SOUTH YORKSHIRE FEDERATION OF WOMEN'S INSTITUTES
The WI Hub, Unit 6, M & M Business Park, Doncaster Road, Kirk Sandall, Doncaster DN3 1HR Email: southyorksfed@gmail.com Tel: 01302 579027
tHIS IS A LIST OF CURRENT SPEAKERS AVAILABLE TO SPEAK AT WI MEETINGS
CATHERINE TAGGART
Tel: 07771 177925
Email: cathycmj@gmail.com
Several talks available:-
DO CROCODILES REALLY CRY?
This talk is about the origins of idiom such as
'The Cat's got your tongue'.
FUNNY PLACE NAMES IN BRITAIN AND BEYOND
MOTIVES FOR MURDER - THE 4 L's
THE 1800's - THE WEIRD AND THE WONDERFUL
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 FOODS
THINGS YORKSHIRE GAVE TO THE WORLD
YORKSHIRE'S UNSUNG HEROES (AND HEROINES)
Cost of Talks - £50 + travel expenses (AA mileage calculator)
MIKE SMITH
Tel: 01430 431488 / 07866 259826
Email: mikesmith@mypostoffice.co.uk
www.mikesmithuk.net
MIKE'S RHYTHMIC RHYMING VARIETY
SHOW
An entertaining, original and participative show
by Mike Smith, with rhythmic rhyming stories
and jokes, songs, 'dollops' of nonsense - and the occasional wearing of wigs!
Cost - £1 per person attending (minimum 40), plus travel @ 20p per mile (from Howden, near Goole, East Yorkshire, DN14 7DU)
KEVIN LENNOX
Tel: 01302 851830 or 07443 639902
Email: kwlennox57@gmail.com
THE WONDERS OF THE WORLD
I offer 9 talks on exciting places I have visited:
New Zealand - South and North Islands
Western Canada including the Rockies National
Parks
California including Yosemite National Park
The Sun kissed Channel Islands
Switzerland – Mountains and Lakes
Swiss Riviera – Lake Geneva
Lake Constance, Germany
The Royal Borough of Greenwich
My talks cover:
Stunning scenery, majestic mountains & dramatic coastlines
Exotic wildlife, history, culture & lots of quirky bits
Images that will make you wish you were there!
Cost - £50 - £55
GILLIAN COSFORD
Tel: 07541 210341
Email: the.fimolady@gmail.com
Website: www.gillsclaycreations.com
EXPLORING THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF
POLYMER CLAY
I deliver engaging talks and demonstrations about
Polymer Clay, this showcases my creative process
techniques, sculpting methods, and surface details
Drawing on over 40 years of experience, I offer
clear, accessible insights into this fascinating and
versatile modelling material. It is a very 'hands-on' demonstration, where participants are encouraged to handle the clay samples.
I can also provide a mini 'make and take' workshop as part of the talk and demonstration or as a separate event. A fee per person will be charged... from £4.00
Greasbrough, Rotherham.
Cost - £50 + travel at 40p per mile from Greasbrough, Rothrham. If the venue is over 50 mins away the fee will be £65.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADVERTISE YOUR TALK OR PRESENTATION ON THIS PAGE, PLEASE CONTACT THE FEDERATION OFFICE ON 01302 579027 OR EMAIL southyorksfed@gmail.com
TREVOR VENNETT-SMITH
Tel: 079066 15173 or 01773 485153
Email: tvsmith202@yahoo.com
AUCTIONEERING - LIFE UNDER THE HAMMER
A light-hearted talk on my life & career, 1969 to
date, reference to Auctions, TV Shows, Postcards, Autographs, Sport and the like, with a few jokes and life-related happenings. The Talk last between 45 minutes to an hour. Valuation of paper collectables included!
Cost £55 including Travel, depending on distance, willing to attend at short notice.
JO GARNHAM-PARKS
Tel: 07921 855681
Email: info@chocolatesbydesign.co.uk
CHOCOLATE TALK & TASTING
We’re passionate about chocolate and we
love to share this! Our sessions are relaxed,
informative and interactive. We briefly talk
about how I first became a chocolatier and
then how cocoa beans become chocolate. I
know people are much more interested in eating rather than listening to me. This leads on to our first tasting of a minimum of 6 types chocolate, the good, the bad and the downright ugly. We like our sessions to be interactive so we’ll be discussing the tastes and textures of each and comparing them. We move onto how I create our chocolate both artistically and flavour wise. We present the science of how we experience flavours in a taste profile showing how I use this principle to create more unusual flavours in our ‘experimental’ range, a ‘chef’s choice’ collection of more unusual flavours such as lemon & thyme. We then have a second tasting of truffles from our dessert chocolates and our ‘experimental’ range, again drawing on participants views on how they find and experience the chocolate taste and texture.
Cost of Talk - WIs receive a discounted rate of £30. Mileage over 30 miles charged at 45p per mile. Use of projector and screen is useful but not essential. Often available at short notice.
We would like to be able to sell our products in return for reduced fee.
SPEAKERS
KATE McNEIL
Tel: 07958 917924
Email: kate@mcneilsmill.co.uk
BOXY & ME
Boxy & Me - A heart-warming tale of the bond
between a young woman and her bull. She was
his eyes when he suffered near blindness, fought
and won the battle in the High Court that saved
him from slaughter, unmasking what appeared
to have been a cover-up to a botched test in a government department, and together in the show ring they were an unbeatable team. This is the incredible, true and highly emotional story of the relationship that developed between a young woman, farmer's daughter Kate and her gentle giant bull, Boxy from a little rural village in Yorkshire. It is a heart-warming tale of their bond that would bring tears, laughter, joy and despair, hope and euphoria over a decade that saw the pair remain inseparable until Kate had to make a decision that she found the hardest of all.
Duration 45mins plus questions.
I use of a projector and screen that I can provide.
Fee is £65 plus travel @ 40p per mile from Haywood in Doncaster.
MARY SMITH
Tel: 07931 718532
Email: marysmithjones@hotmail.com
A SCHOOLGIRL'S WAR
This tells the story of school life during WW2 and
features the recently discovered and exquisite art work of a WW2 school art
teacher who set out to document in paint and pencil the lives of school children and their teachers as the war unfolded. I don't think there is a similar collection of paintings anywhere. Her work features in paint the disrupted schooling, air-raids, doodlebugs, and underground lessons in shelters which were experienced by so many children. The talk also features fascinating photos of the underground shelters where those lessons took place. The talk has been hugely popular, and I would be very happy to provide you with some examples of the artwork and with reviews I have received.
Cost of Talk - £75 (plus a small contribution to travel costs depending on distance)
JULIE ARNOLD
Tel: 07957 483420
Email: julie.arnold71@live.co.uk
PERSONAL COLOUR ANALYSIS AND STYLE
Finding the Right Colours for you!
Are you a Cool, Warm, Deep, Light, Soft or Clear?
Lets find out....
I will talk you through why it matters, and show
you with a quick demonstration using my colour
drapes and you will see for yourself what a
difference wearing the right colours makes to you.
A little history on the use of colour and how it can
affect how you feel and are seen.
Cost of Talk - from £85
GRACIE ARNOLD
Tel: 07857 483940
Email: gracie.arnold1234@gmail.com
BECOMING A YOUNG SHEPHARDESS
Ever wondered what it’s really like being a woman in
wellies, wrangling sheep and shearing wool for a living?
In this lively and hands-on talk, I’ll share my journey from
a young girl playing the harp to a full-blown shepherdess – mud, muscles, mishaps and all. I’ll chat about what it’s like carving out a space in the farming world as a woman, the history of the women out in the fields long before me , the future of agriculture, and why British wool (and the people behind it!) deserve a bit more love. You’ll also get to have a feel of different types of wool from various breeds I've sheared – so it’s not just a talk, it’s a bit of a show-and-tell too, bringing the countryside to life .
Cost - £65 for 45 minutes to an hour, with a Q&A session.
40p per mile travel from Thorpe-in-Balne, Doncaster. Sheep not included!
MIKE OGDEN
Tel: 07741 777768
Email: ogeewriter.mike@gmail.com
Website: www.mikeogdentalks.co.uk
Several talks available:-
1. HOTELS IN THE SKY - When airships were the future of air travel.
2. THE SLOW ROAD - A journey around England's inland waterways.
3. THE SEED OF KINGS- Tracing the bloodline of the British monarchy.
4. A PALACE BY A RIVER - A history and a tour of the Houses of Parliament.
5. THE SKY'S THE LIMIT- The story of the skyscraper.
6. BEYOND THE BLUE HORIZON- The Golden Age of air travel.
7. SHEFFIELD - AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY- A affectionate tribute to my home town,celebrating all things Sheffieldish.
Cost of Talks - 1-6: £65 Talk 7 £55 (introductory offer for 2026/27)
AMANDA CROSSLAND
Tel: 07941 637650
Email: amanda.crossland@gmail.com
UKULELE ADVENTURES
Join Amanda for an uplifting and
interactive session celebrating the power
of the humble ukulele and its ability to bring people together, combat the challenges of loneliness, and promote well-being!
The session explores Amanda’s own journey from non-player to live performer, festival organiser, and Director of The East Midlands Ukulele Project.
You’ll have the chance to learn a few simple chords, sing along, and play some fun songs together - no experience needed! Ukuleles will be provided, so come ready to strum, smile, and share in the joy!
Cost of Talk - £70 including travel
DIANNE FOX
Tel: 07836 240494
Email: difox2307@gmail.com
QUEEN OF THE ROAD (Adventures of a Female
Road Warrior)
My life on the road as a sales rep and the sexism and
mysogony I had to cope with along with lots of very
funny stores over 50 years!
Cost - £50 + travel at 45p per mile
MAX NORTON - HOGGNORTON FRUIT LIQUEURS
Tel: 07495 449002
Email: max@hoggnorton.co.uk
HOGGNORTON FRUIT LIQUEURS GROUP TASTER SESSION
Offer a fun and interactive tasting session of our fruit liqueurs, explaining how we make them, where we grow the fruit, what to do with them and then get everyone to make a Baby Guinness and try our Jammy Dodger and Red Bull shooter shots.
Cost of Talk - Completely FREE, we would just like to be able to sell our liqueurs at the end of the meeting/event.