Viva Brighton Issue #68 October 2018

THE LOWDOWN ON...
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The Brighton Belles
A very modern WI
Brighton Belles is part of the East Sussex
Federation of the Women’s Institute, but we
are slightly different to most groups. People have
an image that we’ll have lilac hair and twinsets,
linking arms as we sing Jerusalem. That’s so not
us. We meet in a pub on a Monday evening with
a gin & tonic in one hand.
We have around 60 members with roughly
30 attending each meeting. We’re women
from all walks of life. Some of our younger
members are mums for the first time and others
are grandmothers who are still working. Some
of us are born-and-bred Brightonians, others
have come to the city for university, or because
of relationships. Quite a few of us have lived
overseas and have come back. It’s a fabulous
melting pot of women.
We have lots of fun and we get great
speakers. Boho Gelato came along and taught
us to make alcoholic ice cream cocktails and,
last month, local sculptor Hazel Reeves spoke
to us about winning the commission to sculpt
Emmeline Pankhurst and about meeting her
descendants. We’ve had a talk from an explayboy
bunny; by Lewes & Brighton Bee
Keepers; spent an evening at the fire station
and another at a life-drawing class. We’ve
got Graham Bartlett, former city police
commander for Brighton & Hove, coming to
speak to us in the new year and we’re reading a
Brighton crime novel in book club and going to
the old police cells for our social. It’s a chance to
learn new things with a group of friends.
Some members just like to come along to the
monthly meetings (on the second Monday of
the month at Grand Central) and listen to the
speakers, but most people slot into something
else too. There’s Stitch & Bitch; a walking group
(A Walk on the Mild Side); socials, and Dinner
Ladies, where we go out to dinner every few
months. I can’t knit or crochet to save my life,
but I enjoy a good book. There’s something on
most weeks with the WI.
We still do lots of traditional WI things and
we hold an AGM and do everything properly.
We support charities working with women and
children by running cake stalls, knitting ‘twiddle
muffs’ for dementia sufferers, and raising funds
for the domestic abuse charity, RISE.
One of the resolutions that the WI made was
to tackle loneliness. You can live in a big city
and still be as lonely as anything. We make sure
that new members feel welcome from the first
meeting. It’s about £40 to join for the year and
that includes all the meetings, socials, book club
and all the events. It’s incredibly cheap but the
real value is in the friendships that form. It’s a
great bunch of people. As told to Lizzie Lower by
committee member Claire Townsend.
If you’re interested to find out more, guests
can attend a taster meeting for £5. Check the
Facebook page for details of meeting dates.
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