In May Cwmyoy and District WI held their Annual General Meeting, and members were intrigued to be reminded of all the meetings that they had enjoyed over zoom, during the past 12 months, writes Priscilla Llewelyn.

Amongst speakers who had entertained them were: Gavin Jones talking on the Gwent Levels; Malcolm Meadows about his travels around the world; Rob Penn talking about his new book ‘Slow Rise - A Bread Making Adventure’; Nanette Gratton Smith about her memories of Aberfan, and Cwmyoy WI members Priscilla Llewelyn with a travel talk on Croatia and Meryl Thomas, with her all-inclusive craft class to make a Red Valentine Heart for the WI Federation competition.

When members learnt that ‘their’ heart had been awarded second prize in the competition Meryl was given a resounding clap!

Rosie Nicholls gave a very complementary report of the Gwent Annual Meeting. The two speakers were extremely inspiring and she commented that she was so proud to be part of the County Federation. The first speaker was Veronica Thomas from Malpas WI whose very personal experience of becoming a stem cell donor was fascinating and uplifting; confirming that something WI nationally have campaigned for Veronica had been inspired to volunteer for; following a WI meeting that led her on a journey from in her own words, Wales to Europe without a passport.

The second speaker was Angela, known as the Wild Woman of the Wye, following a life with no lanes, never reading, wanting to do no more than explore the world and learn from nature. She now finds herself standing up to governments, and national and international companies, in her drive to protect local rivers from the pollution which is killing them. A fascinating speaker who obviously inspired the members of Usk WI.

During the evening the Officers of Cwmyoy WI were appointed. Meryl Thomas becomes President, Marlene Howard continues as Secretary, Rosie Nicholls as Treasurer and Marilyn Pratt takes over as Speakers Secretary with Priscilla Llewelyn continuing as Press Secretary. Judith Morgan was thanked for her years leading the group as their previous President.

Future meetings of the WI will include a talk on the Longtown Mountain Rescue Team; a visit from Bob Cole, the Runner and The Welsh National Opera. The planned outing this year (following up on our previous talk) will be a visit to the Gwent Levels, and it was noted that all members would be able to participate, as there were electric buggies available for anyone with mobility problems.

During the final discussions under AOB (any other business) one member reported on her recent railway experience. She had hoped to travel to Shrewbury, benefitting from the new cheap fares recently announced. It became evident that these are only available on certain trains and have to be booked ahead, which she had not done.

The charge for the journey (with a rail card) was £25, but if she had booked ahead the charge would have been £4 - so the moral here is DO plan your journey in advance!

If you would like to come and join us at our friendly WI please contact Marlene on 01873 890509 or email: [email protected]”