Having been contacted by Lorrie Westwood from the Rosedale Abbey WI several months ago with regard to giving a presentation on the night sky, Mark was intruigued as to how much the ladies of the WI would know and how the evening would unfold.  Scheduled for April 14th, conditions were too light for any outdoor observations within the time frame of the event, however, cloud cover would have prevented this option anyway.  

The Rosedale WI meeting place - the Reading Room/Village Hall. (Click for full image)

The meeting took place at the Reading Room/Village Hall on Rosedale East Road. Keith and Mark arrived promptly after the 30-minute journey via Egton and Delves Road, where they were warmly received by our contact, Lorrie. The hall was welcoming, with tables arranged for the attendees and a pop-up screen, not dissimilar to our societies positioned at the front. Following introductions, Mark conducted scale demonstrations - with assistance from the audience, illustrating distances between various celestial bodies.  To accomplish this the inflatables and rubber balls were used.  Once the notion of vast stellar distances had been explored the subsequent segment focused on objects observable in the night sky during spring. 

Keith setting up the planetarium apps. (Click for full image)

The refreshment break followed, the ladies of the WI putting on a splendid spread consisting mini sausage rolls, sandwiches, pastries, tea and cake!  During this break the societies meteorite and tektite collection was offered round much to the great interest of the WI. Mark was called upon to judge a space/night sky themed competition, all pictures, photo’s, drawings or pictures of items made, with all entrants being local and quite young. Choosing a winner, runner up etc proved difficult, all entries were very good. He finally opted for a knitted solar system for first prize!

Keith setting up. 

The latter part of the evening provided the Women's Institute (WI) with an informative session on various types of astronomical objects observed by astronomers. The pictorial presentation touched upon the role stellar evolution plays in shaping our universe and time passed swiftly with some thoughtful questions being asked during the presentation (always a good sign). The finishing time came and went before anyone realized. A further round of Q & As ensued before final expressions of gratitude were extended.  Keith and Mark agreed on the journey home it had been a highly enjoyable evening all round, hopefully resulting in further invitations and perhaps even a dedicated star party, the Rosedale location would be ideally suited for such an event! ​​​​Many thanks to the ladies of the Rosedale Abbey WI. 

The Rosedale WI ​​​​​​​