Saturday Coffee Mornings

As well as the annual Charity Coffee Morning, which this year is on Saturday 12 May, Harlow WI has decided to open the WI Hall on one Saturday each month for an informal coffee morning.  It will generally be on the third Saturday of each month and the Hall will be open from 10 am until noon for anyone who would like to come in for a sit-down and a cup of coffee.  There will be no entrance fee and a small charge for coffee and biscuits. 

There will usually be a table of donated books and goods for sale - items available will vary according to the season and what people donate.

Why not come along and have a look?  The first one is tomorrow - Saturday 21 April - and doors will open at 10 am.  You'll be very welcome.

April - and Spring at last?

After a long and dreary winter, it is delightful to feel the temperature rising and a little less rain.  The Spring flowers are fully into their stride after a hesitant start, and the birds are busy nest-building.

Since the last posting in January, Harlow WI has enjoyed an excellent talk on "Nature through the Seasons" by Roger Hance in February, and a very pleasant social afternoon in March under the banner of "Members Day".


Richard Thomas

The talk at the April meeting was entitled "A Day in the Life of a Tug" and was given by Richard Thomas, who spent twenty years on Thames tugboats.  Days on the tug were long - 6 o'clock in the morning until 10 at night, with exact timings depending on the tide.  It was a surprise to learn that the barges being towed downriver were full of rubbish!  This was collected from various points serving the busiest areas of London (Canary Wharf, the city, Westminster, etc) and towed downriver to the rubbish disposal plant at Mucking in Essex.  When empty, the barges were returned for refilling. 
Today's fleet of barges is smaller and sleeker and infinitely more powerful than the ones Richard worked on, and the disposal of rubbish at Mucking is now dealt with by state-of-the-art technology.  At the end of his very informative and well-illustrated talk, Richard was thanked by Jean Finch.

The competition, which was for "a boat memento", attracted many entries varying from a model yacht to an Airfix kit of the Titanic, via several nautical photographs and painted plates.  The winner was Linda Mitchell.