09/09/2026
Davenham WI Celebrates 95 Years! 🎉
What a wonderful evening we had at our September meeting as we celebrated the 95th birthday of Davenham WI! 💜
We were delighted to welcome Ann Beckett, Chair of CFWI, and Helen Ebbitt, our WI Adviser, who joined us to mark this very special occasion.
And what’s a birthday without cake? 🎂 A beautiful special birthday cake had been made especially for us, which members enjoyed alongside some non-alcoholic bubbly.
We gave the honour of cutting the cake to Ruth, one of Davenham WI’s longest-standing members, who has been a member for more than 40 years. What a wonderful way to celebrate both Davenham WI and Ruth’s incredible contribution to our Institute over the years.
Members had also been asked previously to send off letters to their Local MP, regarding the possible reduction of funding for Jodrell Bank. Ruth was supporting this cause and she wore her handmade hat at the meeting.
Our speaker for the evening was Kate Dawes, an artist based in Staffordshire, who introduced members to Pen Drawing for Wellness.
Kate encouraged us to look closely at flowers and leaves from our own gardens and then use them as inspiration for our drawings. It was fascinating to see everyone become completely absorbed in the activity, with members enthusiastically putting pen to paper.
Kate explained how creative activities such as drawing can have real benefits for our wellbeing and mental capacity. Taking time to concentrate on something simple and creative can encourage calmness, mindfulness and relaxation, and can be particularly helpful during difficult periods in life, including times of anxiety, stress or bereavement.
It was lovely to see just how engaged everyone became — there was certainly a lot of quiet concentration around the room!
We were delighted to welcome four new members this month. It is so encouraging to see our membership continuing to grow steadily and to welcome new faces into our Davenham WI family.
Finally, Our President, Jacqueline, also took the opportunity to thank Christine for hosting our summer birthday celebrations in her beautiful garden. Christine received a beautiful bunch of flowers and a card to thank her and her husband Jack for their hospitality.
