Is this the end ofjam and Jerusalem?
Last updated 19:36, Thursday, 13 March 2008
The clatter of china cups of tea on saucers, the faint smell of damp in a poorly heated room, the vision of a young Queen Elizabeth smiling down from a 50-year-old portrait... The organisation actually started life in Canada in the last years of the 19th century and the National Federation over here was established in 1917 by Lady Denman.
All part and parcel of a traditional monthly meeting of the Women’s Institute.
The talks are often on local history, cooking through the ages, or someone’s recent adventurous holiday to New Zealand or Patagonia.
But things are changing. They have been for years.
The first glimpse of this change in the WI was more revolution than evolution, as members of the National Federation of Women’s Institutes slow handclapped Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Believing he was using their annual conference in 2000 as a political platform, there were jeers and slow handclaps from the floor and some women walked out.
The cliched view of WI meetings being attended by jam-making ladies with blue-rinse hair in floral skirts and sensible shoes is now being challenged by the latest group to form in Cumbria.
Parklands Women’s Institute is in a leafy suburb on the fringe of Carlisle. Its members are drawn from the new homes that have been built in and around the Garlands estate. Instead of being the wives of farmers, doctors, vets and country workers, the 48 members include businesswomen and shop and office workers, aged from 20-something to almost 70, with the average age about 40.
Lesley Armstrong is the president of the new group, which meets in Creighton rugby clubhouse rather than a village hall. She doesn’t wear floral skirts and she has never made jam.
A commercial manager for Lloyds TSB, the mother of two teenage daughters has lived on the Parklands Estate for six years.
“I thrive on being busy and I have quite a stressful job,” she said.
“I wanted to join because I wanted to get involved in the local community and get to know people from the estate and meet friends and neighbours I don’t see too often.
“It is too easy to come home and just sit in front of the TV.”
The president has some definite ideas on how the new group will operate. There will be guest speakers and specially arranged social events, but it will not be a traditionally run group.
Lesley makes no bones about it: “The committee wanted to steer away from the fuddy-duddy image. We want to bring some fresh ideas and encourage people to do different things. We don’t want to be all jam and Jerusalem, we want to be upbeat, we’ve such a wide variety of members.
“I think we’re a little bit different right away, tThe committee is a lot younger than normal. We’re not going to sit and read the minutes at the start of each meeting. We’re not going to sing Jerusalem like some WIs.
“We’re not trying to revolutionise the WI, we want it to have a younger feeling. We want it to be more of a social event rather than a business-style meeting.”
Like other Institutes, there will be guest speakers invited to the monthly meetings, but more adventurous events are also planned, such as a wine-tasting in June and a belly dancer in July.
Parklands is another sign of how the WI movement is now reaching into urban areas from its rural roots.
There are now 6,800 Institutes and 211,000 members in England, Wales, the Channel Isles and Isle of Man.
Eileen Wilson is chairman of the Cumbria-Cumberland Federation which now includes 121 WIs, thanks to Parklands.
The latest group was established, she says, for the same reason as all the others across the county and the country, whether rural or urban: “It was formed where there was a need.
“It is a new housing estate with 1,000 houses and nothing there except the rugby club, it is a niche we could fill. People have this image that we are a lot of old people, which we have, but there are a lot of younger people joining for different reasons.”
Part of the reason for this change is that the organisation allows members to discuss and voice opinion on major issues of the day.
While the WI is a non-political organisation, its members have been involved in key issues on a local and a national scale throughout its history.
“We are not a party political organisation, but we do talk about political things,” insists Eileen.
“We have been involved in the recent debates over rural hospitals and post offices. Lady Denman, who was the first national chairman, also started the Women’s Land Army and we were responsible for the Keep Britain Tidy group.”
Eileen, who has been elected chairman for the region for the past 12 years, is one of the more ‘traditionally-aged’ members of the WI. When asked her age she giggles: “Coming to my best, I’ve not peaked yet.”
She was at the meeting that barracked Blair and admits she walked out on his speech.
She has no regrets, explaining: “That was his own fault, I’m afraid.
“He wanted to make a party political speech and that is not what he was there for or we to listen to.
“I think he thought we were a lot of silly old women in flowery frocks who went ‘awww’ at babies.
“En masse, we are a force to be reckoned with.”
Certainly a lesson he learned – and one quickly picked up by other politicians who in recent years have made a point of listening to the views of the Institutes.
Parklands is the fourth WI to be established in Carlisle and there are other urban groups in Alston, Penrith and Brampton.
But while interest is growing among the Avenues and Drives, the view is not so rosy out in the countryside where declining membership has caused four groups to go into suspension in the past two years, including Bromfield, near Wigton, and Waverton.
If they are not reformed in the next three years, they will be officially closed. Despite this, according to Eileen, things have improved out in the country.
The quality of the teas and bakes remains as high as ever, now they are likely to be matched by the surroundings. She said: “Standards have gone up and most of our village halls have been upgraded and are very comfortable now.”
Audrey Dorman is an advisor for the region, a roving commission that entails offering guidance to groups wanting to start up or amalgamate, or just after advice.
Audrey, 75, lives in Maryport and is a member of the Seaton Institute, average age “mid sixties”.
“We always like to keep up to date and looking to the future, we don’t want to be stuck in a rut. Although we are ladies of mature years, we like to keep up with new ideas.
“We have always had an image problem, but we are hoping that all these younger members will change that.
“It does not matter what we do, it always comes back to baking, but we do modern things as well.”
“A lot of younger women nowadays are occupied with earning a living and maybe they feel they need a more solid base and something to provide them with a wider outlook.”
Of course, the ladies of the WI are famous for their jams, cakes and craft-making skills.
Anyone who has been lucky enough to sit down to one of their magnificent teas will tell you about their quality and generosity.
Eileen admits that over the years, interest in these skills waned, but recently there has been a major revival as farmers and their families have been forced to diversify and more of us have become more concerned about what we eat.
“The home economics side of things went down, but is now having a resurgence. It is the same with the crafts, as more people are having to make things at home and quite often it is the WI that is at the bottom of it.”
The chairman of the new Parklands group may shy away from traditional WI events such as baking competitions, but that’s fine with Eileen.
“I always say the guidelines are there to be bent slightly to suit,” she giggles. “It is not just about the old ‘jam and Jerusalem’, we still make jam and are very proud of that and our crafts work is great.
“But we also move with the times, we have courses on using digital cameras and some of our members have formed darts teams.
“We won’t get rid of the jam and I don’t think we want to, there is room for everything.
“The main thing about the WI is friendship and getting to know each other.”
That is the main driving force behind the Parklands group according to Lesley, who adds: “I think the WI is ready for a makeover.”
The big question is whether the WI is ready for the ultimate makeover: “My husband Mark cooks a bit, so I’ll maybe try and get him to make some jam!” laughs Lesley.
For more information on the WI in the region, call 01228 521774 or go to www.womens-institute.co.uk.
