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Blog – Busy August and September

Blog – Busy August and September

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Club Blog August/September August August is the only month we don’t meet formally but that didn’t stop lots of activity taking place. Two of our members, Judith and Janet,  joined a coach load of Yorkshire Soroptimist who wended their way across the Irish Sea to the Soroptimist International Convention in Dublin. Follow the link for more information about Our Voice at the United Nations The Convention takes place every 4 years and brings together all five Federations. It is also a great opportunity to meet up with our Friendship Links from all over the world. Judith and Janet met up with our Friendship Link Joan from SI Willamantic in the USA and Helen and Maddie from SI Wellington in New Zealand.  Judith, Janet along with Nicola met up with Joan and her husband again for a wonderful Afternoon Tea back in England at Goldsborough Hall.

Club welcomes new President Pat Shore MBE and celebrates long service

Club welcomes new President Pat Shore MBE and celebrates long service

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It was a full house at the Club’s Annual General meeting in April at the Crown Hotel. We were delighted to welcome Soroptimist International of Yorkshire President Jane Glendenning. The AGM captured all the Club activity over the last year and celebrated a very successful year. Outgoing President Val Hills then passed the chain of office to Pat Shore MBE. President Pat will lead the Club through our special anniversary as we celebrate our 90th year. We also celebrated the long service of two of our Club members, Rachel Richardson and Hilary Waddington. Both have given great service to the Club and Soroptimism over the last 35 years. President Jane, presented their certificates. This year has seen us also form two new friendship links with SI Wellington in New Zealand and SI Conegliano Vittorio Veneto in Italy. We are looking forward to a fabulous year

President’s Blog February/March

President’s Blog February/March

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It’s great that our regular meetings have started again. The first meeting in February focused on Programme Action.  It was an excellent meeting organised by Club Programme Action Officers’ Christine A and Paula. The PowerPoint presentation really encapsulated all that we do.  It is available on YouTube  https://youtu.be/YQhqoqdNr_M  It’s already had 54  views and is also on our Face Book  page @Soroptimist80.  I recommend you watch it if you haven’t seen it.  It’s also an excellent way of  sharing  ‘What do we do?’ Our current projects, Dementia Forward and Toilet Twinning will be finishing in September so  this was followed by an opportunity to think about what our future projects may be.  There was a great buzz to the evening. Lots of interaction and discussion. Turkey/Syrian Earthquake I am sure, like me, many of you were shocked of the scale and loss of life and

The Great Big Green Week

The Great Big Green Week

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  How do we address Climate Change and contribute to #CarbonZero? What is our Parliament doing? These are the questions we posed to Andrew Jones, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough   Club members welcomed Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones to their February meeting. It is #GreatBigGreenWeek and Andrew was asked to speak about how Parliament is tackling #climatechange and #zerocarbon.  We celebrated the Great Big Green Week by wearing green and  giving Andrew a Green knitted heart. The Government aim is to reach zero carbon by 2050. Government departments have to demonstrate how this will be achieved. All parties are signed up to tackling Climate change and there is much cross party working. The country now produces 40% of our energy from renewable resources. But change will take time and money. For instance there are 40 million homes with gas boilers! Members raised concerns

Resurrected Bites – Better in Bellies than Bins

Resurrected Bites – Better in Bellies than Bins

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Left to Right: President Val, Polli, Michelle and Club member Janet Resurrected Bites Hot from her interview with Katherine Jenkin on the BBC’s  Song of Praise Michelle Hayes, founder and CEO of Resurrection Bites  gave us a fantastic insight into the organisations incredible work. Making sure surplus food ends up in ‘Bellies not Bins”. Starting up It is shocking that 30% of  food in the UK ends up going to waste whist some families are struggling to put food on the table.  Michelle talked about the two cafes and community grocery stores the charity has set up in Harrogate and Knaresborough since early 2018. She explained how the Covid pandemic had affected their plans.  But, how they had quickly adapted. And, between March 2020 and July 2021 they had delivered food and other essential items to the equivalent of 15808 people in the Harrogate area. Michelle

Caroline Hawley
Caroline Hawley – Auctioneer and Antique Expert helps raise over £500 for Just ‘B’

Caroline Hawley – Auctioneer and Antique Expert helps raise over £500 for Just ‘B’

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  Raising funds for charity during lockdown is no mean feat.  That didn’t deter Soroptimist International of Harrogate and District’s President Sandra Frier. Looking for different ways to raise funds for her chosen charity Just ‘B’ Sandra approached regular Flog It and Bargain Hunt  expert Caroline Hawley. Would Caroline be interested to give a Zoom  presentation about her life as an auctioneer and TV regular? We were very happy when she said yes.  So, on Friday 14 May Caroline delighted us with her presentation that was both humorous and demonstrated her passion and knowledge. She also valued objects submitted by our guests and took questions.  A brilliant night with more than £500 raised for Just ‘B’.  Just ‘B’ is part of North Yorkshire Hospice Care working closely with Saint Michaels and Heriot Home Care. It provides bereavement services locally and nationally, So what did we learn?

Caroline Hawley
An Evening with Caroline Hawley

An Evening with Caroline Hawley

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Do you watch Flog It or Bargain Hunt and wondered about the value of some of your own objects? The Club is delighted that Caroline Hawley will be helping us raise funds for Just B. The Bereavement Services that is part of North Yorkshire Hospice Care. Caroline is well known for her valuations on Flog It and expert supporter for the teams on Bargain Hunt. Register  for the Event  here. Tickets cost just £10 +£1.37 booking fee. All ticket costs will go to Just B. The Bereavement Support Service for North Yorkshire.  

Deadlier than the Male – Dr Phil Judkins

Deadlier than the Male – Dr Phil Judkins

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In March we welcomed Dr Phil Judkins by Zoom, an internationally acknowledged  expert on the history of radar, radio interception and electronic warfare. His work has featured in daily papers, film and television. We heard one of his most requested talks “Women are Deadlier than the Male”. Phil described the astounding roles undertaken by women in both world wars at home and abroad. Some very unexpected and some almost unbelievable, except they actually happened. Nurses on the front line such as Edith Cavell saved lives of many soldiers of all nationalities.  She also paid the ultimate price when shot by firing squad.  We heard about code breaker’s intercepting messages, a highly secretive activity during the 1st World War and at the TOP SECRET  Bletchley Park. Women making ammunition  shells in the first and second World Wars where one spark could set off an explosion. The last

Challenging the status quo
Choose to Challenge – Forgotten Women – International Women’s Day

Choose to Challenge – Forgotten Women – International Women’s Day

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Soroptimist International of Harrogate and District – Celebrates ‘Forgotten Women’ on International Women’s Day 8thMarch 2021 Seventy Soroptimists and guests Zoomed in from all over the Yorkshire, the UK and the World to celebrate the unveiling of a Harrogate Civic Society Plaque,  in recognition of Dr Kathleen Rutherford on International Women’s Day.  A woman, described as a legend in her own life time in a 1970’s Yorkshire Television Calendar News Special about her life, now all but forgotten. Dr Kathleen was a founder member and first Club President of Soroptimist International of Harrogate in 1933.  The Club was also delighted to welcome award winning journalist Nicky Harley, whose ‘Forgotten Women’ campaign kicked off our quest to find out more about our founder President.   Civic Society Brown Plaque scheme The Club always knew of Dr Kathleen but in 2019 Nicky contacted the Club as part
Corinthian Capers – Bears, Flowers and Rare Birds in Romania

Corinthian Capers – Bears, Flowers and Rare Birds in Romania

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Carpathian Mountains A Carpathian Caper At our most recent speaker meeting on Zoom, Harrogate and District Soroptimists enjoyed a presentation by Pat Rumbold on her Romanian holiday. What a joy! This wasn’t your run-of-the-mill collection of holiday snaps with a commentary. It was a cornucopia of beautiful photographs and fascinating insights into the flora, fauna and culture of this former communist country. Pat and her husband stayed with a local guide called Dan. He took them out daily on walking tours in the beautiful countryside of the Carpathian Mountains. Brown Bears, rare birds and wild flowers European brown bear Pat entranced us with her descriptions. From a stunning array of wildlife including bears, newly awakened from their winter lethargy. Also,  birds which are rarely seen in Western Europe and beautiful wild flowers,  For those of us who have been hibernating during lockdown, her account of the