Leighton Buzzard’s newest women’s group has welcomed a 48-year comeback.
Irene first joined the National Women’s Register when it was launched in 1970. Now she has re-joined to become a founder member again; this time of a second group which has been launched by the NWR in the town.
She loved her time with NWR in the 1970s, but left because she had a young family and a part-time job, and could no longer spare the time to go to meetings. She has remained friends with several of the original thirty members, including one who returned to the original NWR group in Leighton Buzzard a few years ago.
“I’m delighted to be back,” says Irene. She explained that she had an eye operation in August last year. Because she was told not to read, garden or do very much at all until she had fully recovered, she had a lot of time to think about her life. She decided that she wanted to broaden her horizons and meet new people. She thought back to her time in the 1970s with the NWR (then called the National Housewives Register) and wondered whether the organisation was still going. One of her fellow members from those days told Irene that she had joined it a few years ago and was very much enjoying being part of the group. Irene thought some more and, one day when she was out walking with her husband, they bumped into another couple and started chatting. Somehow the conversation got round to Irene’s aspirations. It turned out that the woman she was talking to was a very active member of NWR and persuaded her to come along and try a couple of meetings. This she did, and so, when she discovered that a second group was forming, she thought it would be fun to be part of that completely new group when everyone was getting to know each other at the same time, and, at the same time, she hopes that she will be able to give something back.
Since its launch three weeks ago, 11 have signed up to join the second NWR group in the town – Leighton Buzzard 2 (LB2).
Sixteen women came to the latest meeting on 13 February. They were a mixture of new members and others trying the group out for size. As NWR’s core is to discuss topics of interest, the group decided to talk about non-tech items they wouldn’t want to be without. Offerings included gadgets for getting lids off jars, to contact lenses, shoes, paper diaries and knitting needles. It was a lively discussion and maybe there will be knitting sub-group as a result of it. Several of the women who were there said they were going home to complete the on-line joining form.
The next meeting is at on 27th February at a town centre location. The discussion will be “I’ve Never Seen Star Wars’. The group will be asked to discuss what they’ve never done which most other people seem to have done.
For more information on the NWR and LB2, please go to https://nwr.org.uk/network/groups/leighton-buzzard-2/and click on Contact Leighton Buzzard 2 Group.
Alternatively email [email protected] and Heather, the Local Organiser, will contact you.