On a recent visit to London Glasgow City Soroptimist members took advantage of the opportunity to photograph the newly unveiled statue of Millicent Garrett Fawcett in Parliament Square, as well as the  much older statue of Edith Cavell, opposite the National Portrait Gallery near Trafalgar Square. Two incredible women, both courageous, but in different ways. Edith Cavell saved the lives of many wounded soldiers of both sides in WWI and  was executed by the Germans in 1915 for  assisting allied soldiers to escape from occupied Belgium. Millicent Garrett Fawcett was a prominent Suffragist for women’s right to vote in the early years of the 20th century and was leader of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies. It was a time for courageous women: a third photograph was taken in Govan, Glasgow, of the recently unveiled statue commemorating the role played by Mary Barbour in

A number of Club members attended the recent Scotland North and South Joint Conference held in Stirling on the 14th of April. The theme of the conference was ‘building bridges’ and the speakers approached this with a range of topics. Keynote Speakers One of the key note speakers was Mariet Verhoff-Cohen, President of Soroptimist International – who spoke on her President’s Appeal for the 2017-2019 biennium, Women,Water and Leadership. Mariet is recognised as an expert on the topic of water and how it impacts the lives of women and girls globally. She stated that more than 600 million of the world’s population lack ready access to safe water and sanitation and because they are the primary water carriers for their families, water scarcity affects women and girls disproportionately. The hours they spend daily fetching water prevents them from attending school and impairs their ability to

Our Club’s Annual Christmas Dinner at Loks Bar and Kitchen on 13th December was attended by 28 members and 1 guest. This was our first Club event at Loks and the restaurant did not disappoint. The function suite was appropriately decorated and was served by a well – stocked private bar, the 3 course festive meal was delicious and the table service excellent. Santa was made very welcome when he dropped in to deliver presents for everyone and was himself given a present . The enthusiasm with which everyone joined in the carol singing added to the feeling of community. By all accounts a good time was had by all and a return visit has been requested by members!

Members of SI Glasgow City were delighted to welcome 17 non Soroptimist guests at the recent ‘Friendship Evening’ celebrating 90 years of Soroptimism in Glasgow. The evening, which was structured to allow ample time for guests to meet and chat with members, started with the cutting of a birthday cake by Liz, a member with over 45 years of service, and Annie, our most recent member. After Soroptimist International Scotland South Regional President, Pat, had proposed a congratulatory toast to the 90 years of Soroptimism in Glasgow guests, members listened to two short presentations by club members. The first being a short history of Soroptimism in Glasgow over the past 90 years, while the other outlined a recent member’s experience of being a Soroptimist. Long service awards were presented to Club members Anne and Ruthmary in recognition of the 35 years service each had given

The SIGBI 83rd Federation Conference was held on the 26-28th October in Cardiff and had the theme, ‘Step Up, Lead the Way’. Information on the sessions and many photographs can be found on the conference website. There was a wide range of speakers including Michael Kaufman, the co-founder of the White Ribbon Campaign, the largest effort in the world of men working to end violence against women and Mandy Hickson, a former Royal Air Force fast jet (Tornado) pilot.   Mandy was one of a few female RAF Tornado pilots in the 2000s and is now an inspirational speaker. Mandy truly believes that with hard work and self belief anyone can achieve their ambitions. She shared a unique insight into this elite world, supported by antecdotes about her time on the front line causing a great deal of laughter in the auditorium.   Rebecca Lewin,