Bradfield WI

Bradfield WI We are based in Bradfield, Berkshire and meet on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 7:45pm. New members very welcome!

Formed in 1920, Bradfield WI is a friendly, fun group of mixed aged ladies. Our meetings take place on the 2nd Thursday of each month at Bradfield Village Hall 7.45pm. New members are assured of a very warm welcome… we’re not all sewers, knitters, bakers and jam makers, so please come along and see for yourself. Bradfield WI is a friendly, fun group of mixed aged ladies. Our meetings take place on

the 2nd Thursday of each month in Bradfield Village Hall at 7.45pm. New members are assured of a very warm welcome. Your committee are:
President - Helen H
Vice Presidents - Karel & Michele
Secretary - Pat H
Treasurer - Brenda
Speakers' Secretary - Karel
Full Committee - Helen H, Karel, Michele, Brenda, Elke, Cathy, Pat H, Angela and Barbara

07/01/2026

URGENT NOTIFICATION

Dear Members,

Unfortunately, Tom Way our Speaker for January has fallen ill and is unable to attend tomorrow, however, we will re-book him again in the future.

Also with the weather forecast for tomorrow evening looking very bleak the Committee have decided to CANCEL the meeting altogether therefore please do not attend the Village Hall tomorrow. We look forward to seeing you at the February meeting .

Take care and keep warm.

Frances Carlaw, known as the Pearl Lady was our speaker at our June meeting and brought with her a huge range of pearl e...
24/06/2025

Frances Carlaw, known as the Pearl Lady was our speaker at our June meeting and brought with her a huge range of pearl earings, necklaces, broaches, rings, you name it, which she designs, makes and sells in aid of her charity.
Her final advice to keep pearls in the best condition, was to wear them as much as possible as the body’s natural oil helps to shine the pearls lustre – perfumes, cosmetics and sprays are best avoided. Frances was a popular and enthusiastic speaker which I believe we all enjoyed very much.
The competition ‘A Homemade Necklace’ was won against stiff opposition by Helen Hyde.

May FayreOnce again we served tea and cakes in the Village Hall at the annual Bradfield Mayfayre. The weather was sunny...
08/06/2025

May Fayre
Once again we served tea and cakes in the Village Hall at the annual Bradfield Mayfayre. The weather was sunny unlike the monsoon we had last year, but with a very cold biting wind. Our members came up trumps again with wonderful help on the day and a mountain of delicious cake - huge thanks to them… we were also delighted and, for the first time ever, we actually sold out of cakes!

Fire Station
An evening visit to the new Fire Station on the Thealeroundabout was very much enjoyed by all of us . This new red building impressed us all with the modern kitchen, areas to relax and watch tv, a large gym, modern bedrooms and decontaminating showers, everything in fact to make the fire fighters life as comfortable as possible while waiting for calls.
Two of our ladies were brave enough to jump into the uniforms with the boots already in situ, then the full inspection of the fire engines and finally had a go using the fire hoses.
We brought with us a large quantity of cakes for them asapparently we are well known for our cake making prowess, which they shared with everyone in the building.
Many thanks to Ross of Blue Watch who organised everything for us and made it a very interesting and enjoyable evening.

May Meeting
At our May meeting the speaker was Helen Hyde telling us all her stitching holiday in Peru. The range of colours and garments were truly spectacular and there were great pictures of the area and of course their treck up to Maccu Picchu A really interesting and colourful special evening.
The competition ‘Something made with Cocoa’ was won by Pat Hawkins with a cocoa based chocolate mousse.

Don’t forget to join our Treasure Trail only a couple of weeks left and put your name down for a delicious afternoon tea on Sunday 22nd June.

Apologies for this late posting! Our talk earlier this month was entitled “More than just Elephants” and was given by Am...
28/04/2025

Apologies for this late posting!
Our talk earlier this month was entitled “More than just Elephants” and was given by Amanda Butler. It was the story of her and her husband’s three weeks volunteering with Game Rangers International in Zambia. Each week they stayed in a different National Park, the first of which brings up orphaned elephants in such a way that they can be released back in the wild. It was a fascinating insight into the work carried out and started by the artist and conservationist David Shepherd.
Our competition, a Wildlife Collage, was won by Gill Lowe with a beautiful English countryside scene.

At this month’s meeting we had an excellent speaker in Professor Alan Johnson who talked to us about antibiotic resistan...
21/03/2025

At this month’s meeting we had an excellent speaker in Professor Alan Johnson who talked to us about antibiotic resistance. His official role is the head of surveillance in the healthcare. It was a fascinating dive into the world of microorganisms, viruses and bacteria. It covered the history of the discovery of penicillin and more modern day antibiotics. Click on the link below to see and video clip to keep antibiotics working.
After coffee, we held our Annual General Meeting and instead of a competition, we had a bring and show exhibition of beautiful perfume bottles.

https://youtu.be/BgzJ4bqbkmQ?si=-uuyRqBpKoH3Raki

After a couple of cancelled walks due to bad weather, the Walking Group enjoyed the sunshine on an afternoon walk on the...
26/02/2025

After a couple of cancelled walks due to bad weather, the Walking Group enjoyed the sunshine on an afternoon walk on the public footpaths around Englefield. After admiring the delicate areas of snowdrops, and the signs of spring on the trees, the Group retired to Cobbs for refreshment.

We were delighted to welcome Analiza Jones from Stratford upon Avon who came to tell us all about the culture of the Phi...
19/02/2025

We were delighted to welcome Analiza Jones from Stratford upon Avon who came to tell us all about the culture of the Philippines and the making of hand-woven bags, with the lovely bags available to buy. With the help of her illustrated presentation we were able to follow the making of the bags from the harvesting of the leaves, pineapple and others, the drying, and extracting the fibres, dyeing and finally the making of the bags. She was an enthusiastic speaker who interjected humerous stories as she spoke. The bags were lovely in bright colours and well made
The competition ‘A Homemade Tote Bag’ was won by Elke Allnutt – a difficult choice as the other entries were of a very high standard as well.

09/01/2025

Due to the cold and icy conditions I can confirm that tonight’s WI meeting has been cancelled. Helen, our Speaker for tonight will be rescheduled! Please take care in this cold weather!

At 5 pm on the 19th December, 21 of our members boarded a lovely coach and departed for Oxford. After a very comfortabl...
30/12/2024

At 5 pm on the 19th December, 21 of our members boarded a lovely coach and departed for Oxford. After a very comfortable ride we stepped down outside The Randolph Hotel and made our way to the New Theatre. After a warm up and a little drink in the Theatre bar we made our way into the auditorium to watch the performance of War Horse… and in Jean Clarke’s words “it was outstanding and the skill of the puppeteers - Spellbinding!” On our return journey everyone was buzzing and I think I can say we all enjoyed this outing very much!

At our December meeting it was once again our annual Christmas party where nearly fifty of our members enjoyed our meal....
30/12/2024

At our December meeting it was once again our annual Christmas party where nearly fifty of our members enjoyed our meal.
Starting with a glass of Prosecco we then moved on to ham, turkey and quiche slices provided by Greens of Pangbourne with salads and puddings made by our members, what a huge and delicious selection there was. The Christmas card exchange was very popular as was the bumper raffle.
The parcel game involved everyone and provided some good laughs. President Helen thanked all those who had helped and wished everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Our programme for 2025 is exciting and varied and hopefully will be enjoyed by us all.

At our November meeting we were delighted to welcome once again Emma from Green Parlour now based in the Old Chicken Ho...
24/11/2024

At our November meeting we were delighted to welcome once again Emma from Green Parlour now based in the Old Chicken House at Hewins Wood in Bradfield.
She created three beautiful arrangements for us, a Christmas wreath for the door, a table decoration and a tall arrangement using lovely pink amaryllis flowers.
These were all raffled and we had three very happy members who received one each.
The competition ‘An Autumn Arrangement with no Flowers’ was won by Janet Bailey.

Once again the ladies of Bradfield WI were very pleased to serve tea and cakes to all those who attended the annual Reme...
14/11/2024

Once again the ladies of Bradfield WI were very pleased to serve tea and cakes to all those who attended the annual Remembrance service at the War Memorial, thought to be over 100 people again this year.
Many thanks to all those ladies who kindly provided and served the tea and cakes and of course the Social Club for generously allowing us to use their premises again.

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