President Carys was delighted to introduce Alison to our club at our meeting on 12th September. Alison was introduced by Lynda.
The latest afternoon tea for the elderly was held in Frances’ house at the end of August. Teas for the Elderly takes place ever other month at a member’s home. Members contribute by either hosting, driving or making cakes. It has been running successfully for a few years and is linked to the Contact the Elderly charity.
Members of SI Bridgend were please to help SI Haverfordwest celebrate their anniversary in style! They joined Soroptimist International President Alice Wells at a wonderful lunch at Wolfscastle Hotel and gave her a truly Welsh welcome.
A promising start with the sun shining and jazz playing at Heronston Hall for SI Bridgend’s summer event. We were delighted to see so many members and guests enjoying the afternoon. The rain managed to hold off until it was time to eat, at which point we adjourned indoors! With thanks to all who supported us – in particular The Court Coleman Manor Hotel who provided our first prize for the raffle – we raised just over £600 for our charities. With many thanks to Majorie and Steve for entertaining us in their beautiful home.
On Wednesday 27th June, we were delighted to welcome back Kathryn who has returned following a period of illness. She looked fantastic and it was so good to see her fighting fit!
The Summer Solstice was spend at the English Speaking Union’s Summer Garden Party (in the pouring rain) raising our profile and some funds with a tombola. Wellies, fleeces and umbrellas essential!
Programme Action Officer, Rayner, received the 2nd place certificate for Best Practice Programme Action Awards at this year’s AGM. This was in recognition of the work done with a local school’s reading project. Last year, the club won first place for the work done for the Karachi project. To find out more information about the reading project and other ongoing programme action activities, please see our Programme Action section.
We welcomed a special visitor to our Business Meeting last night, Wales South Regional President Rhian Williams joined us. We had a lively discussion about the regional project – Alcohol and Young Women – and how we felt we wanted to proceed with our support at local club level. One of our members is an experienced Street Pastor, directly dealing with young women, and men, in the early hours of the morning following a night of binge drinking and she was able to share with us the reality of the issue. Rhian then addressed our group and shared her thoughts about the year ahead; it’s always very motivating to listen to someone who is passionate about Soroptimists and the difference that we can make, from a local level right up to the global network. She was very positive about our club and encouraged members to
Our first speaker meeting of the year was a very exciting event with a visit from Pippa Britton, Paralympian Archer. Pippa described how her Mother’s mantra of “nothing is impossible” encourged her to be a world class athlete, despite being born with Spina Bifida and Scoliosis. She gave a truly inspirational talk about how she developed in her sport and described her various battles and adjustments as her conditions worsened. At the time of her talk, Pippa was awaiting the results of the selection to Team GB for London 2012, we now hear that she will be in the British Team!
On a beautiful March afternoon Club members travelled to the National Trust site at Aberdulais Falls. Club member Bethan, who is a volunteer at the site, and her colleague treated us to an interesting talk about the history of the site and then everyone enjoyed a stroll around in the sun. Having taken in the history and the scenery we enjoyed a lovely afternoon tea in the restaurant. If you are interested in learning more about Aberdulais have a look at the national Trust website :-http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/aberdulais-tinworks-and-waterfall/
