Schoolchildren in  countries like Malawi  and Liberia will soon be getting an extra special surprise at school, thanks to the efforts of SI Crosby members. We have been gathering items of clothing, shoes, books, crayons, pencils and rulers  to fill back packs as part of the Mary’s Meals projects.  The charity works to support school children in the developing world by providing one daily meal in their place of education.  They also give filled back packs to the children who need the most help to give basic clothing and educational items The Club has been supporting the charity for a number of years and has filled around 500 bags and donated almost £5,000 cash. This week saw a team of SI Crosby members get together for the annual big pack-night where they filled  80 bags which will soon be sent to the charity and shipped

Debbie Oulton, President Elect and Chris Short  recently attended Merchant Taylors’ Girls Prize Giving Day The event was held at the Philharmonic Hall on Friday 16th November and the ladies were treated to inspirational speeches and wonderful music, culminating in a beautiful rendition of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.  Every year SI Crosby donate a prize for achievement in STEM and this year the prize was awarded to Victoria Smith.          

President Elect Debbie was honoured to be asked to represent SI Crosby at the local Remembrance service.   As it was the 100th Anniversary of Armistice Day, it was a very special occasion.  Many local organisations took part in the wreath laying ceremony and there was a very good turn out of local people.Traffic on the main road was stopped for the two minute silence at 11.00 GMT which marked the end of World War 1 on the 11th hour of the 11th day of November 1918.    

Crosby members flew the flag for Liverpool – and beyond – when they attended the Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland conference at the end of October. They joined 1,200 delegates from across the Federation for the three-day conference at Liverpool’s waterfront convention centre.  Women and guests from all over the word descended on the City, recently named as the kindest place in the UK. The Crosby contingent all had extra duties at the event, encouraged by fellow member Val Dunning who was the Deputy Chief Steward.   All volunteered as stewards, looking after delegates who required special assistance, ensuring the all-important interval tea and coffee was served promptly, managing exhibition spaces and staffing the information desk.         Highlight of the opening evening was the flag ceremony where each of the 29 member countries of the Federation were each ceremoniously paraded through the arena

A great night was had by all at The Ello Ello Fundraiser for Sefton Young Carers…. Sables du Blundell was a stopping off point for some British tourists who didn’t know there was a war on ! Their coach broke down close to Renes cafe and, taking shelter, they were treated to a quiz with questions read by Genevieve La Rue of the Resistance – who did tell them twice in her excellent English !!.Questionable singing came from Madame Edith determined to inflict her repertoire of uplifting songs on them whilst accompanied at the piano by Mlle Leplinqueplonque. German officers arrived but as it was their day off they were not too threatening! Even the Fallen Madonna put in an appearance. There was some misunderstanding about having to raise funds for bribes to release Rene from the grip of the enemy but it was cleared

The spirit of international friendship is flourishing at SI Crosby  on Merseyside where members have forged strong bonds with  members of Scandinavian  clubs. Their most recent meeting was in  Glasgow where fifteen Crosby members joined a Scandinavian group for a weekend break to which Glasgow Soroptimists were also invited. During the weekend, the group enjoyed visits to the Royal Yacht Britannia, Loch Lomond and places connected with the famous Rennie McIntosh. But most of all they enjoyed socialising and renewing their friendship. This  began eight years ago when some members of  Crosby Club, which this year celebrates its 80th anniversary, made a visit to Norway and met Soroptimists there. Over following years, friendship links where then made with Soroptimists  in Denmark and Sweden with groups of Crosby members travelling to Scandinavia where they received warm hospitality from their hosts and learned much about their culture.

Ladies from SI Crosby came together to celebrate at our annual birthday bash at This is Livin’ restaurant. The place was bustling, lively and the staff faultless in their attentive service. We were in the Conservatory where we could make as much noise as we like! There were 7 members celebrating landmark birthdays in 2018, each decade represented from 40 to 80. What a celebration for our Club’s 80th birthday. Everybody was relaxed – the food was yummy and the drinks were flowing thanks to Debbie who kept our glasses topped up. Lots of chatter and laughter.

Crosby members were delighted to attend an afternoon tea at Haydock Park Race Club to celebrate their 80th Anniversary.  They were joined by members of Bolton, Bootle and Stockport Clubs, who also have celebrated their 80th Anniversay this year.  Together the four clubs  have contributed  to a total of 320 years of women-centered service by countless members of each club. Well done Ladies! https://sigbi.org/south-lancashire/2018/07/18/320-years-of-service/        

SI Crosby were on hand yesterday to support  the Open Gardens Event at Crosby Hall Education Trust (CHET).  The team made sure that all visitors were suitable refreshed, which was very important given the beautiful weather we had. CHET is a registered charity which was established in 1991 to offer children from all backgrounds a taste of country life away from the routine of normal life.  Here they can enjoy a range of outdoor (and indoor) activities that are not available in a classroom setting.  We are constantly improving the range and quality of these activities. We at CHET are committed to providing for our visitors a fun, exciting, stimulating, but safe experience. Find out more about the charity here https://www.chetcentre.org.uk/    

There was an unusual sight at at the world famous Artist Club recently when 40+  women met up together for lunch. The private members club has a strict ‘gentlemen only’ policy at its Liverpool premises where it has been since 1889.  But the rule book was thrown out of the window when members of SI Crosby and guests enjoyed a splendid drinks  and lunch reception.   It all came about thanks to member Helen Pfeiffer whose husband Dr Uli Pfeiffer is this year’s President of the Artist Club.  The popular retired GP and Honorary German Consul for Liverpool arranged the lunch as part of the Club’s 80th birthday celebrations.  He also gave a talk to  members on the history of the Artist Club which was formed to give artists the opportunity to meet with businessmen. “It was a lovely afternoon  and so many people have