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.

Members were treated to a Zoom session by Steph Healey, who specialises in Sound Treatments. Biofield Tuning uses gentle and subtle vibrations from tuning forks on and around the body. It works mainly on the bodies biofield or aura to help balance all aspects of the system by removing blockages and re-energising. The treatment is used in person but can also be used remotely as a sound or vibration on our electric bodies as we discovered in our video link meeting. Members were invited to close their eyes, relax and let the waves of sound wash through them. Everyone agreed they felt very relaxed afterwards. More information can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqQ4QlBbJFQ&t=237s

Dani Robertson, our Dark Skies Officer for North Wales spoke at our November meeting, one of only 18 such officers around the world. Dark Sky Reserve Status is given by the International Dark Sky Association to select places that have proved that the quality of their night air is outstanding and that real efforts are being made to minimise light pollution. Dani explained that light pollution in the UK has increased significantly in recent years. Between 1993 and 2000, light pollution increased by 24% in the UK, and over 90% of UK population now live under a highly polluted sky and can see no or very few stars at night. As light pollution increases, the opportunities to enjoy the night sky and its stars are declining. Luckily, surveys show that we still have large areas with good quality dark skies here in Snowdonia, particularly in