Avening WI

12/06/2026

Rob from Guideposts Trust came to our meeting last night to receive a cheque donated from the proceeds of our Village Quiz. The Hub in Stroud provides a friendly and vibrant place where adults with learning disabilities can come together to make friends, have fun, learn new skills, gain confidence and get involved in the local community. The money will be used to help fund a trip for their members.

08/06/2026

The rain stopped just in time today for our walk from Minchinhampton Common to Besbury Common and back, finishing with a delicious lunch at The Old Lodge, where the amazing cheese soufflés proved popular.

07/06/2026

A few photos taken at the start of the Avening Village Fete today. Two very busy hours later we were sold out with lots of happy customers.
Great team effort! Could qualify for The Big Help Out as we helped raise money for the village and church.

03/06/2026

Very enjoyable evening with Stonehouse WI playing a friendly skittles match. Stonehouse won by a small margin. Thanks to Gwyn, our skittles captain, for organising.

29/05/2026

When we were asked if we could make curtains for Cherington Village Hall, we rose to the challenge!
10 members gathered at the hall with sewing machines, ironing boards, scissors and pins and set to work. Many hands made light work and there was lots of happy chatter accompanied by the hum of the machines. We were provided with all the materials, and refreshments including a lovely lunch, and by mid afternoon 13 curtains were complete apart from the hems.
Today we returned to hang the curtains, which now accompany the bunting made by us a few years ago.

20/05/2026

Such a shame about the weather when 12 members visited the amazing garden of Derry Watkins at near Cold Ashton.
Following an introduction about the story of the garden and hints and tips about carrying out a Chelsea Chop, we wandered around the garden which has a wonderful array of unusual plants.
We then had tea and homemade cake and a chance to buy some plants in the nursery.

16/05/2026

In 2022 Avening WI answered the call for property bags and produced over 20 which were donated to Stroud and Dursley hospitals. Time for another batch?

During Dying Matters Week in 2022 we put out a request for sewers to help create a stock of fabric ‘property bags’ so that our hospital colleagues had something dignified to use to give personal belongings back to family members of a deceased relative.
The response was heartwarming with lots of beautifully sewn bags in wonderful materials arriving at the Trust.
Those are now running low, and End of Life Lead Debbie Williams is hoping that sewing enthusiasts will again pull out their needles to help us replenish our stock.
She said: “These property bags have been hugely welcomed both by our staff and by relatives. They represent kindness and sympathy at a very difficult time.
“We were incredibly grateful for the response when we first appealed for them – I’d love to allow colleagues across the Trust to continue using them by having some more created.”
Dying Matters Awareness Week runs from May 4-10 and aims to help people talk about dying and grief and to plan for the end of life. More on the week can be found on the Hospice UK website here.
Bag-making instructions are available for download on our website (link in comments) if you’d like to try making one, or more.
For more on End of Life care, Dying Matters Week or sewing of Property Bags you can email: [email protected]
Bags can be sent to End of Life Care, Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust, Edward Jenner Court, 1010 Pioneer Avenue, Brockworth, Gloucester, GL3 4AW.

10/05/2026

Four years on and our Blaisdon Red Plum Tree planted as part of the is doing well. Thank you to those who have strimmed around it from .
We’ll soon have enough to make a pot of jam!

02/05/2026

Our long distance walkers have started a new challenge The Wysis Way, walking from Monmouth to Kemble. A challenging start yesterday but great views and lovely woodland and flower meadow.

25/04/2026

We are continuing to monitor our local stream twice a year with , testing for nitrates, phosphates and this time measuring the pH which was alkaline as expected. We have uploaded the results and will report back on the analysis when received.

Full report has arrivedhttps://earthwatch.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Earthwatch-WaterBlitz-Report-June-2026.pdf