40 years ago the wonderful Friday morning ritual of the WI  weekly market began at Pinder Hall. Today they celebrate 40 years on.

Click below to view a couple of video clips. The videos use RealPlayer. You can download this for free if you do not have it. Click on the logo.

Video Clip 1

Video Clip 2 

Founder member B (stands for Beatrice!) known in those more formal days as Mrs Dean said "We used to have to go up to Reading and when we first started we were in a pub in the middle of Maidenhead. But that was no good, our stall was too near the gents!"

So they moved to Cookham and had a stall outside Pinder Hall "We couldn't afford to rent the inside of the hall and it was a bit blowy and cold that first day. We took £6!"

B's collection of b&w photos have people asking who are these ladies and how many are still alive?
It's a scene very similar to today but the old wooden trestles have gone.

Today the market attracts over a hundred  shoppers a week and in celebrations there were teas and coffees and delicious cakes to sample.

The plant stall outside does a roaring trade, indoors there are free range eggs, homemade jams and chutneys, cakes, biscuits, bread and scones. Another stall sells homemade cards and shoppers are now given shopping baskets!

Among the visitors this week were Kate Swan (93 this month). "I was born on Stanley Spencer's 20th birthday, and I remembering delivering a telegram to your house, when it was first built in the 1920s... The owner's dog put a tear in my new blazer but they paid for the invisible mend!"

The colour photo below shows B about 30 odd years ago when everyone wore 1970s brown! Look at the old sign for Fine Signs and the ancient cars!

Today's team of WI ladies show Ruth Daniel, Brenda Ball, Gill Waller and Val Neal. We love 'em and their wonderful weekly market!