In the November meeting members heard from Cambridgeshire-based mathematical historian, Snezana Lawrence, who spoke about women in the history of mathematics, drawing on her new book “A Little History of Mathematics” published this year by Yale University Press. The talk explored what mathematics is and its uses and showcased female mathematicians from the time of the followers of Pythagoras to the present day. Members learned about Hypatia, the first woman mathematician whose work we know, to Maria Gaetana Agnesi, an Italian who dedicated her life to both Newtonian mathematics and supporting women and girls, to Alicia Boole Stott, a British mathematician specialising in four-dimensional geometry. Many more women who were celebrated, hidden, or who broke new frontiers in mathematical sciences can be found in the book, which uses concepts and words that the average reader can understand. It is packed with beautiful illustrations – some

Soroptimist International of King’s Lynn continue to support our vital local charities. During the November meeting, club members brought along food items to donate to the amazing Foodbank, which supplies emergency food parcels to residents who are really struggling to put food on the table for themselves and their children. The items shown in the photograph will provide a balanced diet for one individual for three days. The provisions donated, including a cash donation, were sufficient to create 6 of these parcels. Clair, the office supervisor, was delighted to receive the food and explained that “without the generosity of local people and organisations such as the Soroptimists, our work would be so much more difficult.”

As part of its 50 for 50 initiative whereby Soroptimist International of King’s Lynn is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year, members collected 50 novels for The King’s Lynn Minster’s second-hand fundraising bookstall. Earlier this year, the club became aware that The King’s Lynn Minster (St Margaret’s Church), wanted novels and books for their Second Hand fundraising bookstall. Member Bea Knights recently met with Revd Fiona Munn and Revd Mark Diamond at The King’s Lynn Minster to hand over 50 pre-loved novels which the members have collected. Revd Mark Diamond was delighted to receive the books donated and said, “the books will be very well received”. “Our bookstall is very popular.” Club members continue collecting items to support worthy charities and causes, such as Tapping House, Baby Basics, Foodbank/Purfleet Trust among others.        

A group of 5 members from Soroptimist International of King’s Lynn attended the Federation Conference in Birmingham the first weekend in November 2025. Sunday was the day for the change over of Presidents and the members of Soroptimist International of King’s Lynn were very proud to see their member Kim Bramham become the Regional President for the London Anglia Region. Kim commented: Attending Conference is always inspiring, and this year more so as it is quite a few years since a member of the King’s Lynn club has had the honour of being Regional President.  I chose ‘Togetherness and Unity for Women and Girls’ as my theme because we can make a difference when we work together.  I am looking forward to the coming year, when we will continue to work on raising awareness of issues that affect women and girls locally, across East Anglia

In 2023/24 the club was very pleased to have Baby Basics West Norfolk as one of their club charities and donated £583 in 2024. Following on from that donation, the charity has been included in the members of Soroptimist International of King’s Lynn celebration of their club’s 50th anniversary.   On Tuesday 6th October Baby Basics were presented by member Sue Renwick with a donation of 50 items of clothing and accessories to help support new mothers and their babies. The organiser Maggie Anderson and other volunteers were delighted with the gift.

At the recent October speaker meeting, the club was pleased to welcome Sally-Ann a textile artist to introduce us to the practice of Slow Stitch for Wellbeing,  a means to relax and de-stress. Sally-Ann talked about her background and how she took the step in her 50’s to go back into education after previously working in retail and  having her own business in Design. Sally-Ann discovered a passion for learning and completed a degree in textiles at Norwich / Carmarthen. Totally hooked on learning and developing moved back to Cambridge to complete a masters in fine Art. Finally, Sally-Ann has settled here in Kings Lynn where she feels inspired and loves the Norfolk expansive sky and the wide  horizons which  give her a sense of freedom.  Against a background of emotional stress and lack of self-esteem Sally-Ann has found Slow Stitch for Wellbeing to be

On September 12th to 14th 2025 we held our Friendship Weekend in Kings Lynn. A weekend of events to mark 50 years since the club’s founding. The weekend was an occasion for strengthening friendships and a chance to celebrate our historic town and its women past and present. The Friendship Weekend was also an opportunity to meet guests from our linked clubs in Lubeck, Germany and Waterland in the Netherlands. Several members of which had made the journey over, hosted by Kings Lynn members. New to Soroptimism (I joined in May 2025) I’d looked forward to the weekend with a mixture of excitement and a little apprehension. There was so much happening and, as a new member, I was still learning names and understanding how Soroptimism worked. I needn’t have worried. From the moment the weekend began (an evening  gathering hosted by Corinne at her

The Saturday evening of the Friendship weekend  offered the chance to make a special long service presentation to the club's longest standing member Rachel Seakins. Rachel has been a dedicated member of the club for 50 years after becoming a member in 1975 shortly after the club commenced. Fifty years ago, Harold Wilson was Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher became the leader of the Conservative Party, the first commercial oil was pumped from the North Sea and Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft at the age of 19. Inflation and unemployment were at record highs and Fawlty Towers made its first appearance on TV. 1975 also saw the birth of David Beckham, Jamie Oliver, Kate Winslet …….and, on 12th July, Soroptimist International of King’s Lynn. Rachel Seakins, our longest serving member, joined the club later that year. Membership was by invitation of the Executive Committee. The club initially

Soroptimist International of King’s Lynn recently held their fourteenth annual public speaking competition for Year 6 pupils. The event was held at The College of West Anglia, with nine teams from local primary schools competing for the Benita Haynes Trophy, named to remember a past member. Topics discussed ranged from the importance of preventing food waste, through to whether children need to learn handwriting in this digital age.  Grimston's Holly Meadows School took the honours, winning with their talk on whether younger people would be better suited to lead, or whether the experience that older people bring is more valuable The Mayor of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, Councillor Andy Bullen and his consort, Jane Jestice attended, with Cllr Andy Bullen presenting the prizes.  The judging panel was made up of Cathy Cottridge from Soroptimist International. Cathy is Soroptimist International of Great Britain and Ireland's Immediate Past

Home-Start Norfolk is one of Soroptimist International of King’s Lynn charities of the year for 2025, thanks to the passionate advocacy of returning member, Bea Knights. Bea is the King’s Lynn & West Norfolk Family Services Coordinator, and she presented to the June meeting with two of her 16 volunteers, Rita and Sarah. Home-Start supports struggling families with children up to 5 years old with home visits, telephone support, referrals and signposting to other services. The families Home-Start supports often have complex needs and circumstances. The children might have special educational needs and disabilities. Parents might be experiencing poor mental health due to suffering from domestic abuse, previous substance misuse, general mental illness and post-natal depression. There are many military families in the area, with a lack of wider family support from their own parents and friends. The biggest issue is rural isolation. Local support