FEBRUARY marked the tenth anniversary of the founding of Wyesham Women’s Institute (WI) and so members met for a celebratory afternoon tea.

The meeting, held in the Community Hall, Wyesham, featured a delicious assortment of sandwiches and cakes provided by members and saw tables beautifully decked out with fine bone china and lovely floral arrangements.

Daphne Evans has been president since that very first month in 2007 and has worked tirelessly ever since to make sure the Wyesham branch of the WI flourished and grew.  She introduced the afternoon with a reminder of the first days and how the group got to where they are today. 

She also paid tribute to Dode Moore, who was Secretary of Wyesham WI when she passed away suddenly just a few months ago. 

Daphne thanked the visitors for attending, Pat Garrett and Ann Simmons of Hendre WI and WI Advisers Jo Dawson and Therese Casemore, who had been instrumental in getting the WI off the ground by distributing flyers all round Wyesham and being there to make sure Wyesham got off to a good start.

Daphne then introduced the speaker for the afternoon, the ‘allotment man’ Terry Walton.  Terry, from the Rhondda, is well known to listeners of Radio Wales and also Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine show where he can be heard giving advice on growing vegetables, fruit and flowers.  Terry came along with his wife Anthea who is a member of Tonyrefail WI.

He talked about his life and how he came to be so enthusiastic about allotments and how this enthusiasm led to his spot on Radio 2.  He was most informative and entertaining and everyone thoroughly enjoyed listening to such a knowledgeable and likeable speaker.  He was warmly thanked by Ros Vallender.

Then it was time to tuck into the gorgeous spread, with the centrepiece being the magnificent cake made by member Ann Kear, based partly on an embroidery by fellow member Margaret Gough.  Finally, the toast to Wyesham WI was made by Jo Dawson, with congratulations and best wishes for the future. 

Wyesham WI meets on the second Monday of every month in the Community Hall Wyesham at 7pm and new members are warmly welcomed.