Crieff, Comrie and Auchterarder Group coffee tag .

The Zoom September planning meeting was well attended and full of its’ expected enthusiasm and ideas.

We concluded that the way forward was to continue with the certainty of Zoom, at the same time looked for a way to meet without Zoom as the medium is challenging.

At that point, in Scotland only two households could meet up, which, for all our group meant two people.

So we created our own coffee tag. This involved names being randomly listed then lady one met lady two, a few days later lady two met lady three and so on until the circle was completed and lady twelve met lady one .

We were able to meet in a variety of settings until the end of the year, including coffee shops, gardens and taking a walk, sometimes with the family dog. Topics of discussion were various and our members reported the subject discussion along with a relevant picture after meeting up, in an email, which in itself prompted further super discussions!!

We all enjoyed these meetings and the different medium of a one to one chat

It was such a success that we repeated it with a secret Santa coffee tag.

(Crieff, Comrie and Auchterarder NWR)

I’ve had it! 

A year ago, if you said, ’I’ve had it’ people, presuming that you had contracted COVID 19, would have commiserated with you! But thankfully now they will congratulate you on having had your second inoculation. 

The first of April 2021 has become a very special day for me. Doubly so. I sang my mam’s song:  ‘This is My Lovely Day’ 

On Maundy Thursday 1995 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Every year since the Easter Tritium brought back memories of the fear I experienced on that day. However, from now on I will be singing:

‘This is the day I shall remember the day I am dying

They can't take this away…’

They can't take this away

It will be always mine, the sun and the wine

The sea birds crying ‘

THIS IS MY LOVELY DAY From the London Musical "Bless The Bride" (1947) ( Music: Vivian Ellis / Lyrics: A. P. Herbert) Lizbeth Webb & Georges Guetary …

For our meeting last week on Zoom we were asked to think of something worthy of deposit in The Museum of Curiosity, as per the radio 4 programme. Most of us found it very difficult to choose something, but this eclectic mix is what we ended up with….

First - a big sign at the entrance saying ‘JUST GET ON WITH IT’, with the intention that it would jolt one out of all the dithering and muttering which we tend to do instead of simply getting stuff done.

Then we enthusiastically offered:

Toilet rolls ; Deckchairs ; Zips/Zippers ; Tea Bricks ; Cameras ; Gerald Lincoln, Endocrinologist ; 'On Ilkla Moor Baht’at' ;  City of Liverpool

AND….

A dead cat (because, of course…. Curiosity Killed the Cat!)

Everything was graciously accepted by The Curator [thanks Jane]. Do come and visit.

Only with NWR !!

Dalgety Bay Group has been meeting every fortnight during Covid times.

We have now all got the hang of Zoom and on a cold snowy or frosty night it's quite nice to think we don't have to turn out into the cold.

We have covered topics like the RNLI, our favourite poem and a tale about someone we never had chance to say to say' Sorry' or 'Thank you' to.

We dressed up for our online Christmas Party, with our glasses of wine and crisps and took part in a quiz.

One of the fun things we have done is to share our special soup recipes. It has been the right weather for a tasty soup.

Here is one of the recipes from our collection. I can recommend it.

Sweet Potato and Red Pepper Soup with Coconut Milk

25g butter

1 onion

450g of chopped sweet potato

2 peeled and chopped red peppers

400ml can of coconut milk

1tbs ground coriander

700 ml vegetable stock

Melt butter in a large pan and cook onion until soft but not brown. Stir in the ground coriander and cook for 2 mins. Add the sweet potato and red peppers and cook for 5 mins Add the stock and bring to the boil, cover, and simmer for 20 mins. Cool a little then blitz. Add the coconut milk, season to taste, heat and serve.

The Arnold NWR group would like to thank you in the office and the question setters and clue holders for a fantastic and fun TTT this year! As you can see from the attached screenshot, we had 18 members join by Zoom and one or two others were in touch by phone. This is a record turnout for our Zoom meetings and everyone said how much they had enjoyed it. The quiz has been a firm favourite over the years and we were so glad it could go ahead. This year has been a challenging learning curve for many of our members, but most of them have embraced the new ways of keeping connected. Long live NWR!

A socially-distanced walk around West Stow country park - an example of how we have got around all the COVID restrictions.
Where there's a will.... there's a coffee at the end!

This is a second test post

Thank you to Sandra for your great efforts. My sunflower, despite being ravaged by slugs, appears to be the most resilient.

The Dorking Group have been busy compiling a book list, one published in each year in the last sixty years.  Not only that, they have set about reading them all and putting together a table of notes about the books which you can read 60 Year Booklist

Well done Dorking!

 Romiley members social distancing!

When lockdown started we were all at a loss what to do. All our meetings were cancelled and so we started a weekly Would I Lie To You email with one member of our group of 15 contacting one other member, who had to email a lie while the others emailed a truth about themselves. Later in the week we had to guess who was lying and that person secretly asked another to be the next liar and so it went on. We did not question each other, as in the TV programme but we found out some very interesting facts about each other in the course of the time we did it.

We also revived an idea from a meeting we held several years ago when we chose six words and wrote a story, poem or dialogue including the six words and then emailed them to the group.  It was great to read the different ideas we came up with.

As lockdown eased we had meetings in each other’s gardens with a maximum of 6 in each. It was great to get together and see each other face to face and talk about our lockdown experiences and find out about each other’s truths! It was a welcome change from reading emails.

We then decided on a socially distanced walk and picnic, in which 12 of our members took part. We picnicked on a bench and the photo is of us all socially distancing while picnicking. Again it was good to see each other face to face and chat.

We’ve recently started writing Haiku poems with the theme of An Emotional Snapshot of Lockdown and have read many interesting and poignant ones.

As I write this towards the end of July, who knows how our meetings will continue. We’ve enjoyed the outside meet ups and walks and cannot even think of how long it will be before 15 people can be inside in one room again. We’ll just have to get used to being wrapped up while sitting in a member’s garden or walking together.

ROMILEY NWR

Sandra's wonderful sunflowers...

The Chandler's Ford Group, like all of us, are having to find different ways of communicating, and they decided at a recent meeting to discuss their favouite walk, because at least it is something we can all do in this time of Lockdown. they have 20 members in their group out of which 12 participated in an online ZOOM meeting.  Three others sent their contributions before the meeting.  the list of walks was compiled and then emailed to all members... which is something that other groups might like to try!

TO READ ABOUT THEIR WALKS CLICK HERE

See their article here  Wimborne-article-in-Viewpoint-May-2020 

or read below.

Maryanne Pike, local organiser for the Wimborne National Women’s Register, gives readers some insight into the organisation and how it is coping during the Covid-19 pandemic. She writes:

Yes, it was definitely the pill! It had been a lively discussion topic, ‘The Most Influential Thing to Come out Of the Sixties’, so many contenders: fashion, music, free love (possibly due to the aforementioned medical advance?) to name but a few. However, the new opportunity for women to control their own fertility was certainly the majority favourite.

It was also the decade that started NWR, the National Women’s Register, formerly National Housewives Register, and it was the members of the Wimborne group of NWR that had been debating the topic as part of NWR’s Sixtieth Jubilee this spring. All over the country members were celebrating the week when Maureen Nichols, the founding member, wrote a letter, with a brilliant suggestion, to a newspaper.

Maureen had been moving around the country with her young family following her husband’s job moves. This was the era when greater mobility of the workforce was becoming more usual. She thought how wonderful it would be to have a group of like-minded women, a register she called it, who would be readymade friends wherever you went.

The need for such an organisation was shown by the overwhelming response to her letter and NWR was born.

So there we were, 60 years later, and looking forward to our spring programme of discussions, visits, trips and talks, (not to forget the odd party). Then something shook the world and all our activities were put on hold.

It took a couple of weeks to come to terms with the situation and our disappointments. Then, like so many people and organisations, we decided we were not going to be beaten and we took a dive into the virtual world.

Our fortnightly meetings usually take place in each other’s homes but now we meet in a virtual room and, instead of twice a month, it’s twice a week. We have a weekly coffee morning (bring your own coffee), and a weekly evening get together (bring your own…whatever you fancy, most often it’s in a glass).

Of course it’s very different and there’s been a lot to learn, not least the etiquette of this new social contact. Many of us have also learnt that we are not as bad at technology as we thought. Each meeting has a topic, the discussion mentioned at the start of this article was at one of our evening meetings, sometimes we need to give it a bit of thought beforehand and, most importantly, it is giving everyone an opportunity to stay in touch.

We are very grateful to the National Organising Group too. They have stepped up to provide access for all members to the Digital Theatre resources and have organised webinars with interesting and entertaining speakers and quizzes for any members throughout the country that would like to take part. Their regular newsletters with useful links and ideas help us to feel less alone.

So, this remains a difficult and challenging time for us all but, being a member of NWR is helping to make it more bearable.

Membership of NWR is open to all women. Enquiries can be made by filling in the contact form on the website nwr. org.uk or emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Durham Group have already started having all their meetings online, starting with a Planning Meeting and then their first Discussion Group on the subject of "What is Nuclear Medicine?".

Enid Hoseason the Local Organiser writes "It worked quite well and instead of going around the room and asking members to contribute, we just went around the screen, and like a normal meeting, those members who did not want to contribute, just listened.  

Members are using different devices, from iphones to iPads and lap tops so those using phones have to swipe the screen to see everyone in the group as they only see four at a time.  it is also useful to use the CHAT button on the bottom of the screen if someone cannot hear very well.

Each week we have had emails from each other, from members who have walked around their gardens and taken photos of their lovely flowers and shared them online - just little things to keep us in touch with each other. I know that tonight, some members have watched the live theatre on the television and others are taking part in the events NWR Head Office are organising.

This is a photo of us enjoying a VE Celebration tea and cake together."

Initiated by the 60th Anniversary of NWR, Buckhurst Hill & Woodford Green reunited some "old timers" as we call ourselves (going back forty years in some cases) and, having arranged a date in early March, we were pleased to be able to go ahead with our plans before the full  restrictions were put in place.  Most had moved away, but travelled to London for a very enjoyable lunch.  In the event, twelve were able to attend (some travelling long distances), and for those who couldn't make it, it was good to have been in touch again.  It inspired us to try and make this an annual event!

Broadstone Afternoon members exercising and observing the isolation code! 

Here are some photos of our group’s Celebration Afternoon Tea at Lytham Hall on Diamond Day. The local press came, took photos and wrote two articles about us. We each had a goody bag containing a special memento which consisted of a tea light holder with our own commemorative transfers affixed. We proposed a toast to Maureen Nicol and a good time was had by all.