Sidlesham WI

The March meeting commenced at 2.15pm and, after Jerusalem had been sung, the business of the day started.

Suzanne, the president, explained that Zena now has the new WI bulb catalogue, if members were interested in buying bulbs and that the committee had suggested that for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee that the Sidlesham WI should plant a tree to commemorate the occasion.

This idea was carried unanimously and, having consulted the parish council, it was decided that the tree, with a small plaque, should be placed in the Memorial Recreation Ground garden.

The type of tree to be purchased was discussed with flowering cherry, crab apple and a spindle being suggested.

The next topic was the summer outing a range of coach trips were suggested and Ann, the secretary, had compiled a list for members to sign up to, so that the committee could see which destination would be most popular.

This was very well received as it has been a long time since we have been able to contemplate such trips and there was a lot of enthusiasm over the range of places suggested.

Details of the next Lunch Bunch were shared and a summary of finances given.

There was a book swap at the front of the hall and then the speaker for the afternoon was introduced.

Ray Hale is a regular speaker and his talk on ‘The Birds of Paradise’ was based around his trip to Papua New Guinea which he undertook as the naturalist guide for a small cruise ship.

He followed in the footsteps of Alfred Russell Wallace, a Victorian scientist, returning to the places Wallace had travelled searching for the birds and wildlife he had identified over a hundred years ago.

Ray was particularly interested to find the golden wing butterflies, the Wallace bees, and the coconut crabs which are gigantic land crabs and are a protected species.

With a selection of photographs and pictures Ray brought to life the beautiful birds of paradise including the 27 species of bowerbirds which live on the ground.

Ray’s wife accompanied him, and it was her wonderful photographs that captured the wildlife in their natural habitats.

Her amazing pictures of whale sharks, rare jellyfish and sea turtles showed the audience creatures they might never get to see in everyday life.

Following the talk, tea was served and a wonderful array of cakes and savouries were provided by the tea hostesses for this month.

The raffle was called and five prizes distributed and then Ray announced the winners of the ‘Bloom of the Month’ competition – first place was awarded to Louisa for her camellia; second place was Phyllis with her flowering cherry; and third place went to Claire with her mini daffodil.

The next meeting is to be held on April 13, the speaker will be Kathy Hall and her talk will be on Petworth House.