CFWI Spring Council Meeting 29th March 2023
If you weren’t at the Winsford Academy on Wednesday 29th March then you missed a treat. Federation Chairman, Selina Prescott, introduced visitors from Lancashire, Staffordshire and Clwyd-Flint Federations, past Chairmen and CFWI members.
Standing orders were proposed and adopted and the record of last year’s meeting duly agreed and signed.
Two prize winning entries from the ‘Not in my Name’ campaign were on show; these from Leasowe and West Kirby WIs. They were beautiful and got over the message of the campaign in superb creative style.
Selina thanked the Board of Trustees for their support during her first year of office and welcomed Sue Bentley as a newly co-opted Trustee. Sue is taking over Public Affairs from Georgina Denny who has stood down after many years of service for which she was warmly thanked. She also welcomed Wendy Morris as a newly elected Vice-Chairman of CFWI.
Mitchell Charlesworth were appointed as Auditors for the next year.
Ann Beckett presented a detailed and meticulous Trustees’ Report and set of accounts. CFWI is in a good financial position despite a fluctuating market and recovery from the Covid pandemic.
Each sub committee chairman gave a report outlining their plans for future events and inviting members to consider joining a sub committee.
The Royal Cheshire Show was mentioned several times with members being encouraged to enter and / or volunteer as stewards, thus earning a free show ticket.
It was then on to the star attraction, and that is no exaggeration. Paul Whittaker was billed as ‘an inspiration speaker, musician, performer and workshop leader who is profoundly deaf.’ The description fell somewhat short of just how amazing Paul really is. He has been deaf from birth but not fully diagnosed until he was seven. He wanted to learn to play the piano but his mother (a doughty woman by all accounts) had difficulty in finding him a tutor. Eventually, success. Paul joined the church choir aged twelve and discovered the organ. Deciding that he would like to go to University, and why not?, Paul was turned down by Durham and a few others but got a place at Wadham College, Oxford who agreed to provide support for him. He then did a post graduate course at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Wow! His performing career started when he suggested that musicals should have signers to help deaf members of the audience. His first show was ‘Peter and the Wolf’ with Richard Stilgoe, then ‘Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat’, a venture he suggested to Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber.
During the evening he signed several songs to a taped recording. The first of these was ‘Love changes everything’ from Aspects of Love which had the Chairman of Lancashire Federation in tears. And so on and on.
He set up a charity ‘Music for the Deaf’ and has gone from strength to strength. He was awarded an OBE which he received from the Queen. Space prohibits a more in depth account of a super evening which saw both Jerusalem and the National Anthem being signed as well as sung and ended with the audience on its feet giving our Paul a well deserved standing ovation. Members were effusive in their praise of the evening and, following the raffle and closing remarks from Selina, went home in appalling weather but with huge smiles on their faces and great joy in their hearts.
Susan leicester
Vice Chairman
Paul sent this and we think his comments are so important we want to share them with you.
“I had a wonderful time with you all and, from conversations with some members as they left, realise that I did more than just speak and entertain.
One member told me about how she was thinking of withdrawing from her WI as she found communication increasingly difficult, but has now decided to remain and learn to deal better with her hearing loss.
Another said she wasn’t really wanting to come to the meeting as she had been struggling with depression, but left feeling very positive and uplifted.
It’s touching that people do share their stories with me. We never know what anyone is going through so if we can give them some happiness, some laughter and care and attention we’re doing a very valuable thing.”
Powerful words indeed.
