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It’s the 8th of March so it’s International Women’s Day!

It’s the 8th of March so it’s International Women’s Day!

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International Women’s Day 2021#ChooseToChallenge                 Our Soroptimist motto for this year’s International Women’s day is  #We Choose To Challenge. Soroptimists around the world have been celebrating International Women’s Day for many years.   So it’s been great to hear so much on the BBC about it this year.    From songs such as the iconic ‘Sisters are doing for themselves’ by the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin to the brilliant film ‘Hidden Figures‘. Clubs around the country have been busily posting on their social media sites.   Do take a moment to click on this link to watch a fabulous video made by SI Bristol. International Women’s Day 2021 – 537DAFF8 9E51 4403 8A4B 988212459F44 – YouTube   There is much to be optimistic about that finally by choosing to challenge the status quo we can succeed in achieveinggender equality

Younger woman with zimmer frame
So February is the shortest month?

So February is the shortest month?

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February might be the shortest month of the year but we haven’t been short on action! And as another month rolls round during Lockdown 3, we’ve been women of action as usual.   Supporting the NSPCC, the NHS and celebrating our connection to Malawi.   And not least of all, each other, at home and abroad with our Friendship Links. Eat In to Help Out Valentine’s Day provided the perfect excuse to eat in and help out to support our local NSPCC group.   Several Club members are involved with the local group and they alerted us to an amazing meal deal  Sean, mine host, at The Anchor in Leek Wootton was offering.   All we had to do was choose two courses, book a collection slot, pay and provide our own beverages.    The NSPCC left envelopes so we could make our donations with Gift Aid.   What was

Card with Kenilworth Castle and Christmas greetings
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

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Christmas with a difference! Who would have thought it back in March that we would be so familiar with Zoom, tiers and social distancing?   This year has not been how we ever imagined life would be.   Birthdays this year have taken on a new meaning as when ever we sing ‘Happy Birthday’ now we all think about washing our hands!   And Christmas is certainly going to be very different for us all. However, as ever, Club members have responded in their usual positive fashion.   Thinking of each other, and those women less fortunate as always. Christmas greetings Thanks to Marion, President Gill has sent out a lovely e-card to our sister Soroptimists in Midland Arden Region. ‘We at Soroptimist International Kenilworth and District hope that you will enjoy a peaceful Christmas and a healthy New Year with increasing optimism for the future.  Kindest regards from

What colour do you associate with November?

What colour do you associate with November?

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Red for Remembrance Poppies?   Orange for the UN 16 Days of Action? Despite the restrictions due to Covid, we have still managed to take part in Remembrance Day.   And of course Orange the World as part of the UN 16 Days of Action. Remembrance Day  2020 As with most things this year, Remembrance Sunday was very different.  No parades, no gatherings, hymns or prayers at the War Memorial in Kenilworth.   However, thanks to our Town Mayor, Richard Dickson, a small service was held and our wreath was laid on our behalf with the other service organisations in Kenilworth. As several of our Club members have a link with Kenilworth Lions, it seems entirely appropriate that our wreath is slightly in front of theirs! Orange the World Why orange to represent the 16 Days of Action of against gender based violence ? The campaign uses orange as

Screenshot from SIGBI Conference
How do you give the gift that keeps on giving?

How do you give the gift that keeps on giving?

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By lending with care that’s how! Our October meeting was back to Zoom format – which works really well when you’ve got such an interesting speaker as Sue Tonks.   As October is also Friendship month, we were joined by 3 members of our sister Club, SI Cardiff. Sue told us about she has given money through the charity Lend with Care and helped microfinance a variety of projects.   There is no interest on the loan, just repayment.    So when she gets her gift back, Sue then has the satisfaction of giving again to a new group.   Sue, as an established entrepreneur,  usually chooses to lend to women in business and agriculture. So what have been the highlights for Sue Tonks? To raise money in 2016, Sue undertook a 650K bike ride from Laos to Cambodia, that’s over 400 miles to you and me!   She vividly

Socially distanced picnic on Abbey Fields
Can you meet in Kenilworth during Covid?

Can you meet in Kenilworth during Covid?

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Well thanks to President Gill’s efforts, we’ve certainly done our best 🙂   In fact we’ve managed to meet twice! Picnic time for Soroptimists Ok so we didn’t take our Teddy Bears but we did take our best smiles to a picnic on August Bank Holiday Saturday.   In true Winnie the Pooh style it was rather a blustery day but that didn’t stop us from meeting up to enjoy each other’s company.   At a safe social distance of course 🙂 And a Speaker Meeting It was great to have a sense of normality and meet at our usual venue on the second Thursday of the month for a speaker meeting.   President Gill and Elaine went to great lengths working with the Holiday Inn to ensure that we were Covid safe.   Nineteen Club members listened to our speaker, Hazel Gumbs about how to recognise Coercion and Control. 

Zoom meeting
So what can we tell you about being Women of Action in July?

So what can we tell you about being Women of Action in July?

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Despite the restrictions due to Covid 19 we’re most definitely carrying on as women of action! We’ve taken part in a host of activities to educate, enable and empower ourselves and support our local community and generally wave the flag to ‘Stand Up for Women’.   We marked the SIGBI Day of Action by posting on our Social Media to great local effect.    We’ve achieved another first for our Club in the world of culture.   And reflected on how Lockdown has affected ourselves and our actions. A spot of virtual theatre in action to educate ourselves We enjoyed a first by watching a two handed performance live over Zoom.   It had been devised, rehearsed and produced in lockdown again all by the wonders of Zoom. The production was titled “The Betrayal” and ran for about 20 minutes.   It was inspired by Pinter’s great play

Kenilworth Town Mayor with Joan, two Soroptimists and a Kenilworth Lion around new planters
What do you do when your wooden planter decides to play Jenga?

What do you do when your wooden planter decides to play Jenga?

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Call your friends in Soroptimists of course! Back in June we got a call from our friend Joan, who lives locally in sheltered accommodation.   The planks of her wooden planter looked more like a Jenga® tower with bits sticking out.   Was this alright?    Probably not!   A Club member rushed round to survey the damage.   To her dismay Joan’s raised bed in her planter was in grave danger of collapsing.    She strongly advised Joan not to venture out until we could sort it. But in those immortal words ‘Houston we have a problem’ 🙁 We had very little in the kitty to buy Joan a new planter and very little opportunity to do any fundraising.   Our treasurer gave us enough money to buy a medium sized one.   And Garden Sleepers, the company ,we bought it from kindly gave us a special price as it

Screen shot of Soroptimists enjoying a quiz night via Zoom
How do you educate Soroptimists in a fun way?

How do you educate Soroptimists in a fun way?

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By running a quiz on Zoom! The quiz was certainly a  fun way to test of our knowledge.   We had the advantage of being sent the two quiz picture rounds in advance so had time to think about them.   And educate ourselves on rabbits and App icons before tackling the questions. So how many cartoon Rabbits can you name? There are more cartoon rabbits than you think!   In fact there were 20 rabbits (although some were hares) on the first picture round of our Club quiz this month.   It helped if you had read to younger people, or had a long memory for adverts from the 80’s.   Do you remember the ‘Caramel Bunny’  at Easter or the Duracell adverts at Christmas?   There were of course such classic favourites as Peter Rabbit, Bugs Bunny, Dillon and Thumper The second picture round on App icons which also