Is Zoom the new word for Club meetings?

Definitely!  Like many Clubs, we’ve embraced the new technology to hold virtual meetings using Zoom.   Thanks to President Gill, we achieved a first for Club and many members.   Despite the restrictions of Lockdown, Gill, in true Soroptimist style, enabled to many of Club to take part.

We had a fabulous meeting with 34 of Club.  We greeted members who can’t always attend.  Said hello to a new member who transferred just as Lockdown arrived.   And enjoyed questions from a prospective new member – who wants to attend our next meeting – yay!   It was very gratifying to see so many of our older members join us as ‘Silver Surfers’!

And did it stop us having a speaker?

Of course not!   Angela Sadler from SI Solihull spoke to us about her work as a JP in Birmingham.

Many of us already knew Angela as she had shown us around the courts when we were planning to take part in the survey for Dame Vera Baird.

It’s amazing to think that it’s took 558 years for the first women to be appointed.   Perhaps not surprisingly it was not until 1920 that 7 women were appointed.   Apparently Lord Walsingham felt that ‘women have not a judicial mind’!   Thankfully that attitude has moved on and by April 2018,  55% of JPs were women.   A much truer reflection of Society.

Impact of Covid 19

With the rapid move towards using video platforms, JPs may now work from home and hear cases.   Indeed in some ways Covid 19 may even have helped the prosecution in Domestic Abuse cases.    Sufferers no longer  they have the worry of accidently meeting the perpetrator .

And what qualities do you need to be a JP?

Those of any Soroptimist!   There are 6 criteria. Good character; understanding & communication; social awareness; maturity & sound temperament; sound judgement; commitment & reliability.

If you think you’ve got what it takes then you can apply on line