ALTHOUGH it was May, members of North Claines WI celebrated with their Christmas meal, postponed from December by the snow and ice, with a superb spread by Helping Hands.

Prior to our meal, we debated the National Federation of Women’s Institutes’ proposed resolutions that will go forward to full debate and vote at the AGM in Liverpool in June.

The first resolution: “This meeting abhors the practice of factory farming particularly large animals such as pigs and cows and urges H M Government to ensure planning permission is not guaranteed for such projects.”

The arguments for and against were presented by Paula.

The second one: “This meeting urges HM Government to maintain support for local libraries as an essential local educational and information resource.” It was presented by Fran and carried unanimously.

At the end of the meal, we were shown a beautiful selection of the archived craft collection held by the Worcestershire Federation.

The craftwork and the intricacy and delicacy of each item was fascinating.

The meeting was brought to an end with a home-made craft competition, which was not an enviable task for the judge. Jan won with a knitted sweater complete with a photo of her husband modelling it.

More details about North Claines WI may be found at northclaineswi.moonfruit.co.uk.