Cainscross WI

ELEVEN of our members (not a bad proportion of our 19 membership) thoroughly enjoyed the Centenary Picnic held at Highnam Court, Gloucester in mid June.

Some of us wore our posh frocks and hats or fascinators and we all sat and chatted to enjoy our picnic on the lawn of this lovely house surrounded by many acres of beautiful gardens.

My own favourites were the magnificent David Austin roses that are there in abundance.

When I asked one of the young gardeners how many they had planted he wasn’t sure, but said they require a lot of hard work to keep them in the good condition they are in.

I said I was not surprised as my own collection of about 15 roses took enough time to prune and tidy.

We made our way to the church for the three o’clock sitting of the very informative talk all about the church and it’s wonderful paintings by Thomas Parry and enjoyed the organ recital, which of course included a playing of ‘Jerusalem’ whose words were penned by William Blake and put to music by Hubert Parry.

All the voices raised in singing this lovely song quite stirred the emotions and we happily made our way back to the main lawn for the cutting of the Centenary Cake, which looked delightful, and which was washed down by a glass of Elderberry fizz.

The sun shone, the roses smelt divine, the garden looked a treat and it is difficult to think of anything that could have made for a better afternoon, so thank you Gloucestershire Federation for planning this event.