First WI meeting of the year tonight and one of the most interesting speakers I've heard.  This was WI at its best - lots of news to catch up on with friends, a birthday to celebrate (yes, cake....) and the most charming speaker in the form of a local farrier.  Well, not just any blacksmith of course, but one of the most highly regarded, this being horse country par excellence - Bernie Tidmarsh was born and bred in the forge which had been in his family for 400 years and the stories he told of a country childhood and 47 years of working 7 days a week kept us all enthralled.