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Senedd outside view
Zooming again in 2022

Zooming again in 2022

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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

A Litter Picking Start to the New Year

A Litter Picking Start to the New Year

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The idea of a walk whilst ‘picking up’ litter is credited to the Programme Action Group meeting back in October. It was agreed that it was too soon to meet up and arrange a walk and beach clean for all members but the benefits of being outdoors during this difficult period was clear to everybody so the suggestion was that smaller groups be arranged for walks whilst picking up litter for one month during January 2022. Steps/mileage would be recorded and would contribute to SIGBI ‘Beach Cleaning Programme Action.’ Marianne organised the loan of 15 sets of litter pickers, gloves, refuge bags with rings from Gemm at Anglesey Sea Zoo. Many thanks to the Sea Zoo for their generous support. The idea was that we would start small .. stepping outside our own front doors to do a bit of a tidy up; joining with

Menai Heritage Sailing apprenticeship

Menai Heritage Sailing apprenticeship

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We were pleased to donate £400 over 3 years from our reserve funds ringfenced for the education of girls towards the marine engineering apprenticeship of Polly Mead Kemp.  Polly had been selected to be part of the long term support of the Menai Heritage Sailing Project. She joined us on a club evening to share in her experiences to date as she continues her apprenticeship locally. We also heard that the project is based around a local yacht -The Menai Strait One Design, as they are a fleet of boats designed by a local naval architect and all built on Gallows Point between 1937 and 1952.  They all still exist, ‘live’ locally and are probably the oldest complete fleet of 17 or more One Design yachts in the world. The key activities are associated with ongoing work to preserve, renovate and sail this unique heritage

Light up Christmas and Shine a light for Someone Special

Light up Christmas and Shine a light for Someone Special

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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.

Xmas wreath
Busy making Festive Christmas Wreaths

Busy making Festive Christmas Wreaths

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Bangor Soroptimists were at Treborth Botanic Gardens on Saturday and got into the festive spirit making Christmas wreathes from local, naturally sourced materials. To keep us going there were festive cakes, hot drinks and mulled wine – delicious – plus we helped support the Treborth botanic gardens. This is what we came up with: Treborth Botanic Gardens

Soroptimists meet in car park to swap donations
Meet and Share at the Park and Share

Meet and Share at the Park and Share

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Saturday morning and the Bangor Soroptimists came together in the Park and Share car park at Llanfair PG to exchange toiletries for the Women’s Refuge; bedding and towels for Penrhyn House; bottle tops and can ring pulls (to make into plastic chairs and ring clutch bags); food for the Cathedral Foodbank. What a great turnout and fantastic donations on a bitterly cold December morning and wonderful seeing and catching up with friends again.

Biofield Tuning

Biofield Tuning

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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

Snowdonia dark skies
Dark Sky Reserve Status for Snowdonia National Park

Dark Sky Reserve Status for Snowdonia National Park

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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

Working Towards Better Mental Health – Canolfan Abbey Road Centre

Working Towards Better Mental Health – Canolfan Abbey Road Centre

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The speaker at our recent zoom meeting was Fiona Owens from the Abbey Road Centre, a Mental Health and Wellbeing Centre located in Bangor, Gwynedd. Their aim is to support the people in the local community to improve their mental and physical wellbeing through activities such as art, crafts, a reading group, gardening, games, quizzes etc. Fiona explained that the centre began in the early 80s, now operating a drop-in day-care service as well as room hire and tenancies. The centre is funded by the Health Board and Gwynedd Council. At present they only work with adults and within office hours due to funding issues. There is a team of five and they can support up to 70 individuals per week, referred through GPs or self-referred. Our club have helped paint rooms and provided hanging baskets to support them. New members are always welcome. Click