So, in the same way as we are seeing 2021 come to an end, so has my tenure as President at Southport Scarlets run out and I am sure they have been equally exciting. 

Who would have thought that the me who started out making the tea and who wasn’t even allowed to take the biscuit tin home would end up as being President for 5 years, only after I had worked my way through bring treasurer and secretary, and I have to say I made a dreadful treasurer. 

Those 5 years were filled with challenges and excitement, trying new things and occasionally pushing myself outside my comfort zone, and you all came with me. We visited the Euro zone with Eurovision and India with a fantastic session on how to wear Saris, we defended ourselves and tried out tai chi, we went back in time with Lucy the Tudor and the infamous knicker lady. I can only imagine the look on my face when she began pulling out all her farming implements, until she explained that her talk was not about underwear, and we ate chocolate and tried Karens far too nice gin. 

And then Covid-19 came and we were curtailed but not stopped when our talks moved onto zoom and further away, with a talk on witches and ancient monuments, upcycling and eco products and finishing off with hats. These were topped up with meetings in a bag and extra competitions to keep everything going. 

There has also been fun outside our own group with workshops and talks from Lancashire and then Denman and Lancashire at home and the WI Wanderers, more than enough to keep everyone going. 

So, an eventful 5 years during which I have learned much and I hope I keep on learning. 

Congratulations to our new President, Elaine Foster, and I wish her and the new committee luck with taking Southport Scarlets on into the future. 

Emma x