Our speaker on 2nd July, Richard Garner, gave us a delightful talk on the media from his perspective as a journalist in the field of education for 30 years, covering the ethics and financial pressures in journalism.  He started by telling us how 40 or so years ago, would be journalists started their career on a local paper covering the whole range of things that interest a local community.  He is now the Education Editor for The Independent, previously working for local papers, The Daily Mirror and The Times Educational Supplement.  He decided quite early on in his career that he did not want to write about anything and everything, but wanted to specialize in educational journalism, which he has done for the last 30 years.  He was bombarded with questions ranging from the specific on educational matters to his opinion on the outcome of

At our recent AGM and Change of Insignia, outgoing Joint Presidents Karin Weston and Pam Robertson reflected on an enjoyable year, during which club members and friends had been privileged to hear truly inspirational speakers from Safer Places (Women’s Refuge),  Mercy Ships, Water Aid and Isabel Hospice, all charities supported by the club.   Fun and successful fundraising had enabled donations to Isabel Hospice, Water Aid and to A-CET (African Children’s Educational Trust: www.a-cet.org ) which builds schools in rural Ethiopia. Indeed the latter was the culmination of a three year commitment to A-CET.      

Tuesday 19th June and President Anne Miles was once again hosting our Care4aCuppa tea party in her garden and once again we were blessed with lovely weather.  The tea party went with its usual swing; about 50 people turned up during the course of the afternoon. We raised money from donations and from the raffle. We were also delighted that Barbara Doherty, President of Isabel Hospice, was able to join us.  She gave a short speech about the Hospice and the importance of all the fund raising that goes on, from the big events to the smaller ones and how grateful they are for every penny raised.  The afternoon raised the staggering sum of £442; we had a lovely afternoon catching up with friends within and without SI Hertford & District. Thank you President Anne for a lovely afternoon.      

On Saturday  9th June, we hosted London Chilterns’ Regional Meeting, and we were delighted to welcome President Yinka Soetan and fellow Soroptimists to Wodson Park in Ware. After the Open Council Meeting and other Soroptimist Business in the morning, we sat down to a good lunch and a chat before embarking on the afternoon session. It was entitled “Leadership thro’ Sport” and Jenny Evans from Sports Leaders UK gave a brief history and outline of the organisation before handing over to two award holders, Sarah Miller and Rochelle Alexandra, who gave inspirational presentations, showing how their lives had been transformed. Both had become confident, self-reliant young women, able to transfer the skills acquired through sports leadership to other aspects of their life. Rochelle described herself as “an ordinary person with an extraordinary start in life”. To complete the day, Rochelle succeeded in getting us all

SPEAKER MEETING 7th MAY  The first meeting of our new Presidential Year took place at the home of President Anne,  where members enjoyed an informal supper before being entertained  by Dorothy Thomas with her tales from New Zealand – “Mangroves, Glaciers and Gold Panning”. With her information, humour and excellent photography, Dorothy revived happy memories for some members while whetting the appetite of others.