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If you thought the Women's Institute was all jam-making and cake-baking then you may have to rethink your impressions.These days the WI is seeing something of a revival, with inner-city branches springing up throughout London.
And the Fulham branch, the WI's first in London, recently welcomed John, a male escort (and part time tennis coach, we might add), as their guest speaker.
Joanna Hackett, 29, from the Fulham branch, told the Daily Mail: "He approached us and we thought we would grab him with open arms, no pun intended.
"He certainly provoked lots of debate with a lot of questions.
"Some were practical, like, 'Do you always practise safe sex?' and some emotional, like, 'What happens if you really like the person – or if you really don't?'
"It was an extraordinarily well-attended meeting. That's the great thing about the WI – in three quarters of an hour you can hear about something you would never normally know about."
Indeed. But it's not just the Fulham branch that is, well... branching out.
At the newly-formed King's College London WI, you're more likely to learn about sushi and cocktail making than cake and jam.
Founder Laura King, 21, said: "Lots of WIs are old ladies making jam. It's exciting to be saying: 'We're not going to do that, we're going to do cocktail nights.
"We're definitely going to be a funky WI."
Which sounds like another excuse to party to us. But Miss Hackett from Fulham insists: "We like to do some of the old things. They're enjoyable, social and cheaper."
The WI, ladies, is starting to sound like fun.
