The Brentwood Belles WI

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The Brentwood Belles WI

WI for the modern woman http://www.thebrentwoodbelleswi.co.uk The WI has a long history. The first WI was formed in Ontario, in 1897.

The WI reached the UK in 1915 when the first branch opened in North Wales. The worldwide reach of the WI is through its affiliation to a large group of women’s organisations known as the Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW); the objects of this association are broadly those of the WI movement – to improve conditions and promote friendship and understanding among women throughout the world.

05/10/2026

“Whatever floats your boat” was the name of the September Challenge Cup and so we had to test which of our entries lived up to the challenge!

Video evidence that we did test them all…well almost 😉 Make sure you watch to the end!

01/10/2026

At our September meeting we had a Harvest Festival collection for local Brentwood food banks, with members encouraged to bring a tin, or other non-perishable item, to donate from us as a group to those in need.

This is just a small selection of what was collected, and we're so grateful to our members. You are always so generous, and really make the Belles the great group that we are. Thank you, ladies 💚

28/09/2026

Some of the oar-some entries into this months' Challenge Cup! 🚣 We challenged you to make a boat that floats, and you certainly rode the waves of creativity!

Here are our entries and this month's winners...footage of floating still to come! 😉

September's Challenge Cup winners are:

🥉 Third place: Rosa.
🥈 Second place: Rosie W.
🥇 First place: Helen B.

21/09/2026

Our most recent Belles’ day trip saw us visit Pitzhanger Manor. 🏡

This was formerly home of architect Sir John Soane, and has been beautifully restored. We all appreciated looking around at the wonderful interiors, and of course we had some enjoyable social time over lunch, too!

We have a couple of trips coming up over the next month or so: a Charlie Chaplin guided walk and the Lightroom Wallace and Gromit exhibition / The Dickens Museum. If you wish to join either, please let either Viv (for Charlie Chaplin) or Liz S. (for the Lightroom / Dickens Museum) know ASAP.

20/09/2026

Some terrific trios for WI Day! 💜

We joined with members up and down the country last week in celebrating the 111th birthday of The WI (National Federation of Women's Institutes). WI members nationally were asked to wear purple, which is one of the colours of the Suffragettes, and to take photos in threes, e.g. 1,1,1, to celebrate the 111th anniversary.

Here are a few snaps therefore from our September meeting, doing exactly that!

Happy 111th birthday, WI! 🥳

18/09/2026

What a brilliantly inspiring speaker we had at our September meeting - and on WI Day no less! 🚣

Jo from The Only Way Is Rowing joined us to talk about her row across the Atlantic, which she completed alongside her friends, team mates and fellow Essex women, Sheila, Sam and Lorena.

We loved hearing all about the tales of the team taking on The World’s Toughest Row race, and learnt about everything from how they maintained communications with the race team and where they slept, through to what wildlife they were rowing alongside and even, erm, the bucket!! 🪣😂

Thank you for sharing your stories with us, Jo; it was fascinating, and you and your teammates embody everything there is to embody about The WI’s slogan of “Inspiring Women.” 💚

17/09/2026

The Brentwood Belles celebrating WI Day yesterday!

Yesterday, 16th September, marked 111 years of The WI (National Federation of Women's Institutes). To celebrate, members were asked to wear purple, the colour of the Suffragettes, and we certainly rose to the occasion! 💜

We also had one of our most inspiring speakers to date join us last night - Jo from The Only Way Is Rowing - who told us all about the ladies’ crossing of the Atlantic. More on that to follow, but what a fitting way to celebrate WI Day! 🚣

16/09/2026

Ready to sail into September? We certainly 'oar'! 😉

Tonight, at our September meeting, we'll be joined by The Only Way is Rowing, the fantastic Essex-based, all-female rowing crew, who recently rowed across the Atlantic. We can't wait to hear all about their journey and incredible achievement.

We're also asking that you bring a tin, or other non-perishable item, for our Harvest Festival food bank collection. If you are able to donate anything to those in need, we would be extremely grateful.

And as if that wasn't enough, today is WI Day! It's the 111th birthday of The WI (National Federation of Women's Institutes), and as such, NFWI have asked that we wear purple, the colour of the Suffragettes, to mark the occasion.

As always, with lots going on tonight, here is your meeting checklist:

🚤 A paper boat that floats, if you would like to take part in our September Challenge Cup.
🥫 Any donations for our Harvest Festival 'bring a tin' food bank collection.
💜 Wear purple to mark WI Day.
☕ A mug for tea break.
📚 Any books for the Belles' Library.
🎄 Any Christmas cards for recycling
💊 Any empty medication blister packs for our new recycling collection.
🖊 Any dead pens for our new recycling collection.

We look forward to kicking off the autumn season of Belles' meetings with you all this evening! 👋

15/09/2026

Tomorrow marks 111 years of The WI (National Federation of Women's Institutes)! 🥳 And this WI Day, NFWI have asked us to wear purple for the occasion and to see photos of trios, e.g. 1,1,1.

We've therefore dug through our recent photos and pulled out just a few of some of our members in terrific trios. 👇

However, we have to say it was a little tricky to dig these out, as at the Belles we are so used to being a big group of friends, and so much of what we do is done in groups larger than three!

We'll just have to rectify the matter tomorrow and take some 1,1,1 pictures, at our September meeting, as it will be WI Day itself 😉 Don't forget to wear purple if you can to represent the colour of the Suffragettes! 💜

13/09/2026

Wear purple for WI Day 💜 This year, our September meeting falls on WI Day - the day that we mark the birthday of The WI (National Federation of Women's Institutes).

NFWI have asked that we mark the occasion by wearing lavender / purple, which was the colour that represented the Suffragettes. We'd therefore love it if as many of our members as possible could wear purple to our meeting on Wednesday.

You don't have to go full out if you want to join in, either; just a little splash in the form of a scarf or an accessory will do!

If you are able to wear something purple on Wednesday, we'd love you to do so, as we mark the 111th birthday of the Women's Institute. 💜

Address

South Weald Parish Hall, London Road
Brentwood
CM144NP

Website

http://www.thebrentwoodbelleswi.co.uk/

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