New chairman for Scottish Women's Rural Institutes
The new National Chairman of the Scottish Women’s Rural Institutes (SWRI) is sounding a rallying call to women across the land to keep up the momentum behind a resurgence of interest in the organisation. Isobel Robertson, a stalwart member of the Madderty Scottish Women’s Rural Institute, which is part of the Perth and Kinross Federation, says her first few weeks in the role have highlighted just how many women want to join the SWRI and share in its values of education, companionship and fun. Mrs Robertson is keen to attract new blood to the organisation during her three year tenure, and wants show that ’the rural’ is just as relevant to women in 2011 as it was when it was founded almost a century ago.
Mrs Robertson has had a hectic start to her post, attending numerous events including Gardening Scotland and the Royal Highland Show. She says, ’What came through loud and clear at those events was that an awful lot of women want to join and they had already been on our website or made enquiries with their local Institute. We also have a new Institute about to start up in North Queensferry, so all the signs are looking very positive. Most of the enquiries are coming for ladies in their 50s and 60s who have found themselves at a time in their lives where they want to meet people and learn new skills. What we are hearing is that many ladies did not have the opportunity to learn domestic science at school because it was stopped, and the word is getting out that the SWRI is a place they can go to learn many of these skills.
’SWRI offers something for everybody. If ladies don’t like baking, cooking or sewing, then there are plenty of other things that will interest them, like sports, music and art. For many ladies the thing that is most important about SWRI is the companionship and the chance to make friendships. New members will be made most welcome at every Institute.’
Mrs Robertson was President of Madderty SWRI and is also a past Vice President. She was Chairman of the Strathearn group of Perth and Kinross Federation, and was Federation Chairman. Mrs Robertson has a number of interests outwith SWRI, including the Church of Scotland Guild and Perth Amateur Operatic Society. Sewing and baking are her first loves, but the opportunity to develop new skills is what has fired her passion for SWRI over many years.
’My motto is that life is not a rehearsal. If you do not take the chance to go and do something when you get it, the opportunity passes you by and you may not get the chance again,’ she says. ’I love SWRI because I look forward to a challenge: when the new syllabus for the year ahead is made up I love to see what I am going to be able to learn. Sometimes you might like it, sometimes you might not, but you always want to come back next time and try again.’
The next major event in the SWRI calendar is the Summer School which takes place at Kilgraston School in Bridge of Earn from August 15 to 19 2011. Topics lined up for the 70 ladies attending the residential school are photography, art for beginners, singing for fun, hand patchwork and a modern approach to smocking.
Scottish Women’s Rural Institutes (SWRI) is one of the largest women’s organisations in Scotland and celebrated its 90th birthday in 2007. It boasts around 20,000 members, in 33 Federations throughout Scotland, from as far north as Shetland to Wigtownshire in the South West.
