Women’s Institute At the start of our Winter meetings, it was a real joy to be transported into the garden of Kevin Marsden, who shared some amazing photos of birds that he had been privileged to welcome into his garden. His knowledge of every bird kept us all engrossed. Our December meeting took the form of a lunchtime Christmas meal at The Cricketers, when 20 plus members enjoyed a very tasty meal, good company and all felt that it was the start of the festive season. The first meeting of 2023 was on 6th January, when Amanda Westbrook gave a talk on the history of Balkerne Gardens Trust. She was a very enthusiastic speaker and extremely dedicated to her work. The Trust was started in 1833 and the first house was built in 1836. There are now four houses available in Colchester. All places are open to the older residents of Colchester but there is a waiting list. Our February will be a popular meeting, as John Jones will be presenting one of his film shows – always very interesting! In March, Sharon Gould will present Simplistic jewellery making and on 14th April, (please note the change of date), Paul Seymour will be giving a talk on ‘Tools with a Mission’. As you can tell, our hard-working committee do their best to provide a very varied programme. We don’t want their efforts to be confined to just a few members, so why not come along to the Highwoods Community Centre at 7.15pm on the first Friday of the month? Make this your New Year’s Resolution – you will not be disappointed! Sandra Jones From inside the community 21
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTA4ODM=