Welcome back, I hope you all had good break. Where did August go? I thought I had plenty of time to do lots of chores and jobs at home but guess what … hardly anything has been ticked off my “to do” list! But I have had spent this month enjoying some new experiences, which I thought I would share with you.
Yorkshire Day
Yorkshire new experience this month was On 1st August, Yorkshire Day, Heather and I joined members from 10 other Yorkshire Clubs for a fantastic and fun packed evening at Yorkshire President Susie’s fundraising event. We experienced a wine / beer / food pairing evening to support Breast Cancer Awareness.
The choice of 6 wines came from France, Argentina and Puglia and included Hospices de Beaujeu Bourgogne Gamay,
which is made and sold to support the local hospice, this was one of Heather and I’s favourites! Whilst we did not really like the beer, we did find out that there are 250 varieties of hops used in beer making (this is what affects the flavour in beer) and there are 183 Breweries in Yorkshire. One of the oldest Brewery in Yorkshire is Sam Smiths.
This was a great way to have fun, share friendships and raise funds, but don’t ask me what I thought the red bucket was for!
Sunflowers
My next 2 new experiences included sunflowers! Samantha (my daughter) and I went to Mallard Grange Farm near Fountains Abbey to pick our own wildflowers and sunflowers. What a relaxing and therapeutic way to spend a Sunday afternoon, I would highly recommend it. 
The next Sunday we went to Out of the Woods (based at Meanwood Valley Urban Farm) to learn willow weaving by making sunflowers. This was quite a physically challenging and energetic experience to be able to manipulate the natural willow into shapes and patterns. However during the 3 hours we both made 2 sunflowers and were very proud of ourselves for doing something new and going home with our sunflowers (that only just fit in the car!). This is a terrific way to spend time with friends / family, so if you are looking for something a bit different give it a go
Club Business / Activities update for August
The SIGBI Membership webinar due to take place on 17th August had to be cancelled because of ill-health.
We heard of the recent passing of Mary Broussine one of our previous members from Hilary.
If you have not had time to read the letter sent by Federation President Ruth Healy to UK Prime Minister, Rt Hon Keir Starmer regarding the Government’s promise to halve violence against women and girls in the next decade, it’s worth looking at.
Sylvia, Sandra F and I have been working on the draft development plan during August and the draft will be presented to Exec and Club members in October, this document sets out how we will develop our club over the next 3 years.
Thank you, Sandra F, for sharing the success of Alice and Leila’s recent A level results, congratulations to them both and we wish them all the very best for the next phase of their lives.