BROMSGROVE historian and librarian Pat Tansell was the guest speaker at the January meeting of Fairfield WI.
She gave a talk on the History of Nail Making which centred around the traditional trade in Bromsgrove and the villages of Fairfield and Bournheath.
Nail making consisted of either a row of small cottages with a line of work units at the back for nail making or domestic cottages with a workshop on the end.
A lot of women did the nail making while the men were off doing other work. After her talk a vote of thanks was given to Pat by Shirley.
A spokesperson for the group said: “It was a fascinating topic and very enjoyable, time just flew by.”
The competition of a photograph of a Nail Makers Cottage was won by Beverly with Sheila finishing second.
As well as the presentation members also chose which WI resolutions they would like to support for the coming year and details were revealed of events happening over the coming months.
The next meeting will be a cheese and wine evening at 7.30pm on February 14 at the village hall.
It could be a busy time for members as at 1pm on that day there will also be Soup Club with Blackwell and Burcot WI.
Fairfield WI’s annual meal is booked for February 28 at The Gate, Bournheath.
The cost is £18 for two courses and it starts at 7.30pm.
Members were told about plans being in place for organising this year’s produce show in August. The first meeting will be on Wednesday, January 24.
Meriel reminded the women about the ‘A Year in our WI’ photography competition which sees photographs taken throughout the year.
The first photograph taken was of Beverly and Sheila receiving the Competition Cup for coming joint first.
Other events mentioned included the county quiz on April 26 at The Ark in Alvechurch where four-member teams will compete and the spring meeting in Pershore between 7pm and 9pm on April 30.
