November news...

Thanks to John and Annie from Glastonbury Ferments for sharing their passion and knowledge on fermentation at our October meeting and 10^th birthday celebration. 

Our November meeting will be the last of 2018.  To help get us in the festive sprit, Laura Humpage from Colourful Minds will showing us how to decorate Christmas paper, cards and gift tags by using a shaving foam marbling technique.

Colourful Minds run art and craft workshops for kids and adults in Bristol. Set up by mum of two, Laura, to teach and explore creative skills in relaxed and informal settings. Laura has a degree in Textile Design, worked as a freelance designer maker then worked at Watershed Media Centre for 8 years before setting up Colourful Minds in 2015. She now works in schools and venues all over Bristol providing affordable and accessible art and craft workshops for all ages.

All materials will be provided, but please feel free to bring along ink pads, Christmas stamps, shaped paper punches or any tags you would like to decorate.  It might get a bit messy so please wear old clothes and you may want to bring an apron.

In celebration of our 10^th birthday, all guests can attend the meeting free of charge, so we will are looking forward to seeing lots of new faces!  We have an exciting programme of meetings taking shape for 2019 and hope you are able to join us.

We hope to see many of you on 28th November, but for those who can’t make it, we wish you happiness and good health for the festive season.

October news....

Thanks to Delia, Erika and Sabina from Flo-Jo Fabrics for showing us how to make some very glamorous eye-masks at last months meeting.

We are very excited that our October meeting will be a celebration of Malago WI’s 10^th birthday and would love it if you could join us in the festivities! To avoid Halloween and half term we have moved the meeting to Wednesday 24^th October and we will not be in the hall.

We will be holding our party and meeting in the Benjamin Perry Boathouse which is on the harbourside near the Ostrich Pub (see directions below). We will be sprucing up the boathouse and there will be prosecco on arrival to help the party atmosphere.

For our meeting John and Annie from Glastonbury Ferments will share their passion and knowledge of one of the hottest trends in food – fermentation. This is a natural way to preserve food which happily also creates complex flavours and also provides health benefits such as aiding digestion, promoting a healthy gut and cleansing the blood.

They will give an insight into the background and science of fermentation, talk about haw you can have a go at fermenting at home and give a quick demo of how to make sauerkraut.  Last but not least they will be bringing along some samples of their various products to taste and there will be the chance to buy some of their lovely range.  You may have spotted them at the Tobacco factory Sunday market and other food events in the area.

Venue: Benjamin Perry Boathouse is on Phoenix Wharf, off Guinea Street, BS1 6LT. There is on street parking nearby but you can also park on the wharf alongside the Benjamin Perry Scout hut by driving from Redcliff Hill, down Guinea Street (behind the Old General Hospital) and then turning right at the bottom by the green/blue pedestrian footbridge, drive along the cobbles in front of the Ostrich Pub to the waterfront. You will see the black timber Boathouse ahead of you.

Please join us to celebrate this special occasion on 24^th October.

September news...

It was great to end the summer with a fascinating walking tour of some Bristol’s better kept secrets and curiosities courtesy of Charlie Revelle-Smith of Weird Bristol  fame.

So as the nights draw in, we are back in the hall to get creative. Delia Adey and Sabina Vestlin from Flo-Jo Fabrics will be showing us how to make some hand sown eye masks. Flo-Jo Fabrics is an independent sewing shop, set up in 2012 on the busy Gloucester Road. As well as having their own range of sewing patterns and kits, there is a dedicated workshop space where Delia, Erika and Sabina teach sewing and take in repairs and alterations.  They are delighted to be able to share their passion for dressmaking and sewing creations at this month’s meeting.

All equipment and fabric will be provided, but if you would like to bring your own fabric you will need a 25cm square of non-stretch fabric; cotton is best.  Don’t forget to bring some cash as Flo-Jo will be bringing along goodies for you to buy.

We look forward to seeing you on 26^th September!

P.S. As we will be celebrating our 10^th birthday next month, we will be holding our meeting a week early on 24^th October in the Scott Hut.  Hope you can join us!

August news....

What a lovely way to spend a summer’s evening by visiting The Spicery and getting to sample some delicious delights.  We were all inspired (and bought the appropriate spice packs) to create flavoursome meals of you own!

It may have turned a bit cooler, but we are still out and about for another outing before the evenings draw in.

Charlie Revelle-Smith, is a novelist more commonly known for his series of mystery books, Bristol Murders.  He has been documenting strange stories from our city’s history on Twitter which are very popular with Bristol residents. Coming this November is his official Weird Bristol book. Written (and fully illustrated) by Charlie, it promises to be a cornucopia of curiosities.

We will be meeting at 7:15 for a 7:30 start by the William III statue in Queen Square.  From there, Charlie will take us on a 90 minute tour incorporating lesser known and mysterious stories from Bristol history. Learn more about the history that lies beneath our feet including an extensive 40 miles of underground waterways throughout the city.  Why not check out Charlie’s Twitter feed @WeirdBristol’s to find out more!

We plan to finish near a pub if anyone would like to stay around afterwards for a drink.

We look forward to seeing you on 29^th August!

July news...

We hope you all enjoyed last month’s talk by Clare Osborne from Incredible Oceans. We certainly had our eyes opened to the damaging over-use of plastic and have been thinking of ways we can do our bit – remember, as Clare says, one starfish at a time!

And, if the weather isn’t hot enough already this month, things are certainly heating up as we leave the Hall for our July outing to The Spicery on Feeder Road. The Spicery team are purveyors of wonderful spices from around the world. Not only are they experts but they also have a test kitchen and event space on site where they develop all their delicious recipes and deliver special tasting evenings and workshops.

Matt, the development chef, will be taking us on an exploration of some of the many types of chilli with a special workshop where we can taste some samples – if you’re brave enough! We’ll take a tour around the fragrant Spicery itself to see how all the spices and blends are produced, stored and shipped out. To finish we’ll learn which spices are best used in summer cocktails, and the foodies among us can have a nosey round the Spicery Shop where you will be able to purchase spices, recipe kits, subscription boxes and books.

This special outing will take place on July 25^th at the earlier time of 7.30pm, finishing around 9.30pm. We’ll make our own way there: 77 Feeder Road, St Phillips, BS2 0TQ. There is parking directly outside the building and also in the surrounding streets.

If you haven’t already put your name down, why not spice up your life and contact us by 20^th July to secure a place?  Guests are very welcome to come along at £10 per person.

Mary Magro from Westleaze Long Ashton WI was our link delegate at the recent NFWI annual meeting held in June.  The meeting was attend by 1000’s of WI members and celebrated the centenary of the Suffragettes movement.  This year’s resolution ‘mental health matters’ was passed with 98% of delegates in favour.  A full report is available to read when we meet again in the Hall.

Don’t forget, we have a stall at Pride on 14^th July to help raise funds for future meetings and outings.  If you can help out or bake some cakes, please let us know or visit us to show you support and even make a kite!

We look forward to seeing you at our summer outing on 25^th July!

June news....

We hope you've all been doing your stretches and perfecting your posture after last month’s body boosting meeting with Clare Callaghan.

This month we have another Clare joining us ....Osborn that is, from Incredible Oceans. Clare spent over 10 years in a successful legal career although has always had a passion for travel, adventure and the ocean.  As a volunteer, she has been on the organising committee of Incredible Oceans / WhaleFest since 2015. She also paddled the width of Britain last year to raise awareness for plastic pollution and is this year kayaking the length of Wales (probably as this is sent!)

Her mission, and hopefully ours after June's meeting is to make us all more aware of the serious issues around ocean plastics, and inspire us make a difference to the ocean!

As you know, we are taking part in Pride this year with a stall in Millennium Square on Saturday 14^th July.  We need volunteers to staff the stall from 12pm to 5pm and make cakes to sell.  We will also be helping kids to make kites from a very simple pack.  It is essential that we undertake fundraising activity to ensure we can fund our summer outings and arrange fantastic speakers and activities for our monthly meetings.  If you are able to help out, please sign up at our next meeting.

We look forward to see you all on the 27^th!

May news....

Hello Malagoers,

Last month’s meeting was a delight for the taste buds with the rebranded Blend and Bird Tea Co. and their astounding array of teas for every mood and occasion.

This month we are focusing on the body courtesy of Claire Callaghan B.Pty MSc. Claire has been a Chartered Physiotherapist for over 20 years working in both the NHS and private sector. She is now working in the private sector, having worked in Sport, Exercise and Health at University of Bristol in a clinical and managerial capacity for many years.  

She specialises in sport and physical activity, injury and Women’s Health and Wellbeing. She runs workshops for various groups both in the private and corporate sector. She is particularly interested in how the female body changes over the life cycle and how we can best take care of ourselves through the various stages of life, from the childhood and teen years, childbirth, menopause and the changes which come with natural aging. The workshop will focus on unique aspects of women’s posture and movement and how to keep the bones, joints, muscles and nerves healthy throughout life. There will be some discussion about how to fit activity into your day, how to gain strength and fitness and avoid and manage injuries.

Don’t forget if you are interesting in attending the House of Fraser June Social and Pampering Treat on 5^th June, please email wearemalagowi@uwe.ac.uk or sign up at May’s meeting.

We are planning our fundraising activities for the year and will be taking a stall at Pride on Saturday 14^th July.  Based in Millennium Square, we will be making kites, selling cakes and wearing far too much glitter! If you are interesting helping out by baking some cakes or helping on the stall, you will be able to sign up at May’s meeting.

We look forward to seeing you on 30^th May.

MWI x

April news...

March’s meeting was full of intrigue thanks to Paul Barham’s fascinated talk on the sex, life and death of the humble honey bee.

This month we will be talking about one of Britain’s favourite topic – tea.  Bluebird tea is an independent, tea mixology company on a mission to make people happy with tea. Started three years ago by Krisi and Mike who began by packing tea in their bedroom and attending markets, the company now has multiple retail outlets, including Park Street in Bristol, and a thriving international online store.

Keight and Emma from the Bristol shop will talk about Bluebird’s amazing blends of teas including some of their 70 or more exciting flavours created by mixing with ingredients including herbs, flowers, fruit, caramel and chocolate.

They will bring their top 10 teas to taste and also talk about the health benefits of teas and new trends. Teas are not just made into a hot drink they can be mixed into tea cocktails, fresh iced teas, chai brews, cold brews, lattes and smoothies.

Bring along some cash as there will be different teas and other products available to buy.  Everyone will also receive a complimentary voucher to spend in the shop.

The National Federation of Women’s Institutes (NFWI) will be holding its AGM on 6^th June.  As part of the AGM, WI members are asked to vote on this year’s resolution - Mental health matters.  Further details of the resolution are available on the NFWI website. We will be asking members to vote for or against this resolution at April’s meeting and our votes will be taken to the AGM by Malago WI’s link delegate.

We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday 25^th!

March news....

It was lovely to see everyone who braved the cold weather at last month’s meeting.  Sue Duggan  Teach Me Sugar Craft showed us how to decorate cup cakes with an Easter theme.  They looked amazing and tasted pretty good as well!

So spring has finally sprung and we are delighted to have two speakers at this month’s meeting to talk about the beloved Bumblebee.  Our first speaker is Janice Walsh, a volunteer with Bumble Bee Conservation Trust.  The Bumblebee Conservation Trust was established because of serious concerns about the ‘plight of the bumblebee’. It now boasts over 10,000 members and is growing fast.

Janice’s illustrated talk 'The Buzz about Bumblebees' will give an insight into the challenges our UK bumblebees are facing and what simple steps we can all take to help their plight, including making our gardens and open spaces more bee friendly.

Our second speaker is Paul Barham who is a general surgeon specialising in upper gastro intestinal surgery. He is a leading figure in the development of minimally invasive techniques. In his spare time he is passionate about bee keeping, and will be telling us about how he keeps his bees happy and productive.

If you have any unwanted Christmas presents, please bring them along and we will raffle these off to raise money for future meetings and outings.

We are still collecting membership fee of £41, so it you haven’t paid, you can do so by cheque or cash
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We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday 28^th March.

February news...

We started 2018 with a bang thanks to Bill Bailey from Adventures in Science . As the days are getting longer, it is time to get a bit creative.

Sue Duggan from Teach Me Sugar Craft will be returning to inspire us with her craft cake creations. The theme will be spring and Sue will demonstrate how to decorate our cupcakes before letting us loose on four of our very own to take home…or eat in the break.  Sue has over 30 years’ experience of cake decorating and 20 years’ of teaching, so there should be some real masterpieces!

All cakes, icing and tools will be provided.  You may want to bring an apron, or you can purchase one of our fabulous Malago WI apron at a reduced price of £8.00.  If you are planning to take your cakes homes, it might be worth bringing some tupperware along.

If you have any unwanted Christmas presents, please bring them along and we will raffle these off to raise money for future meetings and outings.

We are still collecting membership fee of £41, so it you haven’t paid, you can do so by cheque or cash.
We are looking for new committee members.  If you are interested or would like a bit more information about what being on the Committee involves, please have a chat to one of us and we would be happy to tell you more.

We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday 28^th February.

January news...

Hello Malagoers

We hope that everyone had an enjoyable and restful Christmas break.  It seems a long time ago that we met at the hall when we had great evening of Christmas decoration making with Xanthe from Ivory Flowers.  As we head towards Spring, it’s time to chase away those winter blues and start our first meeting with a bang!

This month we'll be entertained by Bill Bailey from Adventures in Science for a fascinating and fun journey into science. Bill brings education and fun to live hand-on experiments such as flaming hands and whizzing rocket!

Bill will use air, fire, water and more to create fascinating and spectacular experiments and effects which will entertain and amaze, and you may learn something about the world.

As it is the start of the year, it is time for membership renewals.  The membership fee for 2018 is £41.  As part of this membership you get 11 meetings per year including 1 summer outing, a monthly copy of WI Life, WI member benefits and a book of handy vouchers when you join.  It’s helpful if members can arrive a bit earlier so we can get through renewals.  Payments can be made in cash and cheques payable to Malago WI.

We look forward to seeing you all on Wednesday 31^st for the start of another year of exciting meetings.