DEREK Grimston gave a PowerPoint® presentation to the members of Andover Afternoon WI on a river cruise he and his wife had enjoyed a few years ago.

They flew to Budapest in Hungary where they boarded the Emerald Star on the River Danube. The ship was specially built to fit the locks on these waterways, including a height adjustable navigation bridge. It had all mod cons with restaurants, a walking track and a three-hole putting green on the top deck!

Every day or so the ship would dock at a different city for sightseeing tours, shopping or culture. From Budapest they sailed to Bratislava in Slovakia, then to Vienna, Dürnstein and Melk, all in Austria, then to Passau, Regensburg, Kelheim, Nuremberg, Bamberg, Würzburg, Miltenberg, Rüdesheim, Koblenz and Cologne — all in Germany.

Due to very low water levels, the ship could not sail past Brandstatt. The passengers had to pack their bags and travel by coach across the Austria-Germany border to the Emerald Sky, an identical sister ship, at Kelheim.

Places of interest included the Rhine Gorge, the Abbey at Melk and the infamous Nuremberg Rally Grounds. The WI members enjoyed the many other historic sights presented via slides and a video featuring the bells of the carillon in Passau. Another highlight was the Rhine /Main / Danube Canal traverse over the European Watershed (1,332 feet above sea level) through 16 locks and a lock bridge designed to be lowered so a boat could steer directly on to it.

The last leg of the cruise was more industrial but was brightened by a gala night on board. After 14 days, 1,200 miles, 18 trips ashore and two cruises on smaller vessels, the ship sailed into Amsterdam at sunrise. Here the trip finished with a day’s sightseeing and a good night’s sleep before flying home. Why ‘from B to A’? The cruise sailed from Budapest to Amsterdam!

Later in the month several members joined members from other local WIs for a speaker selection day held at the Fairground Hall, Weyhill. They heard eight potential new speakers who were auditioning for inclusion in the Hampshire County Federation of Women's Institutes’ (HCFWI) speakers list. Some of the speakers were good, others less so. At the conclusion of both the morning and afternoon sessions the comments sheets were collected. Information gained will decide which speakers are successful in their attempts.

Those present in this part of Hampshire discounted some because their travel costs would be too much for small WIs to afford, but they would be quite acceptable in other areas of the county. Those present enjoyed their day and the opportunity to influence which speakers are selected.

The president of Charlton WI welcomed everyone to the meeting. She and another member had recently attended a machine embroidery workshop, and samples of their handiwork were handed around. Members were encouraged to attend if another course became available.

This WI’s skittles team is now in the semi-finals of the current skittles tournament, which will be held soon.

Details were announced for those knitting garments and blanket squares for children and adults in Syria.

There is to be a ‘Homeless Experience’ event in March, organised by HCFWI, and to be held at the Eastleigh Railway Institute. Some of the entry fees will go towards the homeless charity. Those going are asked to donate a useful gift for a homeless person.

Members are looking forward to their meeting in April when local MP Kit Malthouse will address them.

With WI business over, Jeremy Prescott gave a very moving talk with slides to a hushed audience on ‘Sacrifice and Remembrance: the Development and Role of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’. Jeremy’s aim is to ensure our dead servicemen are never forgotten and his talk with its plentiful statistics and pictures of headstones, graves and memorials, painted a vivid and painful picture of the casualties of war. Jeremy’s fee will be donated to the Combat Stress charity. Refreshments followed the talk, which was considered by many to be one of Charlton’s most interesting.

In February the members of Goodworth Clatford WI welcomed Paul Boissier, Chief Executive of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), to talk about the amazing work done by the charity to save lives in the waters around our shores, rescuing on average around 22 people a day.

But despite their best efforts over 650 lives in the UK and over 370,000 lives globally are lost to drowning each year. The majority of these deaths are young males between the ages of 15 and 40 and most of them are unnecessary and avoidable.

He talked about the RNLI's initiatives to raise awareness of the dangers of the sea, storms, rip tides and the particular risk of mixing coastal trips and alcohol, which so often results in tragedy.

It was a very thought provoking evening and made everyone realise the importance of raising awareness and understanding of the dangers faced when using the waters around the shores of these islands and how this could save so many young, innocent lives.

The Members were so inspired that they will be organising a visit the RLNI Headquarters in Poole.