Shane McMahon's Ass
09-25-2009, 07:12 AM
Members of a Women's Institute have become caught up in a row with local councillors - after complaints that they're singing Jerusalem too loudly.
The Beaminster WI was accused of making such a racket with their singing, laughing and talking over tea and cakes, that members of Beaminster Town Council - who meet in the same buiilding - are struggling to concentrate.
The two groups meet every third Monday evening in different rooms at Beaminster Town Hall in Dorset.
It came to light in a church newsletter which said a councillor had complained about the WI's 'raucous' behaviour.
Councillors are now being seated in the bottom half of their room to escape the noise.
Angela Seckington, 71, WI Beaminster president, played down the complaints and said: 'Two of our members are married to local council members.
'It's really a teasing thing that they said they would complain about all the noise we make singing Jerusalem. It's all a joke.'
She said: 'We meet in the larger of two halls in Beaminster and the councillors meet alongside us in the smaller hall.
'At the beginning of our meeting we do usually, but not always, sing Jerusalem. We don't think we sing in a raucous way. We suspect that is what Cherry Armstrong's husband had probably said - you raucous old ladies - but we aren't particularly old actually, or raucous.
'But we do have lively meetings because there's so much going on.'
The Beaminster WI has 75 members and formed 91 years ago.
The WI was formed in 1915 to revitalise rural communities and to encourage women to become more involved in producing food during the First World War. It is now the largest women's organisation in the UK with 205,000 members in 6,500 WIs.
The hymn Jerusalem is often used to start meetings because of its association with the suffragettes.
The Beaminster WI was accused of making such a racket with their singing, laughing and talking over tea and cakes, that members of Beaminster Town Council - who meet in the same buiilding - are struggling to concentrate.
The two groups meet every third Monday evening in different rooms at Beaminster Town Hall in Dorset.
It came to light in a church newsletter which said a councillor had complained about the WI's 'raucous' behaviour.
Councillors are now being seated in the bottom half of their room to escape the noise.
Angela Seckington, 71, WI Beaminster president, played down the complaints and said: 'Two of our members are married to local council members.
'It's really a teasing thing that they said they would complain about all the noise we make singing Jerusalem. It's all a joke.'
She said: 'We meet in the larger of two halls in Beaminster and the councillors meet alongside us in the smaller hall.
'At the beginning of our meeting we do usually, but not always, sing Jerusalem. We don't think we sing in a raucous way. We suspect that is what Cherry Armstrong's husband had probably said - you raucous old ladies - but we aren't particularly old actually, or raucous.
'But we do have lively meetings because there's so much going on.'
The Beaminster WI has 75 members and formed 91 years ago.
The WI was formed in 1915 to revitalise rural communities and to encourage women to become more involved in producing food during the First World War. It is now the largest women's organisation in the UK with 205,000 members in 6,500 WIs.
The hymn Jerusalem is often used to start meetings because of its association with the suffragettes.