Most towns have a WI market on Fridays. The home made cakes, pies and jams are lovely and you can make up a nice little hamper of goodies.
You can always re-wrap if you want to pretend........
Instead of flowers or chocolate take a bundle of new good books when you go to stay with someone. A selection of the latest bestsellers is always welcome. Also, a selection of hard-to-find magazines, esp if you are going to the countryside, makes a good present. Eg. The New Yorker, National Geographic etc.
If you do bring wine, be sure and write your name and the date or occassion on the bottle. In the future, when the host gets around to enjoying your wine, they will see your name and remember where the wine came from.
You can't bring flowers as people have to rush off and find a vase, so I bring a single stemmed orchid in a pretty flower pot. They last longer then flowers too.
I bring pop-up books. They are always a hit and there are so many beautiful ones that are made for
adults as well as some versions of classic childen's books. These books are always the surprise conversation started of the night.
What about a nice magazine subscription sent with your thank you letter. One appropriate for their hobby would be nice. The English Garden is a lovely one for gardeners and not easy to find in shops.