The March Fulham WI meeting will take place on Monday 1 March at 7:30pm. Our speaker will be Captain Henry Finnegan of the Welsh Guards.
SPEAKER
Captain Henry Finnegan of the Welsh Guards
"International military operations in Afghanistan since 2001, now known in the UK as OPERATION HERRICK, have increased in size and breadth to match the International Security Assistance Force’s (ISAF) growing geographical intervention. Initially, ISAF’s mission was not effectively described by the media, and the public thus lacked understanding. Now there is a huge amount of media attention driven by several factors including the growing casualty figures - attributed to the dire lack of protected mobility; the public‘s concern about Britain’s global political position; and the huge economic pressures. Whatever the reasons, we are all far more aware of what is going on out there. However, on return from a deployment in Afghanistan everyone wants to know what the actual experience was ‘like’. And that is what I shall cover.
The Welsh Guards Battle Group returned home in October last year after an intense summer tour. Although I will describe what the Welsh Guards were doing and their operations in Nad e Ali, which is at the heart of the ongoing OPERATION MOSHTARAK, my main focus will be to attempt to give a picture of what life is like on the front line in Afghanistan: the daily routine of a Guardsman, living conditions, interaction with locals, the constant patrolling and operations in severe heat, the morale, the risks of road travel with I.E.D.’s, was there anytime to relax... Essentially, I hope to tell you what we lived through for six months in Afghanistan.”
As always, the meeting will be in the upstairs room at the Peterborough/Southern Cross pub on the New Kings Road (on the junction of Wandsworth Bridge Road) nearest tube is Fulham Broadway. Please find here a link to Google Maps for directions. We look forward to welcoming new members and returning members alike.
EVENTS
International Women's Day
Monday, 8 March from 10:30am - 2pm
This is an important day for many women all around the world. On this day, many people celebrate the achievements and strengths of women. As part of the NFWI's Women Reaching Women project, this year we will celebrate International Women's Day by supporting Women for Women Internationals' "Join me on the Bridge" campaign. This campaign will bring women together by meeting on bridges all around the world to show that women everywhere are united in building the bridges of peace and development for our global future.
Together we aim to pressure the international community to fulfil its obligations to meet the Millennium Development Goals, promises made by world leaders in 2000. Each has specific targets, most of which are not on track to be fully achieved by 2015, meaning that millions more women die unnecessarily in childbirth, and millions of girls are denied the basic education which would improve their lives and the lives of future generations.
We don't want women and girls to be forgotten. To raise awareness, we will be leading a walk in London at 10:30am from Victoria Embankment Gardens to the Millennium Bridge where all participants will join together on the bridge for a photo opportunity at 12:00. Please do join us for this significant day and show your solidarity with women worldwide. Please bring either a white banner, sheet, piece of fabric or t-shirt (if you are artistic, painted with your vision of peace). If you would like to attend, please email us with your contact details.
Theatre Group : Private Lives Starring Kim Cattrall
Tuesday, 9 March from 7:30pm
We are going to see Kim Cattrall in Private Lives at the Vaudeville Theatre. If you have not already booked, unfortunately we are unable to get any more tickets for this performance. We do, however, have a waiting list, so please let us know if you would like your name added.
Fulham WI Archery Taster Session
Saturday, 27 March at 2pm
Fun, have-a-go, 1.5 hour archery session at an Islington venue. Includes a safety briefing to start the session, insurance, equipment hire, individual instruction for each person to shoot the first three arrows, tips and advice from an archery instructor throughout the session. The session lasts for 1.5 hours and they've promised to get everyone hitting the target.
Friends are welcome. The cost is £20 per person, cash or cheques payable to '2020 Archery.' If you would like to attend, please email us your contact details. You will also be able to sign up and pay at the March meeting.
Possible Event: Fulher's Brewery Tour and Beer Tasting
29 March - 2 April
The lovely ladies who run Fulher's Brewery in Chiswick have invited us to attend a tour and beer tasting at the time of our choosing during their annual 'Cask Ale Week,' which is a celebration of Britain's national drink. This would be an opportunity for women to taste and learn more about beer, and they in turn are interested in learning about the WI. We will do a count at the March meeting but please do let us know if you are interested and we can arrange.
Clothes Swap/Knitting Meeting
Monday, 5 April from 7:30pm
Our next meeting will be a knitting stitch 'n' bitch evening, along with a clothes swap! More information will be given at the March meeting and a detailed e-mailer will follow.
Possible Addition to Theatre Group: Mrs. Warren's Profession by Bernard Shaw
Wednesday, 19 May from 7:30pm
We are able to get discount top-price tickets for £29.50 each if we have enough numbers. We will be taking names of those interested at the February meeting, but please email us if you know that you would like to see it.
What is Mrs Warren’s profession? Her daughter Vivie has never really known much about her mother. A prim young woman, she has enjoyed a comfortable upbringing, a Cambridge education and a generous monthly allowance. Now she has ambitions to go into Law. Is it conceivable that all this privilege and respectability has been financed from the proceeds of the oldest profession? How will Vivie react when she finds out the awful truth about her mother’s ill-gotten gains?
Shaw’s ultimate test of a mother-daughter relationship is one of his most witty and provocative plays. Written in 1894 but banned from performance until the racy 1920s, Mrs Warren’s Profession lays bare the rampant hypocrisy of Victorian society and its constrained morals.
Theatre Group Dates
We have set the following dates for 2010 theatre outings. Please enter them into your diary and we will work out what we want to go and see nearer the time.
Tuesday 15th June
Tuesday 14th September
Tuesday 30th November
xFulham WI Committee
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