The Sherington Belles Women’s Institute is part of the Buckinghamshire Federation, one of 69 federations which make up the National Federation of WIs. The Belles was set up in January 2020. 

 

What some of our wonderful Belles say about what being a Belle means to them...

 

Member Spotlight - Charmaine

 

I've enjoyed being a member of the Belles since the first meeting. I've met a fabulous bunch of ladies,always happy to chat and share a table! 

 

In 2022 I was lucky enough to win a £500 WI bursary,  which gave me the most amazing experience,  three days away learning Millinery skills. This gave me a new passion and my own small business,  Hats by Charmaine. Last year I refreshed my British Sign Language skills by taking one of the WIs learning hub 6-week courses. 


It's not just tea and cake ( although we are good at that) it's friendship,  support, learning and skill sharing. Women encouraging and supporting other women in all ventures.

Our Committee

  • Lesley Swaby - President: I became a member of the Sherington Belles WI in January 2020 when we launched. I joined initially to get to know more people locally as I was working & didn't get to socialise in the village much. I have made many great friends from the village & surrounding areas. After a year or so I joined the committee & in March 2025 became the president. One of my big passions is walking & being out in the open air so I was more than happy to run a walking group , we are thriving & we walk fortnightly 3 - 6 miles locally & further afield. We also have a walking weekend away each year which is such fun. Walking & talking is a great way to get to know each other & of course we always incorporate tea & cake , we are the WI after all !

 

  • Anne Anthony - Secretary: I joined The Sherington Belles WI when we were set up in January 2020. After 5 years of fun and friendship I decided to give back by taking on the secretary role. I’m really enjoying it as I’ve got to know more members and to help out with lots of activities and meetings.

 

  • Claire Burbridge – Committee Member: I joined the Sherington Belles WI in June 2024 on the recommendation of a close friend and soon made many new friendships and I have re-kindled some old ones. I enjoy organising and helping with events and I soon found myself volunteering to join the committee. Everyone was so welcoming and helpful as I took on new roles and responsibilities.

 

  • Patsy Meldrum – Committee Member: I live in Sherington and joined the WI in January 2020. To this day I don’t know why I put my hand up at the inaugural meeting to the invitation for committee members to join but I did and now do the registrations at our monthly members’ meetings, attend committee meetings and run the Foodie Group. Being fairly new to the village at the time I thought joining would be a wonderful way of getting to know people and it certainly does, not only ladies from Sherington but also from Milton Keynes, Olney and all the local villages. The Sherington Belles not only provides me with friendship, camaraderie and much pleasure but a great sense of belonging in a village I’m not able to get out in much anymore.
     

  • Marianne Carew – Committee Member:  A resident of Sherington, I joined the Belles in April 2023 after retiring from a career as a public health doctor. Although I'd lived in the village for many years, I didn't know many people well enough to socialise with because of work. The WI provided a great opportunity to join an energising, fun community of like-minded women and I've thoroughly immersed myself by participating in all the groups and coordinating a couple of them.  I particularly enjoy the Craft and Foodie Groups which are always educational, can be challenging, but are always fun.  I could see how much work was required to keep everything organised and ticking over. The obvious next step was to join the committee, which I was delighted to do in March this year [2025]. As well as being the Screen Queens' organiser, I am now the Belle's Resource Coordinator of the Emergency Resilience Response Scheme, the local WI lead for incident response to requests from Buckinghamshire or Milton Keynes Councils. Our members might be called upon to provide practical support, address welfare needs of those affected and documentation.  I am delighted to take on this community support mantle in a non-professional role, having been directly involved in emergency planning and response at a senior level during my career.

 

  • Sarah Heywood – Committee Member: I joined the Sherington Belles in January 2023 in response to a yearning to meet more people and venture out more! Having recently sent a long email to the committee with lots of wonderful suggestions, including a Sherington Belles website and an offer to join the committee if they needed more hands on deck, I was thrilled to receive an email back from the committee saying they’d love a website and when could I start! In addition to website administration, I am one of Marianne’s helpers arranging bookings for the Screen Queens when Marianne is on one of her (many many!) holidays!

How we stay in touch with our members between meetings

Lots of our members socialise during the month and meet at various group meetings and events.  With so much going on in our fantastic group and in the wider WI, we try hard to make sure you know what’s happening when and where via:

 

  • Noticeboard at meetings – this is a great place to see what’s coming up, add your name, and also make suggestions of things you’d like to do.

  • WhatsApp groups – there’s a Sherington Belles WI Group which links everyone together and then one for each group to make arrangements and advertise events.

  • Email – information about events and meetings is always shared via email to make sure that everyone knows what’s happening, even if you don’t do social media.

  • Website – this website will keep you up to date with our Speaker Programme for our monthly meeting.

  • Facebook page – a great place to share photos of what our WI has been up to.

 

We use photos from our meetings and events to promote the Belles on Facebook and elsewhere; please let us know if you don’t wish to be included.

 

About the WI

The WI is a unique organisation shaped by its members. In 1915, we set out to give women a voice and to be a force for good in the community.  Since then, our members and our ambitions alike have grown tremendously.  Today, we are the largest women’s organisation in the UK and we pride ourselves on being a trusted place for all women of all generations, to share experiences and learn from each other. A WI membership offers the opportunity to meet women in your local area in-person and virtually, to make friends and make a difference in your community. We campaign nationally on a wide range of issues and provide life-long learning and self-development opportunities for women in England and Wales.

 

The WI Vision

To create a world where women come together to learn, share skills and work together to become active citizens, influencing change to improve lives in their local, national and global communities.

We Connect Women

Our movement offers women of all ages and backgrounds a unique chance to come together and share experiences, tackling social isolation and building community cohesion.

We Support Women

We support women to learn, develop new skills and achieve their goals throughout their lives, building confidence and improving physical and mental wellbeing.

We Empower Women

We empower women to use their voice individually and collectively to achieve real changes on the issues that matter to them.

To learn more about the history of the WI please see the main WI website.