We had a slightly worrying horde of Easter bunnies and chicks making their way across the tables at the knitting group this week. One of the women who comes makes decorations to dress the village for all the different festivals - Hallowe'en, Remembrance Day, Christmas and now Easter.
Each little creature or basket holds an Easter Egg and, come Good Friday, they'll be hidden all through the village for children to find over the weekend. The Easter Egg in question is Cadbury's Crème Egg, which are truly disgusting to eat being 90% sugar, 9% colouring and 1% cocoa, but they are a solid, heavy egg for their size (so much smaller than when they first came out) and perfect for weighing down little woollen bunnies and chicks.
I was going to suggest an Easter contest to guess how many there were, but I forgot to count them! You can have a try if you like, some of them are quite hard to see. HSBI for guesses! Meanwhile, I'll try and find out from the maker how many there are.
It was lovely to see everyone after a few months away. I think the last time I saw some of them was at the Christmas Dinner. Well, we had plenty to gossip about, what everyone has been up to, some losses, some new people, whether the village LIbrary (where we meet) was going to stay open.
I made the tea as I do. Usually, only one or two people want a hot drink, but today, well, I had to get a piece of paper and take notes. Then there's rummaging for the cups in the communal kitchen and the washing and drying of the cups because previous users have not always been meticulous. I did manage to resist cleaning out the entire crockery cupboard, although it badly needs it.
We had a long discussion about the WI (Women's Institute) and the new groups that are starting up. Although numbers are much lower now than they in the years between 1915 and the 1960s, there has been a resurgence in groups and membership. Although staunchly a-political, the WI is not averse to making its feelings known, as when Tony Blair, Prime Minister, forgot where he was:
Heckled, jeered, booed - Blair bombs at the WI
The penny seemed to drop after he was heckled during references to cuts in interest rates since Labour took power in 1997. Forced off his stride, he said: "Well, I'm glad we're having a good debate anyway." Women responded tut-tutting that this was a party lecture not a debate.
"Our chair warned that if he tried to make it political he would get short shrift."
Love it, go WI!
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