A great tour of Portland College. We were met by Jordan Booth who treated us to coffee and the story of how Portland College has emerged from a facility for injured servicemen after the war to the huge and complex College it is today

Fundraising manager Robert Pearce then took over and showed us some of the new projects they are working on

This is the the theatre which is also used as a gym. Court markings appear like magic on the glass floor to go with whatever game is being played. – badminton, basketball etc

The Woodland trail and Adventure Zone is fully accessible to all and members of the public are welcome to use it.

The weather was very kind to us and the rain stopped long enough to enjoy a walk through the woods past the therapy donkeys and the peaceful garden of remembrance

A wonderful time was enjoyed by 8 members from the Mansfield Club attending the IIW Convention at Manchester. The organisation was truly superb starting with the Meet & Greet of our fellow members from around the world enjoying an afternoon tea together. We were all presented with a generous bag of goodies.

The Opening Ceremony was a delight with speeches ,candle lighting, flags, dancers and choirs. The IIW President Trish welcomed everyone with her usual genuine warmth and enthusiasm

Her chosen theme was Shine a Light for which we were all presented with a little candle.

The Friendship Evening Dinner took place in several historic venues throughout Manchester the organisation of which, must have been immense.

Yvonne with two lovely Inner Wheel ladies from Uganda on her table at the Centenary Roaring Twenties Gala Dinner.

The final Roaring 20’s Gala Dinner was spectacular in every way with wine provided on every table. Music with glamorous dancing girls, feathers and pearls and sequined dresses were the order of the evening. All this and the ladies from around the world in traditional dress was a wonderful sight to behold.

A lunch was provided each day during business sessions. All very efficient.

Then came the Closing Ceremony conducted by our IIW President the very glamorous Trish Douglas wearing a colourful long silk dress sweeping across the stage introducing the Brass Band with Scottish & Irish Dancers and closing speeches.

The President for 2024/5 was introduced with her committee and the next Convention in 3 years’ time will be held in Manila in the Philippines.

It looks like a good time was had by all.

Veronica and Ray Malkowski put together a great evening for us to celebrate St George’s Day this year. Ray plays the saxophone in the Dukeries Community Wind Band and he invited them along to Ravenshead Village Hall to entertain us.

The musicians played tunes from shows and films that had us tapping our feet and singing along. And to finish off we had some flag waving classics from the last night of the proms.

Members were generous with their donation of raffle prizes and Claire worked hard at selling those tickets which gave and great boost to the funds collected. We decided that REACH was the local charity that we would support and a cheque will be presented to them soon.

There were lots of family and friends at the event and everyone enjoyed a supper organised by Dain and James: puddings of course provided by the Inner Wheel Ladies.

Thanks to Veronica and Ray and all those who worked hard to make it such a great night out.

Margaret Wilson Chaired our April meeting where we watched a presentation by Jordan Booth from Portland College. In spite of used the college as a venue for many years we learnt a lot about the breadth of facilities available to clients from all over the country.

Margaret presented a cheque to Jordan as a donation towards ongoing projects at the college.

Dain arranged one of her Coffee and Chat get-togethers and lots of people turned up to Coco’s on Nottingham Road in Mansfield and had a jolly good time.

11 members of the Inner Wheel Club of Mansfield enjoyed the afternoon tea at the Hostess Restaurant together with members of other clubs in District 22. As the entertainment Notty Hornblower introduced us to fashion through the decades from 1924 to 2024.

To celebrate the 100 anniversary of Inner Wheel, District Area Overseas Coordinator, Elaine had pledged to collect in enough items to put together 100 baby bundles before the end of our Inner Wheel year. Here are some great photos taken by Margaret Thomas and Marie Hollingsworth to show how the task was completed.

Everything was well organised before the arrival of the workers

Marie, Veronica Ilean and guest Yvonne put everything together in record time.

Joan, Elizabeth, Ann and Jennifer knitting to produce more blankets.

Margaret C, Pauline, Margaret W, Joan and Yvonne cut stamps to be sold to raise money for Overseas Projects.

Elaine produced a delicious lunch and homemade cakes.

Next year’s Club Overseas Organiser, Hazel adds the final touches of labelling the bags.

And there they are – all packed and labelled and ready to be delivered the the Nottingham Police Aid Charity to be distributed to places worldwide that other NGOs can’t reach.

Dain Pinder organised our February meeting and got us to get all togged out in our own Little Black Dresses. We were treated to a presentation from the National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh.

Yvonne in her mother in laws original 1960s creation which still looks as classy today.

Another great evening. Thank you Dain for sharing your trip to the exhibition with us.

This is the video we were unable to play which shows us how the women who make LBDs in Bangaldesh imagine the women who wear their clothes to be like.

Elaine Campin opened her home and provided delicious refreshments to members to celebrate 100 years since the creation of Inner Wheel in Manchester in 1924

Hazel and Elizabeth helping Elaine to make sure everyone had a great time.

Jenny Burroughes invited the team from Your Health Your Way to give us a demonstration of how easy it is to insert some activity into your daily routine.

Here’s Jenny with Lee Slack from the Notts Integrated Well-being Service. Lee talked about the service and Mhairi led us through some exercises that seemed simple but toned up the muscles more than you would realise.

Great way to get a bit of exercise on these cold winter days when walks in the park don’t seem that appealing. Well done Jenny.