There are 215,000 women in today's WI; they come from every walk of life, from the city, from country, they are young (a growing constituency) and old, and they are hugely influential. The caricature of the WI woman - jam and Jerusalam, tweeds and good deeds - was never the whole truth - not even when it started in 1915. The first women were forerunners in health education, boldly talking about STDs; and their sisters educated then Prime Minister Blair with a slow clap when he spoke to them in 2000. WI women can also be Calendar Girls. If their present is vibrant and exciting, their history is gripping. Stories of those involved in the WI's development range from shy and isolated wives, to educational pioneers, political agitators, and some of the most influential - if back-stage - players in the establishment of the welfare state. One WI surveyed its membership in 1921: as well as the farmers' wives and ladies of leisure were tradeswomen and labourers' wives. The President may have been an Earl's daughter-in-law, but 'all were sisters when they entered the Institute room'.