When our planned speaker let us down at the last minute, we began hunting desperately for a replacement with less than 36 hours’ notice.
Step forward the wonderful men from B&Q in Harrogate, who saved the day and agreed to give us a demonstration of a range of power tools and their uses.
Led by Richard, the three men each set up a work station in the hall and we duly split ourselves into three groups to take turns at each. From simple drills to big things that cut holes in walls (which probably have a proper name, but I can’t remember it), we got to grips with everything we could ever need to carry out repairs and projects around the house.
As well as being shown how the tools worked, we were offered the chance to try our skills with them, putting screws into pieces of wood and making big holes in walls. (Note to venue owner: B&Q supplied a fake wall. We weren’t experimenting around the hall.)
It was informative, fun and friendly – and most importantly, the chaps weren’t at all condescending. They asked at the beginning if anyone had any experience of using power tools and quite a few of us had, but they were careful not to make too many assumptions about our knowledge. They started out with the basics and answering all of our questions, but quickly demonstrated how even the simple skills we had learned in a short space of time could be used as part of big projects at home.
We offered our heartfelt thanks to the demonstrators, who gave a very interesting session – especially considering how little time they had had to prepare. We will certainly be recommending them to any other WIs who want to learn some practical skills.
January’s meeting was also the first time we have attempted a new icebreaker, human bingo, as organised by committee member Becky Warburton. It gave us all a chance to find out some interesting facts about each other and to speak to people we only usually see from the other side of the room. No doubt we’ll be playing it again in the future!
Finally, we also launched our new programme for 2013 and were taking subscriptions for the year. Judging by the response and the number of people signing up again – or for the first time – it’s going to be another great year.
If you’d like to find out more about the coming year, have a look at our new programme or speak to a committee member. If you’d like to join the committee or get involved in another way, get in touch.