Minety WI

14/06/2026

In Praise of Women series.

Emmeline Pankhurst died 14th June 1928.
She was the organiser of the suffragette movement and helped women to win the right to vote in 1918.
Emmeline founded the WSPU - the Women’s Social and Political Union in 1903 - whose motto was “deeds not words”. As such, the movement became known for its physical actions including smashing windows and assaulting police officers, and later under the leadership of Emmeline’s daughter Christabel, more violent action such as arson and bombings. Many of its members, including Emmeline and her daughters were arrested and sent to prison where they went on hunger strikes and were then subjected to appalling forced feeding.
When the country went to war in 1914, Emmeline halted all acts of violence and aggression and encouraged women to work in factories to help the war effort, and young men to enlist.
Women over 30 won the right to vote in 1918 and Emmeline became involved in mainstream politics in order to promote women’s equality.
She died only weeks before the Representation of the People Act of 1928 when the right to vote was extended to all women over 21.
Her statue stands next to the Houses of Parliament in Victoria Tower Gardens to commemorate a woman who devoted her adult life to fighting for equality for women, a fight that continues to this very day.

11/06/2026

Wednesday’s trip to Slimbridge Wetland Centre 🦆Great day out and and we were so lucky with the weather🌤️
Saw the cranes but too far away for a picture!

06/06/2026

14/05/2026

Photos from our trip today to Mr Crappers recycling facility.♻️
An incredibly impressive site powered entirely by electricity generated by the recycling.
We learnt how the processes work and how the company is putting recycling and sustainability at the forefront of their business.
The tour finished at Sustain Farm shop for tea/coffee and yummy cakes😋

14/05/2026

Minety WI AGM on Monday evening was celebrated with cheese and wine tasting 🍷🧀
Ceri Cryer from Dairy brought us 6 cheeses to try and Teresa Hatton gave us 4 wines to taste. We learnt about the cheese making processes and the growing conditions and types of grapes used to produce certain wines.
An evening that was thoroughly enjoyed by all AND we learnt something!!🍷🥂🧀

08/05/2026

Happy 100th birthday Sir David Attenborough 🥳🎂
We salute an incredible man whose dedication to his work and the natural world has given us amazing insight into our planet, the creatures who inhabit it and how human behaviour and the development of land affects it.

06/05/2026

In Praise of Women series.

Maria Montessori, Italian physician and educator died 6th May 1952.

Maria devised a philosophy of education subsequently called the Montessori method.
She originally wanted to become an engineer but changed her mind and enrolled at a medical school at the University of Rome, one of the first women in Italy to attend, and graduated with honours. Her training was difficult as she was viewed, as a woman, with open hostility and had to perform her dissections out of hours as being in the presence of a “naked” body in front of men was considered totally inappropriate.
After graduating, she specialised in pediatrics but her career could have been cut short when she gave birth to a son, outside of marriage. He was brought up by a wet nurse so that she could continue to work but they reunited when he was a teenager and he became her assistant in her academic research.
Maria continued her work and research into children, education, learning difficulties and teaching and opened her first school for children without disabilities in 1907.
This school developed her ideas and philosophy which led to the hallmarks of her teaching methods.
The Montessori method spread through Italy and by 1912, it was adopted in Switzerland and planned for the UK. Schools opened across the world and training courses were held for teachers in Rome.
Her methods were not without controversy and she faced many difficulties during her long career including internment in India by the British at the beginning of WW2.
Maria was nominated for a Noble prize three times but never won although she was invited to address UNESCO in 1951 on the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and used that speech to highlight the lack of any Declaration of the Rights of the Child. This was rectified in 1959 and is now a United Nations document outlining 10 principles for the protection of children.
A remarkable woman who spent her life working for the improvement of education for children and for their rights and safety.

23/04/2026

Happy St. George’s Day🌹🌹