WI welcomes blood biker to hear about their valuable work
Cannock WI welcomed Chris Hyde of Shropshire Staffordshire and Cheshire Blood Bikers who offered an insight into his organisation’s valuable work. Chris has been a blood biker for around 10 years and has covered most of the roles necessary to its operation.
Surprisingly, the amount of blood transported by motorcycle is relatively small as the NHS has developed its own systems since Blood Bikers began in 1962. These days, the volunteers are more likely to be asked to deliver spare parts for broken equipment, tissue samples, medical notes, bone marrow and faecal matter transplants: just don’t ask! They also collect breast milk from nursing mothers for use by premature babies.
Their bikes are, these days, supplied by the charity and are designed for the purposes of the job they do.
We were fascinated to discover that the bikes are named for people significant to the service, and that there is even one called “Lady Denman”, a founder Chairman of the WI, in honour of the funds raised by WI members to purchase a bike.
Members were updated on arrangements for outings arranged to the theatre in Lichfield in November and a pantomime in Birmingham in January and given advance notice of a holiday in Eastbourne planned for next summer. There were also reminders of the county Carol Service and a county Christmas event at Stafford Showground in November.
November 14 is a craft themed meeting with members invited to make Christmas wreaths. There is also an informal ‘mid-month-meet-up’ for refreshments at The Barns, Huntington on the fourth Thursday of the month at 11am. Visitors are welcome at either or both events where they can discover more about what the WI has to offer - no booking required.
WI always welcomes visitors to discover more about us on the second Thursday of each month at St Luke’s Church Hall. Meetings begin at 10.30am with refreshments, followed by a speaker, practical demonstration, or an activity and usually ends with a raffle.
For further information about Cannock WI, email: cannockwi@gmail.com, visit thewi.org.uk/staffordshire or facebook.com/oakleafstlukes
By Jill Gooch - Contributor
