Wednesday 7th June saw the Echo Arena packed with ladies from all over the country - from Cornwall to Northumberland, from Jersey to the Isle of Man, from Lincolnshire to Anglesey and of course local WI members from Liverpool and other parts of the Lancashire Federation. A number of us from WOW went to the meeting and after queueing outside for a while and having our bags searched for security, we took our places in the Arena. The NF Chair opened the day and we sang Jerusalem - I must admit it was an amazing feeling singing alongside thousands of other WI members. We made a great sound!
We had two fantastic keynote speakers: Jo Fairley who founded the Green and Black Fairtrade Chocolate brand and Susie Dent, the lexicographer who works for Oxford and appears on the Countdown programme. Jo was inspirational as she described how she worked extremely hard to succeed after bring told by a teacher she was unlikely to do so. We were hoping for some free samples but........
Susie shared her passion for words and their origins. She told us some of the stories behind spellings and meanings, bringing word study to life.
Perhaps the most important part of the day was hearing about the two resolutions, concerning Alleviating Loneliness and Plastic Soup. We heard arguments for and against with expert speakers to support the topics. All speakers without exception, were engaging and passionate.
The day ended with a band called Retro entertaining us with some 'Mersey Sound' which found many ladies dancing in the aisles! Great fun!
This was my first experience of a National WI event and I really enjoyed it. It's good to know we are part of such a powerful group of women! On top of that I had the chance to catch up with a college friend from Lincolnshire Federation who I haven't seen for 30 years! Result!
WOW had a fabulous table showcasing some of the creativity of our members. Thanks to Sandra and Glenys for organising this.
We had two fantastic keynote speakers: Jo Fairley who founded the Green and Black Fairtrade Chocolate brand and Susie Dent, the lexicographer who works for Oxford and appears on the Countdown programme. Jo was inspirational as she described how she worked extremely hard to succeed after bring told by a teacher she was unlikely to do so. We were hoping for some free samples but........
Susie shared her passion for words and their origins. She told us some of the stories behind spellings and meanings, bringing word study to life.
Perhaps the most important part of the day was hearing about the two resolutions, concerning Alleviating Loneliness and Plastic Soup. We heard arguments for and against with expert speakers to support the topics. All speakers without exception, were engaging and passionate.
The day ended with a band called Retro entertaining us with some 'Mersey Sound' which found many ladies dancing in the aisles! Great fun!
This was my first experience of a National WI event and I really enjoyed it. It's good to know we are part of such a powerful group of women! On top of that I had the chance to catch up with a college friend from Lincolnshire Federation who I haven't seen for 30 years! Result!
WOW had a fabulous table showcasing some of the creativity of our members. Thanks to Sandra and Glenys for organising this.
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