ATHERTON WI had a busy October touring Skipton and learning about Uncle Joe's Mint Balls.

After a morning in the Yorkshire village members were joined by guide Malcolm Hanson, a local historian who appeared in the film "Calendar Girls".

He took them to see places featured in the film and related amusing anecdotes about the shooting.

John Winnard told how Uncle Joe's had grown from being produced in a kitchen, then a shed and a modern factory. He revealed some production methods but did not divulge the company's secret ingredient.

At the Lancashire Federation of Women's Institute Craft show at Garstang the group finished overall third, with one member scooping four first prizes and a second for sugarcraft in her first year.