President Jo’s Report: The conference in October 2019 was once again a wonderful, inspirational experience for all those who attended. THURSDAY EVENNG – OPENING CEREMONY Usual opening ceremony with flags being carried in by girls from STEM project, Bournemouth schools. Followed by Rock Choir. FRIDAY Baroness Susan Greenfield – Insights from Neuroscience What is the basis of each unique mind? How do brain connections develop. Talked of using your brain. The Hippocampus is larger in London taxi drivers! Also in musicians, mathematicians, basketball players, jugglers, golfers, linguists. Repeated taking of exams makes changes to your brain. Experimented with rats and put some in an enriched environment. These produced more exclusive branches in their brain than the control group. BRAIN CELLS NEED TO WORK HARD TO INCREASE. The biological basis of the brain is driven by unique experiences. Johnny Depp – tattoos – fragile mental attitude.

March Dinner Meeting President Anne Needham introduced local man, Bill Whitehouse MBE, Vice Chairman of the British Cave Rescue Council. He gave a fascinating presentation about the dramatic rescue of the junior football team trapped in Tham Luang Cave,Thailand last summer. The boys had been taken on a walk into the cave by their young coach, and unexpectedly they were trapped by rising water in a cave under the “Sleeping Lady ” mountain. Following bureaucratic setbacks with the military, Thai authorities agreed that the British team of experts should be allowed to help.  Four Thai “SEALS” had attempted a rescue and failed. The intervention by the King of Thailand then ensured the UK’s team were allowed access. They were given just a few hours to mastermind a plan. Two Australian cave divers joined their team. One was an anaesthetist, the other a vet. The boys

A WARM WELCOME BACK AT THE SEPTEMBER MEETINGS AFTER OUR SUMMER BREAK!   October Dinner Meeting Our guest speakers were John and Sue Boardman who gave an extremely interesting talk about the volunteers at Serpentine Garden Nursery in Buxton and their work.  “We grow plants, we grow people” describes their gardening skills and the involvement of community groups of all ages and frequent open days.  The couple brought artefacts with them, gave practical tips on horticulture and handed out seeds to each member present. Federation Conference in Liverpool At the end of October, several Buxton Club members travelled to Liverpool for the annual conference which was held over three days.  A really good time was had by all and, as usual, it was a full and varied programme of events.  Guest speakers were particularly impressive and included Sally Kettle, first woman to row across the

  Founder members Shirley and Thelma received certificates in recognition of their service to SI Buxton.  Shirley was the Club’s first President and Thelma the first Secretary.  A party was held at Shirley’s home to celebrate the occasion.         45th CHARTER CELEBRATION HELD AT CAVENDISH GOLF CLUB IN MAY 2017 Four fellow Soroptimists attended from Staffordshire Moorlands and, on behalf of our long lasting friendship with their Club, Chris presented Acting President Ann with a friendship candle. To add to the frocks and hats, blazers and boaters theme of the celebration, Lorna Young was invited to be our guest speaker. Lorna is a local milliner living in Hayfield, who trained in London and now works both at the Hat Museum in Stockport and as a teacher in Leeds. She gave us a wonderful history of the hat through the different eras and how important the hat industry was to Stockport and the surrounding areas. After her talk Lorna gave

                                Region President Anne and other Buxton Club Members welcomed Soroptimists from all over Midland East Region to Eyam Village Hall. The business meeting in the morning was followed by lunch provided by the Buxton Club, and visitors were then happy to explore the historic village of Eyam. In the afternoon everyone was fascinated by the talk given by a direct descendant of one of the plague survivors and she also updated us on the research being done in the US.  From the descendants’ DNA a ‘survivor’ gene has been identified which could lead to medication for the treatment of HIV and ebola. One of Eyam’s wells, dressed in flowers, depicting the true story of Eyam resident Mrs Hancock who buried her husband and six children when they all died in the plague.  The graves, known

  On Tuesday evening, 22 March, Buxton Soroptimists were invited by Stockport Club to their dinner meeting at the Alma Lodge where the guest speaker was the Reverend George Lane, Co-ordinating Chaplain at Manchester Airport. Following a fascinating talk and insight into the very varied work of the Chaplaincy at the airport, Reverend Lane presented a certificate recognising the friendship link between the two Soroptimist clubs.