“Is your garden a pain or a pleasure?” was the question asked by Tony Featherstone at the September speaker meeting. A radical rethink of priorities was suggested and members were urged to have the courage to start again. Using a visual presentation, Mr. Featherstone showed how he had transformed his garden from a standard lawn surrounded by flower beds to an interesting low maintenance area of raised beds, incorporating a variety of textures. Many of the mature plants were transferred and proved to be most content in their new homes. The Soroptimist members were given a great deal of advice on how to make gardening easier so that more time could be spent enjoying the benefits of their efforts. They were given tips on growing herbs, fruit and vegetables amongst the flowers. An increased demand for container grown apricot trees should be anticipated by local

‘How many knots to the inch in this carpet?’ was just one of the questions which had to be answered by Mrs, Anne Hines when she worked at Sledmere House, near Driffield. Margaret Jenkins introduced Mrs. Hines as the final guest speaker before the summer recess of the local Soroptimist club. She spoke about the history of the Sykes family and how each generation has developed the land and property now owned by Sir Tatton Sykes, the eighth baronet. Her narrative was greatly enhanced by anecdotes about some of the personalities of the family and their staff. During the years in which she worked at Sledmere House, Mrs. Hines was responsible for the day-to-day administration and also the organization of many prestigious events such as the launch of Hob Nob biscuits and photo shoots for House and Garden magazine. No two days were the same

The main charity to be supported by the Soroptimists this year isAge UK East Riding. At the meeting on 23rd May,  Mr John Perkins, the Chief Officer of the local branch, was invited to speak about the work carried out by this charity. Age UK promotes independent living & active life for residents over the age of 50. It has three main areas of activity: Age UK – the flagship services which give advice, deal with policy issues & help during crises; Age UK Trading- the retail section which organizes the charity shops, of which there are 10 in the East Riding; Age UK enterprises- the commercial arm dealing in insurance, funeral plans, wills and legal services. The charity gives free confidential advice on local services, financial matters and life changing issues. It receives no funding from the local authority for current services and is

There were 54 players at the Soroptimists’ Bridge Day last week, which was organized by Helen Barr at Tickton Grange Hotel. Their generous participation and a wonderful array of raffle prizes, enabled a cheque for £675 to be handed over to President Jennifer Heppenstall. The proceeds will be added to other money collected this year to make a total of £1,935 raised by the Soroptimists in support of the Yorkshire Scan Appeal.