Matfield Women's Institute

Matfield Women's Institute is a friendly group of about 35 members with a wide range of interests. We meet on the 1st Wednesday evening of each month in Matfield Village Hall as well as holding a variety of activities and outings. For our meetings, we choose varied speakers, some to inspire, some to entertain. Coffee and chat gives us the chance to get to know one another and to find out about forthcoming events. We welcome visitors to any of our meetings and the programme for 2012 is shown below.

2011 was our 90th birthday year, something we were very proud to be celebrating! We started in October 1921 and Teresa Sassoon, mother of the wartime poet Siegfried, was one of our founding members. To read more about the first 90 years of Matfield WI, click here.

Our programme this year has a good mix of topics, including 'Magic of the Middle East', 'Share Your Memories' and 'Cheese Tasting'. Each month we also arrange outings and activities and among the highlights of last year were making Dormice boxes in Cinderhill Wood, our 90th birthday party in October and a trip to London in December to visit the Denis Severs museum and a Dickens exhibition at the Museum of London. We have a brilliant darts team who meet regularly.

Along with many other clubs and societies, WIs around the country have been asked to design a pennant to be carried by a competitor at the 2012 Olympics. Here is ours, made by Chris.

We belong to Goudhurst District which consists of eight WIs in the local area. Events are organised so that we meet our neighbouring members. The County Federation has its Headquarters in Pembury and organises conferences, workshops and events on a variety of subjects including craft, sport, home economics, the environment and public affairs. The West Kent Federation website is at www.westkentwi.org.uk.

The National Federation of Women's Institutes has its website at www.thewi.org.uk. The NFWI runs Denman College which is the WI's own residential Adult Education College near Oxford. It is a Georgian House set in seventeen acres of beautiful gardens. Courses cover a vast range of subjects and are open to all members.

 
 
 
Each year local WIs are invited to submit entries for the Barratt Cup competition at the summer show on Matfield Village Green. Last year the theme was "A Midsummer's Picnic". Matfield's entry, which came second, is shown here.
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
Making dormice boxes at Cinderhill Wood in June 2011

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Our trip to Buckingham Palace in 2010

For more information contact Karen on 01892 724330 or Aileen on 01892 722515