Mindfulness and Meditation

For the New Year we were joined by Selina Welter, who taught us some basic meditation techniques. Selina spoke about her experiences with meditation and her preferred techniques as well as the many benefits of meditation. She talked us through some exercises, centering around concentrating on our breathing.

It was undoubtedly one of our quietest sessions, but everyone certainly felt the difference at the end. A lovely way to start 2019!

Selina has kindly provided us with a document covering what she talked us through. Thank you, Selina!

Coffee Brewing

Clare Malyon from the University’s Food and Drink team showed us how to brew the perfect cup of coffee. Clare shared her tips for brewing with a chemex and an aeropress, and how to get the best taste possible from our morning coffees.

We learnt the three T’s of brewing coffee – temperature, time and turbulence - and could certainly taste the difference in the coffees that Clare prepared. Many thanks to Clare!

Indian Block Printing

This month we were very lucky to be led by Anne, our Assistant Secretary, in trying out some Indian Block Painting.

Anne brought in a selection of her fabric paints and Indian block stamps, and we all had a go at decorating our own tote bags. There’s definitely a knack to it, but we were all really pleased with our designs and finished bags! Thank you, Anne!

Dutch Flower Markets & Flower Arranging

Our fabulous session this month was with Julia Mitchell who talked about her change of career to become a florist, the details about the auction houses in Holland, the benefits and advantages of buying fresh cut flowers from florists or direct growers, rather than the machine manufactured flowers you get at the supermarket.

You could tell she puts plenty of TLC into each flower arrangement, as you can see from the simple but beautiful arrangement she put together while talking to us. Thank you Julia.

Guide Dogs

In this session we were joined by Kevin and Frank on behalf of Guide Dogs, and Kevin’s guide dog Freddie. Kevin told us about his experience with losing his sight, and how much Freddie has changed his life, thanks to the support of Guide Dogs. We learned more about the National Breeding Centre in Leamington, how the dogs are trained, and just how in demand they are, with hundreds of people on waiting lists for many months.

There are many ways to support Guide Dogs, whether that be homing a puppy before it starts its training, sponsoring a puppy, or volunteering some time. Find out more on the Guide Dogs webpage.

Many thanks to Kevin, Frank and Freddie, and we will certainly be including Guide Dogs in our future fundraising efforts.

Christmas Chocolate Craft

We were joined by Graham Crump, Warwick's Group Executive Chef, and Mary Fry, a Chef de Partie who specialises in chocolate craft, for some tips on working with chocolate. Graham and Mary showed us a range of skills and tricks, and we learned the importance of tempering chocolate correctly for the perfect 'snap'! Then, we were lucky enough to sample some of the creations, and ended the evening with some chocolate and wine pairings that will be perfect over the festive season!

Meeting Our new Provost, Chris Ennew

In October, our new Provost, Chris Ennew, joined us to talk about her career. It was great to meet Chris, and to hear about her experiences in the workplace so far.

Decorating Cupcakes

Our very own Secretary, Sharon McGladrigan, gave us her top tips on baking and decorating the perfect cupcake. After a brief talk and detailed demonstration from Sharon, we all had a go at piping buttercream and using delicate decorations to create our own delicious cupcakes. Many thanks to Sharon for sharing her secrets with us!

Warwick in Africa

In March 2016 we welcomed Matthew and Christina, students who had been to Africa with the Warwick in Africa programme. They told us about their time teaching English and Maths to students in Tanzania, and the impact that the programme has had to schools and students across Africa.

We later donated to the programme, and received a wonderful letter from the Development Office thanking us, and giving more information of the recent work the programme has achieved.