President Marianne and Past President Gudrun chose International Women’s Day to meet with Osian Ellis CEO of Gorwel (Women’s Refuges) to donate a cheque for £1622.00 through activities during Gudrun’s presidency (including walking the Slate Trail in all weathers!) The refuge is a long standing charity supported by the club in many ways, especially at Christmas time with gifts, food and toiletries.

President Marianne welcomed club members to SI Bangor and District’s 75th Anniversary Celebration Afternoon Tea which was held at Storiel Bangor on 5th March, 2024.  A warm welcome was also extended to Regional President Janet Murfin, President Sandra Snow and members from SI Llandudno,  Mary Rickards and Jane Williams from SI South Caernarfonshire and our Honorary Club members Enid Griffith (101 years young!) and Mair Jones OBE. Cllr Elin Walker Jones, Mayor of the City of Bangor spoke kindly of the work and service of club members to the community over many years. The Club was chartered in 1948 under the presidency of Mrs Gladys Emyr Hughes and a very interesting exhibition about our Club remains on show at the Storiel Museum, Bangor until the end of April.  Special thanks were extended to Helen Gwefryl and Dion Hamer at Storiel who provided invaluable help in

President Marianne received the award on behalf of the club for the most increase in membership numbers across the Cheshire and north Wales region at the recent Soroptimist International Regional meeting.     A tombola of chocolate prizes was well supported at the meeting, proceeds were added to President Marianne’s Ukrainian charity.

Member Maggie Hughes provided an entertaining evening of food exploration with a quiz on food around the world followed by a blind comparison tasting of 4 different foods from 3 supermarkets and their comparative pricing. Many of us were surprised at the differences between our preferences and the pricing of the items. A great light hearted evening on a cold winter evening!

Ste Krafft a volunteer and Gem Simmonds of NWSRO  provided a fascinatingly informative presentation of the work of the seal population of north wales – their habitat, sightings, species, environmental and health challenges, as well as the best behaviour to adopt when anywhere near their presence. Gem also touched on other cetacean visitors to our shores and how to report any sightings. She was pleased to share the links below with members for further information on welsh marine conservation work British Divers Marine Life Rescue (bdmlr.org.uk) North Wales Seal Research Organisation (nwsro.org) Marine Environmental Monitoring (strandings.com)  

                Our President Marianne lay a wreath at the War Memorial and participated with other club members at the City of Bangor Remembrance Service held at the Cathedral on 12.11.23.

          Emma Quaeck joined members outlining the invaluable service provided by this group in the county of Gwynedd. Every one also joined in for armchair exercises to music, at their pace,  which stretched our bodies as well as our minds. Emma signposted members to the website which provided a plethora of links to resource materials and contacts for anyone wising to know more about support to carers and help with diagnoses. Dementia Actif Gwynedd