Social Events

Coffee and Lunch Dates

WE meet for both coffee and lunch every month. We have our favourite venues, of course, but we always try to mix it up a bit by trying all kinds of places, from golf clubs to pubs, cafes and garden centres. Potential new members are welcome to join us so they can get to know us in a relaxed social setting before taking the plunge and becoming a member. Several of our current members began that way.

Book Group

OUR longest-running subject group continues to thrive, possibly because we meet at Caversham Heights' only pub, the very comfortable and roomy Caversham Rose! You'll find us there on either a Tuesday or Thursday evening every month, enjoying a drink and a discussion. Some of us find a glass of wine gets the conversation going (though you can just stick to coffee if you like!) The books are provided by our group organiser, courtesy of the local library, and we all agree that the group has introduced us to subjects we would never have discovered on our own.

Art Group

THIS group has been meeting since 2017 in a member's home, gathered around her dining table. Some of us hadn’t picked up a paintbrush since schooldays but we managed to show off our first gallery of work at our last Christmas meeting. Don't worry if you're no Picasso because neither are we! There is no pressure to perform and we can always choose our own subject and medium. Just bring your own sketchpad and paints and see where the Muse leads you....

Knitting Group

OUR other new group was formed in response to a request from Reading's Royal Berkshire Hospital to provide knitted blankets for its patients. Now the hospital has asked us to knit toy animals and has even supplied the patterns for us to follow. Every level of knitting can be found in our friendly group so if you drop a stitch there's always someone ready to help.

Trips

OUTINGS during the year are part of our WI life and our proximity to London means we can take the train there in half an hour. This year we're visiting the Foundling Museum in Brunswick Square and last year we toured Kensington Palace. We also enjoy coach trips - last year to the lovely Waterperry Gardens near Oxford and this year we're off to Mottisfont Abbey, the National Trust's historic priory and riverside country estate near Romsey in Hampshire. Our social committee is always coming up with ideas but any member can suggest somewhere they'd like to go and we might just make it happen....and that goes for theatre and cinema trips too.