Our Christmas Party

How quickly this year has gone by! It seemed no time since Ian Rogerson talked to us about cheese in January and now here he was again, in his role as a butcher, to serve his meat at our Christmas party. First we welcomed our guest Doreen Ainsworth, a WI member for sixty years, before we toasted absent friends and the WI. Then, crackers pulled, we collected plates full of ham and turkey and served ourselves to salads, quiches and accompaniments (such as Gill’s famous beetroot jelly) provided by the committee, and platters piled with assorted cheeses provided by Ian. He urged us to eat cheese with the meat, which seemed to be a satisfying combination judging from the drop in noise level as everyone concentrated on tucking in to the food and wine. As always, members had volunteered to supply a selection of fabulous puddings which completed the meal.

For the next part of the evening, Ian moved on to his role as entertainer, singing with one of his lady assistants and accompanied by the other playing a keyboard. For those who knew him only as a butcher and cheese expert this was a delightful surprise as he and his partner have superb voices and sang many songs such as “Some enchanted evening”, “Oh what a beautiful morning” and “Walking in the air" to which we were invited to sing along or join in the choruses. Ian’s gentle banter and humorous anecdotes produced a polished performance to which his audience responded with pleasure.
The Christmas raffle, with lots of good prizes, raised over £87 which will be donated to the Mission Aviation Fellowship whose representative talked to us earlier in the year. Mince pies with tea and coffee rounded off the evening before we formed a circle to sing “Auld Lang Syne”.

Although business is not usually conducted at the party, an exception was made for President Penny Bailey to explain the importance of making our views known on the future of Denman College. Because of rising maintenance costs it is proposed that the beautiful Georgian house and part of the grounds should be sold, retaining the modern classrooms and cottages which would be developed to compensate for the loss of the old building. Many members feel that the atmosphere of the house is a major factor in attracting them to courses so they should complete the survey online or in November’s edition of ‘WI Life’.
Visitors will be very welcome to our next meeting on 9th January when Jenny Hudson, a chiropractor, will tell us to ‘Straighten up’. For more information, please contact Penny through the link below.
(See more party photos here.)