Great Bookham Belles WI

13/08/2026

A fabulous way to end our meetings, with a Summer Social and Pimm’s on the lawn! 🍹

What an amazing year it’s been so far, from our Women in Business events and mudlarking along the Thames to inspiring speakers and our wonderful Summer Charity Concert with Nicola Benedetti 🎶

A huge thank you to every single Belle who made it so memorable and to the Committee for their relentless hard work making it all possible 💕

We are so looking forward to our autumn meetings and making many more memories, sharing fun, friendship and fellowship along the way! x

30/07/2026

🎶 What an unforgettable and magical event! 🎶

Our charity concert in aid of East Surrey Domestic Abuse Service (ESDAS) featuring the phenomenal talent Nicola Benedetti was a great success. Nicola played some truly exceptional pieces for us. Beyond her incredible music, she brought such warmth and grace to the event, leaving everyone in the room completely captivated. She also generously spoke about her life, her passion for the violin, and her dedication to bringing music education to young people through the Benedetti Foundation (benedettifoundation.org)

Guests enjoyed a delicious afternoon tea provided by Stephen at Stoves Dining (stovesdining.co.uk) and our audience generously supported the raffle, which featured wonderful prizes donated by local businesses.

A huge thank you to Nicola for being so remarkably generous with her time and talent, to Amanda Edge for making it happen, to everyone who attended and bought raffle tickets, and to the Committee and Belles for all the hard work putting on this unique and memorable event. Together we raised valuable funds for East Surrey Domestic Abuse Service (ESDAS) 💜

Our wonderful local business supporters:
✨ Cavendish French
✨ Denbies Wine Estate
✨ The Plough, Effingham
✨ Tesco Leatherhead
✨ Dobbe’s Nursery and Florist
✨ Porky Whites
✨ The Old Plough Cobham
✨ Indigo Stripes (indigostripes.co.uk)
✨ The Old Crown oldcrowngreatbookham.com/
✨ Laytons Greengrocers

📸 Swipe through to see photos from this spectacular afternoon!

01/07/2026

01/07/2026

A wonderful and informative trip to Hampton Court, thank you to Surrey Federation of Women's Institutes for organising and to all the 'Out and About' Belles who joined on the day 😊

26/06/2026

We were delighted to welcome author Louise Moorish to our last meeting to give a talk about the female secret agents of Special Operations Executive (SOE).

Her fictional books are based on extensive research of real secret agents and tell the most interesting and inspiring stories about these incredible and often unknown women.

Everyone was engaged from start to finish as Louise is such a natural and funny speaker and was so generous with her time. We look forward to welcoming Louise back again in the future with another of her talks.

https://louisemorrish.com/

01/06/2026

Find the link 🔗 below and in the comments to buy your tickets! Don’t miss out 🎻 Nicola Benedetti Charity Concert & Afternoon Tea.

Sunday 26th July 2026 | 2:30-5pm | Manor Farm, Tithe Barn, Bookham

https://www.trybooking.com/uk/events/landing/114105

30/05/2026

- thank you sharing your knowledge and treasures and for guiding us along the foreshore 🙏 A wonderful trip mudlarking on a gloriously sunny day

https://thames-explorer.org.uk/guided-tours/

😂

21/05/2026

We were delighted to welcome Hayley Scott from The Forensic Experience to speak earlier last month. A former Crime Scene Investigator, Hayley worked alongside the Police and was also based at the airport, bringing a unique and wide-ranging perspective to her work. With 14 years of experience and over 10,000 crime scenes attended, she shared truly fascinating insights into the world of forensics.
Her talk was engaging, entertaining, and absolutely captivating from start to finish, we were all completely absorbed by her real-life stories and hands-on approach to crime scene investigation.

https://forensicexperience.com/

21/05/2026

We welcomed Andy Relf to our May meeting to hear his talk on The History of Plastic Surgery and the Advances Made Since World War I.
The talk explored how plastic surgery developed out of necessity during and after the First World War, when surgeons were faced with treating soldiers who had suffered extremely complex and life-changing injuries. It was interesting to hear how this difficult period became the starting point for many of the techniques that would later shape modern reconstructive surgery.
Andy then guided us through the key developments over the past century, highlighting how the field has evolved from early skin grafting methods to today’s highly advanced microsurgery and facial reconstruction techniques. He also touched on how ongoing medical and technological progress continues to improve outcomes for patients, both functionally and aesthetically.
Overall, it was an informative and engaging session that gave a clear sense of how far the specialty has come, and how much of current practice is built on innovations that began over a hundred years ago.

26/03/2026

We were absolutely delighted to welcome back Lindsey Dixon-Barrell and hear all about her journey into mindfulness, and her now very popular Facebook group. Her story was both inspiring and uplifting. Lindsey shared how her path into mindfulness grew from personal challenges and a real desire to support others with their wellbeing. Drawing on her own experiences, she has developed a warm and practical approach to helping people manage their mental health, build confidence and navigate life’s ups and downs.

The Pink Dragonfly's Marvellous Mindfulness:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1725676387724812/

https://www.facebook.com/lindsey.d.barrell