On the Saturday of the weekend celebrating Soroptimist International Manchester’s centenary our guests enjoyed (despite the cold weather!) a guided walking tour by www.jonathanschofieldtours.com on ‘Suffragettes, Significant Women and Manchester’. We heard about the Pankhurst family, Lydia Becker, Annie Kenney and many more heroines of the female suffrage movement in Manchester who are commemorated in this stroll around interiors, buildings and landmarks where women fought for representation. There are stories of reasoned argument, attacks on paintings, arrests and the raising of the Votes for Women banner on 13 October, 1905. We also learnt about some exceptional and eccentric women that have featured prominently in the Manchester story from Ann Lee ‘the bride of Christ’, through Ann Bland, Elizabeth Raffald, Mary Fildes, Elizabeth Gaskell, Shena Simon. We warmed and enjoyed a traditionally British lunch, fish & chips in the main, in Mr Thomas’s Chop House which

Thankfully the rain had stopped when the group of Soroptimists met for the first event of the Soroptimist International Manchester Centenary weekend celebrations – a visit to RHS Bridgewater in Worsley.  Members met Soroptimists from Essen in Germany, Martinique from the Caribbean and one stray member from SI Garforth Elmet, the other side of the Pennines.     They enjoyed a tour of the gardens, commenting on the abundance of spring flowers and showing particular interest in the community gardens and the original nineteenth century hot houses.  Following light refreshments in the RHS cafe the visitors returned to their hotel to prepare for the evening event.           Val Jenkins

The second event of the weekend celebrating our centenary was a buffet supper kindly hosted by Soroptimist International Manchester member Rose and her husband, John.  Visitors from our Friendship Link clubs ( S I Essen Victoria and S I Fort de France Alizes Sud) were transported from their hotel and club members arrived laden with delicious home made food. President Fiona welcomed everybody and gifts were exchanged.  Members and visitors had the opportunity to mingle, chat and relax over a glass of wine before food was served. It was a delightful evening where friendships were developed and experiences exchanged.  Everybody went home looking forward to meeting again for the further weekend celebrations. Val Jenkins

Manchester Women’s Aid (MWA) organised Steps to Safety  – a 15 km walk from Manchester City Centre to Altrincham to reflect on the one woman killed by an abusive partner or ex every five days. Our club has supported MWA for many years and chose to sponsor this event to mark International Women’s Day. Rose completed the walk (27,000 steps!) and took the opportunity to speak about the work we do. £610 was raised.  

Dr Fiona Reid, consultant urogynaecologist, spoke at our February meeting. Fiona and colleagues established Birth Aid in Uganda 15 years ago. The charity aims to improve the health and well-being of women by repairing injuries sustained during childbirth.  Initially teams went to Uganda to carry out the procedures – now they provide training to local healthcare professionals. We were pleased to be able to give a donation to this very worthwhile charity.

On Tuesday 9th December, members of Soroptimist International Manchester attended an End of Year Gathering at the Manchester Action on Street Health (MASH) premises in Manchester. Supporters and Friends of MASH were invited for an informal gathering over a buffet lunch with hot drinks and mince pies. MASH have had a challenging year. A damaged roof meant closure of their much loved and well-used drop-in centre until funds could be raised for repairs. This is a well-used space that the MASH users describe as a “lifeline”. The damaged and leaking roof has now been successfully repaired and the gathering was an opportunity to celebrate its re-opening and future plans. The MASH CEO spoke to visitors about plans to improve the drop-in space now that it is functional again. The women who access support at MASH, have themselves have identified what they want the space to

Congratulations to our girls’ football team,  Ashton on Mersey Tigers,  who are having a run of good results winning 3-2 on January 24th against the Snow Leopards. A brilliant start to 2026. I was therefore inspired again today (31st January) on a bright but cold morning to watch the girls play Urmston Meadowside. It was a really enjoyable game especially as the girls won 3-0. It was so exciting with our team having most of the chances and even hit the post. The third goal was thought to be offside by the other team but in the absence of VAR it was given and well deserved. I did ask a parent for her thoughts as to the reason for this good run of positive results and she pointed immediately to the coach, Ian, who I was standing alongside. Ian was reluctant to accept the credit

President Fiona made a beautiful patchwork quilt which was raffled and raised over £1500 for our centenary fund.

GM4Women2028 – Gender equality data reveal event on 6th February 2026