Bolney

Bolney WI's first meeting of 2016 was as lively as ever. '¨Members had to vote on resolutions to be discussed at the National AGM at Brighton in June. Topics ranged from '˜banning the microbead' to reviving our heritage; '˜British fruit' etc. Many of the resolutions were felt by members to be either too vague or not achievable so Bolney's vote went to '˜addressing food poverty, avoiding food waste' which it was felt stood a chance of making an impact.'¨After business matters were discussed Ray Hale, our speaker, was welcomed back. Ray, a naturalist and more specifically an entomologist ,had for more than thirty years been a frequent visitor to Borneo. He has seen at first hand the desecration of the rain forests and the consequent endangering of wildlife. Ray's illustrated talk was an amazing collection of facts etc regarding the Borneo rain forests but his talk sadly ended with information that in 1986 the orang utan was classed as '˜endangered' and they are now '˜critically endangered'. Today's threats are loss of habitat, illegal logging, deliberate fires, and pet trade. Thankfully there are several Sanctuaries and Rehabilitation Centre's for these creatures which as you can image are dear to the speaker's heart.'¨The next meeting of the WI will be held in the Rawson Hall on Thursday February 11, at 2.30pm which will feature Brenda Sands, one of our own members, who will speak of her experiences walking part of the Great Wall of China to raise funds for the Chestnut Tree Children's Hospice.'¨New members welcome.