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.
A visit to Wessex Water’s sewage treatment works site at Weston-super-Mare. The 22nd of March was World Water Day and it is therefore an appropriate time to talk about the visit our club made to Weston-super-Mare yesterday. Water pollution is one of our club’s Programme Action projects, focusing on sustainable goals SG6 (clean water & sanitation), SG3 (good health and well-being), SG4 (education) and SG5 (gender equality). So on Tuesday 21st March 2023 seven members of Soroptimist Bristol were expertly guided by Sue Goodland around Wessex Water’s sewage treatment works site at Weston-super-Mare. This visit was part one of two, with Avonmouth’s treatment visit planned for June this year, We learned what happens on the journey of our waste through several natural processes, resulting in clear and clean enough water to be returned to the environment, and the recycling of the by-products of
On Friday 25th November SI Weston-super-Mare yet again organised the “Railing Against Abuse” event to raise awareness and support the United Nations (UN) Day for “the Elimination of Violence Against Women”. Seven members from SI Bristol and Soroptimists from throughout the southwest (Bath, Bristol, Plymouth, St Austell and Tiverton) travelled by train (“railing”) to join this annual event. Most wore distinctive orange clothing because that is the colour designated by the UN for that day. The group walked in an orderly fashion from the train station to Grove Park. Many carried banners highlighting abuse against women. As they walked, they handed out “Loves me /Loves me not” bookmarks to members of the public. This publicity material pointed out in clear and simple terms the difference between a good relationship and a bad one. The group included other interested people and there were over seventy
Soroptimist International of Bristol mark International Women’s Day with postings on social media in advance and on the day. This included a special video to mark the occasion #BreakTheBias Across the world thousands of Soroptimists will mark International Women’s Day with hundreds of activities and events on and around 8th March. In some countries just gathering puts women’s lives at risk. Events highlight the economic, political and social achievements of women, and raise awareness of work still to be done to build a better world for women and girls so. To view the video click “Video (2)” below. Video (2)
Orange the World: Railing Against Abuse Yet again we Oranged the World starting at our Club Meeting on November 22nd saying “no” to Abuse. Then on Thursday 25th November we joined a Regional “Railing Against Abuse” march organised by Soroptimist Weston-super-Mare in Weston and a group of Bristol club members also met at the Clifton Rocks Railway in Bristol (built in the 1800’s), tied orange ribbons on the gate to saying “No to violence against women”. For the “16 Days of Activism” we posted on social media and then finally on the 10th December we held a Zoom meeting inviting our Friendship Links and had a speaker from Save the Children. A fitting way to end our 16 days of Activism Saturday 27th November St Peter’s Hospice Fundraiser: Our Charity of the Year Our Soroptimist Bristol team had a stall in a Gift & Craft Fair in
On 5th October 2021, Soroptimist International of Bristol were delighted to celebrate the planting of an English Oak tree donated to our Club to commemorate our Centenary and part of The Queen’s Green Canopy for her platinum jubilee. This was a delayed celebration due to the Covid pandemic. An Oak tree was chosen specifically because of its long life representing the long life of Soroptimism and the support it offers to others. The tree was planted at Muller Road Recreational Ground in Bristol through Bristol City Council’s tree planting program. Our Club’s Centenary was in 2020, but due to the pandemic we were unable to meet as a group to see the tree and the commemorative plaque. Club members present were President Sue, Past President Marion (in whose year the tree was planted), Ivete, Pauline, Lizzie, Yvonne, Liz and Lynda.
On 11th September Yvonne, Liz N and Sally represented SI Bristol on the St Peter’s Hospice Midnight Walk. They had an enjoyable time and were up bright and early the next day for our 100 years celebratory tea. Donations are still coming in and so please let us know if you’d like to make a donation.
The Just so Stories: Another visit to The Watermill Theatre, Newbury On the 2nd September Ruth organised another successful outing. We returned to the Watermill theatre, where we have been before, in time for lunch. This was very well organised outside in their lovely garden. The stage had been brought outside too and so we enjoyed the performance on a lovely sunny day shaded by the trees. It was so enjoyable that we hope Ruth will take us there again in the foreseeable future. Tyntesfield: Guided Walk On August 24th, SI Bristol members visited Tyntesfield, for a guided tree walk of magnificent British Isles and County Champion tree specimens with Chris Watts. Chris had introduced us to the trees earlier in the yea via Zoom. It was lovely seeing them at the lovely estate so near to our homes. Thank you Pauline H for organising
SI Bristol members using candle light on the SIGBI Day of Action Saturday 17th July to raise awareness of Climate Change. On the Day of Action, our members switched off lights and standby appliances for 15 minutes in each household to save energy. Each small action we take individually to address Climate Change makes a difference. Energy efficiency is good for us and for the air we breathe, the water you drink, and the community in which you live. Saving energy reduces air and water pollution and conserves natural resources, which in turn creates a healthier living environment for people everywhere. Let’s keep up the good work.
Our Litter Pick organised by our Programme Action Officer Yvonne, on Bristol’s Durdham Downs, on Saturday 19th June was another success. This time 11 of us were there and again we split up into small groups ensuring that we social distanced as we went around. As we are still not able to meet face to face it was lovely hearing what others are doing in preparation for the lifting of restrictions! It was interesting to see that there was less litter than our event last July (top left June 2021 and right July 2020). We look forward to our next Litter Pick to be together again and we especially enjoyed being thanked by people we passed.
