EVENTS
SUB GROUPS
(MEMBERS-ONLY)
​DATES FOR YOUR DIARY:​​
1
CRAFT CLUB
2nd Thursday of the month
Stanway Village Hall
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​The Women's Institute Girls meet on the first Wednesday of every month from 19:30 to 21:30, at The Tollgate Hall, Villa Road, Stanway, Colchester, CO3 0RH.
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Meetings start at 19:30, although, the room is usually open 10/15 minutes earlier. This is the perfect opportunity to grab a seat and catch up with your WIGs friends or get to know some new people. Every meeting begins with a few words from our President and an introduction to the speaker.
Speakers vary every month but could be an interesting talk from a visitor, a practical demonstration on flower arranging, a singing workshop or a dance class. For more information on speakers for 2024 please see below.
After the speaker we share any notices and updates, then have refreshments, usually involving cake! We then have some social time. Sometimes this might be a quiz, making something such as bird feeders or just a chance to wander around the room and meet some new faces or catch up with friends.
The meeting ends at around 21:15 often with a draw for the raffle. Most nights you'll find groups of WIGs chatting away as they head through the car park!
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Non-members are always welcome at our monthly meetings for a recommended donation of £5.00.
Craft Club takes place at The Kingsland Church in Lexden and is run by Julie Peck and Karen Bartlett. The club make a different craft every month and a small charge of £3 covers the cost of the venue and materials.
2
KNIT & STITCH
4th Tuesday of the month
Rose & Crown, East Hill
Knit & Stitch takes place at the Rose & Crown, East Hill and is run by Adrienne Fauser. Feel free to bring along your own knitting/
sewing/cross-stitch etc project to work on, or contact Adrienne to see what group projects are currently ongoing.
3
SUPPER CLUB
Usually 4th Friday of the month
Various venues
MONTHLY MEETINGS
Meetings 2025
January - Relax and Refresh
Seated yoga taster session
February - Celebrating the Lunar New Year
Wednesday 5th February - 7:30pm - Tollgate Hall, Stanway, CO3 0RH
Visitors welcome - £5
At this month's meeting we will be celebrating the Lunar New Year! There will be themed crafts and games for you to join in with. It will be a fun and busy evening! We would love you to wear something red as this is a sign of good luck.
We will also be announcing our grand fundraising total for last year's charities, Colchester Gateway and Next Chapter. Representatives from the charities will be coming along to receive their cheque and give us an update on how things are going. We will then have a short talk by a representative from East Anglia’s Children’s Hospice (E.A.C.H) who we will be raising money for in 2025 - Alopecia UK will be coming along in March.
There will be tea, coffee and cake as usual and we will also be holding a raffle for our new charities.
We really hope to see you there.
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Meetings 2024
January - Get Set for 2024
Presentation of cheques to our charities of 2023 and short talks by the charities we will be raising funds for in 2024 - Next Chapter and Colchester Gateway.
Relaxation and guided mediation with Sophie from Rise Therapies.
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February - Our Strange Language
A talk about the different sayings we have in our language and their origins. Then decorating coin collection jars.
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March - Forensic Science
A talk by Mary Newton, a retired forensic biologist then fingerprint keyring making.
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April - Spring Festival
An evening of spring-themed crafts, a quiz and games.
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May - James Henry (local author)
Talk by an author who writes crime fiction set in the local area, followed by our AGM.
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June - Line Dancing-
A line dancing taster session by Debbie Miller, followed by some relaxing mindful colouring.
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July - 15th birthday celebration
Beetle drive, followed by cake and bubbles to celebrate 15 years since the Colchester WIGs was formed.
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August - Summer outing to Abberton Reservoir
Members only guided walk around the reservoir.
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September - The Story Behind Alpaca Acres
Dawn, from Alpaca Acres in Great Tey told us her inspiring story, we then decorated pebbles to leave around the local area to celebrate WI Day.
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October - 'What do we mean by personality?'
A talk by Julia Stone, a psychologist and psychotherapist. We then created spooky stories in teams in honour of Halloween.
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November - The Culinary Adventures of a Travelling Breadmaker
Giovannone Di Sarno, an Italian baker, gave us a bread-making demonstration and brought along some samples for us to taste.
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December - WIGs Christmas Party
Wednesday 4th December - 7:30pm - Tollgate Hall, Stanway, CO3 0RH
Members only.
An evening of Christmas fun and games, with Secret Santa gifts and donations for the Colchester Foodbank.
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Supper Club hosted by Angela Taylor visits a different restaurant in Colchester each month. This is a great chance to sample local restaurants and have a chat with other members of the WIGs. Restaurants will be chosen that cater for a variety of dietary requirements.
4
WALKING GROUP
1st Saturday of the month
Various venues
The Walking Group is run by Lisa Lucas and takes place on the 1st Saturday of the month. Short walks, long walks, coast, town or countryside. Usually finishing in a cafe or pub for a reviving cuppa or drink!
5
SUNDAY SOCIAL
3rd Sunday of the month
Various venues
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The only sub group open to members and non members alike, the Sunday Social is the perfect opportunity to meet with friends over coffee and a cake. Taking place at various coffee shops across Colchester and surrounding areas, the group is run by Annie Engle.
6
LET'S LISTEN OR READ
3rd Thursday of the month
Woods of Colchester, Axial Way , CO4 5ZD
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Our 'book' group is hosted by Carrie Fisher. Each month the group will be reading and discussing a book, poem or podcast.
7
CAKE CLUB
Various dates
Various venues
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Hosted by our fabulous members at their houses. Bring a bake, usually there's a theme, or just come and eat and pay £2.
8
LADIES WHO LUNCH
Various dates
Various venues
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Ladies Who Lunch is a chance for members to meet up for lunch on a weekday in one of the many cafes and restaurants in the Colchester area. Hosted by May Cook, this is our newest subgroup.​​
