Activities

2026

October 2026

Behind the scenes at the Theatre Royal - Stephen Moody

Stephen works at the theatre Royal as a duty manager which carries a huge amount of responsibility. The theatre is the 2^nd Oldest in the UK. Stephens list of talents and jobs is endless, Tour Guide, Bury in Bloom, Bury Society, BBC retail analyst, Bury Tourist info the list was endless.

Stephen gave us a potted history of the development of the Theatre; it's a Georgian and regency design and is a very precious theatre. The theatre today is very different of years gone by, the dress circle was for the gentry although much more cramped than now, the Upper was for a better middle class although it was rife with oyster sellers and prostitutes! The gallery was for the poor with standing room. Very cramped and smelly.

Most shows lasted about 6 hours opening at 9 for at least 6 hours.

In 1834 Queen Victoria allowed the theatre to be a "Royal".

In 1920 it was bought by Greene King and closed in 1925 when it was used as a barrel store. Fundraising began in 1961 and was officially re opened in 1965.

There are reports of ghosts, Stephen said when he has to lock up it can be a scary as the wood moves and creaks.

The panto is by far the best seller and makes up a third of the year's income. There are many groups at the theatre inc summer school, youth theatre, act your age workshops.

Stephen went on to tell us about some of the names that have performed there Ken Dodd, Michael Parkinson , the 2 Ronnies far too many to mention, he did tell us of a few that had "ideas" above their station but I think his favourites were Dame Judy Dench and Joanna Lumley who think he had a soft spot for.

Did you know it's bad luck to whistle on a stage and showing you, the ropes comes from sailors who were employed to move the scenery.

Absolutely fascinating and a good speaker

September 2026 - GALLOPS GROUP MEETING

The Gallops Group Meeting was hosted jointly this year by Chevington and Wickhambrook following the sad closure of Dalham and Gazeley.

40+ ladies from Chevington, Wickhambrook, Risby and Newmarket attended the meeting. Our speaker was Amanda Sutherland who gave a very lively talk called "Make Do & Mend": She demonstrated ways to adapt everyday clothing from worn and badly fitting garments into exciting and unique fashion pieces. She had bought along a selection of her goods for sale including hats, gloves, jewellery which was well support by our ladies.

We had a one minute highlight presentation from each WI giving us an insight to what had been happening around the region over the past year. The competition for a decorated hat (judged by Amanda) was won jointly by Newmarket and Wickhambrook - both entries being modelled by a member and having a story linked to it. Well done everyone.

Refreshments of delicious homemade cake and biscuits were served and much appreciated whilst we had the opportunity to chat with our fellow members.

The Raffle was drawn and invitation issued by Risby who will be host for the meeting next year.

GROUP MEETING 1 HAT

August 2026

This month, Chevington WI welcomed Men's Shed to their meeting to talk about the power of belonging to a group, working together to share or learn new skills, and improving mental health and forming friendships - and it's open to women too!

June 2026

Earlier this month, Chevington WI had Geologist Andrew Moncrieff entertain them with his chilling (and thrilling tales) of his Antarctic adventures

Did you know...

Explorers once wore hessian underpants to keep warm.

The toilet was a hole in the snow.

Each trip can last seven months.

Every day is a learning day at the WI

April 2026

Chevington WI recently had an amazing speaker, Heather Tilbury Phillips who worked with Mary Quant

Heather worked in a variety of Marketing and PR roles before starting to work with Mary Quant as director of Mary Quant limited in the 1970. She regaled tales of Mary's business acumen and her famous Vidal Sasson five-point bob!

Heather went on to curate the Mary Quant exhibition at the V&A in 2019. She had a huge amount of praise and admiration for Mary, not only for her contribution to fashion but also her attitude to women, encouraging them to have fun and lead their lives to the full.

What an inspiring speaker who worked with an equally inspiring woman who changed the world of fashion

March 2026

Tom Bridge and his mother Caroline were introduced by the President and entertained us with their adventures during the television programme 'Race Around the World' which was filmed between October 24th and December 24th 2024 and which they won.
Caroline opened the talk and switched with Tom throughout explaining that she, after various downsizing and re-organising of her life, found that she was suffering from 'empty nest syndrome' now that children had left home and she had more time. She had often watched the programme and felt she would really like to have a go and she persuaded Tom to accompany her and they
applied.
They did not meet all the teams until they reached Checkpoint two having worked their way up from last to fourth position, a situation which they improved upon as they went along. They found China difficult to negotiate as the signs were all in Chinese with no translations except in the very large towns and it is a ticketless society and they only had cash so had to cajole people despite the
language barrier into buying their tickets for them in return for cash. They loved Nepal for its peacefulness, good manners and tranquillity which was in total contrast to China. Again India was a complete culture shock with no traffic system everyone just aims for where they want to go and mind the elephant and cow! People were friendly and helpful again in contrast to China.
The logistics of making such a programme are huge (I.e. needing seventy hotel rooms at the start point for the different crews and teams taking part which gradually reduces as people are sent home), transport for the crew, translators and so on.
Caroline and Tom were the only mother and son to have won the programme and they also made the best use of the budget they had. When asked would they do it again there was a resounding yes!

Race Across The World 2025 winners Caroline and Tom stand smiling with their arms raised in the air

February 2026

This month, Chevington WI learnt lifesaving skills with Samaritans Volunteer, Simon de Laat

Showing their support for our Bystanders Can Be Lifesavers campaign, the Chevington ladies learnt how to give CPR correctly on an Annie doll and how to use a defibrillator.

CPR

December 2025

Linda Crighton, President of Chevington WI made the cork wreath from this month's WI Life

Using what she already had at home, she adapted the design to her own interpretation.