WINK Rayleigh

24/08/2026

This is us! We had a great time, highly recommend! 🚶‍♀️

What a lovely group the Rayleigh WI were on the Plough Pootle on Saturday… so well behaved 😜
I enjoyed it so much that I’m going to kick off the next series of walks with this one at Paglesham on Saturday 5th September followed on the next 2 Saturdays by Canewdon and Shoebury. Full schedule to follow… 🥾 🌞 🥗 🍻

29/07/2026

July’s meeting was chilled affair as we gathered together for a paper flower craft evening. Gill and Tricia guided us through making cosmos and roses using crepe paper and kebab sticks. It was a fun, relaxed evening and we chatted while we crafted, with a few keeping an eye on the football score.

Also in July, we group of our members enjoyed a ladies’ golf taster day at Ballard Gore Golf Club with some professional coaching, a putting and chipping competition and playing on the course, with refreshments. We were also joined by a few Saxon Queens which was very enjoyable. Some ladies have decided that golf really is ‘fore’ them and are looking into taking up the sport.

We also had a team at the FEWI Inter WI Quiz who had an enjoyable evening with some quite challenging rounds!

https://winkrayleigh.co.uk/july-round-up/

29/06/2026

Diary dates for our Member meetings for the rest of the year.

22/06/2026

Join us for a fun craft evening to create some paper flowers. No experience necessary!

Wednesday 15th July, 7.45pm for 8pm start.

Members only.



Please note our our meetings are closed to visitors as we have a full membership and are not taking on any new members. If this changes, we will announce it on our website and Facebook. Please contact Essex WI for details of other WIs in the area.

19/06/2026

In June we had a very interesting talk from our local RNLI station in Southend. Tony came to talk to use about the history of the RNLI and the work they do saving lives at sea. We learned about the 4 different boats they have at the Southend station and how the calls are attended to. There was an interesting demonstration of all the multiple layers of PPE that volunteers wear to attend calls and we were surprised at how much equipment they wear.

The work of the RNLI Lifeboats is carried out entirely by volunteers who give up their time to train and become experts in rescuing those in need out on the water and around the shoreline. They are always looking for volunteers and financial donations to help keep the lifesaving service running. If you would like to donate or volunteer, please check out their website: https://rnli.org/

Also this month our dinner group enjoyed a lovely meal at the Old Windmill in Hanningfield and a small group of us went to see a matinee of Waitress the musical at Cliffs Pavilion. Thank you to Linda for organising the tickets for us.

We were so busy having fun at our gatherings this month, we haven’t got any photos to share! But here’s one of the Rayleigh Windmill looking splendid in the last few moments of the sunset this week.

https://winkrayleigh.co.uk/june-meeting-the-rnli/

02/06/2026

Our May meeting had us buzzing with excitement as we had local beekeeper Alison from The Bee Friendly Honey Company visit to give a talk about how bees and their honey can help us with their multiple health benefits. We were treated to some very special guests too as Alison brought her observation hive full of busy bees and many of us were able to spot the Queen Bee and see them all at work.

We also had our third annual plant sale which was a good success and our surplus plants were donated to FitzWimarc School for their allotment project.

27/04/2026

WINK Rayleigh membership is now at capacity and we will not be able to accept any more new members. It has been a difficult decision to make but the commitee feel this is in the best interests of our members.

Our monthly meetings will now be for members only. We thank everyone for their interest in WINK over the last few months and thank you to all our past visitors who came to get to know us.

If you would like to join another WI, we recommend checking the .wi website to find one near you. https://essexwi.org.uk/find-a-wi/

We are no longer actively recruiting members but we will continue sharing our news here and on our website. If we have membership spaces become available, we will announce them here.

22/04/2026

Our April meeting was a very busy evening with our Annual Meeting followed by a performance from The Silver Darlings. ⚓

Our committee remains the same with officers staying in their roles for another year. Committee member Sharon stepped down after seven years, we are very grateful for everything she has contributed to WINK and particularly for keeping our MCA records up to date. Thank you Sharon!

After the formalities, The Silver Darlings joined us and sang a selection of sea shanties and talked about the history and origins of the songs. It was a very rousing and entertaining evening with some fun audience participation!

https://winkrayleigh.co.uk/april-meeting-the-silver-darlings/