The guest speaker of our first Zoom meeting in 2021 was Bethan Morris from TIDE (Together In Dementia Everyday). Bethan is the Carer Involvement Leader for Wales. Bethan previously worked for Carers Outreach Service in North Wales for over 10 years and has also been involved with the CFAS (Cognitive Function and Ageing Studies) research project led by the Dementia Services Development Centre at Bangor University. TIDE is a UK wide charity that aims to gives carers a voice by sharing their stories. Caring for someone with dementia can at times be challenging, isolating and exhausting. TIDE exists to empower carers by sharing their stories to create change. Bethan emphasised the organisation’s underpinning support for the “Carer’s Right To Be Heard” in their own language; also that everyone has their own individual life story and their experience is unique to them.  One of our club

A donation of £200 by Bangor Soroptimists has  added a light for Christmas on the Bangor Pier in support of Dementia Services at Ysbyty Bangor. Members donated money in lieu of Christmas cards. A light will shine on Bangor Pier for Bangor and District Soroptimists every evening from December 18th 2020 to January 4th 2021. The dedication will also appear on the Digital Light up Christmas Wall of Lights at www.awyrlas.org.uk/wall-of-lights. (on Page 6)

On 1st December Bethan Russell-Williams, Chief Officer, gave a talk about Mantell Gwynedd and their work to support voluntary and community groups, to encourage individuals to volunteer and to be a strong voice for the third sector in Gwynedd. We were blown away with their support and the dedication of the staff. Two examples:- Since 2015 at least one lorry-load of donations has left their office each month for refugees in Syria, Greece or Turkey.  GISDA have been given a grant for their LGBT youth club and young volunteers are supported. Bethan donated our £30 speaker fee to CEFN, the Gwynedd refugees support group. Look here for more examples https://mantellgwynedd.com/eng/examples-of-our-work.html find the annual reports at https://mantellgwynedd.com/eng/annual-reports.html and newsletters at https://mantellgwynedd.com/eng/newsletter.html

25 November is the International Day to End Violence against Women, kicking off 16 Days of Activism. Time to support & empower survivors. Time to spark a global conversation. The UN Secretary-General’s UNiTE by 2030 to End Violence against Women campaign is marking the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence (25 November to 10 December 2020) under the global theme, “Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!“. UN Women’s Generation Equality campaign is amplifying the call for global action to bridge funding gaps, ensure essential services for survivors of violence during the COVID-19 crisis, focus on prevention, and collection of data that can improve life-saving services for women and girls. The campaign is part of UN Women’s efforts for Beijing+25 and building up to launch bold new actions and commitments to end violence against women at the Generation Equality Forum in Mexico and France

Last week, on behalf of our club, Vicki presented a cheque for £1,000 towards the cost of PPE at Ty Gobaith as part of their new Hope House and Ty Gobaith Champions initiative. In the words of Sarah Ritchie of Ty Gobaith: “we are thrilled to have you as our first “Champion”.  Words cannot come close to expressing how important your support is to us in these unprecedented times. As reported in the media charities are facing an uncertain future as donations plummet and fundraising events are cancelled. Our highly skilled nurses are continuing to provide end of life and critical care at both hospices. There is no doubt that the children and families need the support of Hope House and Ty Gobaith more than ever and thanks to your generosity, you are making it possible for us to continue with our vital work in

Jenny Mallin, an author from Reading, gave a very interesting talk at our second Zoom meeting in November.  Her book ‘A Grandmother’s Legacy’ is a memoir of five generations who lived through the days of the Raj. We enjoyed hearing about the large, leather bound recipe book started by her great, great, great grandmother, Wilhelmina Hardy, in 1844. It contained her Portuguese / German / English family recipes which were used and added to for 5 generations with a fusion of Anglo-Indian cuisine. Her book was awarded the “Best in World” Cookbook by the Gourmand World Cookbook Society in 2017. Jenny is passionate that people know about her family, the recipes and the life of women in The British Raj.

Saturday 14th November at the Anglesey Park and Share was the venue for club members to donate old duvets, pillows, towels, children’s books, old mobile phones, bottle tops, ring pulls, NHS rainbow mugs, knitted angels, woollen hats and items for the North Wales Society for the Blind charity shop. The Angels were knitted by club member Mavis to raise money for Dementia Services at Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor. Children’s books were for Books4Home , a charity run by the Rotary Club that aims for all children to have books to read at home. Old towels were for Eirwen, one of our club members, ready for next year’s lambing. Caren’s cosy knitted hats were for the homeless. The Bottletops were off to Bodelwyddan to be repurposed into furniture and the ring pulls will be made into handbags. And it was lovely to see each other never mind

Our President Elect, Gudrun Reick, was wondering how to raise funds during the coronavirus pandemic. On 12th of November she went to work at Ysbyty Gwynedd with a full head of hair and came out with a shaven head! What a brave lady to take part in the MacMillan Cancer Care Brave the Shave fundraiser. This is what Gudrun had to say:- Being part of Soroptimist International movement has encouraged me to do fundraising. Since I am working in the NHS and part of my work includes investigations for patients with possible cancer, I know about the superb work done by MacMillan nurses and therefore I wish to support this service. Up to the 3rd January 2021 she has raised over £1500 – great job!

A very interesting meeting was held on Zoom on Tuesday 3 November 2020 with Steph Healy being our invited speaker.  Fancy a Gong Bath? Sound Baths have been increasing in their popularity recently, with more and more people searching for ways to help themselves in a more natural way. But what is healing through sound all about?  How often has music or a particular song moved you, lifted your spirits or made you get up and dance? Perhaps there is a piece of music which reminds you of a very specific time or memory, and when you hear that sound it is as if you are transported back to that very moment. Sound is extremely powerful and it has been used as an effective tool for supporting health and wellbeing for thousands of years. Sound can bring the physical body, mind and soul into a