Latest news with #WomensInstitute
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Olympic gold medal-winning rowing star to speak at Cumbrian village hall
A gold medal-winning Olympic rower is set to talk at a Cumbrian village hall to raise money for its refurbishment. Emily Craig MBE, 33, who won a gold medal in the lightweight double sculls rowing alongside teammate Imogen Grant at the Paris 2024 Olympics, will be appearing at Old Hutton Village Hall on Saturday, August 23. The appearance by the former Olympian at the special 'Afternoon Tea Party' is to raise funds for refurbishments in the village hall which itself provides many groups in the area with a centralised place to congregate. Groups such as the Women's Institute (WI) use the venue as well as it hosting yoga classes, badminton, bowling, birthday parties, and christening parties, amongst many other things. A poster for the event next week (Image: Supplied) The village hall came in to existence over 100 years ago and although it was refurbished around 25 years ago, money is now needed to pay for new energy-efficient boilers to better heat the building in the winter months. Craig, herself not a local to the area, is the daughter of the village's yoga class leader Angela Craig, who moved to Old Hutton 10 years ago. The Olympic rowing champion, who is also a world and European champion, is set to tell stories of her journey to the top of her sport to those in attendance at the special Tea Party. She began rowing aged 12, falling in love with the sport thereafter, and subsequently announcing that she had an Olympic dream, which she pursued at all costs. Emily Craig (L) with her gold medal and her mum Angela (R), who lives in Old Hutton (Image: Angela Craig) Craig took part in her first senior international race aged 21 at the U23 World Championships in the lightweight quad, winning bronze before going one better with silver a year later. Her journey to Olympic gold last year was an arduous one, with many challenges and heartbreaks along the way. Perhaps, the most heartbreaking of events was when she and her doubles partner, Imogen Grant, missed out on a medal at the Tokyo Olympics by just an agonising 0.01 seconds. This, however, made her triumph even sweeter last year. Emily Craig is speaking from 2.30 pm on Saturday, August 23, at Old Hutton Village Hall, with readers being able to buy tickets to the 'Afternoon Tea Party', which is raising important funds for the hall, by clicking on the following link: Tickets.
BBC News
02-08-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Cornwall artist still enjoying life as she turns 107
An artist from Cornwall who is celebrating her 107th birthday has said being yourself is the key to a happy Silver, who was alive during both world wars and has seen five monarchs take the throne, is celebrating the occasion with a party involving friends and family at the Women's Institute Hall in mother-of-five took up art when she turned 60 after she completed a two-year course at Rugby College and has a gallery set up in her garage, where she still sells her paintings."I'm not sure how it's happened, but I think that somehow I've forgotten to die," she said. 'I don't feel old' Friends and family, including her daughter who has travelled in from Australia, were expected to celebrate her birthday alongside in Staffordshire, Mollie has lived in Cornwall for more than 40 years. "I was 60 when I came down here with my husband and we got this little bungalow and we've loved it ever since," she said. As she has gotten older and less able to leave the house, Mrs Silver said she tended to spend time thinking about when she was younger. "They tell me I'm an old person and I have to go along with that," she said."I'm frustrated because I can't do the things I used to do, but I don't feel like an old person." Mrs Silver said the key to leading a happy live was "being yourself, if you can"."You don't have to pretend to be another person," she said."I've always been happy it's in my body to be happy and I've enjoyed my life."Her daughter, Penny Lees, who travelled from Australia, said of her mother: "She gets up in the morning and goes on Facebook and write emails, she does her painting."I think she's pretty amazing, she's still very much in life." Sally Martin, one of her friends, said she had an "amazing, can-do attitude" and she made the lives of those who know her richer."She doesn't seem daunted by anything, especially technology and uses social media almost as much as me - and I'm 50 years younger than she is," she said."She's really interesting and fun to chat to but she's also one of those people that's genuinely interested in what's happening in your life with your family and your friends."
BBC News
28-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Knitted postbox toppers take over Isle of Wight museum
A group of knitters have yarn bombed a postal museum to raise money for an Alzheimer's Isle of Wight Postal Museum in Newport, Isle of Wight, lent their collection of 260 postboxes to the Women's Institute to display their knitted postbox Reeder, who owns the museum filled with his personal collection, came up with the idea two years ago when he met some postbox topper creators. He said: "I'm not normally left speechless but having seen what some of these ladies have done, I am speechless and anyone who knows me knows how serious an issue that is." Event organiser Debbie Hall had hoped for 80 postbox toppers and was surprised to be able to cover nearly 90 of Mr Reeder's said it was a chance for people to show off their said: "There are a lot of postbox toppers on the Isle of Wight and where are they all?"They must be in cupboards and boxes and attics, and it was my job to locate them." Some of the designs included Noah's Ark, The Beatles' Abbey Road album cover and a prisoner that was originally mounted outside a event was free to enter and raised money for the Alzheimer's Café by taking voluntary Rippon knitted the charity's logo of faceless figures in a boat. It was made especially for the event and mounted upon one of the oval shaped London postboxes, of which there are none on the Island. Mr Reeder's collection began when he rescued a wooden postbox from the station at Rhyl in Wales when on holiday and restored it. He has postboxes from Inverness to Truro and there are a few from overseas including the Republic of Ireland, the US and Gibraltar. You can follow BBC Hampshire on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
