Walnut whip tasty demo!

PRESIDENT, Sue Wainwright, welcomed everyone to the November meeting of the

Thorpe Acre WI that was held at the Thorpe Acre Church Hall on Tuesday the 12th.

She informed the floor that this meeting would be split into three parts, the Business section, the annual meeting and a demonstration. At this point she extended a warm welcome to Sheila Hodson and Sylvia Fall from Nanpantan WI who were to act as tellers for the annual meeting.

The distribution of birthday cards was very quick as there was only one this month.

Eight bodies managed to squeeze into the alcove at the Casa Café at the end of October.

The four latecomers had to form a breakaway group just a corner away but still within earshot. A good time was had by all. November’s get together will be at Goodliffe’s. Hopefully, once fortified, we can wander along to the Christmas Tree Festival and check out the fruits of our handiwork in situ. The stockings were laid out on a table and it was amazing how colourful they were. We wondered if there was a collective noun for such a display. Suggestions included a leg or a parade of stockings.

Sue W. showed everyone the adapted knitted cake that will be on the Thorpe Acre Church’s Christmas tree. The next 3W’s Workshop will be at the end of November.

Although not present, Carole might have had slightly warm ears as she was thanked for arranging the very successful ‘Pie Night’ at Beaumanor Hall. In her stead, Sue W. and Julie E. collected the rest of the menus and monies for our Christmas Lunch at Longcliffe Golf Club. Now all we have to do is turn up and eat!

Sue Y. reported that our darts team are now through to the final of the darts competition! As expected, the semi-final against Barsby A was very close match and it all hinged on the last game that we won. As the final will probably not be played until January, Christmas pud may well be off the menu (not)!

Three members took part in the A-Z walk around Leicester. The Leader was an architect and his knowledge of building design and decoration formed the basis for this walk. It was an eye opener, a neck stretcher and very informative. There was so much information that on the journey home we couldn’t remember what some of the letters referred to. I was for theiron work found in the Silver Arcade, W was for the mythological Wyvern and X corresponded the Corn E-X-change….we let him have that one!

Correspondence from WI House and National was placed at the front of the table for perusal during tea.

This section of the meeting was closed and the annual meeting began. Sheila Hodson and Sylvia Fall were duly appointed as Tellers. The financial statement, the secretary’s annual report and the president’s annual report were presented by Marilyn, Linda L. and Sue W. respectively.

All were proposed, adopted and approved by the members of the Institution. Barbara and Stefanie were co-opted to join the full complement of ten members of the current committee. Sue W. was re-elected as President for a second term.

The tellers were thanked and presented with a small gift.

Now onto the demonstration… three things to make with a Walnut Whip! Stefanie, our newest committee member, has been practising sugarcrafting over the last few years.

Using the Walnut Whip’s shape as a template and prepared icing sugar blocks she produced a snowman, a monk and a penguin. It was delightful to see each develop when each bit of the icing was added.

The ones she had made previously were snapped up as they would make lovely additions to people’s Christmas décor. She received a well earned round of applause.

Refreshments were served by Lynne H., Janice T. and Gill A. The raffle prize and the table arrangement were won by Kaleen and Marilyn.

Sue W. won the competition, with Sue Y. coming 2nd and Jill P., 3rd.

The points gained on the evening were added to the previous total and the Competition Cup was presented to the overall winner Sue Y.

The next meeting will be on December 10, at 7.30pm at the Thorpe Acre Church Hall. Douglas Clinton is going to transport us back in time to learn about Christmas in the Tudor and Stuart eras.

Mulled wine and light refreshments will be on offer and Sue W. has found a recipe relevant to the period although she’s not saying what it is. So if you fancy a surprise à la Sue then please pop along, you’ll be most welcome.