Chairman's letter

I WISH you all a happy new year and hope you have all had a happy festive season. My husband and I had a lovely early Christmas present this year – another little grandson born on the 13 November, Bodhi Gourley Retson. He was not due till the end of November but circumstances led him to be induced early. I am glad to report he is doing very well.

Institute celebrations continue and I had a lovely afternoon at Ballathie House Hotel with members from Balbeggie Institute at its 100th birthday. It was a sunny November day and the scenery was beautiful as we overlooked the River Tay while enjoying the most delicious afternoon tea.

Many members had an enjoyable day at the 15 Minute Variety Competition held in Lockerbie Town Hall in mid-November. As the adjudicator said, the teams who took part were all excellent and the content very varied. Thanks to May MacCormick and her members in Dumfriesshire for their excellent organisation.

Auldhouse Institute celebrated its 85th birthday at East Kilbride Golf Club with lunch. It was lovely to meet up with past national chairman Marion Davidson and her members. I also met two ladies who had moved from my own Federation to live in the East Kilbride area, one of which was friendly with an old school friend of mine – it’s a small world as they say!

Once again, my in-car sat nav let me down, but after a little detour and a couple of phone calls, I made it to the venue in time.

I attended Luss Institute’s 90th birthday dinner where I was delighted to see many members I had not met up with for a while. Luss is very fortunate to have a number of younger members and it was so refreshing to meet mum Sharon with her baby Hannah coming together with other members to have a lovely evening of fun and friendship.

I hope everyone who attended our centenary finale at Edinburgh Castle enjoyed the event. It was an honour to have the opportunity to speak on such an occasion. Where has the year gone? It seems no time at all since we began all the planning for the various events.

It has been a momentous year and one to reflect on our history and heritage, but we now look forward to the future with pride and optimism. I am delighted that one new “youth” group has been formed in Caithness Federation for girls between 8 and 12 years and a pilot will commence in Peth & Kinross Federation at the end of January for girls in P4 – P7 and S1 – S3. I look forward to keeping you informed on how these groups progress, and you’ll find more information in this edition.

Looking ahead, we want to strengthen our network, by encouraging and supporting the development of new groups which take into account changing lifestyles and appeal to a wider audience of women. We can do this by supporting flexibility in meeting times, encouraging groups to try a wider range of activities, and using technology to keep in touch.

Together we can show that Scottish Women’s Institutes and its aims, remain as relevant in 21st century Scotland as it was when it was founded by Catherine Blair in 1917.