Alton WI were our hosts in Alton Parish Church for our annual joint carol service at the beginning of the month. Gill and I had been assigned readings from the Bible, and there were lots of traditional Christmas carols, but the largest part of the service was a highly imaginative, dramatised retelling of the age-old story, complete with crowns, costumes and a herd of very exuberant sheep. You had to be there! Cups of tea and mince pies were provided for us all afterwards in the somewhat cosier side chapel, and we are most grateful to both Joy and Brian Leathers who variously created and led the service, and to the Alton members for the warmth of the welcome we received. We look forward to sharing a joint meeting with them all sometime in the spring.


The Craft Group ran a seasonal special in December, when Jackie led a wreath-making workshop. Over twenty members and friends participated, all of whom arrived with huge quantities of not only holly and ivy but all kinds of other assorted greenery. Jackie herself had brought along several large bags of loose hay which we used to bind the metal frames before we started adding greenery, as well as huge quantities of ribbon, pinecones, robins, flowers, dried oranges and geranium heads. Before long we were knee-deep in branches, leaves, berries, bits of wire and baubles, whilst the Village Hall took on the delicious aroma of a hay meadow in late summer. Out of the seeming chaos – and believe me, at times it did look like chaos – there emerged absolute masterpieces of design and creation, and all utterly individual. It was a fascinating process, and Jackie was a very skilled and patient teacher. Viv had arranged that we all brought a plate of food to share for afterwards, so the year’s crafting came to a very sociable, cheerful end.


And then it was time for the Christmas party, which was another cheerfully jolly affair. A long table was piled high with our offerings for a local Women’s Refuge, something we do every year to try to help women and children at what must be for them a very difficult time of year. Jenny B organises this for us, and also delivers all of the items of clothing, the toiletries and the sweets that we have donated. We then had quizzes, ate mince pies and drank mulled wine, and ended quietly by singing, unaccompanied, some carols by candlelight. Somewhere in the middle of the party, Sue P ran an excellent Dutch auction once again, in which the most desired and laughter-inducing acquisition for many turned out to be a book on how to enjoy - and make the most of - being a pensioner. I, however, was thrilled with my choice of a 1000 piece jigsaw which I amazingly managed to hold onto throughout. I’m in the middle of doing it at the moment, now that the festivities are all well and truly over, and although it’s hurting my head, it’s giving me hours of pleasure. It might even be finished by Easter!


A Happy New Year to one and all, and I do hope that 2026 is kind to all of us.

​Thomas Hood, the renowned Victorian poet, had obviously never been invited to our annual birthday lunches when he wrote, in his famous poem ‘November’,

… No company - no nobility -
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member……

for on the 2nd of the month in question, a great collection of us were gathered in the village hall, feasting, amidst much jollity, on the wonderful meal that Pat at Woodland Catering had provided for us. Our plates were piled high, and it was a most enjoyable occasion, when members, their families, friends and invited guests also revelled in being cooked for - with no washing up to do afterwards. ‘No warmth….cheerfulness…. no comfortable feel’ indeed? Thomas Hood, thou shouldst be living at this hour! We’d invite you next year, if we could.

Then it was Remembrance Sunday, when Irena laid the WI wreath on our behalf at the village war memorial. It was good to see so many of the WI there that morning, both in church and at the outdoor act of remembrance.

At our regular meeting, we concentrated on arrangements for next month’s Christmas Party, and on organising who will speak in January about the various WI resolutions. We were delighted, then, to hear that Rose Cope had just won the prestigious SFWI Rosemary Palmer trophy for her needle-felting. Well done, Rose! Dean Nixon was our speaker that evening, with his subject being whether or not Dickens had invented Christmas. Probably not, was the conclusion, but Dickens drew on much fascinating Yuletide history and tradition in his novels, as we learned.

We next met in the Village Hall one Wednesday afternoon for indoor curling and table tennis. Rather than real granite stones, the indoor version uses rubber ‘stones’ with bearings underneath them which allow them to glide on the floor, but the principles and rules of the sport are just the same. We had two lanes, so could accommodate eight players at a time, some of whom found that it involved a little more skill and control than they had anticipated, as well as the importance of knowing when to let go of the stone. (Fortunately, only once did it come to resemble throwing the discus!) Several energetic games of table tennis took place, too, and I think we were all fairly relieved when the tea and biscuits appeared.

Lastly, we had Craft Club, when a dozen members and friends met to make Sugarcraft decorations under Rose Barker’s expert guidance. Once Rose’s table of goodies had been pillaged for cutters, chunks of all imaginable colours of fondant icing, bases that Rose had prepared in advance, glitter, pots of royal icing, marshmallows, cornflour - the list of what Rose had brought was endless - everyone set to with a will, and the proverbial pin could be heard dropping for the next hour and a half. Everyone there thoroughly enjoyed the sesssion, and came away inspired to do more. Many thanks to Rose for her expertise, and for all of her work in preparation.

So we may not have had much ‘sun, moon, morn or noon’, but we’ve had a great deal of November fun, good cheer and companionship. Beat that, December!

October has been a quiet month in terms of our WI activities, but a group of about a dozen of us did go for a very pleasant - and relatively gentle - walk in Ilam Park one afternoon. Ilam is a beautiful place at the best of times, but on an autumn afternoon when all the trees in the magnificent parkland are beginning to glow in reds and oranges and golds, it’s quite magical. We made our way back by the side of the River Manifold, then headed - as one - straight for the tea room where we enjoyed our hot drinks, cakes and scones before heading home.


Our monthly meeting began with a collection of anecdotes and poems presented by Pat Hall entitled ‘Life is still funny’ then, after tea, the business meeting was wrapped up fairly speedily. We saw and admired an example of what the Craft Group had been up to in their Pinbroidery session earlier that day, everyone made their final menu choices for the forthcoming Birthday Lunch, we negotiated the potential problem of the Village Hall having been booked by another group until a mere thirty minutes before our guests were due to arrive to eat, and we even managed a discussion about our website and how we might improve it. Do we include all the information that members or potential members might need to know, for example, and does it really reflect who we are and what we do? Any helpful feedback from visitors to the website would be very welcome, so do get in touch.

It has been another hugely enjoyable month as far as our WI activities are concerned. We began with our joint meeting, hosted by our friends in Alton WI in their village hall, where we were treated to a wonderful talk by a speaker who usually appears under her stage name of Lola Lamour. This exotic alias gave no hint of the fascinating story we were to hear of the seven years or so when, under her real name of Joanne Massey, she was a maid at Shugborough Hall for Lord Lichfield, helping to run his house parties and shooting weekends. It was, as she told us, exactly like Downton Abbey, and she loved every minute of it. She spoke with such warmth of life at the house, her official duties, her meetings with the illustrious visitors who came to stay and most particularly her affection for Lord Lichfield and his partner, Lady Annunziata Asquith. For an hour, we felt as though we had lived her seven years in service with her, so vividly and sympathetically had she brought them to life. The tea and cake that followed were everything that we’d been promised and more. Thank you, Alton WI, for first class entertainment and for your super baking.


Hardly had we had time to draw breath than the Barn Dance was upon us, and what a triumph that was! There were nerves initially about the whole idea. Would enough people come? Would anyone be prepared to dance? Would they have the stamina to keep going till 10 o’clock at night? We need not have worried at all, as over 50 people from our WI as well as from Denstone village and beyond proved themselves inexhaustible, with many saying it was the best night out they had had for a long time. The village hall was full of laughter all evening, which was a delight to hear, and we hope we’ll be able to run another such evening in the future. Weasel’s Revenge, Cheadle U3A’s folk band were absolutely marvellous. Not only did they keep the evening going at a fast and furious pace, but their choice of music was perfect; and as we were running this as a charitable event, they and their caller gave their services free which was incredibly generous of them. We were as thrilled as we were surprised to find that we had raised the sum of £600 for the local Motor Neurone Disease charity, chosen since it is a condition which has affected several people closely associated with our membership. And I have to admit that even I - the inveterate refusenik - danced, caught up in the general jollity and goodwill of the occasion.


Our main meeting in the middle of the month would have been a fairly straightforward affair had the speaker not cancelled at the last moment. Despite this (or, ironically, possibly because of this) we had an excellent evening where we entertained ourselves. Thanks to Rose B’s suggestion, the committee members were contacted at the last minute to bring any board games or quizzes which they had to hand, and we had a really good time playing all manner of games, once the business of the evening had been concluded. One very pleasant duty for me was presenting Jenny B with a small token of our gratitude for the many years she has been in charge of our WI catering for all manner of events. Thereafter, tea and biscuits were on tap, and an evening of friendly rivalry, intense concentration, peals of laughter and triumphant cries of victory ensued. Everyone I spoke to said that we must do this more often, and I quite agree; we must. It’s easy to forget sometimes that we are there to encourage friendships and help people to get to know one another much better, both of which can be squeezed out if we only ever have a quick tea interval between the speaker and the business agenda.


Our speaker next month is going to assure us that ‘Life is still Funny’, which is certainly something that I wholeheartedly need to be persuaded of, suffering as I am from a bad cold and a painful back, so roll on 20th October!

As usual, we had no official meeting in August, but many of our members gathered on three different occasions, two of them happy but one sad.

On 3rd August, Moira Greenwood died at the age of 87. She had been a member of the WI for over 40 years, and was well known to many of us from her younger days as a school nurse. We will remember Moira - a keen crafter - with real affection, and it was good to see such a large number of her Denstone friends at her funeral service.

We met at Wootton Cricket Club in the middle of the month for our annual Sports Evening, and great fun was had playing (or watching) our enthusiastic attempts at croquet, Smite, golf and putting. The cricket club is situated part way up The Weaver Hills, and the views from there are stunning, particularly under a sunny summer’s evening sky. As the light faded, we retreated into the clubhouse to share a wonderful spread, to which we’d all contributed something. Many thanks to Rose and Ed Barker who had organised and set up all the games and who had hosted such a convivial occasion.

Our final event, on Bank Holiday Monday, was the last of this season’s walks for members and their families. David Boden gave us a fascinating tour of part of his land at Crakemarsh, explaining the history and ecology of the local area, and the challenges faced by farming land which is so close to the River Dove. Again, it was a gloriously warm, sunny evening, and over thirty people thoroughly enjoyed the walk. Joyce had prepared a table full of delights for our return, and we sat happily in the farmhouse garden with full plates, full glasses and smiles on our faces.
Now, thoughts turn to Autumn, and especially to our Charity Barn Dance on 6th September when I hope a great time will be had by all, even those who are convinced that they can’t dance!

​Greetings! My name is Jenny Richardson, and since our June AGM, I have been the President of Denstone WI.

We had an excellent meeting in July which was very well attended considering we were in the peak season for summer holidays. Our speaker, Judith Hubble, talked about Patrick Anson, better known to everyone as Lord Lichfield, and covered his early years, his family, his upbringing at Shugborough, and his glamorous life as a society photographer with close connections to the royal family. Judith had worked at Shugborough in various capacities for many years herself, and had plenty of behind-the-scenes stories to tell.

In our business meeting that followed, we finalised plans for our Barn Dance (to the music of Weasel’s Revenge) which is being held in the Village Hall on 6th September from 7.30 until 10.30. Everyone in the village and beyond is welcome, and all were encouraged to bring neighbours, friends and family. There will be a local walk for WI members and friends on August Bank Holiday Monday, with - we were assured - no stiles. We are also hoping to stage our annual Sports (in the widest sense) Evening on 13th August, weather permitting, with an informal supper afterwards. Details regarding time and place for these events are in the minutes.

The craft group continues to thrive, and a photograph of their recent impressive foray into the art of Sakiori weaving is here on the website.

As is customary, there will be no Denstone WI meeting in August, although our members have been invited to join Alton WI on 3rd September. I hope that as many as possible will be there, not only to hear the speaker and to catch up with our local friends but also to enjoy Alton WI’s cakes, which I’m told are excellent.

Our next meeting is on 15th September when our speaker’s subject will be ‘Laughter Yoga’.