During the weekend of the 15th & 16th December members spent their time gift wrapping books in the City branch of Waterstone’s Book Shop.  Customers were able to have their books beautifully wrapped whilst making a donation to one of our main Charities – Classrooms in the Clouds.  We are currently trying to raise enough money to enable a teacher exchange programme between one of our local schools and a school in a very remote area of Nepal.

On Saturday, 15th December Chester: Suffragette City was held at the University to celebrate 100 years since women first voted in Chester.  It was an interesting day with speakers including Emma Rees, Director of Chester’s Institute of Gender Studies, as well as Helen Pankhurst, granddaughter of Sylvia Pankhurst.  There was also an interesting session in conversation with former City MP, Christine Russell and current Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council, Samantha Dixon. During the day the Chester Centenary Banner was unveiled as well as an amazing plaque which recognises the first female Mayor of Chester (Phyllis Brown) and the first female Sheriff of the City (Kate Clarke).  This will eventually be situated on the front of the Town Hall.

Several Chester members attended the recent Federation Conference held in Liverpool from 25th – 27th October. After the usual Flag Ceremony on Thursday evening, followed by entertainment from the Brothers of Swing (which had many of us up on our feet!), the conference got underway on Friday morning.  We enjoyed hearing from some interesting speakers (including Terry Waite CBE, Helen Pankhurst and Sir Ranulph Fiennes, all of whom had  thought provoking, and sometimes amusing, stories to sell.  We also received updates on some of the projects that clubs have worked on throughout the year. Soroptimist International President Mariet gave us an update on her President’s Appeal, ‘Women, Water & Leadership’ and we also heard from the International President of Advocacy, Bev Bucur, who advised us of the work being done at the UN Centres and the women who represent us at these Centres. We were

Club Summer Outing to Manchester On Sunday, 24th June, President Carole, along with Anne and Geraldine, visited the Pankhurst Centre in Manchester.  The Centre is situated in the house in which Emmeline and her family lived from 1898 – 1907. The inspiration for the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) was when Emmeline Pankhurst realised that a building being dedicated to her late husband, and that she and her daughters had helped to decorate, would be for men only and women would not be allowed to attend.  It was amazing to stand in the room where the WSPU first met.  As Emmeline said ‘We are here not because we are law-breakers; we are here in our efforts to become law-makers’ The walls were surrounded by posters and various exhibits were on display. There was also a short film showing some of the most important aspects

A Visit from Classrooms in the Clouds:  Nepal Four teachers, sponsored by Classrooms in the Clouds: Nepal, and the Chairman, Sherpa Dawa, visited the UK in June for two weeks.  SI Chester enthusiastically support this charity and, last year, assisted them in obtaining a grant from the SI Educate to Lead International President’s Appeal. Two club members recently attended a Friends of CitC  afternoon, hosted by the Wirral based UK trustees, and then welcomed the teachers to The Bishops’ Blue Coat Church of England High School in Chester for a morning visit to observe classes and speak to staff and students.  It was the first time these teachers had been out of Nepal, never mind in the UK.  They spoke at an assembly in full traditional costume and were found endearing by the students. During their UK visit they went to primary schools, but it

On Monday, 4th June, SI Chester members and their guests enjoyed a complimentary glass of Bucks Fizz, followed by a delightful Buffet Meal at their new meetings venue, The Mollington Banastre Hotel. This was followed by an interesting presentation from our member, Jodie Gibbons, who had recently returned from the first Study Tour to visit the Meru Women’s Garden Project in Kenya. We were joined for the evening by Regional President, Hilary Laidler, South Lancashire Project Ambassador, Pat Woodward and our own Regional Ambassador, Shirley Whiteway, who organised a raffle for the project on the night.

At our AGM and Club Change of Insignia Meeting in April, Carole Rivers was installed as the new Club President for 2018 – 19. Here is an extract from Carole’s inaugural speech: When I first joined SI Chester I never thought that I would be President one day. But as time passed I realised that someone would need to step up and now it is my turn. Looking back over the past 3 years, it’s clear to see how far the Club has progressed. We’ve done some very effective fundraising for such a small Club; we’ve worked on interesting projects like Toilet Twinning and the Purple Community Fund that have been successful. We’ve been constant advocates of The Purple Teardrop Campaign and ending violence against women. We have supported and will continue to support Chester Women’s Aid. We have successfully engaged with Chester University and

Club members participated in the recent Chester Storyhouse Women’s Weekend by giving a presentation on Modern Day Slavery and Trafficking.  We were delighted to welcome an interested audience, who asked a number of pertinent questions.  We hope that they will feel better able to recognise some of the signs and we issued them all with small cards, reinforcing our message and containing the relevant Helpline Numbers.