Special Events
Woodley Carnival 2017
Following our success at the carnival last year we were again lucky enough to be asked to run the WI Tea Room. Volunteers duly produced masses of cakes and biscuits to sell, and the theme this year was 'Trains, Planes and Automobiles' we decided a 1940's.look was required. A display of wartime posters and memorabillia was produced and we all dressed up in 1940's clothes and makeup. There were free samples of cakes made to wartime recipes and then visitors were encouraged to take a breather with a nice cup of tea and a piece of cake.
Woodley Carnival 2016
Woodley Town Council hold an annual Carnival in the town during the month of June. This year we were lucky to be asked to provide refreshments in Coronation Hall which is adjacent to the show ground and used this as an ideal opportunity to both advertise the existence of our WI to encourage new members and help us raise funds.
Members were asked in the months leading up to the event to commit to producing jams and pickles to sell along with home made cakes and cups of tea. Members happily produced some fabulous cakes and the day was a great success.
Many hands made light work of decorating the hall and banners and posters were erected to advertise exactly what we were selling. We aimed to sell as many tradtional afternoon teas as we could and happily that is just what we managed to do.
We are now planning next year's event and hope to build on our succesful first year!
Caversham Court
Caversham Court Gardens in Reading (Caversham Court Gardens Church Road Reading RG4 7AD) are open to the public every day except Christmas day. We are lucky to be able to take a turn at runnng the tea kiosk and as a result have boosted our funds considerably. We sell tea/coffee and cold drinks together with delicious home made cakes and biscuits.
Shifts are covered by volunteers from the group who provide the cakes and biscuits fresh every day. We first volunteered in May and have another day booked in August and 4 more consecutive days in October. On a busy day it can be very lucrative and enjoyable. Check out the website at http://www.theteakiosk.org.uk for details about opening times etc
The Wonderful Women Of Woodley will be taking part in the Woodley Christmas Extravaganza this year.
We are hoping to sell a lot of items that are 'typically WI', including, of course, Jam!!
Lots of our members are adept jam and pickle makers and are busy collecting ingredients and jars together to take advantage of the glut of fruit and vegetables shortly to arrive.
Many others are refining their crafting skills aiming to produce lots of lovely things that will be perfect to sell for original christmas presents.
Cake and biscuit makers are on standby ready to go in to full production once the summer holidays are over and the freezer is empty.
We just have to hope the sun will shine on the day and the customers will ariive in droves!
The next big thing in the Wonderful Women of Woodley's calender is the Woodley Christmas Extravaganza. We have been working for weeks towards this - making jams and jellies, chutney and pickles, handicrafts and novelty knits. We are also planning to sell a huge number of cakes and biscuits on the day, together with some mini christmas cakes that have been made by our President and decorated by the members. All in all, a huge effort by everyone. We will just pray for decent weather!
What a wonderful day! Lots of lovely things to sell. A very succesful day!
The Extravaganza was very well supported and thanks to the generosity of the members was a great success. Most of the items that were kindly donated by the members sold, and the huge variety of home made goodies available for sale made a great imression on the public. Many enquiries about where and when we meet were made and as a result we have picked up several new members!