WI Memberships (?)

I belong to a local WI and love it. I’m in my late 60’s, which I’d say is about the average age of our members. Age range from 40’s to 80’s I’d say. I’ve been going for almost 2 years and find it very friendly and enjoyable. Some of the talks are more entertaining/informative than others, but on the whole they’re good. I’m not on the committee, but maybe I will be one day (if they’re short!). I would never want to be President as I hate public speaking and wouldn’t want to commit too much time - although I realise that someone has to do it if the WI is to thrive, so that sounds like a very selfish attitude from me!
We have a few outings, although I haven’t been on any of them as yet as nothing has appealed so far. I’d say if you’re not sure about the WI, just go along to one of the meetings and give it a try. It took me many years to get round to the idea of going, as I thought it was for elderly women, but I’m not that young myself now and far younger women than me attend. I may be wrong, but I think that Denman College may do some courses online. I’ve no idea what they cost though.
I have a friend in a U3A group in her local area and she loves it, but I’ve yet to give it a try. It’s definitely something I’m considering.

Primrose53 Denman has been closed for some time and no longer belongs to the WI

Being a member of both the WI and U3A is quite possible because I do it

And being a member of TWG as well 🙂

pascal30

ninamoore

Remember U3A have groups not classes or courses

Not true here in Brighton we have loads of courses that are run in a variety of topics and last for months.. I suggest looking at your local U3A lists of topics which should all be on-line

Ours has over 70 groups, but the groups are led by volunteers who lead, organise speakers, give a sense of direction. Without these enthusiastic volunteers it could easily become different groups of people meeting and chatting aimlessly.

Nana Tuesday, I’m sorry you had no response to your enquiries but I really don’t think that’s typical. I’m a member of two WI branches which are both very responsive to new member enquiries.

My two WIs are quite different but I enjoy them both. One is afternoon and predominantly older age range (yes we sing Jersusalem which I love) and the other is evening with mainly a younger, working age membership, lots of fun and no Jerusalem. Our current President is 32 for instance. We have some really good speakers and lots of opportunities for interesting outings. No jam in sight at either of them.

Anyone can attend meetings as a visitor a few times before they decide whether to join and my advice would be to visit a few as they are all different.

Being a member of both the WI and U3A is quite possible because I do it.

👍

ninamoore

Remember U3A have groups not classes or courses

Not true here in Brighton we have loads of courses that are run in a variety of topics and last for months.. I suggest looking at your local U3A lists of topics which should all be on-line

JdotJ

Primrose53

The local WI here is very set in its ways. I went twice to try it out and each time it took ages to get going because they had to sort out WI business first. I also went with a friend to a WI craft exhibition in a town hall and we both thought the judges written comments on their work were very negative and discouraging. My friend is more sensitive than me and she said she would have cried if she got comments like that.

The local WI is also really cliquey which I don’t like. A few neighbours from WI go to their college (Denman) on courses and they rave about it but it is very, very expensive and always has been. My late Mum was in WI for years and would have loved to have gone there for certain courses but couldn’t afford it. She said only the posh women went.

The residential courses at Denman ceased in 2020 so I wonder where the ladies of your local WI have been going ?

Well it only seems 5 mins since they went! Of course we lost a couple of years with covid - that always catches me out. Whatever, they were very expensive courses but they said it was a lovely place to learn new skills.

Remember U3A have groups not classes or courses

Anyone can join a second U3A, by paying half of the first subscription. This works for me because I live in a small town and there are limited groups to join. Generally, it's not forward looking.
My second U3A is in a much larger town. It has a a huge variety of interesting groups to join and is generally more friendly. Yes, I have to travel to that one, but it can be worth it for a better social/ learning experience.
I'd never join a WI again. I used to live in a village and we decided to unsubscribe from the existing WI, and form our own group. The person from Head Office was furious, tried to make us take a vote, and marched off with the WI tablecloth which had been embroidered by someone in the village!

Primrose53

The local WI here is very set in its ways. I went twice to try it out and each time it took ages to get going because they had to sort out WI business first. I also went with a friend to a WI craft exhibition in a town hall and we both thought the judges written comments on their work were very negative and discouraging. My friend is more sensitive than me and she said she would have cried if she got comments like that.

The local WI is also really cliquey which I don’t like. A few neighbours from WI go to their college (Denman) on courses and they rave about it but it is very, very expensive and always has been. My late Mum was in WI for years and would have loved to have gone there for certain courses but couldn’t afford it. She said only the posh women went.

The residential courses at Denman ceased in 2020 so I wonder where the ladies of your local WI have been going ?

As NanKate says, WIs may differ widely, try some and see what suits. Near here there are several, I know a few who liked one, but not not another?!

There's also a monthly group, just called 'Wives', that has meetings with speakers, a regular coffee morning, an occasional walk, or an outing for a pub lunch, etc. I went once for a speaker that sounded interesting, but their meetings sadly clash with other things I do. Their attendance is I gather quite a bit higher than any local WI group!

Oh, and did someone mention the Denman (WI) College (about 10 miles from Oxford?) -- I believe that closed a year or two ago?

Try Townswomen’s Guild, always sure of a welcome there.

I am a past president of a WI and no longer remember . I am now Vice chair of our local Townswomens Guild. The format is very much the same as WI But very much more down to earth And no we don't accept trans women!

Having looked at our local one by checking their FB pages, man making balloon animals, crooners evening - BYO bottle, I joined the local U3A instead.

Calendargirl

My sister was treasurer for her WI, which folded a couple of years ago.

Simply because no one wanted the jobs, chairman, secretary, etc.

Mostly older ladies, and like so many clubs, people happy to come to a meeting, listen to a speaker, have a cup of tea and a natter, but not prepared to do much to keep the wheels turning.

This is exactly why many WI branches are closing, not the nonsense about permitting transwomen. Every year we have the same problem, and we have a large 52 member club; the majority are happy to turn up, be entertained, go home, and are not prepared to help with the running of it at all.

Approaching retirement I was eager to become involved with community groups. I telephoned our village WI group to see about attending a meeting, to be asked my age, having said 66 the woman responded negatively by say oh! we are wanting to encourage younger people. Needless to say I did not bother. Very disappointed with that response. Surely everyone no matter what age have something to contribute to any group.

Redhead56

We do have a WI in the local village I have the impression by people who wanted to join it’s a closed shop. If you don’t volunteer for everything that’s going on in the immediate area. If you don’t attend church apparently you are not going on the waiting list so I have been told. I don’t know if it is true as I have never had time to consider joining the WI.

There are walking clubs here I joined one years ago but do prefer to go for walks when it suits me and I don’t like idle gossip. I was always involved in fund raising for our school and other local charities. I still do charity work but my time now is retirement interests gardening and GC.

That is definitely not the way a WI ought to be run. It is a non-religious and non-political organisation so 'going to church' should never be a reason to turn someone away. It sounds as if the WI you mention has become rather cliquey and have their own agenda. A WI Advisor needs to visit them!

As a dual member of 2 neighbouring WI's the best idea is to turn up and see what that particular group is like. You can go to 3 meetings at a WI before making a decision whether or not to join. Go and visit all the accessible ones to you. WI's can be very different so it depends what your interests are. I love the WI which is non-political and non-religious but very accepting of everyone. Good luck with your search. a quarter of a million women can't be wrong.

Just turn up. What’s the worst that can happen?

WI's seem to have been declining for many years. Could it be because women have changed and their organisation hasn't moved with the times? or could it be the cost? (our local one is nearly 3 times the cost of our u3a), or is it their attitude? I once phoned our local one to ask if our u3a could put a poster in their shop window to advertise something we were doing, (they own the building I think but were no longer using it as a WI shop and it was just being hired out at an extortionate price to pop up shops etc). When the lady I spoke to eventually got back to me after asking her Committee there was a resounding "no" - (we would have paid for the privilege) as they felt we clashed. My view was that we all serve our Community so there should be a spirit of co-operation, not competition. I would definitely not want to belong to an organisation that felt the need to be so protective/competitive.
Our u3a is growing and we have now started concentrating of having a more active social side alongside our groups, workshops and learning activities. New members seem to be flocking in - although we still have the perennial problem of getting people to join the Committee, so unless this gets rectified, even a successful organisation may eventually fall by the wayside!

win

Jackiest

WI members are falling and it is women only, U3A members are rising and have too many people for the courses and they are both men and women. Is this telling us something or is it just coincidence.

I think what that is telling us is that there are some good groups for men in U3A, whereas men usually find it difficult to join in with groups. We support unpaid carers and only have 6 men out of 100 women on our books, yet we have excellent speakers, good activities for everyone and some brilliant socials for everyone. It is really hard to attract the men, so U3A are obviously doing something very right. If I knew what it is I would copy it for sure.

I thought men liked joining groups?

Probus, Round Table, Veterans Groups, and, of course, the Masons. Rotary has more male membership than female.

Jackiest

WI members are falling and it is women only, U3A members are rising and have too many people for the courses and they are both men and women. Is this telling us something or is it just coincidence.

I think what that is telling us is that there are some good groups for men in U3A, whereas men usually find it difficult to join in with groups. We support unpaid carers and only have 6 men out of 100 women on our books, yet we have excellent speakers, good activities for everyone and some brilliant socials for everyone. It is really hard to attract the men, so U3A are obviously doing something very right. If I knew what it is I would copy it for sure.

Aged 70+ and having moved to be near my daughter and her family I went to our local WI meeting Woodley Central who meet once a month and was warmly welcomed.
Being an evening meeting a lot of the women were wives,mothers and singletons most also had jobs.
It was before Covid and I very much enjoyed hearing different talks on very varied subjects followed by teas,coffee and cake and another activity such as an easy craft idea or a quiz.
I would came home feeling happy and realised I had been in a vibrant but caring group with much laughter.
Come the Covid lockdown the committee really swung into action and made sure members weren’t left isolated and giving assistance to anyone needing help with Zoom.
When we returned to hall meetings again it was marvellous to meet members we had got to know only on the screen and have become firm friends.
I do hope my enthusiasm for finding such a wonderful WI group will balance out the negativity in entries above.
Generally I avoid war films but really enjoyed the TV series Home Fires which charts the importance of WI village life during WW2 .
When the 3rd series wasn’t televised I bought the final Simon Blocks books.

I’ve tried a few WIs. Found the majority unwelcoming to solo new members, ie you need to either join with a friend or have a friend who is already a member.
As with any organisation, there are members who want things to “happen” but aren’t willing to put any effort in to make them happen.