WI Riada area spring meeting

Betty Scott, chairman of Riada Area and president of Mosside WI, gave a warm welcome to all and introduced the guest speaker, Stephanie Lavery, Time Steps, Living History Talks.

A roll call was taken and the minutes of Riada Area Spring meeting, April 2018, were 
read by Beth Lindsay, secretary of Riada Area and Mosside WI.

Reports were then given by the Riada area executive member and by representatives of the various federation sub-committees.

Marlene Walsh, Riada Area Executive member, thanked Mosside WI for hosting the meeting.

She gave a comprehensive report on the Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW) conference in Australia.

Marlene paid tribute to the late Margaret McMillan, who was a very active member of Mosside WI and the European chairman of ACWW.

A minute’s silence was observed in her memory.

Marlene then reported on the recent Federation of Women’s Institutes AGM when a resolution was passed to raise awareness of human trafficking in Northern Ireland.

She explained that work has already commenced with the PSNI to take the resolution forward.

She concluded by asking members to support Balmoral Show which is the main fundraiser for the WI.

The arts sub-committee report was given by Armoy WI member, Nancy Orr, who reported on the four events organised by the arts sub-committee.

She congratulated the following members on their achievements.

Arts festival: Janne Patton, Armoy WI - highly commended in oil painting

Eileen White, Mosside WI - Second place in calligraphy and third place in good handwriting

Festival of the Spoken Word: Nancy Orr, Armoy WI - First place in both prepared speech and poem by an Irish poet

Music festival: Ballymoney WI choir - Best novice choir

Nuala Doran, Armoy WI - First place in soprano solo (untrained)

Anne Patton, Armoy WI - First place in alto solo (untrained)

Drama Festival: Armoy WI - Best sketch

Nancy Orr, Armoy WI - Best producer

Nancy finished by encouraging institutes to take part in these competitions.

The Balmoral sub-committee report was given by Janette Graham, Portrush WI.

She outlined the items required for the show and how and when to get these delivered.

In conclusion she thanked everyone for their generosity and continued support for this important event.

The homecraft sub-committee report was given by Evelyne Robinson, Ballymoney WI.

She gave an update on important dates and explained that the homecraft syllabus is now under review.

As Balmoral approaches members were reminded of the need for soft toys as these are very popular with children attending the show.

Lorna McClure, Armoy WI, gave the report for the home and garden sub-committee which organises food and flower festivals and also Christmas events.

She reported on the success of the 2018 Christmas event held in Crowne Plaza Hotel in Belfast.

It was extremely well attended and most enjoyable.

Lorna outlined the plans for the 2019 Christmas event to be held in Armagh City Hotel, entitled Christmas Joy, on November 23, 2019.

On behalf of the magazine and leisure sub-committee, Marlene Walsh wished Bushmills WI every success in the quiz final in Hillsborough.

She encouraged golfers to take part in the forthcoming golf competition at the Riverside Golf Course at Portstewart.

Representatives of Ballintoy, Bushmills and Portrush Institutes gave very interesting reports on their activities during the 2018-2019 season.

All three institutes provided ample opportunities for members to acquire knowledge, develop new skills and simply enjoy themselves.

Betty Scott introduced the guest speaker, Stephanie Lavery from Time Steps.

Stephanie, under the pseudonym ‘Annie’ and appropriately dressed in medieval costume, gave an interesting and very humorous talk on medieval medicine.

Old methods of treating conditions such as earache, toothache, burns, spider bites to mention a few, were demonstrated by ‘Annie’.

Members of Mosside WI acted as the willing patients, or not so willing, as the case might be.

It was an evening filled with fun and laughter.

It is interesting that honey, used for medicinal purposes in medieval times, is making a comeback in modern medicine.

As a token of appreciation, Stephanie was presented with a gift and a floral arrangement provided by Ballintoy WI.

After supper, which was provided and served by the members of Mosside WI, Marlene Walsh presented the following awards

Riada area awards

Avis Coleman Cup for the highest scoring Institute in Riada Area competitions: Mosside WI

Grace Patton Cup for runner-up in Riada Area competitions: Armoy WI and Bushmills WI

Scrapbook plaque for best scrapbook page: Mosside WI

Jubilee Trophy for best overall entry: Armoy WI.

Inez Richmond Trophy (bowls): Ruby Christie, Armoy WI

Rae Cochrane Cup (quiz): Bushmills WI

Golf trophy: Christine Duddy, Armoy WI

Homecraft Awards

Gold award: Margaret McConaghie, Ballymoney WI

Silver pin: Margaret Campbell, Portrush WI

Ribbons for craftwork were presented as follows:

Armoy WI - Helen McVicker: tapestry, Marlene Walsh: leatherwork

Ballintoy WI - Margaret Reid: Lingerie,

Ballymoney WI - Elizabeth Atcheson: quilting, Anne Bachnet: knitting, Sylvia Brown: tapestry, Laura Dawson: patchwork, Margaret McConaghie: knitting, Ray Turner: coloured embroidery.

Mosside WI - Mary McCracken: rushwork, Roberta Morrison: Rushwork, Agnes White: rushwork

Portrush WI - Margaret Campbell: household, quilting, upholstery

A vote of thanks was proposed by Irene Burke, president of Ballymoney WI.

The evening was brought to a close by the singing of A Countrywoman’s Song.