Elaine in her costume

Sheffield Soroptimists were given an extremely illuminating talk by Elaine Harrison, a volunteer from Hardwick Hall.

She described knowledgeably what  Elizabethan ladies of aristocratic backgrounds, would have worn and the reasons behind the fashion traits.

Elaine is also a skilled embroider and she had made her own clothes from this period, based on drawings and artwork from the time. Her craftmanship was absolutely stunning and it all made for an extremely interesting evening of historical entertainment.

SI Sheffield held a fashion show in aid of their annual charities,
successfully raising £1200. It was held in the Forge shopping centre at
Dronfield, just to the south of Sheffield and was generously organised by the
owner of Chi-Chi’s fashion shop, Christina.

The event was extremely professional and well put together with
uplifting music and a special stage for the models. Well done to all the team
who worked hard to bring fashion and design to an interested audience in a
truly professional way. A fantastic range of clothes was modelled by extremely
accomplished models.

This was a really well organised show which ran very smoothly from start
to finish. The turnout for the event was oversubscribed and everybody commented
on how much they enjoyed the show.

An extremely successful show enjoyed by everyone who attended. Thank you
to Chi-Chi’s for the time and effort put in to organise it.

This has been held every year for more than ten years now at the home of Mary Jones, a long-standing member who joined in 1964.

Her garden was extremely colourful and engaging and the excellent catering of multiple sandwiches, cakes and scones, along with warm sunshine, ensured a very successful event as well as  raising money for President Anne Hawkes’s charities.

SI Sheffield would like to thank everyone who helped make this event such a successful one and especially Mary Jones for once more hosting the event.

Andrea Ryder-Smith. a nationally and internationally acclaimed soprano, who trained at the Birmingham Conservatoire, and has performed at the Festival Hall, Purcell Rooms, Buxton Opera House, and numerous solo performances world wide and with many opera companies, performed  to a packed hall. She sang songs from various popular operas, including from Madame Butterfly and Barber of Seville, ending with Puccini’s Nessun Dorma made famous by Pavarotti.

Also present were two Soroptimist dignitaries, Val Jenkins Yorkshire President, Soroptimist International of Yorkshire and Judith Alce, the immediate Past President of Yorkshire.

Also participating as one of the singers was none other than our own current President, Alison Tupman, who had organised the event to raise a fantastic £350 in support of her charities. 

Madrigal is Renaissance secular work originating in Italy for voices, with or without instruments, set to a short lyric love poem. On the night, music included songs from the seventeenth century from one of England’s greatest composers, Henry Purcell, through to more modern music from Ivor Novello.

SI Sheffield held its annual “Tea in the Garden” on August 21^st 2010.

This is held every year at the home of Mary Jones, a long-standing member who joined in 1964. Thanks to her generous hospitality, a truly lovely garden, and the excellent catering,the event is always a great success. This year, however, the tea was made extra special by the attendance of our regional Yorkshire President, Judith Alce. 

August 21^st  was her 65^th birthday, and we celebrated it with her with a delightful rendition of “Happy Birthday”, and the presentation of a birthday cake, together with the encouragement to share! 

The event raised a wonderful £500.06, which is to be donated to the Sheffield Sheaf Domestic Abuse Project.

SI Sheffield would like to thank everyone who helped make this event such a successful one.

Members were honoured with the attendance of the President of SIGBI Jackie Mosedale, the Lord Mayor of the City of  Sheffield, Councillor Graham Oxley, the Master and Mistress Cutler, Mr & Mrs James Newman,  and the Bishop  of Sheffield, the Right Reverend Dr Steven Croft and his wife Ann.

The main speaker for the evening was Ann Cryer MP. Ann talked about her contribution to promoting the cause of women in today’s world. She mentioned that her grandmother, Dinah Place, was a suffragette and Independent Labour Party member, so politics and socialism have been part of Ann’s life from an early age. She became the youngest serving Labour Party Councillor in the country when she was elected to Darwen Council at the age of 22.  In 1997 she was elected as MP for Keighley and kept the seat in 2001 and 2005. She explained the challenge involved as the first MP to raise the issue of forced marriages in the House of Commons. Despite initial criticism, she has relentlessly pursued her campaign to improve the human rights of women and she ended her speech encouraging more women to take up roles of responsibility in politics, whether locally, or nationally. Ann will be stepping down at the next election but she intends to be an active member of Soroptimists and so hopefully she can continue her good work with regard to the status of women.

An event organised by Soroptimist International Sheffield, was held  Friday 13 November, at Totley Golf club for over 100 people. In aid of Breast Cancer, it successfully raised almost £1000.

 A presentation was given by The History Wardrobe – a duo of women who dressed in various styles of ladies clothing from the early C20th. The sensational stories of suffragettes and flappers were made vivid through costumes and readings from the Edwardian age, the Great War and the 1920s – a time of extraordinary political change and remarkable personal histories. They explained how fashion styles altered significantly with the suffragette movement and the eventual universal vote given to women in 1928.It was a very entertaining and illuminating evening and the theme tied in well with the purpose of Soroptimism.

Soroptimist International members are committed to improving the lives of women and girls. Soroptimists work through Awareness, Advocacy and Action projects, often in partnership with other organisations, to improve the lives of women and girls that impact their communities, state, region, and countries.