Members attended a monthly meeting earlier this summer and made corn dollies. Fiona Thompson, Committee Member, has shared these delightful pictures. Isn’t the little mouse cute?
Category Archives: Monthly meeting
Bowdens Charity evening
A question for you? What is a ‘feoffee?’ (see foot of post for definition?)
Jim Jacobs, Steward, gave members a fascinating insight into the history of this well known local Charity, together with a chance to see lots of pictures of projects and buildings that it has helped to fund in Market Harborough.
The Charity, based in St Mary’ s Road, was formed in 1994 when 3 local charities came together and is now valued at £15.9m. Jim took us right back to the 1500s and the Enclosures Act (yes, remember that from school?) and up to the present time, where the Charity is now accountable to the Charities’ Commission.
Well known buildings and landmarks in the town that the Bowdens Charity has supported include the Old Grammar School (see slide in the picture above), Joules and adjacent jewellers, the cricket field, Scotland End flats, St Stephen’s allotments and those opposite Protheroes, the land between the Grand Union Canal and Forest Gate Motors plus the site of an old quarry that is now home to an abundance of wildlife and fauna.
Other funding opportunities include responding to applications from local families with little disposable income for grants (a sign of the recession), as well as funding for local musicians, uniforms for sports teams and the current refurbishment of the Harborough Museum and Library. Challenges for the future will include the ‘big society’, school academies and looking after the people of the town.
Feoffees? Dating back to the Crusades, they were tenants of land who paid no rent but if their owner went on a Crusade they would insist the tenants left! Derived from ‘fief’ or ‘fee’.
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Fun evening making corn dollies
Members enjoyed their monthly meeting on 26 June, making corn dollies. ‘A super evening’, reports Hazel Stacey, President. Thanks to Fiona Thompson, Committee Member for the picture.
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Market Harborough and the Bowden’s Charity – July’s monthly meeting
Jim Jacobs will be the visiting speaker at the July monthly meeting. Jim will be telling us about the invaluable work of the Market Harborough and The Bowdens Charity, the largest in the area. This includes taking on responsibility for that famous local landmark, the Old Grammar School, that forms the basis of the Market Harborough WI logo.
The Charity dates back to 1570 and earlier. Today it is the amalgamation of 2 local charities in 1994. Importantly, it funds many local initiatives through amateur sport, arts, relief in need, community, education and the environment. Organisations can apply to it for support. So, join us on Wednesday 24 July at the Congregational Church Hall, Bowden Lane, Market Harborough to find out about the work it has been doing.
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Making a traditional corn dolly – June’s monthly meeting
Traditional corn dollies are of Pagan origin and abound with folklore . It seems they 
were made from the last sheaves of corn and meant to carry the spirit of a fruitful harvest through to the next spring when seeds would be planted again. A simple, educational website (Project Britian) shows some delightful pictures of the range of designs that can be made (this is not our speaker.)
So, come along on Wednesday 26th June at 7.30 pm at the Congregational Church Hall, Bowden Lane, Market Harborough, to find out more about this traditional craft and have a go at making one to take home.
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Action pictures from self defence evening
Some belated action shots from the successfull self defence evening last February. Some are a little blurred but really give a feel for the action. Thanks to Evanda Greenwood for sending in the pictures:
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Fascinating insight into Foxton Locks
Michael Beech, curator of Foxton Canal Museum, was visiting speaker at May’s monthly meeting this week. He gave a fascinating overview of the history of the building of the famous inclined plan at Foxton, with pictures of boat users using it and the top and bottom basins. One scary picture was of the Methodist Church Sunday School annual outing – health and safety was obviously not paramount then, with a barge overflowing with youngsters actually standing in the barge as it was being hoisted up the plane!
Michael’s presentation also took us swiftly through the funding of this part of the Grand Union Canal, an overview of the national waterways, the Lock Keeper’s Cottage and information on the ongoing restoration and upkeep of this famous, integral part of the inland waterways.
The Foxton Locks Festival runs on 29 and 30 June 2013. A great day out for the family.
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Foxton and the local waterways – May’s monthly meeting
The visiting speaker in May will be Michael Beech, Curator of the Foxton Canal Museum. He is also the author of ‘Foxton Locks and the Inclined Plane: a 200 year History’. The evening is open to members and non-members and is on Wednesday 22 March at 7.30 pm in the Congregational Church Hall, Bowden Lane, Market Harborough, to find out lots more about our local canals and waterways. A small charge of £3 will be made for non-members. See you there! Bring your partner or a friend.
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Ayrshire Cows and Stilton Cheese
Jane Barnes of Southfields Farm, Somerby entertained us with a fascinating talk on Wednesday about the life of a dairy farmer’s wife in these touch economic times – not for the faint hearted!
Jane is married to Mark Barnes, a ‘rare beed’, she says. Why? Because there used to be 65,000 dairy farmers in the UK and now there are only 10,000, of which he is one. With a herd of Ayrshire cows (they have changed in recent years from Fresian), Jane took us through the trials and tribulations of modern day farming, from buying new cows to the 365 days a year commitment to managing the herd. Mulberry, the bull, figured in there, too. Each cow, at its peak, produces 30 or 40 litres a day of milk. This is used solely for the production of Stilton cheese, which we were all delighted to sample.
Jane described her enterprising business skills, too. She supported the farm with her silk flower business but this was hit by the foot and mouth outbreak. Her cows were not affected but countryside visitors to the farm were restricted. Jane has subsequently built up a very busy diary of talks, as well as visits to the farm for both adults and children. For the latter, she works closely with a nearby arable farmers’ wife, so the children get the chance to visit both in a morning and begin to understand how the output of each helps the other.
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Being a dairy farmer’s wife, including how QR codes are used on their cows!
April’s montly meeting speaker will be Jane Barnes. Jane works with her husband, Mark, on a 220 acre farm near Somerby. The Barnes family is the third generation to run their farm. Milk from their herd of Ayrshire cows is sold to Clawson Dairies to make Stilton cheese.
Jane will be speaking about her life as a dairy farmer’s wife, which includes opening their farm to visitors to show them how milk is produced. Jane and Mark are bang up to date with using modern technology. They came up with the whacky idea (harmless) of spraying their cows with a white QR code so visitors could click on their smartphones and read an up to date blog of the cow’s life and contribution to the farm. I hope I haven’t given it all away … !
To find out more, come along on Wednesday 24 April at 7.30 pm at the Congregational Church Hall, Bowden Lane, Market Harborough. It’ll be fun, too, sampling the Stilton cheese!
Market Harborough WI 