Bristol women challenge WI stereotype at new branches
Remember how members of a WI branch famously challenged preconceptions about the organisation being rather old-fashioned by taking their clothes off for a charity calendar?
Well, now they're doing it again – here in Bristol.
Not the naked calendar, it should be emphasised. However, they are challenging preconceptions.
This time, they are making people think twice about the stereotypical view that the WI is a largely rural organisation with a predominantly middle-aged membership, following the recent creation of three WI branches in the city.
The new WI branches are Malago in south Bristol, Greenbank in east Bristol, and Clifton in west Bristol. All are located in urban areas more associated with traffic jams than jam and Jerusalem – yet local women have been clamouring to become WI members.
So what's the big attraction? Are the women of Bristol all turning into wannabe domestic goddesses?
Step into Ebenezer Methodist Church, Bedminster in British Street for the monthly meeting Malago WI, which covers the streets of red brick Victorian terraces in Bedminster and Southville, and it's soon clear that members are not a bunch of Stepford Wives who have jettisoned their careers to stay at home to iron their husbands' boxer shorts.
There's a mouth-watering array of homemade goodies such as honey and lavender cupcakes, but the members of Malago WI combine baking with some serious campaigning.
"We're quite fond of the idea of domesticity like having afternoon tea, but we really enjoy bringing it into the 21st century," says Karen Bowers, 38, who is president of Malago WI, works in the communication department of the Diocese of Bath & West, and is mother to Isaac, who is nearly two.
"For every monthly meeting members will bake cakes and bring them along and share recipes, but there's more to it than that.
"There's always a speaker, so each month you go away having learned something new."
A quick glance at the list of talks for Malago WI proves Karen's point. In recent months there have been talks on subjects including flower arranging, voice coaching, Indian head massage, and living on £1 a day. At July's meeting, members will learn about making hand-made chocolates.
Then there are the WI campaigns. Alice Hendy, 31, the artistic director of Malago WI, who has a daughter called Willow, who is nearly two, says: "Something I didn't realise before I joined Malago WI is how involved the WI is in campaigning. I was amazed to discover how much the WI has done."
Previous WI campaigns have included 'Ending Violence Against Women', and at the WI's recent Annual General Meeting, 'SOS for Honey Bees' was launched and members were encouraged to plant bee-friendly flowers to help arrest the dramatic decline in bees.
Malago WI recently hosted a talk by a Bristol-based bee keeper about the plight of bees, and is also asking its members – who already number around 50 – for their suggestions for local campaigns.
Jillian Reakes, 40, a registered nurse who is press officer for Malago WI, and mother to nine-year-old Ewan, six-year-old Meghan, and two-year-old William, points out: "There are lots of groups here locally for mothers and babies and toddlers, which is great, but this is something different as it's not just about being a mum.
"It makes you part of the local community. I keep spotting women I've seen at meetings in the street and saying 'hi' to them."
Karen notes: "People want to talk to their neighbours, but often don't get the chance nowadays.
"I was brought up in a village near Cheltenham, and my mum joined the WI when she had me. The WI has been a big part of her life. She served in a lot of different roles on committees.
"It was the focus of real friendship and support for women in the village.
"I think people joke a bit about the WI, but as a group we come together and learn, and share and make friends. People really want to connect to each other, and have cited meeting people and making friends as their main reasons for joining Malago WI."
Alice adds: "Domestic arts such as making and baking are also becoming quite trendy, with the rise of 'stitch and bitch' groups in recent years."
The members of Malago WI certainly made domestic arts look like fun at their popular 'Marmalade Cafe' for the Southbank Arts Trail, which featured teas, home-baked cakes and even gingerbread women for 50p each.
The recent boom in WI membership in Bristol is part of a national trend, with 11,000 new members joining in the past 12 months all over the country. In the Avon area, which has around 4,000 members, 250 women have joined in the past year.
Is this the result of the Calendar Girls effect, following the film about the WI members who took their clothes off for a fundraising calendar? Or is it down to a change in people's perceptions?
Daphne Vise, vice-chairwoman of the Avon Federation of WIs, which covers the Bristol and Bath areas, has been a WI member for 25 years, and vice-chairwoman for two years.
"The WI is offering what it's always offered. What has changed is that the young ones are realising it's not a joke any more, and women living in towns and cities, especially the younger ones, are realising that the WI has something to offer them," says Mrs Vise, 69, who is a member of Portbury WI.
"We've come to the conclusion that a lot of very bright girls had mothers who worked and were brought up to think that they had to work and get a big salary, but recently they've realised they don't want that.
"There are a lot of young ones joining in London, and the increase in membership in Bristol seems to be part of this trend that has been growing for the past five years. In Clifton around 90 women came to the first meeting. They've now had to close membership list and there's a waiting list. We'll probably end up starting another branch in Clifton at a later date, and we're presently looking at setting up new WI branches at places such as the new Port Marine development in Portishead."
Daphne, a mother of three who used to work as a sister at Bristol Royal Infirmary, added that she believed social and economic changes had led women to change their perception of the WI.
"Women want to get back to traditional values and support each other," she says. The WI used to be thought of as a bit fuddy-duddy, but now we're in a situation where people can see that the things we offer, such as friendship and household skills, are useful.
"Maybe we've just hidden our light for a little too long. Now we're letting it shine."
● For further information about the Women's Institute in the Avon area telephone 0117 986 4782.
Comment on this story