As part of our Centenary Celebrations members of Soroptimist International Manchester were invited to afternoon tea with the Lord Mayor of Manchester Cllr Carmine Grimshaw. As the town hall is still undergoing refurbishment the civic and ceremonial team had relocated to the central library which was the venue for this very special afternoon. President Sophie and guests were warmly welcomed by the Lord Mayor and we were introduced to the Lord Mayor’s consort Cllr June Hitchen. They are colleagues in the Miles Platting and Newton Heath ward and it emerged that Cllr Hitchen had previously attended a Manchester dinner when she was Lord Mayor.Both the Lord Mayor and Consort were interested to know the history of our club and the many projects we support especially during our centenary year. We found some common interests in that they also support a girls football team and the Consort had secured donations of Revlon beauty products for Contact and had visited the hostel.
When the doors of the banqueting room were opened we all gave a gasp as the table was beautifully decorated and laden with delicious looking food. We were not disappointed. After much chatter and partaking of the delicious sandwiches, pastries and cakes the Lord Mayor asked each of us to give brief details of our own Soroptimist journey and the reasons why we became Soroptimists.
The Lord Mayor then moved to the head of the table and thanked us for our support for women and girls in Manchester and beyond. President Sophie responded with our thanks for a truly enjoyable and memorable occasion in this our Centenary Year which was the perfect way to conclude a lovely afternoon.
I think Susan Hollick summed up what we all thought as we left; we were proud of one another and proud to be a Soroptimist.
Carole Swarbrick