WOMEN’S Institutes in Ryedale will be celebrating the organisation’s centenary next month when a special baton arrives as part of an Olympic torch-style procession throughout England and Wales.

It is due to arrive on April 11 and will head for Whitby after a journey on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway from Pickering. The baton is being passed around every WI federation, finishing at the Royal Albert Hall where the centenary annual meeting will be held.

The WI is also staging a series of nationwide competitions to mark its milestone, including a centenary choir, and one to find the best WI national fruit cake, as well as a major competition for craftworkers to create tomorrow’s heirlooms.