Two Spoons Tea and The Women's Institute
It was during lockdown that we did our first ever talk to the Bucks Federation of Women’s Institutes - "The W.I."! It was delivered on line which presented some sampling challenges but, when we eventually could, we delivered it face to face.
Last night we spoke to the newest group in Buckinghamshire, the self-styled Wavendon Belles. We were their first ever speakers and so we were all as nervous as each other. We gave our talk, “Tea, the story from bush to cup” and rather fittingly we sampled our First Flush Darjeeling. Newly grown and of extremely high quality, we could just as easily have been talking about The Wavendon Belles!
The WI has a long-standing association with tea. The first group in the UK met in 1915 to provide women in rural communities with education and support, and from the beginning, tea played an important role in its activities. Tea was a staple of social gatherings and meetings, and it quickly became a symbol of the WI's ethos of community and friendship. We’ve really got a sense of that community from all of the groups we’ve visited. The audiences are always engaged, always engaging, and extremely persistent in handing out generous portions of homemade cake.
Through our talks to the WI we have been able to support our local charity, Lindengate, to whom we donate our speaker’s fees. Our aim? To speak to every one of the WI groups in Buckinghamshire!