Latest News
Member honoured
Mary Nugent has been an active member of SI Chelmsford for almost 50 years, the longest serving member by far! During that time she has contributed massively to the club, serving as its President twice and working at Regional and Federation level.
Our club has chosen to recognise that contribution by awarding Mary Honorary Life Membership of the club.
Friendship Links
The first two weeks of November were busy for the club. 0n 6 November several members journeyed to Bad Oeynhausen, in Germany, to help our Friendship Link club celebrate its 25th anniversary at a splendid banquet. It was a splendid trip, reinforcing the close ties we have with this, our newest Link.
The image below is how the German press covered the visit. Pictured are members from Bad Oeynhausen, together with members from their other Friendship Link clubs in France and Holland.
The following week members visited another Friendship Link club, Paris Lutece. Once again the visit was most enjoyable, seeing old friends and making new ones. The banquet here was also splendid but these trips are doing nothing for the waistlines of some of our members!
Successful Motion at Federation Conference
A number of us travelled to Cardiff at the end of October for the annual Federation Conference, this year celebrating its 75th year. It was a good conference with some interesting and inspiring speakers.
Saturday was the General Meeting and the presentation of Motions. Club President, Linda Reed, presented the club’s Motion, to work towards eradicating child marriages. It passed very comfortably, 92% for the motion, 6 against and 2 abstentions. There was an amendment to the Motion, brought by another club, suggesting a minimum age of 16 be introduced; this was defeated.
The Federation held what was billed as ‘The Bras in the Bay’ event. This club advertised on radio and in the press for bra donations, and we were not disappointed; members drove to Cardiff with 500! The Federation’s target was 20,000, which they attained, easily – the largest collection of bras in the world. These are then going Oxfam.
The conference ended with a glittering banquet. The rather stark auditorium (lots of ‘ironwork’ and visible ducting, etc.) was transformed, with draped fabric covering the ceiling and twinkling lights. It was very well done.
October Meeting
We welcomed Margaret Sandercock to our October meeting. Margaret, at the time, was Regional President Elect and she addressed us on becoming a school governer. It was a way to influence the future as young girls move into adulthood.
Margaret is pictured on the right of this picture (with outgoing Regional President and Chelmsford club member, Margaret Hyde) at the Federation banquet, following the change of insignia.
Margaret pointed out that, being a school governor put one in a position whereone could influence and advise and point youngsters in the right direction. One aspect of this is violence against women – the UKPAC’s flagship project (the logo of which was Yvonne’s inspiration for the Hands Banner in July); prevention here is as important as support for the victims. One of the five areas of concern of the Project is Forced Marriages. We are all aware that a large (and growing) number of young Asian girls are ‘lost’ to the school system every year when they’re whisked off to be married. A school governor could have some influence on the mindset of youngsters – and their parents; checking on attendance patterns (looking for long absences or where they are taken off the register altogether). Similarly with another area – Domestic Violence; a governor could have some influence on the boys’ attitudes as well as the girls.
More information can be obtained from:
Essex Governor Services
Diane Jefferies at ( 01245 437599
PO Box 47 County Hall CM2 6WN or
Governors One Stop Shop at
www.goss.org.uk ( 0870 242 3883
August Meeting
Daniel Blake, Policy Manager of Action on Elder Abuse was the speaker at the August meeting. He told us that the charity started in 1993 and is based in South London. Recognition of elder abuse is relatively new.
The charity provides training, gives talks, runs conferences and operates the UK’s only helpline, which is funded by Comic Relief.
He defined five types of elder abuse – physical, financial, psychological/emotional, sexual and also abuse resulting from neglect. They have just started a pilot scheme in Essex (including Southend and Thurrock), with the support of Essex County Council, to provide a county-wide helpline.
He gave us some horrifying statistics relating to abuse experienced in residential care homes, hospitals and in people’s own homes and illustrated these with equally horrifying case studies. One of the main problems is raising awareness of the extent of elder abuse and of organisations which can help. He asked if we could write to our local MPs to highlight the problems, one of these being the fact that there is no specific legislation protecting the elderly as there is for children, animals and victims of domestic violence.
July Meeting
Chris Moran, Manager of Chelmsford Women’s Aid, came to our July business meeting. She spoke of the work that the centre was undertaking and the women that were being helped. Then Immediate Past President, Margaret Hyde, presented her with a cheque for £1,000, which the club had raised during the past year.
Pictured is Chris Moran, left, and IPP Margaret Hyde.