ONE of Scotland’s most loved organisations is celebrating its centenary in good heart – with membership numbers on the up as it reaches out to a new generation of Scottish women.

And the Blairadam SWI continues to flourish meeting in Kelty monthly as well as enjoying a number of extra activities.

Scottish Women’s Institutes has boosted its membership by 300 in the past year after implementing a modernisation package to broaden its appeal to modern Scottish women.

The increase is on the back of decades of declining numbers and, says national chairman Christine Hutton, shows that the SWI is still as relevant now as it was when it was formed 100 years ago.

She said: “Back in 1917 our organisation was formed to bring women together, with a vision to welcome every woman in Scotland to join us.

“We have remained a constant in Scottish life ever since and are here to educate, to share, to campaign, to learn, to socialise, to build a community and of course, to have fun.

“Having recently taken action to remain relevant to the lives of modern women living in all parts of Scotland, we are very pleased to say that membership numbers have gone up by 301 in the past year.

“This may not sound like a huge number, but after years and years of decline this is a most positive development that shows our new-style meetings are working and that the SWI continues to have a role to play in modern life.

“The centenary is a great chance for us to remind people who we are about and what we have to offer modern women living in 21st century Scotland.”

New style meetings reflecting a wider range of interests and held at flexible times and in venues like pubs and coffee shops have been introduced in the past two years, while the word ‘rural’ was dropped from the organisation’s title to become relevant to women living in towns and cities as well as country areas.

The Blairadam SWI meets in the Masonic Hall, in Kelty.

There are currently 16,001 members attending 716 Institutes in 32 Federation areas and as well as cake decorating, embroidery techniques and floral art, meetings are just as likely to feature gin tasting, life drawing, upcycling and ukulele playing.

Throughout 2017, there will be a range of events and gatherings to mark the milestone year including the SWI’s own version of Tea in The Park – tea parties which will take place in each Federation area on the same date, Sunday July 2.

An exhibition in Edinburgh from April 5-18 will reflect the changing times of both the organisation and society and will feature artefacts, handcrafts and archive materials including vintage kitchenalia, handmade baby clothing, rural chinaware and rarely seen archive materials. While rolling back the years with vintage and retro displays, there will be latest craft demonstrations too. This is open to the general public as well as members.