Well it wasn’t only the families who had fun. We raised £411 for our Bangladesh Projects with a splendid tombola and lolly stall. Plenty of ort members came to help and we all had a great time in brilliant sunshine,persuading people to part with a £ or two. Here are some of the photos from the day.
Yes, this was Summer,or at least the only really sunny day recently. Here is a selection of unplanned sunhats worn at Val’s Garden Party,in aid of our 75th Anniversary Science Project. We enjoyed the “cold collation” in Val’s beautiful rural garden,good company and a really lovely day out in this scenic part of Dorset.Thanks Val for all the fun and food!
Some of our regular volunteers with Bournemouth Contact The Elderly, provided a very special Jubilee Party on a particularly sunny Sunday afternoon recently at the home of one of our members. A chat,sitting in the garden was an unexpected treat as some of the guests live in flats and are unable to enjoy fresh air as they would wish. Hilda who was the host for the afternoon said, ” It was so gratifying to see this small group invigorated by company. We had a super afternoon” The specially decorated cakes were also appreciated in the usual way.The visitors enjoyed themselves so much that they wanted to keep their party hats as souvenirs!
Our Club was delighted when we heard that the Friends of Bournemouth Womens Refuge had been chosen by the Mayor, Cllr Chris Rochester as one of his charities this year. To raise funds,a “Swishing ” event was held in a local hotel-where members of the public bring their unwanted but elegant clothes for sale,and hopefully go home with replacement items for their wardrobes ! Several Members from our Club volunteered to help with the organising and here they are with the Mayor and Mayoress enjoying the evening. Over £1,500 was raised,and a third of this will go toward the Friends of the Womens Refuge.
On Friday 13th January,one of our members hosted a mince pies and wine evening at her home to raise funds for one of our environmental projects. Here are four of us enjoying a chat and nibbling what is likely to be the last mince pie of the season. Thank you Barbara for your hospitality.£147 were raised as a result.
Five Club Members went off to Brighton for the Conference at the end of October. The photos show just some of the socialising we did,meeting up with our friends from Penrith,Lurgan and beyond. The whole weekend was packed with opportunities to network,learn more about the organisation and what we are trying to achieve. One of the keynote speakers was the broadcaster and writer Sandi Toksvig who had us rolling with laughter.The traditional gift of fudge from Penrith was accepted on Bournemouth’s behalf by Carys.The entertainment on the last night was provided by a band “In The Pink” which is actually lead by Debbie Rogers,one of our members.We were all so proud when others told us how much they had enjoyed her play.
At our meeting on Monday 17th October we celebrated a special event. Joan Bishton has been a Soroptimist for 50 Years. She was presented with a card,a cake and a big bunch of flowers to mark the occasion. Here she is being presented with the flowers. Joan joined the organisation at Slough in 1961 and transferred to Bournemouth on retirement. So congratulations Joan. We think you must hold some sort of record.
Member Jean Harvey didn’t wish to be left behind when other trustees of our Cementing Futures Charity planned a climb up Mount Kilimanjaro in aid of funds. Instead, with the support of our Friendship Link Club in Penrith she scaled the forbidding heights of Dufton Pike in Cumbria’s Eden Valley. Since Dufton Pike is rather shorter than Mt Kilimanjaro she decided to make the journey to the summit a sufficient number of times to equal the height of the African mountain. This involved no less than 20 trips up and down over a six day period. Every time she reached the top, the Bangladeshi Flag was produced. Here she is with some supporters on one of the 20 journeys! A now very fit Jean raised over £2,050. Our heartfelt thanks to everyone at S.I Penrith who looked after Jean and provided the vital support.
“Benedict’s Brother” by Tricia Walker is the choice for our taster bookclub being hosted by Sarah on Monday 10th October. Supper, lots of chat and an interesting evening all for £10. The event is in aid of our Dhaka Fund -a somewhat belated celebration of World Literacy Day. If you would like to join us for the evening, please get in touch via the Contact us section of this website, we will give you a warm welcome.
On Monday 19th September our speaker was “Iggy”-Ignatius Harling from the charity Vita Nova Theatre Company . (www.vitanova.co.uk). He spoke not only about the work of his organisation with people in recovery from addiction, but also with great depth of feeling about his own journey. We sat fascinated by his personal story and gained insight into the struggle to move towards becoming a useful member of Society. Although the Club has supported Vita Nova in the past this talk was welcomed by old and new members alike. There was a fascinating session with Ignatious at the end of his talk about drugs and the legal system. I am really pleased I was able to attend this Club Event.
