Sadly, we start our March report with the news that a valued friend and keen member, Jan Eastment has passed away after a very short illness. The news came as a great shock to us all and our deepest sympathies were extended to her family with her wake being organised at Llanvapley Pavilion by Jan's WI friends.

We therefore began our March meeting with a minute's silence, a time for reflection for our cheerful and enthusiastic friend who participated in so many WI activities. She will be greatly missed.

Margaret, the President, continued with the business part of the meeting. An application for the Green Hearts Bronze award has been submitted to the Gwent WI Federation. This is an environmental campaign within the WI which all WIs have been encouraged to participate in.

Poppies have been crocheted for the Sebrenica Flowers project, the Standing With Giants poppy appeal and the Llantilio Crossenny Church Remembrance project. Thanks to the crafty members who are participating. A quiz team was entered into the County Quiz and were thanked for their enthusiasm. Food orders were taken from everyone present for the Fish and Chip Supper planned for the AGM on 8th April.

Arrangements were discussed regarding the GFWI Competition Day which was held on 14th March at Goytre Village Hall. The theme this year was ‘Circles, Rings and All Things Round’. Margaret, Jan, Jackie, Sue and Verity worked hard on their display for the Royal Welsh Show qualifier and I'm pleased to report they came a resounding third with their "Anyone For Tennis" exhibit. Congratulations to them. There were only 3 points between first and third , a very close competition.

The speaker for the evening was Mary McLellan accompanied by her colleague Liz who assisted with the technology. She spoke on Women and Heart Disease, risks, symptoms and prevention. In support of Bystanders can be Lifesavers, Mary gave a very important and informative presentation regarding healthy hearts, particularly women's hearts. It was poignant for her to point out that women have different symptoms and tend to ignore the signs as they can be slightly different to men and they carry on with their day being less likely to go for help. She informed us of three stories, two with good outcomes and one not so good. Members realised the importance of different health signals eg men are more likely to report sudden severe crushing pain whereas women describe it as milder pressure or tightness.

Men: classic, sudden chest pain, left arm pain, cold - sweats, shortness of breath.

Women: subtle or gradual symptoms, including fatigue, nausea, jaw/back pain, shortness of breath and sometimes no chest pain. Women are more likely to be misdiagnosed or delay care, contributing to higher mortality rates. Awareness of these differences is critical for timely intervention and improved survival.

One quote from one of her stories was "however kind and good your heart it doesn't mean it's a healthy heart". This quote should encourage everyone to seek help, to get early detection and as Mary stated "know your numbers ie blood pressure, heart rate and blood sugar." It pays to have regular check ups.

A donation was made by the WI to Mary for the British Heart Foundation and she and her colleague Liz were thanked for a very informative presentation.

New members are always welcome. We will be holding our next meeting at Llanvapley pavilion at 7pm on Wednesday 8th April. This will be our AGM and if you wish to participate in our supper please contact via our Facebook page asap.