oh, well. Let's concentrate on the nice things being said instead.

I've just delivered a dozen baby cardigans to a local charity. They've asked that I knit more in newborn size. They make up packs for mums in hospital who may not have much. I've also made some hats and gloves for homeless men. A local church as requested them.

Why attack that one day with a snide comments
It would be nice if mabon was kind on just one day a year, mcem

mabon I'm reading these posts, admiring the many volunteers who provide ongoing support to many different causes. PECS highlighted the day of kindness, echoed by lemon.
Why attack that one day with a snide comments as if it negates all the excellent work being done.
Well done, all the volunteers who plod on without expecting awards and gongs!

The key word is reward. Volunteering is rewarding.
Unfortunately I can't knit and text at the same time yet.