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

Our Zoom meeting on the 20th October was given by Meinir Williams, past Director of Ysbyty Gwynedd and now in a senior role at Betsi Cadwaladr NHS Trust. Meinir gave us a fascinating talk of her caring career beginning as a Student Nurse and working her unconventional way to become the Hospital Director of Ysbyty Gwynedd. She gained many experiences on the way, working in the community and in the care sector as well as at the hospital. We could all see that she wanted the best for patients and staff. As she said, the hospital is a family and everyone is important from porter and cleaner to nurse and consultant. We wish her well for the future. Meinir donated our speaker fee of £30 to Dementia Services at Ysbyty Gwynedd.

Bangor club investigated asparagus, cashew nuts and Chocolate Hazelnuts to discover if there was exploitation of workers at home or abroad. Three club members gave presentations at the September club meeting. Mair found that cashew nut production has problems in India including acid burns to women from shelling cashew nuts. This has been reported in the press. Cashew nuts are not just snacks but are found in a great number of Indian dishes and people may not necessarily be aware that it is an ingredient. Sheena discovered that child labour is a risk in West Africa, in the world’s two biggest cocoa producing countries Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. Hazelnuts may have been picked by children working in farms in Turkey. Gudrun found that Peru was one of the main producers of asparagus. Child labour is prohibited by law in Peru but apparently 20% of children

President Diane has introduced this recycling project to help make a difference during 2020/21. Each meeting an item will be introduced that members might collect and , in the process, improve our environment. Those members who are self isolating will also be able to participate. So far the list includes plastic bottle tops , duvets/pillows and cushions, stamps, bric a brac, toiletries, jewellery and children’s books to name a few – and more will be added as the year moves forward. Many different charities will benefit during the year including the Alzheimer’s Society, local hospice, animal charities, women’s refuge, our local hospital …and more! The plastic bottle tops are a long standing collection started by our enthusiastic Programme Action Officer Sian Kent to promote the issue of throw away plastic. The bottle tops will eventually be converted to a recycled plastic chair! So whilst we

This has been a very challenging time globally but all our members have been amazing. True friendship and kindness has shone through during this extremely difficult experience. We have even found unexpected delights as communities have come together and also in finding more time to stand and stare. Like many at this time, we are overcoming technical challenges and having virtual meetings via Zoom on a regular basis. Those members unable to join us are contacted afterwards via our ‘buddy system’. This works very well and means all our members can keep in touch.   We also keep in touch with our WhatsApp Sorops Group and share many hilarious videos, jokes and quizzes to keep us amused!  On a more serious note, it is a way of making sure that all our members are keeping safe and well with help wherever it is needed. Despite the