Our last Speaker meeting featured a talk by Sue Stops about Hotwells Pantomimes and Panto Dames.     The Hotwells panto is a long-standing community tradition in Bristol, typically staged by the Hotwells & Cliftonwood Community Association. Formerly held at the Hope Centre, the tradition continues with the group performing at the local Hope Chapel since at least 1981, even after the Hope Centre closed in 2001. The panto productions by Hotwells are known for their community spirit, a blend of humour suitable for both children and adults, dramatic sets, lavish costumes, and live music. The pantomimes are created, written, designed, produced, and performed entirely by local community members, including volunteers from the Hotwells & Cliftonwood Community Association. Sue Stops also spoke about her brother, Chris Harris, and his involvement with Hotwells Pantomimes. Chris Harris was a prominent Bristol actor and pantomime dame

    On Monday 13th October we were delighted to welcome Helen Powell to our Speaker meeting.     Helen is a lawyer and a prominent founder member of We Love Stoke Lodge, a local community group composed of former and current residents for whom the last green space in Stoke Bishop is very important. Their work aims to protect the area for future generations. Helen took us on a fascinating journey through the rich history of Stoke Lodge and its surrounding green space.  Stoke Lodge is a Grade II listed house located in the heart of Stoke Bishop and is surrounded by 23 acres of beautiful parkland. The grounds are  known for its collection of magnificent, protected, and historic trees, with many champion and notable trees on the national register, as well as a wide variety of wildlife, including bats, foxes, badgers, and deer. The arboretum is

            On Monday evening, Soroptimist Bristol hosted the first of our Autumn Supper & Speaker events. We were delighted to welcome Jen DeKalb-Poyer from Age UK Bristol, where she leads on communications and fundraising. Based in central Bristol, Age UK Bristol is a locally run charity with a dedicated team of 45 staff and over 70 volunteers. While independent, they work closely with Age UK nationally, following the 5 Ways to Wellbeing: Connect-Be Active-Take Notice-Keep Learning-Give Age UK Bristol supports older people through key life stages, offering everything from financial advice to fitness activities. Their local centre is a vibrant hub for community events, activities, friendship, and support — helping to reduce loneliness and promote ageing well. Their focus? Fun, friendship, and ageing better — something especially important for women, who often live longer than men and may take on

  At our Speaker meeting on 14th July we had a most interesting and entertaining speaker in Sarah Harris who talked about Windmills and Windmillers in Somerset. We learned that the Romans brought the technology of wind power to Britain, and then the technology came from Yorkshire to Somerset. The Post Mill, common in Somerset, is the earliest type of European windmill. Its defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single central vertical post. Post mills were only for grinding corn. Sarah told us that the miller in those days was like the white van man from the Middle Ages. Although a necessary member of rural communities, the miller was often unpopular, regarded as mean-spirited and sometimes a cheat, taking more money than he was entitled to. In Somerset, the 18th century Ashton Mill

  On Monday evening, SI Bristol enjoyed a lively gathering at our monthly Supper Meeting, where we welcomed new and potential members into our group.     We were also delighted to host our guest speaker, Nick Wray, curator of the renowned Bristol Botanic Garden and recipient of the prestigious RHS Associate of Honour for his distinguished contributions to horticulture. With over 30 years at the garden, Nick was instrumental in creating the new garden at The Holmes, located near the Bristol Downs. Remarkably, this was the first major redevelopment of a botanic garden in the UK in nearly 40 years. Nick, a passionate traveller, took us on a fascinating “whistle-stop tour” of the gardens and landscapes of Sicily. From the ancient city of Palermo to the white sandy beaches of Mondello, he shared insights into the island’s rich history, diverse cultural influences, and stunning architecture. Sicily—Italy’s largest island—is known for its unique blend of Norman,

    Rob Bayly, was employed by the BBC for over 33 years and was a producer on many of the BBC’s most popular factual TV programmes such as ‘The Antiques Roadshow’.   Rob entertained us with stories about how the programmes were created. During his talk he shared many ‘behind the scenes’ stories not least working with the Roadshow team of antiques specialists and presenter Fiona Bruce. Needless to say he kept us all entertained throughout! The BBC trained Rob as a Studio Manager, specialising in sessions for shows like John Peel. He then went into TV production. Rob started his working life in the future with the TV programme ‘Tomorrow’s World’ & finished working for the BBC in the past producing the ‘Antiques Roadshow’. He is also a balloon pilot, having flown with Bristol’s Don Cameron, so that’s possibly a theme for a

    At our last Speaker Meeting on 7th April we welcomed  Claire Bounds Avon and Somerset Police Fraud Protect team.     Claire gave us a most interesting and useful talk designed to raise awareness of some of the ever-evolving ways criminals use to scam the public out of hard earned money. The information and advice was to empower us to identify potential frauds and prevent the loss of our valuable data to those intent on stealing it. TAKE FIVE is a national campaign offering straight forward and impartial advice to help people protect themselves from preventable financial fraud. If someone makes you uncomfortable during an unsolicited call, talk to 2 people about it before acting on anything. Fraud Victims are targeted in very sophisticated crimes. There is no blame for the victims. It can happen to anyone, specially if it arises at times

Our last Speaker and Supper Meeting brought us Revd. Canon Nicola Stanley to speak to us about her work and experiences as a woman in the church. Nicola is from East Yorkshire and went to school in York. After leaving school she spent time in Italy and Germany, then moved to London where she became a member of the Chartered Institute for Personnel Development. She also worked for British Steel, followed by an Italian shipping company. Nicola was ordained deacon in 2002 and priest in 2003, having trained in Salisbury. She retired from the position of Revd. Canon at Bristol Cathedral last year and is now a priest based at All Saint’s Church in Clifton. She talked about the fact that being in the church is a 6 days a week job and, as a woman and mother, it can be challenging to reconcile the

At our Speaker and Supper Meeting on Monday 13th January we welcomed Irene Hockin from Soroptimist International of Barnstaple and District who spoke about their brilliant project on Spiking. The project won their a well deserved award at the Soroptimist Conference in London in 2023.  A mention of their work on this project was given in the House of Commons by their local MP recently. The Barnstaple club has dedicated much time to research and develop a strategy in conjunction with the local police licensing officer and a charitable organisation called Stamp Out Spiking. Irene explained how they started the project in their area and the making of the packs they put together containing Spikeys and StopTopps (drink covers) that are distributed to nightclubs, pubs festivals and other venues where women might be at risk of drink spiking. However, we also learned that it is