December / January newsletter

Chairman’s Column

Hello everyone
Well what a time it has been since the last newsletter.
As you will know, thanks to Storm Babet and an issue with Horncastle’s flood defence system, WI House, like many businesses and homes in the town, was the victim of unprecedented flooding.
Initially we thought the damage was confined to the sheds, rendering our catering fridges unusable. We were grateful to the provision of skips by the district council which enabled us to dispose of them.
The clean up began and thanks go to the trustees and other members who gave up their time to help with that.
Gill Pursey did a great job with the carpet as you can see from the picture. However, as time moved on, we realised the carpet tiles would need to be lifted otherwise the floor would not dry completely.
As trustees, one of the duties is to maintain WI House and there is a rolling programme of work to do this. As the tiles were up and the skips were available, we decided to bite the bullet, get rid of the carpeting completely and take on a major project for 2024. Unfortunately, our insurance policy did not cover us for flooding from the river, only for water ingress through the roof, something we are looking into currently. We already had some money set aside for maintenance, but more is needed to undertake such a project. Therefore, we have applied to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund for a grant to replace the flooring, redecorate, purchase new fridges and also repair the car park wall – so fingers crossed. It will take some time to be completed, but WI House will be refreshed and more user-friendly as a result. We hope you all agree.
Meanwhile, WI house is fully operational – although the floor is a bit sticky.
So as we come to the end of the year, we can certainly say 2023 has been eventful and we can look forward to 2024 with optimism, as well as with a packed programme of events and opportunities.
Best wishes for the festive season to all and good health for the New Year.
Take care as always
Dianne

Inside the December/January newsletter

Page 2: Chairman’s page
Page 3: Forthcoming events
Page 4: Public Affairs + NEC trip
Page 5: Information on events and happenings
Page 6 &7: Your news from across the Federation
Page 8: Diary of events