Martinstown WI

Martinstown Women’s Institute meetings are held in the Village Hall on the second Wednesday of
the month. In the winter months (November-March) we meet at 2.30 pm in the afternoon and
during the summer (April-October) at 7 pm.

Inspiring women – then and now. In 1915, we set out to give women a voice and to be a force for
good in the community.  The Women’s Institute is the largest women’s organisation in the UK. WI membership offers the
opportunity to meet women in your local area, to make friends and make a difference in your
community. We campaign nationally on a wide range of issues and provide life-long learning
opportunities.
For further information please contact Angela Barrett Tel: 01305 889628.
angelabarrett@uwcliub.net

Report from March's Meeting

“Cows to Carats” was the title of Amy Brenan’s talk at our meeting in March.

Amy started as an auctioneer at the livestock market in Salisbury (wearing her pink wellies!) Her real love was for antiques and jewellery and she worked at Duke’s Auctioneers for 10 years and is now the owner of Heirlooms in Wareham – a shop specialising in antique jewellery and clocks. They also repair jewellery and run workshops around Dorset.

We enjoyed seeing and handling some beautiful examples of jewellery from Georgian, Victorian, Art Nouveau, Edwardian and Art Deco periods and hearing how styles have changed over the years. We hope to arrange a visit to Wareham to visit the shop sometime in the future.

Our next meeting on 8th April is our AGM. Don’t forget we meet at 7 pm during the summer months.

Report from February's Meeting

We welcomed 8 guests to our Open Meeting in February when Alan Jenkins told us about “The Royal Visit that Went Wrong” – and it really wasn’t his fault!   As Bronze Commander it was his responsibility to ensure that Princess Anne’s visit to the CAB in Dorchester and Kingston Mauward College went smoothly.  However, a  suspect bicycle outside CAB-  investigated by a sniffer dog (thankfully not a bomb!), proposed helicopter diversion to Yeovilton due to low cloud and then reverting to original plan of landing at Kingston Mauward resulted in no one being in the right place including the Lord Lieutenant and welcoming party.    But Princess Anne did visit the CAB and then enjoyed the horses at Kingston Mauward and Alan was able to report to the Assistant Chief Constable that all had gone smoothly!

Our next meeting on 11th March at 2.30 in the Village Hall is a talk by Amy Brenan  “Cows to Carats” – an intriguing title – come and hear her talk.

Angela Barrett

Secretary

Highlights of our WI activities: 2025 and earlier (click on any image to enlarge).