Earlier this year, a group of Fairfield ladies got together and decided that the time was right to start a new WI group for the parish. After consulting the Bedfordshire Federation, the Fairfield WI was formed and held its first meeting in April, which was met with much enthusiasm and plenty of ideas.

In May we had our first speaker, and we were so lucky to have such an interesting and engaging one in Simon Michael, a former barrister and now author whose books are loosely based on his life and experiences. Since then we have also had Amanda Sutherland, a costume designer for TV and theatre, and Victoria Molna, an accordionist.

In June we held our first event, a cake, tea and coffee stall at the first Fairfield Food Market in the Urban Park, and raised a pleasing amount of money for our WI. Our fabulous array of cakes sold out before the market ended at 2pm! Our thanks go to The Orchard Fairfield for their generous donation of two large gluten-free cakes.

New members are always welcome, you can join us at the Community Hall at 7.30pm as a guest on the first Wednesday of every month for £5, which includes a cuppa and cake to see what you think. Someone will be on hand to discuss membership with you, we are a friendly bunch!

There’s also a Facebook page – Fairfield WI Beds – and our email address is fairfieldwibeds@gmail.com should you wish to get in touch.

Our next speaker is police dog trainer Leonard Little on Wednesday 7 August. We look forward to meeting you!