NEW President Chrissie Halls opened by welcoming members and guests to the first meeting of 2016.

The committee was now complete following 3 co-options and members had agreed to take responsibility for various roles to spread the workload.

The December minutes had been previously circulated by e mail and were taken as read, hard copy was available. Matters arising included an update on the on-going campaign to ensure the future of Ebrington Village School and how important it was for WI to support this. Chrissie had written a letter to the Review Panel from WI and members were invited to sign as individuals in additions to letters they had personally sent.

Gillian Waas, our ‘Fun and Games’ committee rep informed us that she is organising a Pancake Race for Shrove Tuesday. The Village Clean Up will take place in early March and also in March there will be a celebration for the 100th birthday of one of our members.

Unfortunately, the advertised speaker was indisposed and we were very lucky to welcome at short notice a couple well known to Ebrington WI, Tim and Kate Guest of Caramba Theatre Company. In fact, WI had been on duty the previous Saturday providing refreshments at the company’s panto production of Treasure Island in the village hall.

Caramba Theatre Company are based in Stratford-upon-Avon and are an amateur, non-profit making company with members coming from all over the Midlands and any profits from shows donated to a charity once a year. Tim and Kate told us about their love of panto, their successes in touring productions and the week spent at last year’s Edinburgh Festival where Kate’s daughter performed a one-woman show on a Jane Austen theme and Tim was ‘Jekyll and Hyde’. Although hard work they enjoyed the experience greatly and were very pleased to have had an audience at every performance which is often not the

case with so many productions on offer.

We were encouraged to try some ‘improvisation’ and two members gave spirited performances as Ugly Sisters. In giving the vote of thanks past President June Satterthwaite recalled being present at Tim and Kate’s wedding with bride and groom in authentic Georgian costume.

Ebrington Women’s Institute meets on the second Thursday of each month, excluding August and welcomes guests and prospective members to its meetings.