Welcome to the Abbotswood (Romsey) WI page. We are a friendly, vibrant bunch of women who meet on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 7.30pm at Abbotswood Community Centre, Abbotswood Common Road, Romsey, SO51 0BX.
As well as our monthly meetings, we have a range of regular groups, including a lunch group, dinner group, craft group, book group, gardening/garden visits group and a walking group. We also take part in the annual inter-WI skittles tournament and quiz, get involved with Hampshire WI events (such as WI Fest in 2018), plus work on entries for the WI Tent at the Romsey Show. So there’s lots to get involved with if you’d like to!
We’re pleased to be known as a friendly WI and we’re always happy to welcome visitors and new members. It’s free for visitors (a donation for tea/coffee and cake is welcome), and you can come along to three meetings for free before signing up to join us. If you’d like any further details about meetings, please email – abbotswoodromseywi@gmail.com.
We hope to see you soon!
2020 Meetings
Due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, all our meetings have moved online and there have been changes to the planned 2020 meetings.
Instead, we’ve enjoyed:
- A talk by Faith Powell revealing what it’s really like Behind The Scenes of TV Game Shows (September 2020)
- A virtual tour of Cambridge led by Green Badge Guide, Murray Jacobs (July 2020)
- Creativity for wellness with pompom making, led by Shannon Reed from Mockingbird Makes (June 2020).
- A members only quiz
As well as our main monthly meetings taking place online, a number of our other groups are also continuing online via Zoom, including our book group and craft group. We’re still accepting new members, so please get in touch if you’d like to join us or come as a guest to one of our online meetings!
Original 2020 Meeting Schedule
- 10 March – Eat Your Way Around the World in Chocolate
A tasty extravaganza with chocolatier Dawn Shrivers.
- 14 April – Saxophones and Clarinets
A tuneful discovery with Simon Morgan.
- 12 May – AGM, American Supper & Quiz
Your chance to shape your WI, share and enjoy an American Supper and test your knowledge with a quiz.
- 9th June – Golden Glory
Meet an inspirational gold medal winning paralympic swimmer.
- 14 July – Hula Hooping
Celebrate our 4th birthday with a twirl and a spin! With Claire Saunders from Globe Fit.
- 13 August – No meeting, trip to be confirmed.
- 8 September – Barth Syndrome Talk and Beetle Drive
Rare heart condition talk by member Cheryl Parish, followed by a Beetle Drive.
- 13 October – Winchester Prison, Past and Present
Life behind bars, by the former head of security, Mark Watts.
- 10 November – Eco Bee Keeping
The wonderful world of bees, revealed by Deborah Cruttenden.
- 8 December – The Role of the Dame in Pantomime
Panto talk about playing the role of the dame, by John Pitman.
Follow us on Social Media
Find out more about what we’ve been up to recently by following our social media accounts:
Facebook – Abbotswood Romsey WI
Instagram – AbbotswoodRomseyWI
Twitter – AbbotswoodWI
Photo Gallery
Some of our past meetings have included…
- 10 Dec 2019 – Christmas Party
Celebrating the season, with a challenge to transform a chocolate yule log.
- 8 Oct 2019 – An Owl Experience
Learn about and meet some of these wonderful birds, with this talk and visit by the BOPH Barn Owl Project.
- 9 July 2019 – Square Dancing
Celebrating our 3rd birthday with the Testvale Square Dancers.
- 9 April 2019 – King John’s House
Learning about the fascinating history of Romsey’s hidden treasure, King John’s House and Heritage Centre.
- 12 Feb 2019 – How to Thrive, Not Just Survive!
Alison Rosen, physiotherapist, talked about how to value yourself as a woman and learn to thrive. We enjoyed taking part in various activities, including meditation and mindfulness.
- 8th Jan – What The Butler Saw
Life in the Big House in Victorian time, with speaker John Pitman.
- 11 Dec 2018 – Christmas Party and Festive Crafting
Celebrating the season with Christmas crafting, a Secret Santa gift exchange, mulled wine, mince pies and musical entertainment.
- 9 Oct 2018 – Florence: The Story of Florence Nightingale
Chester House Productions gave us a theatrical insight into the life of Florence Nightingale, one of Hampshire’s most famous women.
- 11 Sept 2018 – Fundraising Quiz
Fundraising quiz to raise money to buy a projector.
- 10 July 2018 – Second birthday party and talk about the creators of Noggin the Nog and Bagpuss
Jack Wilson joined us at our second birthday party and gave us an illustrated talk about Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin, the famous creators of Noggin the Nog and Bagpuss.
- 12 July 2018 – Graphology, your character in your handwriting
Graham Birchmore gave us an interactive and fascinating insight into what aspects of character can be revealed in handwriting.
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