THE January meeting of YEOFORD was "snowed off" and we were also not able to go to the pantomime at Dunsford for the same reason.

In February our speaker was Ray King, who gave us a very interesting talk about the life of bees and his experiences as a beekeeper.

Bees are vital to mankinds existence. At the moment they are suffering heavy losses worldwide, so it is important to understand how we can help in providing the plants and flowers that they need to flourish.

We are holding a Whist Drive on March 31 in the village hall at 8pm with meat prizes.

JN

PRESIDENT Angie Williams welcomed the many members who attended the February afternoon meeting of MORCHARD BISHOP, despite the biting cold wind. Even so the weather was not as bad as January which meant a cancelled meeting.

A bouquet was presented to a member for her 90th birthday and later a lovely lemon cake was enjoyed by all present!

The business session took quite some time, as a seemingly unending list of events and news items had to be read out.

The discussion as to where to hold our anniversary lunch was comparatively swift!

P.C. Steve Pike then hid a few "drugs" for his dog "Billy" to find and prior to us meeting. Steve gave us a run down on the sort of work Police dog handlers do in general and he, in particular, with one dog for drug sniffing and the other, "Squirty", for bombs!

The dogs - both of the Spaniel family- were brought in separately and "Billy" found the "drugs" quickly. No "bombs" were hidden for "Squirty"!

Everyone enjoyed seeing how the dogs' tails never stopped wagging and their gaze was constantly on their "master" when not chasing smells!

Rosemary Taylor thanked Steve for an informative talk. The competition for a Dog photo was won by: 1 Janet Knight, 2 Joan Dellamuro. Flower of the month was won by: 1 Jean Findlay, 2 Shirley Pope.

Tea and a raffle then took over the proceedings.

The speaker at the next meeting (March 10) will be Mr. Glover who will talk about ShelterBox.>

YOU could easily have mistaken the North Tawton Town Hall for a garden centre as NORTH TAWTON'S speaker at the February meeting, Alan French, had brought a magnificent selection of plants and shrubs to help illustrate his talk on "Spring Colour in the Garden".

Alan shared a wealth of gardening expertise with members and everyone went home with hints and tips on how to brighten up our gardens during this period.

Our business meeting included numerous reports of coming events and reports from ladies who had been doing all manner of WI things including a trip to Slimbridge and a "Pamper Day" at Exeter College.

Members are looking forward to the birthday lunch later this month and are anticipating good food and good company, with a speaker whose talk is entitled "I Left my Shoes in San Francisco".

Members are swotting hard in preparation for the County Quiz heats.

An Entertainment Group has been formed after the successful play at Christmas and members have already written a short production with the hope of performing at the Barnfield Theatre, Exeter as part of the WI Celebration of Performing Arts.

AL

MEMBERS of CHERITON FITZPAINE were glad to meet again after a prologed absence due to snow and ice. 

President, Margaret Steer, welcomed a new member, Jenny Cave and also amongst us, Barbara Paddon, who had returned after a long absence due to a spinal injury.

Voting slips for Resolutions for the National Federation of WI's were completed by members.  We were pleased to learn that our calendar of local scenes had raised over £150 for Hospiscare - congratulations to all involved.

Our speaker was Jenny Irvine from Shobrooke who gave us an illustrated talk about her travels with her son and daughter in Western USA. 

Their aim was to visit some of the National Parks, including Yosemite and the Grand Canyon.  The scenery was amazing, and they were delighted to find so many flowers growing in that inhospitable desert environment. 

Their only disappointment was a visit to the town of Tombsone, which was very commercialized and tacky.

Jenny showed us pictures of the tiny humming bird (her son had chanced on a nest of them) and other wildlife, including elks.  The grandeur of the scenery was overwhelming, as was the idea of camping out at the base of towering cliffs. 

One sour note was the purloining of water supplies from the Colorado river to supply Los Angeles.  This leaves the Navaho Indian Settlement short of water at times.

Jenny was thanked by Maralyn Kempson.  Over tea, the ladies completed a geography quiz and the winner was Jenny Cave, with Barbara Paddon second. 

Barbara was also presented with the Elworthy Cup for obtaining the most marks in competitions over the past year.

MN

PHYLLIS Conibere, President of SANDFORD, presided at the February meeting, in the of President, Margaret Tucker, who was ill.

Phyllis gave a warm welcome to Mr Mel Stride, Conservative prospective Parliamentary candidate for Central Devon, who have a superb illustrated talk on London, including the Tower, the ravens and many historical events.

Everyone agreed it was a fascinating and interesting presentation.

On Saturday, March 27 they are holding a home-made cake with Easter biscuits and coffee event, from 10am to 12noon. This will take place at Sandford Congregational Church Hall.

The next meeting, on Tuesday, March 9, will include a talk on Trading Standards. The competition is for "Five Easter biscuits from a given recipe".

Please could each member bring a small draw prize, for the bi-monthly draw.^

PRESIDENT, Betty Summers, welcomed members of DOWN ST MARY to the first meeting of the year - the January meeting having been cancelled due to the weather.

She reported on the progress of those members who were ill or receiving treatment. The business of the evening was undertaken with notices of County events and the Spring Council meeting.

She said the Christmas dinner for next January had been booked. Discussion then took place as to how more use could be made of the village hall, as requested by that committee.

Anthony Martin was then introduced. He spoke about the medal his mother, Winn, had been awarded for her work, during the second world war, as a telephonist at a Bletchley Park outstation, listening to the morse messages sent by the Germans.

The medal (a brooch) was passed around for everyone to see.

He then ran a quiz on various topics, which was won by Sandra Thresher.

After tea and a bring and share supper, a presentation of a card and voucher was made to Pam McKewon as she is moving from the village.

THE start of our year was delayed by snow and ice. Therefore the first meeting of the year for CREDITON didn't take place until February.

The President welcomed members who stood for Jerusalem. We celebrated our belated 63rd anniversary, which was in January, with a lovely cake made by Jean Turner and a glass of sherry.

Members were reminded of the forthcoming Group meeting at Yeoford on April 8 and the Spring Council meeting at Torquay on April 21 when soprano Lesley Garrett will be the guest speaker.

For the first time ever there was a change in the Resolutions voting format with each member being given a choice from five resolutions. Our members all voted for the "mandatory clear labelling of food with the true country of origin".

The results will be voted for at the AGM in Cardiff in June.

Our postponed Christmas lunch was held at the Devonshire Dumpling on February 4 and enjoyed by all.

Our speaker was Mel Stride, Conservative prospective Parliamentary candidate for Central Devon, who gave an interesting and informative history of the Tower of London, with some explicit slides of it's grim past.

The competition, for a memento of London, was won by: 1 Gee Halsay, 2 Janet Shaw, 3 Jean Turner.

Flower of the Month winner was Joyce Conibear, who also won the raffle.

Anyone wishing to join us to see "Singing in the Rain" at Torquay on Saturday, July 3 please ring Jean Turner on 01363 774357.

We meet on the second Wednesday of each month at the Masonic Hall, Crediton, at 7.30pm. Why not come along or telephone the president (01363 774064) or secretary (01363 773222) - we look forward to seeing you.

JPM

THE January meeting of SPREYTON had been cancelled so, in February, it was decided to discuss, more fully, the Spring Group meeting, which will double as a 60th anniversary of the forming of the Institute.

The theme will be Diamonds, with the emphasis on celebration.

A bring and buy stall was held to help fund the party on April 12 and £40 was raised. Supper was provided by the hostess, Phil Tucker and Ann Winsor.

The competition for a Valentine limerick, was won by Eve Collins, with Ann Winser winning the raffle.

IT was good for ZEAL MONACHORUM to meet again on February 3 after such a long break, due to Christmas and the Arctic weather which cancelled our January meeting. President Jan Brealy welcomed 20 members and two visitors.

A special welcome was given to new member Judy Hollingsworth. Many of us already know Judy as she has often attended meetings when visiting her sister-in-law, Jan. Now as she has moved into the village we are pleased she has immediately joined.

It was decided to begin the meeting with the speaker as he had brought two dogs to show us.

Steve Pike, a dog handler with the police since 1976, kept us fascinated with his detailed career and work. Then he put his two dogs Billy and Squirt to test in the hall to find hidden substances.

Of course, to our delight they found them!

After the speaker, the correspondence was dealt with. Two teams are to compete in the first round of the county quiz on February 27 - good luck to them and the whist team who are competing on March 6.

Six county Resolutions were read and voted upon. Top vote was the one regarding stricter labelling of food to show country of origin.

It was agreed the March birthday meeting would be held at the Countryman, Sampford Courtenay, on March 3, leaving the village at 6.15pm.

The Competition, for a photo of a pet, winners were: 1 Marion Quick, 2 Hilary Alford, 3 Jen Santer.

Flower of the Month results: 1 Jan Brealy, 2 Edna Harris, 3 Kathryn Livingstone Learmonth.

New members are always welcome.

MQ