THE February meeting began with business matters.

Hopwood will host the spring group meeting and ideas have already been set in motion with a theme of restoration.

The annual council meeting takes place on March 22 and Peggy Mitchell will be the representative.

The main speaker of the day will be Nick Owen from BBC Midlands Today.

Hopwood will be joining Alvechurch and Hillside WIs to arrange outings of mutual interest. A sub-committee is being formed to plan entries for the annual Worcestershire craft fair. One of the guest speakers for the event will be a flower arranger. A craft day is also planned for Alvechurch in June.

Thanks were expressed to Ann Hudson for arranging the annual dinner. All who attended enjoyed an excellent meal. The skittles team had won both of their matches played in January.

With only a few hours notice, the speaker had to cancel due to business commitments. Secretary Doreen Springer nobly stepped into the breach with a talk about Sound Healing, a course she had attended at Denman College.

With examples of sounds and music, Doreen explained how these could help relieve stress. She also demonstrated how simple massage of certain pressure points would help. Finally, one of the biggest stress busters is laughter, which Doreen gave in abundance.

The next meeting is on March 3 when a representative from Customs & Excise, Birmingham Airport, will be the speaker.