To celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Women's Institute, JO HAYWOOD reveals nine things you probably didn't know about this venerable organisation.

1 The WI was launched in Britain by Canadian Madge Watt who, with John Nugent Harris, secretary of the Agricultural Organisations Society (AOS), decided that social groups were needed to revitalise rural communities and to involve women in producing more food for war-torn countries. The first meeting was held in the village of Llanfairpwll, Anglesey, on September 16, 1915.

2 The organisation reached an all-time high in 1974 with a record 9,309 groups in Britain.

3 The WI has been dogged by something of a '100 ways with broccoli' image in the past but these days members can be seen scuba diving, abseiling, belly dancing and - a particular favourite among North Yorkshire members - playing darts.

4 Just as you wouldn't expect the Mothers' Union to know much about brain surgery, you could be forgiven for assuming that members of the WI are not well versed in earthquake engineering. But you would be wrong. Members across the country - including North Yorkshire - have been taking part in workshops throughout this year sponsored by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council on this earth-shattering subject.

5 The WI has always had a campaigning side to its character, fighting for equal pay in the 1940s; founding the Keep Britain Tidy campaign in the '50s; looking at breast screening and family planning in the '70s; debating Aids and the environment in the '80s and '90s; and now concentrating on human trafficking and adult education.

6 The WI's up-to-date website, www.womens-institute.org.uk, lists 215,000 members in more than 7,000 branches.

7 Tony Blair notoriously got a frosty welcome at the WI's annual conference in 2000 when he was heckled and given a slow-handclap for making a political speech to this non-political organisation. Other more recent guest speakers at the AGM have had an easier time though, most notably Bill Bryson and Jane Fonda.

8 New WI groups being set up by young women in pubs include 'With It WI' and ' Jam Free WI'. The most prestigious members of the old guard are the Queen and Princess Anne.

9 To celebrate 90 years of the WI, members have been challenged to walk a minimum of 90 miles by the end of this year (and no, walking to the bus stop and back doesn't count). Members have been asked to keep a scrapbook of their walks, with the best receiving the Elizabeth Bell Trophy at the 2006 AGM.

If nine facts are not enough and you would like to know more, phone the WI on 020 7371 9300 or click on to www.womens-institute.org.uk

Updated: 08:49 Tuesday, September 20, 2005