Welcome to Bedfordshire County Federation of Women's Institutes. Now that you have found us, let me offer you a really warm welcome and tell you something about us.
Bedfordshire is the smallest shire county in the country, but we boast 88 WIs across the county, some based in villages and small towns, others around the more urban areas in the county. Each WI meets at least once a month with a speaker or demonstration.
One or two meet in the morning, a number in the afternoon, but the majority in the evening. Every WI is special in its own way and many take part in additional activities over and above the monthly meeting. Some enjoy theatre visits or eating out, while others have thriving craft or drama groups or organise regular walks in the local countryside.
Many of our WIs get involved in local and national campaigns aimed at improving the lot of women in particular, both in the UK and worldwide. Some do all of the above and more!
The WIs in Bedfordshire are supported by the Bedfordshire County Federation of Women’s Institutes (BCFWI) and we organise a number of countywide events and outings during the year such as flower arranging demonstrations, Murder Mystery evenings and visits to Somerset House and Greenwich.
We try to ensure that our members have a wide variety of opportunities either to practise skills or follow interests they already have, or to learn new ones. We also have our own monthly newsletter, which keeps members up to date and gives WIs the opportunity to tell us about their activities.
We have two business meetings a year, in the spring and autumn, at which we endeavour to have high quality speakers that our members will find stimulating, informative, amusing or moving (sometimes all four).
Living in Bedfordshire we are particularly lucky to be quite close to Denman College in Marcham, near Oxford. This is the WI's own college where we can enjoy and learn from a huge range of courses, from cookery to computing or painting to public speaking, in the company of other WI members.
We have a considerable national voice, through our affiliation to the National Federation of WIs (NFWI). Our national body is mandated to act on various national and international issues through the resolutions passed at our Annual General Meeting.
To decide whether the WI is for you, just call the Bedfordshire Federation on 01234 359538 and find the times and venues of groups near you. WIs have different things to offer so you may want to visit more than one WI before joining, so that you can find the one that suits you best.
Here in Bedfordshire we get a great deal of friendship, learning and fun from our membership of the WI, so don't miss out!
Ruth Gill
Chairman