That is the challenge a small group of women have set themselves – and they have chosen an area of Halifax far different from the traditional WI recruiting grounds.

Jam and Jerusalem are not usually the topics of the day in Ovenden and Illingworth but that is the whole point for people like 41-year-old Joan Cahill, of Mixenden. She and her friends realise that the WI must move forward with new issues and interests if it is to attract the modern woman.

The WI, the largest voluntary organisation for women in the UK, has campaigned worldwide on major issues but it is the chance to influence the future of their own community which might make the women of north Halifax join in.

If a WI revival can bring stability and at the create an impetus with new ideas to improve our neighbourhoods, the movement could still have a vital role to play. And many young Halifax women might want to be part of that.