WI PRESS REPORT – A VERY “BATTY” MEETING 28TH APR 2011

Members were visibly delighted to be welcomed by Co-president Connie Welton on her return after an illness. Jerusalem was sung with gusto. The minutes were read by our dedicated secretary Helen Skelton. The business included forward planning for our 90^th birthday celebrations, a collection of statistics from WI treasurers to support our concern about the proposed removal of the cheque system and delivery of our Cheshire Show entries of which there is a healthy number. Volunteers offered help in filling the plant pots outside the Village Hall and the Treasurer’s report included a list of the amazing prizes in this year’s WI raffle.

Ged Ryan from the Cheshire Bat Society spoke to us about “British Bats”. We heard that bats probably started as mice about 90million years ago and that bat fossils have been found dating back 55 million years! He told us that they are the only mammals with true flight and went on to explode the myth – “Blind as a bat” by telling us that their black and white vision is in fact very good and explaining the complicated and very accurate echo-location they use as a sort of radar “sight”. We heard about many types of bat including the smallest: the Pipistrelle which is no bigger than a thumb and the Brown Long Eared which has secondary ears giving it phenomenal hearing. We heard how bats breast-feed their massive “pup” after 5 weeks gestation and how their heart rate drops from 1000 beats per min to 20 during hibernation. It was fascinating to learn about the many different species of bat and about current research which is using bats to better understand the way that sound travels.

The wonderful cakes and brownies were made and served by Angela Eccles and Judy Wienholdt and much enjoyed by members and speaker. The flowers were to be sent to Jean Irlam who had recently fallen ill. The next meeting will be on 26^th May when Peter Braun will talk about “Dunham Massey: Royal Connections”.