We did it! Our first virtual group meeting - attended by 29 members - and we managed to have our AM to boot. Thanks to Sally for guiding us through Zoom, Kim for her top tips for mental health and Lesley Holdway for giving us Wiltshire Federation's news. Thanks to Sally and all the committee for their hard work last year, and welcome Kim as our new President! It's not quite the world we expected to be in, but we've shown Pewsham Belles can adapt well to the new one. Ursula left a lovely comment on Facebook: "Lovely to have an evening with WI friends. Makes everything more "normal". Kim's a mental health first aider and shared her top tips to help us get through the lockdown. Actually, they're useful for any time:
Try to keep to a daily routine and have a structure to the day with some sense of order
Keep the brain active during the day as this will help one to have a good nights’ sleep
Limit the time spent watching or reading the news and ensure that one uses reputable sources of information; be wary of social media as a news source
Stay connected with friends and family by phone, technology and post to help feel less isolated
Accept that, at times, one may feel fearful of the current situation and try to plan a coping mechanism such as mindfulness activities
Mindfulness activities including reading, yoga and even rainbow pencils – concentrating on sorting the colours into a rainbow. These activities help one to concentrate on the moment
She also offered to be available should any member wish to contact her by phone for more information.
It was great that everyone then weighed in with their own tips via Zoom's text chat facility as shown above. This was a great way to keep the conversation flowing, without us drowning each other out in Zoom itself. Good use of the Mute facility there Sally! Contact Sally for a full chat transcript if you're having difficulty reading the text chat extract above and would like to have the details. Here's to plenty of Facebook and club chat over the next few weeks to help keep our spirits up. For anyone new to Zoom who wants to give it a try, here are Sally's top tips she shared at the meeting. Don't forget when everyone is muted there is a raise hand facility for anyone who wishes to speak as well as the text chat facility. Clever Sally got us used to the text chat by asking everyone what they were drinking!
Elsewhere this month, we managed a surprising number of activities ahead of the current lockdown. The Book Club reviewed Slow Horses, a spy novel which got better once the hump of the slow start was got over. We had a successful drop-in poppy making session at Rivo Lounge, supplemented a few days later with a crochet poppy tutorial with Gill at the Happy Hookers. A delicious lunch was had by all who attended the Farm Cookery School and last but not least, our intrepid walkers braved the ice and fog and proudly held our banner at the top of Pen y Fan! April will be quite different, but we're planning on keeping everything going as best we can!