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Soroptimist Bristol Orange Café First Meeting 23rd June 2023

Soroptimist Bristol Orange Café First Meeting 23rd June 2023

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  The Soroptimist Bristol Orange Café Meeting a local volunteer-driven group of women aiming to raise awareness of violence against women and the work Soroptimists have done for the last 100 years in Bristol.   These meetings are being held by Soroptimist Clubs around the world – a membership of 72,000 women worldwide. You would find us easily, as we will be dressed in orange! Why orange, you ask? Well, the colour orange symbolises a bright, fresh future, as designated by the United Nations, and it’s used around the world for that purpose. The Orange Café meeting is held regularly on or near the 25th of  the month in various coffee shops in the city. The 25th of the month is significant, as it is the UN designated #OrangeDay, a campaign aimed at raising awareness of the prevalence of violence against women and the devastating

Relationship Bookmarks

Relationship Bookmarks

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    SI Bristol supported SI Weston-super-Mare in their ‘Railing Against Abuse’ project.        The bookmarks clearly explain the difference between a good, loving relationship and a bad, abusive relationship. A letter; signed by the Programme Action Officer, was posted to the Head of each Secondary School, asking if the Safe Guarding Officer would like to receive some free relationship bookmarks for use in their Safe Guarding classes. Based on responses, 1,388 bookmarks have been delivered to five facilities.

Clean Up Bristol Harbour: June/July and so on in 2023

Clean Up Bristol Harbour: June/July and so on in 2023

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  On 18th June 2023, Marion joined 24 other volunteers near the Arnolfini for a 2-hour litter pick.   The 25 volunteers were guided by three staff members. All necessary equipment was provided (branded hi viz jackets, gloves, litter pickers, bags with hoops and nets). By the end of the session, 31 bags of litter had been collected and the contents was sorted into glass, metal, plastic and other. The first three were recycled and the latter burnt, so nothing went to landfill. We even rescued an electric scooter. The volunteers were enthusiastic and everyone enjoyed the event. The next litter pick date is 23rd July. The website address is http://cleanupbristolharbour.weeble.com/ Following this Again on 23rd July 2023, Liz N, Marion and Sally joined 18 other volunteers for another 2-hour litter pick. All necessary equipment was provided by the organisers (branded jackets, gloves, litter pickers,

Speaker Meeting 12th June 2023: Amy Wade from Bristol and Avon Rivers Trust

Speaker Meeting 12th June 2023: Amy Wade from Bristol and Avon Rivers Trust

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  At our Speaker Meeting last night, we had a talk by Amy Wade from Bristol and Avon Rivers Trust.    The Trust encourages and provides opportunities for volunteering to help with monitoring rivers and taking action to prevent their further degradation among other things.   She began by illustrating the problems involved and then provided ideas for ways we could help including citizens’ science projects, joining the Riverblitz project between the 7th and 14th July and putting political pressure on our MPs by writing letters. Also our warmest congratulations to Anne, our longest serving member who was presented at the meeting with a Certificate for 55 Years of service as a Soroptimist. We were also delighted to be joined by three visitors who are considering joining our club

‘TheBigHelpOut’: SI Bristol make Therapeutic Teddies – Update 28th June 2023

‘TheBigHelpOut’: SI Bristol make Therapeutic Teddies – Update 28th June 2023

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Update 28th June 2023 On 16th June, three ‘families’ of therapeutic teddies  were handed over to Cherry (a participant at the Bristol Women’s Voice event at City Hall) who will use them to help her to counsel distressed children from mixed marriages.     Three ‘families’ of therapeutic teddies were made by Lizzie, Marion and a couple of friends of Marion.       Each teddy family consisted of two large teddies and two small ones. The yarn used for each head was a different colour to represent members of a mixed-race family. The teddies were donated to a therapist. The ‘families’ of teddies will be used by the Therapist in her work with children (in schools and in private therapy sessions) to help them explore their internal relationships with siblings and family members, especially those from mixed-race marriages. Such therapy can help to uncover unconscious

SI Bristol join SI Weston-super-Mare: A visit to the Weston-super-Mare Museum

SI Bristol join SI Weston-super-Mare: A visit to the Weston-super-Mare Museum

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  On 20th April 2023, members from SI Bristol joined members from SI Weston-super-Mare on a visit to the Weston -super-Mare Museum.   Displays revealed the interesting history of Weston and the age of some of the artifacts (centuries BC) surprised us. West Tun was Anglo Saxon for a settlement in the west. To distinguish it from other settlements, super-Mare was added to ‘Weston’.

Wonderful Women Tour: Arno’s Vale Cemetery 4th April 2023

Wonderful Women Tour: Arno’s Vale Cemetery 4th April 2023

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What an interesting tour we had once again at Arno’s Vale cemetery! We discovered the stories, lives, jobs, and place of rest of wonderful women. Mazzarina Emily Chute (1825-1878), theatre manager and actress; Ellen Jefferies née Sainsbury’s (1837-1917), the self made woman, catering entrepreneur and land owner; Joan Tuckett (1895-1957), early female solicitor, women’s rights activist and aviator; and some more of the wonderful women who contributed each in their own way to the history of Bristol, and now rest in this mesmerizing location. Thank you to our guide and sunny weather was definitely a bonus. Thank you again to those who organised the interesting tour.

Remembering Doctor Vyv Joy

Remembering Doctor Vyv Joy

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Remembering Vyv Joy 1942-2023 Doctor Vyvyan Joy was born in Plymouth in 1942, living in Naval Quarters, as her father was the First Officer on HMS Edinburgh. The ship escorted merchant ships to Murmansk on Arctic Convoys. The ship was torpedoed, so Vyv never knew her father, which was always a great sadness for her. Her mother brought her up, but later married a man who Vyv said was the image of Captain Birdseye! Vyv attended a convent boarding school in Bideford and as she was highly motivated and good at science went on to read Medicine at Bristol University. Vyv worked at the Bristol Royal Infirmary and Bristol Maternity Hospital.  She married a fellow medical student and they had four children. Vyv was a skilled cook and in later life still very much the matriarch of the family, she also adored her Labrador dogs. Vyv was

International Women’s Day 2023

International Women’s Day 2023

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  SI Bristol again and many other organisations joined Bristol Women’s Voice organised an event in Bristol City Hall on Saturday 11th March to celebrate International Women’s.   There was considerable interest in our Soroptimist display – especially regarding what the name actually meant!  An event which allowed us to network with the other organisations.