Soroptimist Bristol members joined the Rotary Club of Bristol for a tour of one of Amazon’s fulfilment centre storehouses in Swindon, the BRS2 facility.  Prior to our arrival for the guided tour, we had lunch at Sally Pusseys. The fulfilment centres are named after the initials of the nearest international airport, in this case Bristol Airport, hence BRS2. We were given an extensive tour of the various stages goods pass through from arrival, sorting, packing and dispatch. The tour took 90 minutes and we walked approximately 2 km. The fulfilment facility covers the size of six and a half football pitches and is the second largest in the UK. The particular storehouse is on four floors and holds over 30 million different items.  From this facility goods are only sent to other storehouses which then deliver to customers. The Swindon fulfilment centre is a robotics

      What a fantastic tour Soroptimist Bristol had yesterday!  Ruth organised a pub lunch followed by an underground tour to see the Clifton Suspension Bristol Vaults.   The Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol was built between 1831 and 1864. Construction began on June 21, 1831, under engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, but faced long delays and ran out of money. It was finally completed and opened on December 8, 1864, as a memorial to Brunel after his death. Key dates: 1754: Merchant William Vick left money in his will to build a bridge. 1829: A design competition was held and won by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. 1831: Construction started, but stopped soon after due to local riots and money shortages. 1843: Work stopped completely with only the stone towers finished. 1859: Brunel died. 1860–1864: Engineers finished the bridge as a monument to Brunel. December 8,

On 28th July a group of us from our Club had a tour of the Royal Gardens at Highgrove House, near Tetbury. It started with a lunch at the nearby Hare and Hounds pub and then we admired these life-sized elephants by Highgrove Gardens reception area.  Then 10 of us joined a guided walk through beautifully planned areas with an immense diversity of plants very imaginatively used.  There were areas of formal gardens, enclosed by trimmed box, as well as informal planting, beautify topiary, artistically constructed wooden shelters, water features and sculptures. The colours in the garden were simply stunning and accompanied by the wonderful scent of so many plants. We learned that King Charles has the national collection of hostas at Highgrove holding over 150 distinct types.  There is a stunning four-acre, ever-changing Wildflower Meadow with bee hives nearby where Highgrove honey is produced.

The Summertime Party barbecue organised for Saturday 27th June was not only a wonderful opportunity to introduce new members to existing members and partners, but, very importantly, to mark Susan G’s recent significant birthday and to celebrate her 50 years of Soroptimist service with a certificate from Soroptimist International of Great Britain and Ireland. And what a very happy occasion it was!  President Sally presented Susan with the  certificate and a plant for her balcony. We were most fortunate to have a beautiful garden venue for the party with the generous hospitality of one of our members. We can’t thank Ruth and Brian enough for facilitating such a convivial gathering. Soroptimist SIGBI #SoroptimistBristol #Volunteer #soroptimists