Did you know there are eels in the river Quaggy, or that some of the stones in the Quaggy are 50 million years old? We certainly didn’t, but after an excellent talk by Paul de Zylva from the award-winning community group Quaggy Waterways Action Group (QWAG) we were superbly well informed. We heard about our… Continue reading
Category Archives: Meetings
The ABC of Annabel Dott – Our January 2025 Meeting
Lynne Dixon kindly joined us in January to tell us about Annabel Dott who has been described as a Tiresome Lady Architect. Annabel was born in 1868 and went to South Africa to marry a man of the clergy, Patrick Dott. While she was there, she redesigned the vicarage they lived in and was probably influenced… Continue reading
Bobbles and fizz – Our December 2024 Meeting
We had a lovely evening tasting bubbles while winding wool for a bobble hat shaped Christmas tree decoration and of course enjoying the opportunity for a good old chat. The room was pretty evenly split between those who enjoyed the ‘proper stuff’ (champagne) or the sparkling wine more. … Continue reading
A school at war – Our November 2024 meeting
We welcomed Mary Smith to our November meeting to tell us about school life during WW2, arising from two fascinating recent discoveries made while she was headteacher of Maidstone Girls Grammar School in Kent. The first was the uncovering of an extensive set of tunnels used as underground classrooms, and the second was the discovery… Continue reading
We shimmied the night away! – Our October 2024 meeting
Well, what a night to remember! Lee Green WI was visited by Miss Cherry Bombe (also known as Lindsey Barrell), all the way from Chelmsford in Essex. Lindsey Barrell aka Miss Cherry Bombe came to share her very entertaining story about how she set out to find new friends and after a number of false… Continue reading
Meeting Dates 2025
The dates for our 2025 meetings are listed below so you can add them to your new diary as soon as possible. We will be adding full details for each meeting in Upcoming Events. Thursday 16 January Thursday 13 February Thursday 20 March Thursday 24 April Thursday 15 May Thursday 19 June Thursday 17 July… Continue reading
Fashion, Fury and Feathers: Women’s Fight for Change – Our September 2024 Meeting
We were delighted to welcome Tessa Boase to our September meeting. When Tessa told the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) she wanted to write their early story, they refused to let her visit their archives! To a former investigative journalist, this was a challenge she could… Continue reading
An evening with Vicky Fleetwood – Our July 2024 meeting
We welcomed Vicky Fleetwood to our July meeting. Vicky made her England rugby debut in 2011, playing in the World Cup winning side in 2014, with the World Cup finalists in 2017, and in the winning Six Nations team in 2019. She has made over 75 appearances for England, playing at hooker or in the… Continue reading
Mudlarking – Our June 2024 meeting
Christine Webb from the Thames Explorer Trust presented a fascinating talk about mudlarking and some of her finds. Mudlarking is searching the banks of rivers, in this case the Thames, for the artefacts that are revealed when the tide goes out. Objects from the thousands of years of… Continue reading
Singalong with Richard & Mark – Our May 2024 Meeting & AGM
This month we welcomed back Richard Gregg and Mark Andrew for some vocal fun. After a few warm up exercises to get the best from our voices, Richard and Mark took us through a medley of songs from The Sound of Music as well as telling us little known and fascinating facts about the musical… Continue reading
Women in Advertising – Our April 2024 meeting
We were treated to a fascinating talk by Lizzie Broadbent about ‘Women in Advertising Between the Wars’. In 1913, one of Britain’s women’s magazines told readers about the opportunities presented by this ‘new, vital and growing vocation’ and that year women working in the industry came together to form their own network, the Women’s Advertising… Continue reading
British Sign Language – Our March 2024 meeting
Tying in with British Sign Language week 18-24 March, we were delighted to welcome BSL translator Shahbana Aslam and her two colleagues Sandra and Charlotte for our meeting on 21st March. Shahbana talked with such passion and enthusiasm about the challenges and joys of her work with the deaf community for over 25 years. She… Continue reading