Welcome to Thorney Hill and Bransgore WI. We meet on the first Wednesday of the month at 2.00p.m. at Bransgore Village Hall, Burley Road, Bransgore BH23 8DR. We are a friendly group of ladies who enjoy a varied list of speakers, a cup of tea and of course, a good chat.
Between our meetings we arrange various activities on a monthly basis, these include Morning Coffee and Cake or Afternoon Teas, a Book Club, Lunch Club and Craft and Chat Club. We also organise walks, weather permitting, and the occasional Shopping Excursion. Other trips organised are on an ad hoc basis, however, sadly, due to COVID-19 along with government guidelines we have been unable to meet since March 2020.
Now that Government Restrictions are easing we are planning July and August Meetings to Celebrate being able to get together again. Both meetings will involve a cup of tea and some tasty seasonal treats.
In 2019 Thorney Hill and Bransgore WI reached our 100th Birthday and we celebrated with some special events to celebrate this milestone.
We also join with Hampshire WI group events, including the Spring and Autumn Council Meeting, WI Quiz and Skittles events and of course our entries to the WI tent at the New Forest Show.
If you think what we do might be of interest to you we would love to welcome you to one of our monthly meetings as a guest and maybe a new member if you decide that you like us. If you would like more information please contact Doreen on 01425 672662.
2021 Programme
July 2021
- 7th July – It is time to Celebrate! 2.30p.m. Bransgore Village Hall
Strawberry Tea Reunion, after over a year in ‘Lockdown’ we are planning a delicious Strawberry Tea and chat to catch up on all our news.
August 2021
- 4th August – 2.30p.m. Bransgore Village Hall
Afternoon Tea
2020 Programme
January 2020
- 8th January – Monthly Meeting, 2.00p.m. Bransgore Village Hall
- Speaker – Honeypot Charity
- 16th January – Coffee/Tea and Cake, 10.30a.m. Basket and Blooms, 392 Christchurch Road, West Parley, BH22 8SW
- 27th January – Craft and Chat Club, 2.30p.m. at Audrey’s
February 2020
- 5th February – Monthly Meeting, 2.00p.m. Bransgore Village Hall
- Speaker David Stocks, Beatrix Potter – Dispelling the Myths
- 20th February – Coffee and Cake, 10.30a.m. Stewarts Garden Centre, Lyndhurst Road, Christchurch
- 24th February – Craft and Chat Club, 2.30p.m. at Audrey’s
March 2020
- 4th March – Monthly Meeting, 2.00p.m. Bransgore Village Hall
- Speaker, Julia’s House
- 12th March – Afternoon Tea, 2.30p.m. Redcliffe Garden Centre, Bashley Road, BH25 5RY
Our Year 2020
We welcomed Viv Carter from The Honeypot Children’s Charity to our first meeting this year. Viv enthusiastically explained to us how the charity gives young carers a break away from home, allowing them to just be children and enjoy themselves. Many supporters knit bees which are then given to the children during their visit. Viv invited us to visit the house and seven acres of gardens to see their good work for ourselves. We are currently trying to arrange a visit for when the weather improves.
And then COVID-19 Hit. Government guidelines put the country in our first Lockdown and meetings were cancelled.
Our Year 2019
Last year in November we celebrated our 100th Birthday, as our monthly meeting fell on the actual birthday of our WI went to Highcliffe Castle Golf Club for our meeting. Everyone was welcomed with a glass of Prosecco and then sat and enjoyed a Birthday meal of a carvery and dessert. We then retired to another room where we were entertained by Patricia Godwin with her talk ‘Memories are made of This’ This featured stories and articles from very old newspapers and magazines which had the group in stitches. The afternoon was not over until we enjoyed a cup of tea or coffee and a piece of our celebration cake which was cut by Gina Ireland.
Our April meeting saw an entertaining and informative visit from Pip Muddell, The Hat Lady. Pip is a trained milliner and she brought along a wonderful display of hats, most of which she had made, and told us about the history of the various styles and how they evolved. We had great fun passing the hats round and trying some of them on .
In March a few of us joined a trip to visit Denman College, we had an early start to meet pick up the coach in Ringwood but had an uneventful journey to Denman in Marcham, Abingdon. On arrival we enjoyed coffee and a shortbread biscuit before we were shown in to a lecture room where we enjoyed a cookery demonstration of Meringue Kisses, Spiced Nuts, Honeycomb and Buttermilk and Blueberry Scones. Having smelt all the delicious aromas we were ready for our lunch which we enjoyed in the Dining Room. After lunch we went on a guided tour of the accommodation at Denman and the teaching facilities. Sadly, we didn’t have time to see the extensive grounds as we were returned to the dining room where we had a cup of tea and a cream tea.