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Charity Event for Unseen: Making a Centrepiece

Charity Event for Unseen: Making a Centrepiece

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On 5th December 2018 Lucy hosted a fund-raising event for Unseen which was enjoyed by thirteen participants; nine of whom made a festive centrepiece. Some arrived with a degree of trepidation with regard to their perceived inability to being able to make a centrepiece. However, with an ample supply of a variety of foliage and decorations all were pleased with their creation. Other members supported the event and arrived in time for coffee and mince pies.  They admired the centrepieces and congratulated Gish and Denise who had encouraged and led the event.

Tree Fest at St Mary Redcliffe Church 2018

Tree Fest at St Mary Redcliffe Church 2018

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From today (4th December) until Saturday 8th December, St Mary Redcliffe Church is hosting a Tree Fest. Denise, with a little help from her husband and Marion, decorated a tree on behalf of SI Bristol. There are over 70 trees on display that were made by local charities and organizations. The trees are available for viewing between 10:00am and 5:00pm. On Thursday, the Church will be open until 8:00pm and during the evening, drinks and food will be available for a small fee. For more information, enter into a search engine: St Mary Redcliffe TreeFest.  Come along and see what you think.

Railing Against Abuse

Railing Against Abuse

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On Sunday 25th November, seven members from SI Bristol and Soroptimists from throughout the southwest joined the SI Weston-super-Mare Club in their initiative to raise awareness and support the United Nations annual “Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women”. Soroptomists travelled by train (hence “railing”) to Western-super-Mare station to join members of the local Club. Most were adorned in distinctive orange clothing (including wigs) because that is the colour designated by the UN for that day. The group walked in an orderly fashion from the station, via the sea front, shopping precinct and park, to the Commemorative Garden. Many carried banners highlighting abuse against women (again hence “railing”). During the walk, “Loves me /Loves me not” bookmarks were enthusiastically given to members of the public. This publicity material has been carefully produced to define in clear and simple terms the difference between a good

Conference 2018, Liverpool and Meeting up with our Friendship Links

Conference 2018, Liverpool and Meeting up with our Friendship Links

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84th Federation Conference, Liverpool 25-27th October 2018. I attended this excellent Conference with members Helen Davies & Di Hill who, unlike me, were working extremely hard behind the scenes to make sure that everything ran efficiently and to time. The keynote speakers were: Emily Rose Yates, wheel chair bound, inspired us with her work to improve travel facilities for disabled persons, Terry Waite needs no introduction, talked of his kidnapping and how he survived mentally with the loneliness, Dr Annemarie Wilson, a psychologist working hard to persuade 28 countries in Africa to adopt anti FGM laws. Ellie Bird Lena-warungu retired from the Police Force to work in Africa advising on stopping sexual and gender based violence and empowering women and girls to make changes based on what they want for their families. Sally Kettle the first woman to row the Atlantic twice from East to

Open Evening October 22nd 2018

Open Evening October 22nd 2018

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How many times have we heard, that no one has heard of Soroptimists? With this in mind, we decided to advertise an ‘Open Evening’ in local, monthly free magazines. Through this medium five people contacted us, which together with other interested women meant 10 ‘new’ people attended. We wanted presentations to be short and interesting and Programme Action focused. After some refreshments and introductions, one of our members explained why she is a Soroptimist followed by several examples of the projects, that SI Bristol is engaged in supporting. Feedback has been very positive; the friendly and welcoming ambiance and our obvious commitment to projects that will change the lives of women and children.

Soroptimist Wreath at Act of Remembrance

Soroptimist Wreath at Act of Remembrance

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On 9th November, 2018, an annual Act of Remembrance service was arranged by All Saints Church, Clifton, led by its Vicar, Charles Sutton with support from ‘Churches Together in Clifton, Cotham and Redland’ at St John’s War Memorial on Whiteladies Road. It was attended by over 200 schoolchildren from local schools along with many adults.  Wreaths were laid by military representatives, the Royal British Legion, cadets, schools and local organisations, including SI Bristol.  Some lovely wreaths were handmade by participating children.

Tour of Clifton Suspension Bridge and Vaults

Tour of Clifton Suspension Bridge and Vaults

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Following our Speaker Meeting on Monday’ on Thursday 11th October, 7 members of SI Bristol, one Soroptimister and a guest enjoyed a 2-hour tour of the spectacular grade one listed Clifton Suspension Bridge. Gordon Young, our tour guide, was entertaining and informative; he illustrated many points with visuals from his satchel. We learnt the story of the bridge: about the competition to design the bridge and how the end result differed from the original design. Hardhats and hi-vis vests were donned before we climbed down a ladder to visit two of the twelve chambers inside the red sandstone abutment on the Leigh Woods side of the bridge. The world famous bridge was initially designed by the Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, although he did not live to see his creation, which was finished in 1864. Work began in 1831, but the project was dogged with

Reducing the Use of Plastics (updated 8 November 2018)

Reducing the Use of Plastics (updated 8 November 2018)

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SI Bristol is concerned about the amount of single-use plastics and disposal of goods containing plastic have on the environment – air, land, rivers, seas and oceans. In order to learn more about what happens in our area, various institutions and companies were asked how they were dealing with this issue. Articles from the press, magazines and social media were collected to give members a sound understanding of the dangers of plastic waste and how it can be reduced and cleared from the environment. The responses received were mainly encouraging but often slow to make an immediate impact. Some companies were making positive changes, e.g., Only using non-disposable plastic cups, using non-plastic cups, and encouraging customers to bring their own cups, containers or bags. Taking plastic out of tea bags Reducing packaging Using non-plastic, vegetable-based  compostable envelopes for mass mailings. Junior and senior schools were

8th October 2018: Bristol Spension Bridge – Bob Brewton, Supervisor and Tour Guide for the Bridge.

8th October 2018: Bristol Spension Bridge – Bob Brewton, Supervisor and Tour Guide for the Bridge.

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Mr Brewton quickly explained that although Brunel had submitted several designs for the bridge and his final design in 1831 was accepted, the Bristol Riots in that year meant that building never really got started. It was not until after Brunel’s death in 1859 that two engineers John Hawkshaw and William Henry Barlow came along with extra knowledge and know how. They took over Brunel’s earlier designs and completed the building of the bridge in 1864. Although they changed the design they retained the two towers originally built by Brunel and 2 of the 3 sets of the original chains. The bridge is now owned by a charity and fees for crossing the bridge go towards maintenance. The vaults below consist of 12 caves.  For those visiting the caves you will see two of them and emphasis was placed on wearing warm clothes and stout

Friendship Links

Friendship Links

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Meeting up with our Friendship links is a pleasure and we try and do this at least once a year.  We are delighted that Lynn was able to catch up with Yuko Tsuji from SI Aquamarine Kure, Japan when she last visited the West Country. Lynn has close links with Yuko and long may it continue. As usual SI Bristol Soroptimists who attend the conference in Liverpool at the end of October hope to meet up with friends from our UK Friendship Link Clubs. Liz N is trying to make contact with SI Bootle, SI Halifax and SI Chester to arrange this. Watch this space. Photo to follow