JUNE was another busy month for the WI. It began with the monthly meeting at the Village Hall. The speaker was Neil Cook, the Head Gardener at Hanbury Hall.

He gave us a brief history of the hall, which was built by Thomas Vernon in 1701 , and acquired by the National Trust in 1991 , Both the house and garden rely heavily on volunteers-81 in the garden alone (not all at the same time !!) the garden has been restored to its original design with a formal garden, walled garden, orchards , vegetable garden , an immaculate bowling green (which originally meant that the family were wealthy) and much more.

There are 4,000 box hedges to be maintained and 4,800 plants to lay out every year.

The latest project is the restoration of the Orangery, originally built in 1733 . Definitely a fantastic place to visit and on our doorstep too.

On June 4 quite a few members went to the Palace Theatre at Redditch for the national AGM , which was relayed on a large screen from the Albert Hall in London. As well as members from all over the country, the Queen, Princess Anne and The Countess of Wessex were also there-all WI members. It was a long but interesting day.

On June 18 a large group of us went to the Royal Ascot Day at Cutnall Green.It began with Pimms in the garden followed by a delicious meal in the Post Office.

We all dressed for the day in our best outfits,hats and bling. Everyone looked amazing.

A very enjoyable day We ended June with the sun shining for our annual garden party. Lovely weather, lovely food , good company and a beautiful garden to look around. Thank you Lynden for making us so welcome and for all your hard work.

We meet on the first Thursday of the month from 2pm to -4 pm. To find out more call Val Dowler on 0121 439 1354 . New members are always welcome.