Sullington Windmills WI

This month's meeting combined serious discussion with a warm and sociable atmosphere. Members gathered to consider and vote on two important resolutions:

1. Improving accessible public toilet facilities to promote dignity, health and social inclusion.

and

2. Taking action on women’s homelessness.

Both topics prompted thoughtful conversation, with members sharing views on the challenges faced by many people in everyday life and the need for practical support within communities.

The results of the vote will be taken by our delegate to the NFWI Annual Meeting on 4th June.

After the business of the evening, everyone enjoyed a relaxed social time together. As a special treat, the usual biscuits and tea were replaced with a delicious cream tea.

The evening ended with the raffle.

Members of Sullington Windmills WI enjoyed a delightful afternoon together at this year’s annual Spring Lunch, held at the beautiful West Sussex Golf Club.

A total of 24 ladies attended the event, coming together for a relaxed and sociable afternoon filled with conversation, laughter and excellent food. Guests were treated to a delicious two-course lunch followed by coffee, all enjoyed in the warm and welcoming surroundings of the club.

Seated across four tables, members had the opportunity to spend time catching up with friends and chatting with ladies they may not usually have the chance to speak with during regular monthly meetings. The event provided the perfect opportunity to relax and enjoy each other’s company away from the usual routine.

Of course, no WI gathering would be complete without a raffle, and there was plenty of excitement as prizes were drawn during the afternoon.

A huge thank you goes to all of the ladies who helped organise such an enjoyable and successful event.

Our book club had mixed feelings about 'The Time Machine' by H. G. Wells, with most members ultimately not enjoying it, though two readers were keen supporters.

Several people found the language overly verbose and archaic, which made the novel harder to engage with. Others felt the story travelled too far into the future, and wondered why the Time Traveller did not stay closer to his own time. Some members also commented that the plot and characters were not especially inspiring, and there was criticism of the Time Traveller’s rather selfish treatment of Weena’s friendship and devotion.

That said, the book sparked a lot of discussion.

Supporters praised it as thought-provoking, particularly in its exploration of class, evolution, and humanity’s future. The strange future world was appreciated for avoiding the typical high-tech sci-fi vision and instead presented something unsettling and original. Members also enjoyed the influence of Darwinism and social theory running through the novel.

Even those who disliked the reading acknowledged how remarkably ahead of its time it was and appreciated its importance as one of the very first works of its kind.

Many agreed that The Time Machine laid the foundation for countless later stories about time travel and dystopian futures, inspiring generations of science fiction writers and shaping the genre that followed.

Overall it was agreed that it was a worthwhile read.

The next book to be read will be '33 Women' by Isabel Ashdown.

This will be discussed on Friday 12th June 2026.