Manor House Gardens Festival – June 2026

Sporting pinnies, a wonderful new gazebo, jolly bunting and a bountiful supply of cakes we had a great afternoon supporting the annual Manor House Gardens festival.  We had a lovely, not too hot day, and were kept busy all afternoon selling our cakes at this wonderful community event.  A big shout out to all those who baked, bought, ate, set-up (and cleared up) and, of course, served for the event.  Helping at one of our cake stalls (we normally run two a year with the November Lee Green Open Studios event as the other) is a really great way of getting to know fellow members of the WI.  And this year, we were treated to some VIP visitors, including Janet Daby our MP and the President of a Sheffield WI, just passing by!

“It was a great day today.  I honestly think we had the widest choice of cake that we have ever had … and such beauties too.”

“Such a special local event.”

“Great community atmosphere!”

Visiting the Bethlem Museum of the Mind’s Garden – June 2026

On 12th June a group of 14 visited Bethlem Hospital grounds in Beckenham as a follow up to our visit to the Museum of the Mind last year.  We had a history walking tour around some of the buildings and grounds at the hospital and our guide was Terri supported by Colin, the Museum Director. … Continue reading

Summer in the City: A London Walk – June 2026

Once again we took to the pavements, alleys and hidden corners of the City of London for one of our City walks with our guides Jenny and Elaine.  This time we were exploring the secrets of the eastern corner of the City, beginning with the Monument and taking in a riverside walk to the old… Continue reading

A fun WI way of raising money for Cancer Research UK – May 2026

  Our very own Secretary opened her house for a cuppa and scones on the May Bank Holiday to help her raise sponsorship for Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life. We had a lovely morning catching up over a cuppa and enjoying Kay’s finest homemade scones all in a good cause. The pictures say it… Continue reading

Our AGM and Singalong with R’markable Choir – Our May 2026 Meeting

Our May meeting is of course our Annual General Meeting.  Our joint presidents, secretary and treasurer cantered through the business part of the meeting with efficient good humour, but the star of the show was definitely Jane Clark who gave a delightful short speech to acknowledge the hard work of the presidents and committee.  (So… Continue reading

A Treasure Hunt with Catford WI – April 2026

This was the third ‘Hunt’ organised by the members of the Catford WI and again two teams from Lee Green participated in this truly fascinating tour around City of London Churches. Starting at 10.30 from Blackfriars Station our route took us firstly to St Bride’s Church, then up Farringdon Street to the gated street of… Continue reading

Some Women of the 50s who Defied Convention and Wrote a Cookbook! – Our April 2026 Meeting

For our April 2026 meeting we welcomed Jacky Robinson back to our meeting to tell us about some women of the thirties, forties and fifties who defied convention … and also happened to write a cookbook! Jacky is a keen cook and for over 20 years she has been running charity fundraisers with her sister… Continue reading

Digital Forensics – Our March 2026 Meeting

Chris Truran previously worked as a member of SOCO with the Metropolitan Police.  He came to speak about forensics and began his presentation by reminding us of the history where Korea started to use walkie-talkie radios which weren’t very efficient.  But from then technology improved with the introduction of the first mobile phones in the… Continue reading

‘Quizmopolitan’, our annual quiz – February 2026

Graham and Alison returned to host another triumphant quiz to raise sponsorship for Vicky Chapman who is running the London Marathon in aid of the Brain Tumour Trust.  The fiendish questions seemed to present little difficulty for the winning team Communal Boilers who scored a full house, with the Hopefuls and Quizzy Rascals coming in… Continue reading

A visit to Barts North Wing and the Church of St Bartholomew the Great – February 2026

A group of us enjoyed a great afternoon exploring Barts North Wing, part of St Bartholomew’s Hospital, Smithfield and discovering the Hogarth stair, the fabulous Great Hall and remarkable paintings.  We were also able to combine this with a tour of the ancient church of St Bartholomew the Great. “Another great trip!” Continue reading

Open air swim – February (yes February) 2026

A group of hardy WI members braved the water for an open air swim in the heated pool at Charlton Lido on a chilly February day.  Some had never swum in an Olympic size pool before and a 50m length seemed quite a long way!  Emerging invigorated and feeling very virtuous, everyone enjoyed a warm… Continue reading

The History of the Corbett Estate – Our February 2026 meeting

In a fascinating talk, Jon introduced us to Archibald Corbett (1856-1933), the son of a wealthy Scottish merchant who transformed Catford and Hither Green with the development of 3 – 4,000 homes.   Corbett was a philanthropist and was later to enter politics and have a long career as a Liberal MP before entering the House… Continue reading