THERE just had to be bubbles at a tea party to celebrate their first meeting face-to-face since last February (2020) so members of North Tawton WI had bubbles they blew as well as the sparkling stuff in glasses when they met at North Tawton Rugby Club for their annual summer party.

Another part of the celebration was a gift from the WI president, Jan Gray, to longstanding member Kennedy Gregory, who also received a certificate.

This said that the National Federation of Women’s Institutes Board of Trustees wished to recognise and congratulate Kennedy on being a member of the WI for 60 years.

During that time she has been involved in everything in the Institute at some time.

She has been president, was on the County committee, was voted to join her local WI committee early on, went to Denman College many times and has been involved in raising money for various charities over the years.

Kennedy has been secretary of the WI, was part of the drama group and was a newspaper correspondent for many years. Both her mother and mother-in-law were members.

She has been a member of the Institute Lunch Club and the Supper Club, played tennis for the Institute, and was Archive Secretary. She said she has a wardrobe full of archives and a container is needed to store it all.

She still goes on the monthly walking group with the WI. She has missed very few meetings and was the Institute rep for Denman. The Institute is 92 years old this year.

It is a lively group that has grown to be one of the biggest in Devon with 64 members. There are 200,000 WI members nationally. Among its initiative has been Keep Britain Tidy, Equal Pay for women, with this year’s project being about trying to put an end to modern slavery.

North Tawton WI has been joined by members from places that have lost their WI such as Okehampton, Bow and Winkleigh plus others from such as Sampford Courtenay.

On show for the first time was the table runner that could also be a wall hanging made for the president’s table by members.

It was member Sue Knott’s idea. Its making involved everyone with each member being given four pieces of patchwork at Christmas to join together which would then go to make the whole. If they wished members could embroider their initials in a corner.

Jo Fear did the embroidery for the central panel and committee member Maria Dilley and vice president Hilary Edwards joined it all together.

Steve Webb played the piano for the party.