Kempsey WI

19/04/2026

21/03/2026

Kempsey WI was invited to join the Parish Council/CIC's new community event - The "Daffodowndilly" Weekend. Kempsey is renowned locally for its streak of golden daffodils planted by the roadsides; the event was envisaged as an "all age" celebration of this. With both the local nursing home and the youngsters of the village invited to do art & craft for display.
WIs are known for crafting poppy displays - well, Kempsey is a bit different. We masterminded a daffodil cascade. Our call for crafters was answered by individuals and groups from the village and beyond. Over 1000 "blooms" have been knitted and crocheted. Our team assembled a cascade of diverse "narcissi" colours and textures - very different from the golden roadsides but a feast of colour nonetheless. It has been great to work with so many crafters - who knew how much talent there is out there?
"Crafting" covers most of Kempsey WI's activities for March this year. At the meeting members were introduced to the therapeutic art of ink stamping - building attractive designs with a few colours and shapes. Two members modelled their Easter bonnets.

The pictures show the finished Daffodowndilly Cascade - and the decoration of the font and choir stalls with even more daffodils.

11/03/2026

Kempsey WI March 2026 meeting will be crafting and socialising. We will also report to members on the progress of our daffodil cascade, which has become a whole village community project. Our subscription year starts next month, April, and we do hope to encourage some of the visitors from last month to join our WI. We have a full programme planned for the year. The meeting runs from 2-4 with refreshments available. We hope to see some Easter Bonnets since that is the March Competition!

11/02/2026

Our February meeting, on Monday 16th 2-4 pm at Kempsey Youth Centre, will be a trip through the 1960s with Philip Bowen. Were you there? Can you remember? Was your mother there (or your grandmother)? It was a decade of change: mini cars, mini-skirts and women's lib! Plenty of scope so what will our speaker highlight? Cuppa and biscuits after the talk. Ladies - we welcome visitors.

14/01/2026

Our first meeting of 2026 will be on Monday 19 January, 2.00-4.00 pm in the Youth Centre. Local historian John White is going to tell us about "The honours of the table". Do you know your dinner time etiquette? Which way do you pass the port? The Victorians would no doubt be horrified by modern "TV dinners" and takeaways - and oh! those mobile phones being used at mealtimes. John will fill us in on what might be expected from genteel society! Ladies, come and join us, we are always happy to extend a welcome to visitors. A cuppa & biscuits will be available at social time when modern casual etiquette will be observed!

08/12/2025

On Monday 15 December at 2.00pm the ladies of Kempsey WI will be gathering for our annual Christmas Party. The committee provides mulled wine & seasonal nibbles and members have a relaxed "Merry Social", including our "Secret Santa Socks"! This year we will be quizzing too. We also stage a Christmas fundraising raffle with proceeds split between our WI and our charity of the year. This year we are supporting St Richard's Hospice.

13/11/2025

Kempsey WI found a way to cheer up a very wet Wednesday this week. We held a very successful Christmas Crafting Session in Kempsey Youth Centre, in association with Kempsey Craft Group. Members, crafters, friends and guests from other WIs had a lovely day glueing, sticking, threading and folding. There was a lot of chat but there were also moments of intense concentration!

At the end of the day we each came away with five hand-crafted items that most of us had no idea we would be capable of producing when we were having our introductory cuppa.

13/11/2025

Kempsey WI was very pleased to welcome half a dozen visitors to our October "Open Meeting". Nigel Christie gave a very entertaining and informative talk on "everyday" antiques, showing us lots of examples. It was an interactive meeting: we participated in a "good, better best" (as per Antiques Roadshow) and were allowed to handle a series of different objects (spoons, clogs for example), learn their history and find out what they are currently worth.
It's amazing what we have in our cupboards! The contest for a quirky or unusual antique item brought out the largest number of entries for our monthly competition for a long time. Sconces, a barometer a tiny book, a pin collection, egg cup, flatirons and a very old ostrich egg to name but a few!

14/10/2025

Monday 20 October 2pm. Kempsey WI is hosting a talk on Antiques which will be open to all over 18's. (Donation of suggested £5 at the door, proceeds split between St Richard's Hospice & the WI, tea & biscuits included).
Antique expert Nigel Christie will give tips on antique hunting and collecting; he will entertain us with anecdotes and insights gleaned from his years in the Antiques business.
The talk will be followed by refreshments.

The monthly WI meeting will commence after we have had our tea & biscuits, probably 3.20ish. Visitors are welcome to stay and witness what happens at a WI meeting! (Youth Centre, Plovers Rise) See you there.

04/10/2025

The WI's ethos: fun, friendship, education, crafting and campaigns. Sometimes they all come together in an unlikely place! Showing support for the "WI Week of River Action," a group of members found themselves with banners and skuba gear in Kempsey's Rocky Ford. It was a bit of a giggle and amazed the drivers of a couple of passing vehicles! We also did a "Citizen Science" project by sampling and testing river water for FreshWaterWatch as part of the campaign. Results on their website.

There's a lot going on at Kempsey WI; coming soon:

Monday 20 October 2 - 3 pm Kempsey Youth Centre "Antiques" - a presentation by Nigel Christie with tips on buying, sellling and collecting. This is open to all over 18s with part of the proceeds going to St Richard's Hospice (cash donation at the door).

Wednesday 12 November 10-2 Kempsey Youth Centre: "Crafting for Christmas" £10, tea/coffee and all equipment supplied (bring a packed lunch!). Suitable for all abilities - advance booking essential.

Message for details of either of these two events.