Introduce yourself
I am Sue Deere and I am ‘techie lady’ for the Bath WI. I joined the committee to organise craft events but rather fell in to running the website and social media for our WI instead. I am a textile artist, running my own business selling my work and teaching craft workshops. I had to teach myself to set up a website, Facebook and Twitter accounts for my business, which is why - by default really - I took on the techie role in our committee.
Why did you become a member of the WI?
I joined the WI when I moved to Bath to move in with my partner, Mark, after quite a few years of not even living in the same city. I wanted to make friends locally and was attracted to the evident vitality of the Bath WI. The first meeting I attended was an evening of singing with the head of music at Bath Abbey. There was a really nice atmosphere, with everyone chatting to whoever happened to be near them - no cliques! I was hooked and signed up on the spot for membership (and several craft workshops and the book club too!).
How would you sum up your WI?
On our website we say "We hope to provide an open, friendly and supportive environment that inspires women to learn new skills, discover new interests and share experiences” and I think we do just that, but for me personally what I see at our WI is incredible variety (of people and activities and interests), energy, friendship and support.
Why would you encourage other women to get involved in the WI?
I would encourage any woman to join the WI - it is a chance not only to make some wonderful friends, but it is also really empowering. It is an opportunity to learn so much and to be involved in shaping and directing the WI. The WI is made by its members and it is a fantastic opportunity to be a part of that.
What are you most looking forward to as part of the WI centenary in 2015?
We have a number of centenary celebrations planned. We already have our fantastic edible garden within the Bath Botanical Gardens which allows us to work with both the environment and the Bath community (including our many tourists who love to enjoy our garden too). It has been wonderful to have this opportunity to create something that adds to our local environment, provides an edible harvest and is educational too - we see parents and grandparents bringing children to see how vegetables grow and come time after time to see if the tomatoes have started to turn red or how big the beans are. We are fortunate to have a wonderful gardener on our committee who has designed the 2015 garden to reflect the history of the WI (including plenty of leeks to celebrate the WI’s Welsh roots) and the aims of the WI, with more exotic vegetables, colour and growth. We want to take further our aims and ambitions for the garden, increasing the sensory nature of the garden to make it safe and attractive to visually impaired members of the community and we are working with our local council to find a further piece of land to develop as a Bath WI copse! By the time it is our week to manage the Women of the WI Twitter account, I hope we will have more news…and may even be preparing to plant our trees. The centenary is a chance to both look back at where we have come from and to look forward to where we are going - and of course will be the focus of our 1 July garden party.