Cannock Soroptimists and Cannock Friends of St Giles were amongst many businesses, organisations and charities who decorated a tree for the Tree Festival at St Luke’s Church in Cannock this year. The St Giles tree was decorated with green baubles and gold angels – green being the colour associated with the Hospice and the angels always part of the Hospice Christmas goods; Soroptimists used their colours of blue and yellow to decorate their tree. Hundreds of visitors were expected at the three day Festival when they could admire the trees and the Church, make donations to charities if they wished, buy from Craft stalls and enjoy a cup of coffee in the beautiful surroundings. Any donations received via the St Giles tree will be used to aid the work of the Hospice, caring for patients and their families at a time of great need. Donations

SI Cannock members enjoyed a very festive afternoon at the Norton Canes Community Centre Christmas Fayre on 5th December. Members chatted with fayre-goers about why they love being part of SI Cannock and the work they do for charities; including local domestic violence charity The Pathways Project. At the fayre, members sold Magical Reindeer Food to support Pathways and raised a total of £45 to buy gifts for children who will be spending Christmas in a domestic violence refuge. Children who bought the Magical Reindeer Food were thrilled to be able to help children less fortunate than themselves as well as being excited at being able to provide such sustenance for Santa’s reindeer! Service work lies at the heart of the club’s goals and they are committed to raising awareness of issues relevant to women and girls around the world – issues such as domestic

President Lynne Tuckley welcomed over 80 Soroptimists and their guests to their December Christmas Celebration when they were entertained by Master Henry. Alan Rawlins is a steward at Little Moreton Hall, a National Trust property in Cheshire, being a member of the education team. Little Moreton Hall demonstrates Tudor life for the majority of the population at the time – the poor people – rather than the Royals and the gentry of the period. We are all familiar with the way the rich dressed and behaved; Alan, as Master Henry, dressed in the clothing of a Tudor peasant, gave us a taste of life experienced by over 95% of people in Tudor Britain. Master Henry was both entertaining and informative: he told how much information has been gleaned from wills which was when all possessions had to be checked. If someone left their ‘best belt’

Christmas is Coming! Cannock Soroptimists are busy getting ready for Christmas – not for themselves but for many who will be in need this year. Throughout the year they support the Pathway Project and as Christmas approaches they will continue that support, in particular for the women and children using the refuge for women victims of domestic violence. The women and children who use the refuge will have left their homes with nothing and for many of them their whereabouts are unknown to family and friends. So, each Christmas, members of SI provide gifts for the women and the children, who always appreciate the fact that someone else thought of them at Christmas. Gifts were brought along to the Soroptimist meeting before being taken to the refuge and as always, members were incredibly generous, donating gifts of toys, beauty packs, clothing, books, jewellery…..all the things

SI Cannock members enjoyed a very festive afternoon at the Norton Canes Community Centre Christmas Fayre on 5th December. Members chatted with fayre-goers about why they love being part of SI Cannock and the work they do for charities; including local domestic violence charity The Pathways Project. At the fayre, members sold Magical Reindeer Food to support Pathways and raised a total of £45 to buy gifts for children who will be spending Christmas in a domestic violence refuge. Children who bought the Magical Reindeer Food were thrilled to be able to help children less fortunate than themselves as well as being excited at being able to provide such sustenance for Santa’s reindeer! Service work lies at the heart of the club’s goals and they are committed to raising awareness of issues relevant to women and girls around the world – issues such as domestic

Over 100 Soroptimists of Midland Chase Region and their guests attended the Chase Golf Club last week to see Alyson Green of SI Walsall installed as their Regional President 2015-2016. The Change of Insignia event is an opportunity for Soroptimists in the area to congratulate and welcome their new President and her officers. Outgoing President Carol Bailey of SI Wolverhampton passed on the chain of office and she, in turn, received her Immediate Past President’s badge and a gift from members along with thanks for her leadership over the previous year. Regional President Alyson’s theme for the year is: Sustainability – our goal for the 21st Century. In her inaugural address she explained that we are all, in many walks of life, required to change and this is true in many organisations, including SI. However, if we don’t build sustainability into any change then we

Cannock & District Soroptimists will be involved in activities leading up to Christmas which aim at making life a little bit easier for some of those in need. Locally, they will be cooking and helping to fund a full Christmas meal with all the trimmings at the Soup Kitchen, in Mill Street; a meal which is enjoyed by over 50 people who would not otherwise have a hot meal – for some, it may be the only full meal they get that week. The meal is accompanied by crackers, music and smiles and is always a very happy occasion – with lots of clean plates! They will also continue their support of the Pathway Project, in particular the refuge for women victims of domestic violence – many of the women are there with their children. Members of SI provide gifts for the women and the

It is with great sadness that Cannock Soroptimists – and indeed Soroptimists elsewhere in the Region and abroad – mourn the passing of their much loved Dora in her 100th year. Dora Leighton, nee Richards, was known, loved and admired by so many people in the local area and beyond. She was born in Bridgtown, married a local man, Jim Leighton and brought up her family there. She was a teacher of dance, travelling to youth clubs throughout Staffordshire; so many Cannock people were taught to dance by Dora. Even when she stopped teaching she continued to do her dance exercises regularly. In her early 90s she was still able to do the splits: though she said she had to do them at the side of the bed so that she had something to hold onto to get her up! She was most upset with

SI is a world-wide organisation proud of its links overseas and the International aspect of its work. The Cannock club this year centred the theme of its Annual International Night on Australia. President Lynne Tuckley welcomed 70 members and guests, including Regional President Carol Bailey, attending the last formal engagement of her year. The club received greetings from its friendship link club in Perth, W. Australia: one of their members, Past International President of SI Margaret Lobo visited Cannock in the summer. After a meal at the Barns Restaurant members enjoyed a very lively and informative presentation from Dianne Mannering. She talked about the lives and adventures of some of the convicted felons – male and female- who endured a harsh and dangerous voyage resulting in the colonisation of Australia, although originally the transportation had been undertaken to relieve overcrowding of prisons in 18c and

It is with great sadness that we mourn the passing in her 100th year of our Honorary Member, the lovely Dora Leighton, on Wednesday evening after a short stay in hospital. She will be greatly missed. But I am many of us have some lovely memories of her humour, resilience and delightful character. The following message sent to all clubs in SI Midland Chase from  Region President Carol Bailey says it all really: The most senior member of SI Midland Chase, Dora Leighton (SI Cannock), passed away peacefully on October 7th in her 100th year. Dora was an active Soroptimist until the end. We will have fond memories of her as she was intellectually astute and always remained interested in Soroptimist matters, giving us the benefit of her wisdom. She will be sadly missed. Kind regards CarolBailey Regional President SIMC