Our second speaker in March was Emma Quaek from the Dementia Carers Support Group and manager of Dementia Actif Gwynedd. In 2014, she was offered the opportunity to work with people with dementia, which she accepted as her mother was suffering from dementia and Emma had no idea how to deal with this and support her mother. She learnt that one way to reduce the risk was to keep active. She said that dementia is not only about losing your memory but is a disease that attacks different parts of the brain and this takes a lot of understanding. Music is also very important or learning a new skill such as a language or instrument. She thought that with our activities, learning, friendship and fun that we were doing a good job to help our brains. Emma than gave members a “taster session” of Tai

Our first meeting on 1st March we have Keri McKie from St David’s Hospice who came to talk about the new hospice at Holyhead which opened a year ago today. As we celebrate St. David’s day it seemed appropriate. Keri looks after events and ‘Hospice Heroes’ and has been in the job for ten years which, she said, showed how much she enjoys what she does. She showed a short film about the Hospice on Anglesey which, she said, has seen 70 people enjoying the facilities in that time. Keri also encouraged members to think about volunteering for the hospice and said there were many varied opportunities to do this. The vote of thanks was given by Marianne, who said she would be inviting Keri back to talk to Club in the future to hear about progress. Anglesey Hospice

On 19th February 2022 our Region: Cheshire, North Wales and Wirral, held a Conference at St George’s Hotel, Llandudno about Climate Change, with local speakers from education, politics and charities. The first Barbara Dixon Soroptimist project meeting competition was held and, after careful consideration, it was won by SI Rhyl and their Bee Project. Rhyl Bee Project Some things that were said:- Llandudno will be underwater in 50 years. COP26 ‘keeping +1.5 C alive’ is not true. Saving the giant redwoods in California was the first project Soroptimists worked on and they were saved – in 2020 they are at risk of dying due to extreme drought. Annie Merry commended us for having a voice ‘at the top table’ to influence the UN. The Soroptimists were challenged to lobby to shut down tax havens as this would help climate change action and social justice. The

We started our club meetings in 2022 on Zoom again and were able to introduce 2 new members to the club with everyone gaving a short intro of themselves. This was followed by a quiz from Lin to get the brain cells going. The following meeting we had a business catchup followed by a self head massage by Gudrun – very relaxing. Our first speaker of the year was Sian Gwenllian. Sian gave a very interesting talk about her early life, born in Felinheli, attending Bangor Grammar School for Girls and going on to read Geography at Aberystwyth. This is where she first become involved in politics and saw how under-represented women were. Whilst raising her family she managed to fit in being a local councillor working with Finance and Education. At the age of 60, she was elected to the Senedd. She said it

Lights were turned on in Bangor this Friday 10th December. Light up Christmas is a magical event combining digital tributes and a real life display of 2,000 lights on Bangor’s beautiful Garth Pier. The Bangor Soroptimists have sponsored a kiosk and a bench on our pier and have taken part in Lighting up Christmas for this second year. Members of the public are able to make a tribute and a light will shine bright as part of the stunning installation on the Pier throughout December. The tribute will appear on the digital “Wall of Lights” and could be included in a travelling projector show. All the donations benefit patients receiving care in hospitals and our local communities. The Light up Christmas display on Bangor Pier will shine until 4th January. The pier will also be open late until 8pm (weather permitting) from Thursday 16th December.

Some of us were able to enjoy a fabulous Xmas meal in a Covid cautious way and it was lovely to see and chat to friends.