Anarchy in the W.I.

Well, I think I’d be safe in saying October 13th was the most interesting meeting we’ve ever had. But not necessarily in a nice way.


We were joined by 2 ladies from the Federation. I’m afraid I didn’t get their names but one of them was Pat, our ‘new’ Adviser. They kindly pointed out all the things that Yours Truly and the Trusty Committee either hadn’t done, or had done incorrectly in advance of the AGM. Hey ho – moving swiftly on. I reiterated my intention to stand down as President, taking Ros, our Treasurer with me and our Federation ladies took over for the vote. They tried to persuade us into staying on, and the attendant members into taking places on the committee with little luck. Out of the blue, a voice from the crowd suggested we kick the W.I. into touch (sorry – World Cup fever) and take ourselves off as a maverick group of women, just getting together when we fancy it without the shackles of committee meetings and annual reports, but continuing with the now expected, inclusion of wine at every possible opportunity.

Members liked that idea so Doodle Poll is now doing the rounds. We need 75% agreement to suspend WINGs. (Not sure what will happen if we don’t get that, as we still have no President or Treasurer and as far as I can make out, even the Force that is the W.I. can’t make you rejoin next year, or stop us getting together if we so choose). Anyway, watch this space. I’ll keep you informed as and when there’s news.
Then we moved onto the good stuff. VINO!

Sorry about the red-eye Lou!

Lloyd Pietersen and his glamorous assistant Sheila (also Pietersen!) had been waiting patiently in the wings (no pun intended) while the argey bargey was going on in the main hall. Chez Lloyd’s mission is to bring wine tasting to folk in a relaxed and friendly way and they certainly managed that. We had a tutoring on tasting to start with – most of us chomping at the bit to actually be allowed to start the drinking part (well, I was. I shouldn’t tar you all with my brush). First up, we were treated to a Picpoul de Pinet from France, we had a viognier, also French, and finally, a Riesling – the most expensive of the 3 which we discovered after we’d played guessy games about how much they each cost. Much chomping of cheese and crackers, sloshing of water in glasses and it was onto the reds.

In true W.I. fashion, we asked good questions, and sometimes even stopped talking long enough to listen to the answers and actually learn something. Our reds were from South Africa, New Zealand, and Chile. The first, a cinsault, was terribly quaffable (IMHO) even for a confirmed white wine chick like me. I can’t remember which was the cheap one and which the expensive of the red. Must have had too much of it by then.

Anyhoo, a good time had by all. Certainly a brilliant way to diffuse some of the tension caused by the meeting, and a jolly nice way to bring my blood pressure back down. Heartily recommended!

Mandy xx