On World Earth Day Crosby Soroptimists and a host of other invited guests celebrated the official opening of Lunt Meadows Learning Centre. SI Crosby's long-term project is at Lunt Meadows Nature Reserve. It is partnership with the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside (LWT) and other institutions. The 5-year project – ‘Presenting Mesolithic and Modern Life’ – has been grant-aided through the National Heritage Lottery Fund. Its focus has been the construction of a learning centre. Through the challenges of Covid, Brexit, planning issues, flooding (and much more) the dream has finally become reality. The centre is poised to host educational, social and skills-based activities, triggered by the Mesolithic archaeology and unique environment of the reserve. It will also be a focal point for local community groups and a welcome resource for the many volunteers at the reserve. The Soroptimists have donated a

Crosby Soroptimists’ long-awaited trip to the ABBA Voyage concert began well before dawn. Twenty six Dancing Queens (Soroptimists and friends) made the long journey down to the ABBA Arena at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London. We didn’t know what to expect, but the show was well worth the effort of getting there. Great tunes – lots of streaming lights: ABBA music is very uplifting. Incredibly the four singers appear as digital avatars (ABBAtars?). They were extremely life-like and it was impossible to tell they weren’t really on stage! The 10-piece live band were brilliant, too. Casting inhibitions aside, and entering into the spirit of the day, some of our party went to town with their outfits. And why not? Then, for the Super Troupers, it was the long haul up the motorways again. On the last leg of the journey we found ourselves on a

Crosby’s Soroptimists were privileged to hear about current developments in breast screening from a local specialist in the field. Ms Anu Shrotri is Director of Breast Screening and Consultant Breast Oncoplastic Surgeon at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Passionate about ‘spreading the word’ on screening for breast cancer, Ms Shrotri outlined the current situation. Survival of breast cancer in the UK has doubled in the last 50 years thanks our NHS screening programme. Regular breast screening is the prime method of spotting a cancer that is too small to feel or see. It saves an estimated 1,300 lives each year in the UK. There is, however, a significantly lower uptake among ethnic minority groups and women in areas of social deprivation. Why? There are factors such as embarrassment, modesty, fear – or simply a lack of understanding about the relevance of screening. Distance from

To help combat the universal tsunami of plastic, Crosby’s Soroptimists urge everyone to ‘shop wisely’ on the high street. At the regional meeting on International Women’s Day (IWD) the club took part in a whistle-stop showcase of recent project work. Crosby’s focus was their recycling initiative. Members have been finding out much more about the recycling process and taking action to maximise their personal recycling efforts. Crosby Soroptimist Sue Rogers presented the club’s update. An experienced scientist with a career in the consumer goods industry Sue is well placed to guide everyone through the ‘minefield’ of plastics available. For the future health of our planet, therefore, ‘shop wisely’ means looking at the symbol on plastic goods. (Easy on the high street – a challenge online!) PET (1) indicates the most common recyclable plastic. Our Sefton Council brown bins accept: “Plastic bottles (including all plastic drinks

Soroptimists in Crosby celebrated a milestone achievement in one of their community projects .... over 100 patchwork hand-crafted blankets completed. Since autumn 2020, some members have been knitting and crocheting squares. Others have sewn them together and edged the resulting blankets. All have been sent to Knit for Peace, for distribution. Knit for Peace is a charity through which knitted goods (clothing and blankets) are donated to people in need. Everything goes where it’s needed, whether hospitals, women’s refuges, refugee drop-in centres, prisons, community groups or hospices. The charity also runs various campaigns to encourage knitting around the UK; it gifts knitting supplies to marginalised people; and it supports schools teaching children how to knit. The roots of Knit for Peace are in bringing together hostile communities (such as in Rwanda) through crafting. As the charity has grown, so has the evidence that knitting and

Crosby Soroptimists’ latest fundraiser challenged teams to devise the perfect murder. Four famous detectives were on hand to set the crime scene, give details of modern-day forensics, and then to conduct the investigation. Columbo, Vera, Taggart and Sister Boniface took turn to ‘interview’ the ringleaders, scrutinise their methods and decide how foolproof were their dastardly plans. Many and varied were the schemes. Some famous personalities might come to sticky ends – whether through an exploding shotgun on a grouse moor or a fishing trip ‘accident’. One philandering victim would ‘trip’ down cellar stairs – but might the murderer get caught on CCTV? Another’s drunken stupor would, the team claimed, be a cover for a deadly dose of helium. Or how about the plot to do away with the person who habitually ignored the piles of dog-poo left by his precious pooch? Would Hightown’s receding tide

Crosby Soroptimists celebrated Burns’ Night with a convivial supper. “Some hae meat and canna eat, And some wad eat that want it, But we hae meat and we can eat, And sae the Lord be thankit.” Haggis, tatties and neeps, cranachan, shortbread and a wee dram… members and partners celebrated in style. A quiz on Scotland-born personalities kept everyone guessing and a Scottish-themed hamper was the tempting raffle prize. Plus, Burns’ Night is a good excuse to roll out the Soroptimist International tartan! Sandy Taylor, chair of the fundraising team said: “This really was a communal effort. However, particular thanks are due to Maggie and Peter who opened up their house for our supper, and to John who addressed the haggis with due ceremony. “The evening raised £778.02, all of which will be put to good use through SI Crosby’s donations to charitable causes.”

Crosby Soroptimists once again joined Santa and his reindeer float to raise money for local charities. With collecting tins at the ready the Soroptimists greeted shoppers in the foyer at Waitrose, Formby. No cash? No problem. There was a handheld card-reader for cashless payments. Techno-Santa indeed. Thanks to generous shoppers the Soroptimists collected over £500 on the day. A grand sum!

A new cookery book has been launched – the result of collaboration between two Soroptimist Clubs in Italy and Crosby. SI Jesi devised the project and asked SI Crosby members for a selection of recipes that could be included. The two clubs are 'friendship links'. Proceeds from the sale of the book are to support a dedicated safe room that the Italian Soroptimists have opened in the local Carabinieri (Police station) HQ. Known as ‘A Room for You’ it is for women who have been victims of violence or abuse. It provides them with a suitable environment in which to report to the police. The Italian members have been collaborating locally with a professional institute of hotel hospitality, L'Istituto Professionale di Stato per L'Enogastonomia e L'Ospitalità Alberghiera. The students adopted this cook book as a project, planning to make and serve some of the recipes. The

Crosby’s Soroptimists have bought another toilet and are 'flushed' with success ! Club members presented a commemorative plaque to Matt, the manager of StoryHouse Café in Crosby at their monthly Orange Café session. The new ‘twin’ for StoryHouse is in the small village of Yalo, near the town of Bouna in north-eastern Ivory Coast. Toilet twinning is one of the club’s long-term projects. Good sanitation is essential for personal, public and environmental health. The provision of safe toilets is one of the targets of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals – ‘Ensure access to clean water and sanitation for all’. The Crosby event coincided with Day 1 of ‘16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence’. This campaign, co-ordinated by UNWomen, starts on 25th November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) and ends on 10th December (Human Rights Day). It highlights that violence