On the 20th of February a group of us spent our annual visit to  London, staying at our Soroptimist hotel, Hotel 63 in Bayswater Road, overlooking Hyde Park. On the first day Ruth organised a brilliant outing for us to see the musical Oliver at the Gielguld Theatre, which was wonderful.  Pauline also organised a lovely get together dinner at an Italian restaurant very local to where we were staying. There were many things we did as a group and individually – walks at Hyde Park, a visit to the contemporary  Moco Museum to see modern art pieces and impressive digital art installations, a visit to the British Museum, the annual Festival of Lights held in and around Battersea Power Station, a special ‘Goya to Impressionism’ exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery, amongst other things. It was a really successful trip and an opportunity for a

On Saturday 15th February, 2025, Sue P and Marion represented SI Bristol at the lunch to celebrate SI Bath’s centenary.     SI Bath is our daughter Club – back in the days when both Clubs were called Venture Clubs. The lunch was well attended by representatives from the majority of Clubs in the South West and Chanel Islands Region and all but one of SI Bath’s Friendship Links.  The President of SI Bath (Diane) welcomed everyone. Four candles were lit; one each by the President of SIGBI (Ruth), SW&CI President (Daphne), the Mayor of Bath (Councillor Michelle O’Doherty) and Liberal Democrat MP for Bath (Wera Hobhouse). The final toast of the event – the Anniversary Toast – was given by our own Sue P.

Our members of Soroptimist International of Bristol are honoured to have four new members joining us in January this year.    It is our privilege to welcome Sue, Sally, Becky and Frances to our worldwide organisation of members who are a supportive and friendly community focused on making a positive impact in the lives of women and girls.           Our members have a gift: the chance to help others in an atmosphere of support, friendship and fun. We look forward to helping our new members explore the gift of membership as they participate in club projects and activities that advance our mission. A very warm welcome to Soroptimist International of Bristol.  

  On 2nd December our members and guests enjoyed a Christmas Party dinner and entertainment by Sara Gray and her husband on the ‘History of Pantomime’ which was both interesting and fun. Four valiant members participated in a short demonstration of pantomime under Sara’s direction which was very amusing. Our Christmas prize draw, which is higher than the usual monthly draw was won by Denise this year. During the dinner, as is our annual custom, we collected donations for Caring in Bristol at Christmas, a charity working with the homeless of the city providing food, shelter and advice. Because of the ‘Big Give’ campaign running between 3-10 December, our donation will be doubled, so we are delighted to  tell you that we’ll send Caring in Bristol the sum of £450 which will result in a fabulous total of £900 for the charity. Not bad for

    Commemorating the Armistice signed at the close of World War I and remembering all armed conflicts around our world from this time and forward.   On behalf of Soroptimist International of Bristol Ruth laid our wreath, as we do every year, at the Whiteladies Road War Memorial. Soroptimists present at the memorial today were Carol, Lynda, Sue, Ruth and Ivete. We remember with thanksgiving and sorrow those whose lives, in world conflicts past and present, have been given and taken away. We will remember them.