Village organisations

Stedham Women's Institute

The first thing you should know about Stedham W.I. is that they don't take themselves too seriously.  "Our meetings are usually great fun", they say.  "It's a great way to meet people, make friends and catch up on the gossip."

That's three good reasons for attending, and of course they always have a speaker, covering all manner of topics, and the afternoon finishes with tea and what they like to call "social time".

Stedham Women's Institute, which was founded in December 1918, was one of the founding Institutes of the Sussex Federation of Women's Institutes, the first federation to be formed.

An important part of the W.I. is the sending of a delegate to the Annual County and National meetings to debate and support the "Resolutions".  These give NFWI and WSFWI mandates to lobby Parliament (and other appropriate organisations) on matters of concern.

They meet on the third Wednesday of the month in the Memorial Hall.  They take part in activities, both physical and mental, with West Sussex and the local Group of Stedham, Midhurst and Bepton W.I.s.  They also have a number of thriving sub-groups, namely a book group, a knit and natter group and a very flexible walking group - sometimes no further than from the pub car park to the pub.  During 2005 the walkers covered the 67miles of the Serpent Trail.

And they always welcome new members.

Link to the: Stedham WI Website

Stedham with Iping Horticultural Society

Regular talks & demos on plants and gardening related matters suitable for all levels of interest and activity.  Visits to open gardens, NGS sponsored, and RHS Wisley.  Periodic plant growing competitions, annual Plant Sale and traditional Village Flower & Vegetable Show.

Contacts

Treasurer & Membership Secretary: Shirley Rosser, Rosser733@btinternet.com

Nature and History Group

Within yards of the bustling traffic of the A272, this was a delightful surprise - wild orchids, the early purple and the common spotted.

It was a great find for the group because there are so few wild orchids left.  They've had some other pleasing finds: the dodder, a tiny parasitic plant with pink flowers, growing up heather; the insectivorous sundew which consumed insects which fall on its sticky hairs; and Dartford warblers on the common.

The group started about five years ago when a small number of people got together to conduct a local habitat survey.  This involved many afternoons walking the parish armed with maps and field guides.

The South Downs Joint Committee have provided them help and guidance, firstly from Bruce Middleton and now from Jenny Lynch, who is helping one enthusiastic and computer literate member to put our findings on to a computer.  When this stage is completed, the map will be available to provide a basis for other environmental projects and copies will go to Chichester District Council and the South Downs Joint Committee.

An ongoing project is to survey hedgerows in the parish and we have also had many interesting walks looking at the local flora.  We are hoping to incorporate some historical activities into our meetings and so far have interviewed several long-term residents of Stedham with a view to comparing life in the village in the past with life today.

The group meets on the second Tuesday of the month at 2pm.  Information from Christine Dicks on 8122038.

Midhurst Writers' Group
We are a small, friendly, mixed group for anyone with an interest in writing - whether short stories, poems or novels. Some of us have been published already, some publish their work as e-books, others just write for their own pleasure.

We meet on Monday evenings, from 7.30 to 9.30, in the Memorial Hall, Stedham. New faces are always welcome, so please do drop in and say hello; if you would like to tell us you're coming, just call our Chairman Bob Berry on 01730 814005 and he will be ready to introduce you to the others.

This is our website which gives more information on the year’s programme and members: http://midhurst-writers-group.webs.com