Good Morning to all my sister Soroptimists  What a busy week we, and the world, have been having.  Watching the news of the G7 from Cornwall reminds us of how important it is to communicate, listen and negotiate the best possible outcomes to our problems.  I won’t comment on the football Euro’s matches that are also going to dominate the TV screenings for a few weeks, but do hope that the pleas for respect and kindness during these often exciting games does not lead to an increase in domestic abuse episodes that seem to frequently rise while viewers respond emotionally to action on the pitches. I am making the final notes for the Regional Celebratory Event next Saturday 19 June. We have a large attendance and I really hope that you will all enjoy it.    I will give you the final figures in next week’s Newsletter

Good morning to all my sister Soroptimists  Yesterday was World Environment Day and many of our clubs are embarking on environmental projects from litter picking to rejuvenating communal flower beds,  from planting trees to supporting community groups with seeds and vegetable growing –  so please do keep the news flowing as we all love to hear about the projects that our clubs are engaged in. S.I.Darlington & District report that they have been working on the “Wave of Hope” organised by Fairtrade to lobby the leaders at the G7  summit in Cornwall this week.  They have decorated paper and cardboard hands with images and slogans to get out the message about  the need to work together for a fairer world.  The farmers who are helped by Fairtrade are among those people in the world who have been hardest hit by COVID-19,  climate change and extreme

Good morning to all my sister Soroptimists:- This lovely warm and sunny weekend brings happier thoughts of the summer to come and our, hopefully, increasing freedom of movement.   It is saddened by the news of Federation President Johanna’s admission to hospital with a severe stroke.   We are told that she is being well cared for and that she is pain free and serene.   Johanna has a deep religious faith and I am sure that even if she is unable to communicate with those around her that her family will be comforted by her beliefs. The preparations for my Regional President’s event on Saturday 19 June is on track and we had a successful and enjoyable ‘dress rehearsal’ last Monday evening.  I have been in conversation with a number of members about the second half of the programme when President Johanna was due to join us

Good Morning to all my sister Soroptimists in Northern England : After a week of showers and more persistent rain,  I hope that you are all drying out now and able to tackle more outdoor jobs this coming week.  We seem to be on a theme of ‘gardening’ with many clubs reporting environmental projects from tidying village and town flower beds to planting trees,   from supporting after-school gardening clubs to thinking about how to recycle all those plastic pots. S.I. Penrith and District  have started on one of their Centenary projects with a major tidy-up of the Coronation Garden in Penrith.   The photograph shows the start of the work in progress and we are looking forward to seeing the finished result.   Pat Newsham reports that this is the first practical project that they have been able to be involved in for some time.  The six

To all my sister Soroptimists in Northern England: Thank you to everyone who has sent in news items for this week’s edition.  Certainly, it looks as if club programmes are starting their new years with energy and exercise as well as thinking of others less fortunate than ourselves. S.I. South Shields and District have started their latest project “Adopt a Planter (or two)”  to improve the local area in Harton Village.   They spent the Bank Holiday morning making over one of the planters at the corner of Moor Lane and Sunderland Road.  This was cleared of all weeds and refuse, and then planted up.   What a mammoth task it was given how badly it was overgrown.   They have their eye on a second one now!   Fortunately, the weather stayed fine in the morning, and just as they left, the heavens opened watering everything in for

To all my sister Soroptimists in Northern England. You must have all been very busy over the past few weeks with your future plans and Annual General Meetings.  I have few reports this week so hope to hear from you with your club and member news for next week. From S.I.Middlesbrough  who are reminding us that from 10 to 16 May is Mental Health Awareness Week  and this year it will focus on reconnecting with nature.  For the month of May, and beyond,  members of S.I.Middlesbrough will try to carry out acts of kindness to promote mental wellbeing.   These acts could be as simple as taking someone to the seaside or park,  giving them flowers or a plant.  Any act of kindness, over and above what we normally do, will bring pleasure to someone.   Club members are even thinking of aiming to give 100 acts

To all my sister Soroptimists in Northern England, I hope that you all are feeling that Spring has arrived and that May will  “bring forth the flowers “ and liven up our gardens.  I have just heard the statistics on the weather for the past month and it tells us that in the UK there was a frost on each of the 30 days in April.  Too cold for most of the little seedlings in my greenhouse to even think about going outside! First, we celebrate the life of Miss Florence Kirkby MBE ,  a member of S.I.Newcastle upon Tyne for 47 years.  She is featured in this May selection of prominent Soroptimists in #whoisshe  on the SIGBI Centennial web site.   She will be remembered by many members as she was our Regional President from 2010 to 2011. I leave you to read of all

To all my sister Soroptimists in Northern England  April 25th is the start of the World Health Organisation’s  World Immunisation Week.  This subject of immunisation must be in everyone’s minds at the moment,  not only thinking about ourselves and whether we have had one or two jabs,  but thinking of the people of countries  where access to vaccines is sparse and fraught with difficulties -  politically, logistically and economically.  I wonder if there are any joint projects related to COVID-19 where Soroptimist clubs have worked together with their Friendship Link clubs to compare their comparative situations and help each other ? Do let me know if you have news of any collaborative schemes. To start this week’s news on an upbeat note,  I have received some lovely photographs from  S.I.Tynemouth, Whitley Bay & District who have been out and about in the sunshine in a

To all my sister Soroptimists in Northern England What beautiful blue skies we have been having for some days now.  Spring is certainly here and I hope that the early morning frosts have not been causing too much damage in your gardens. On Wednesday 21st April it is the U.N.World Day of Creativity and Innovation.  I hope that this is reflected by members and clubs as they have their A.G.M.s and plan their programmes for the next club year -  and the main months to celebrate our 100 years of being Soroptimists around the world. Last Monday,  I was invited to join S.I.Darlington & District for their club meeting when they had a fascinating guest speaker -  Sue Fortescue.   Sue is currently living near Bournemouth but has travelled the world with her work in IT and as a translator as she speaks fluent French and

To all my sister Soroptimists in Northern England  This is the season of Club Annual General Meetings and I thank all of the club officers for their past year of service and wish all the new incoming post holders a happy experience in this our Centennial year. S.I. Stockton-on-Tees  have sent me further news of their Centenary Project –  RAINBOW ROOM  .  This was briefly presented at the last Regional Meeting but I thought you might like to read more about how it was organised and delivered. “Stockton Soroptimists met in January to discuss ideas for celebrating the Soroptimist Centenary.  Late last year members had collected 100 sanitary items for the local Food Bank but that was just an extension of what they had been doing for some time. Jane Leak had heard about a Sunderland Hospital having a ‘Wobble Room’ – a designated place