THE Sticklepath Womens' Institute has 'reinvented' itself as the Sticklepath Phoenix Group. This follows a unanimous vote at its January meeting to suspend members of the National Federation of Women's Institutes until further notice, subject to review. Angela Hammond, the former president of Sticklepath WI, said: 'The protest action was a last ditch attempt to communicate the strength of feeling against the way in which the national federation has handled the market research and projected implementation of a substantial increase in subscriptions tied to the revision of a compulsory membership magazine and membership data base. 'The local members are opposed to £350,000 of WI reserves being used to supplement the new magazine.' Mrs Hammond added that her fellow Sticklepath WI members felt that the WI hierarchy were out of touch with a membership such as theirs and no longer had any confidence in the present NFWI executive. The new Sticklepath Phoenix Group will continue to meet in the village hall on the second Tuesday of the month at 7.15pm with a diverse programme of speakers. They also organise skittles evenings and the occasional outing.
