CROWTON WI by Diana Evans

President Kathy Baldwin welcomed members to a very special meeting. Beryl Thorne described her visit to the Centenary Buckingham Palace Garden Party. She had a fabulous time and felt very proud to be part of the WI.

Jane Bell who had represented Crowton at the Centenary AGM in the Royal Albert Hall, said it had been a privilege to be there. The meeting was attended by HM The Queen, HRH, The Princess Royal and The Countess of Wessex.

Kathy then welcomed Janice and John Williamson who had come to present a very special cup in memory of John’s mother Hilda Williamson who was a long standing and much loved member of Crowton WI. The winner this year was Beryl Thorne. Overall Crowton did very well at this year’s Cheshire Show.

The evening’s speaker was Amanda Glennon who spoke on ‘The Upside of Down’s.’ She is a mother to her very special daughter Alice and a member of the Cheshire Down’s Syndrome Support Group, which provides vital support to all new parents of a Down’s Syndrome baby. They provide information packs, fund raising events, family events and training days. Amanda gives training in Makaton, a spoken sign language and Numicon training, which helps with numeracy skills. Amanda’s talk was very inspiring.

There is a trip to the National Arboretum and Lichfield in August. The next meeting is September 1 and Gay Rhodes will talk about ‘That Certain Feeling’. Visitors and new members are always welcome.