NEWCHURCH members were kept very busy during the meeting on April 8.

The evening's speaker Sheila Deen set up 10 tables of teams who had to examine a great variety of small antiques.

These had to be identified and dated and some had to be valued.

A few were easy but most were highly mysterious and included a top-hat brush, a Persian scribe's pen and ink kit and the first ever kettle for an electric stove.

Valuing the items was very tricky but one team emerged as the winners.

They and the runners -up were rewarded not with antiques but with modern chocolates.

Sheila and her husband Brian told members how they had found some of their horde of treasures at auctions, antique shops and fairs.

Trudy MacDonald gave the vote of thanks and Sheila judged a large display of members' own antiques.

After tea and cake served by Liane Clarke and Marjorie Pugh the winners were announced. Kath Ellison was first with pocket scales for weighing sovereigns and Irene Bromilow and Chris Wilkinson came second and third.

After thanks to Barbara Delve for the plant donated to the president's table the business part of the meeting concentrated on details of the WI's centennial celebrations.

These include a fun day at Gawsworth Hall in July and a centennial fair in Harrogate in September.

The Newchurch craft group is making a banner and bunting for display at Gawsworth.

Nearer home Glazebury WI are having a flower display in June.

Newchurch's own event for April is the Media City visit on the 21st.

President Doreen Procter also thanked members for the very successful spring coffee morning but had two sad items of news – the death of Amy Williams and the illness of Ruth Briggs.

The speaker in May is Maureen Baxter and her topic is ‘Galley to Cockpit’.

Contact Jean Riley on 01925-762722 for full details.