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Milton Keynes SI is supporting MK Red Cross by knitting blankets for refugees as many are locating there. Some members of our club decided to take up the challenge and contributed by knitting squares. Together with some of club member Ros’ village friends we have made and delivered this blanket. Two baby blankets made by a friend were also delivered. We plan to make more and already members and friends are knitting away. Thanks to all who have helped in any way. There was something special about sitting, sewing and chatting when assembling the blanket.<\/p>\n ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n 16th November 2016<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n We had a wonderful talk from Chris Sewell about the charity work of Money for Madagascar<\/em>, some of the country’s history and what life there can be like. Chris also bought lots of beautiful Madagascan items and crafts (mostly hand made locally) for us to buy. Proceeds went to\u00a0Money For Madagascar<\/a>\u00a0which support\u00a0projects aimed at tackling many of the key issues facing Madagascar today including: extreme poverty, loss of bio-diversity, poor health, lack of food security and limited access to education.<\/p>\n ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n 19th October 2016<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n At October’s club meeting we celebrated some of the Programme Action work that we have been involved in. It was also Breast Cancer Awareness month so to mark this some of our members wore something pink.<\/p>\n ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n Regional Conference,\u00a0June 2016<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Around 60 Soroptimists from clubs around the region attended this conference in Milton Keynes. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n February 2016<\/p>\n Dr Deirdre Cilliers gave a most interesting and informative talk which all of those present could have listened to all night! Not only did Deirdre explain comparative genetics but also chromosomal disorders (where micro arrays which are twice as effective as previous methods are used), new technology called ‘next generation sequencing’ (which can sequence the whole genome) and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n November 2015 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n December 12th 2015<\/p>\n Five members of the Club attended the London Chilterns Regional Human Rights Day Celebration and Region Meeting held at the beautiful venue Mayflower Place in Hertingfordbury. Human Rights Day, December 10th, also marked the launch of the Soroptimist International President’s Appeal ‘Educate to Lead: Nepal’ which ‘seeks to empower and enable women and girls to overcome adversity and develop leadership skills that will benefit entire communities.<\/p>\n ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n Glasgow, November 2015<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Glasgow was the venue for this year\u2019s conference at which around 1200 delegates attended including 10 from our own club.This year\u2019s conference was truly outstanding with an array of excellent key note speakers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n On Friday, Dame Stella Rimmington who needs no introduction, Radio 4\u2019s Sarah Montague and Green and Black chocolate founder Jo Fairley all spoke about what \u2018Delivering the Difference\u2019, the theme of Conference, meant to them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n On Saturday, Justice Rowan Downing QC, who recently spent nearly 9 years as a judge on the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia dealing with war crimes hearings arising from the Khmer Rouge period, gave another excellent presentation. As you can imagine we heard harrowing accounts of some of the horrific atrocities carried out during that time but he stressed that the voices of the victims must be heard. It is our humanitarian duty to the people who are left.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Andrew Bevan from the International Justice Mission spoke about how the organisation as a global justice movement is trying to draw the world\u2019s attention to everyday violence and endeavouring to influence leaders to become champions for protecting the poor.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We were also able to enjoy excellent entertainment and have fun at Glasgow Science Centre where the Conference evening Reception was held.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Next year we shall look forward to Malta and the 82nd SIGBI Conference and perhaps some fine and sunny weather!<\/p>\n ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————<\/p>\n September 2015<\/p>\n The Nepalese restaurant, Yeti, in East Oxford was the venue for a fun evening. Around 50 Soroptimists and friends enjoyed an excellent meal and in so doing raised around \u00a3500 for our ActionAid project in Sudap village in Eastern Nepal. We are helping to build a child care centre so that children can be looked after in a safe environment whilst parents are able to earn an income outside the home.<\/p>\n October 2015<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Seventy Soroptimists, friends, colleagues and family members were treated to a most entertaining evening by one of television’s most talented comedy writers, producer and script editor, Paul Mayhew-Archer. He is best known for co-writing the hit television series ‘The Vicar of Dibley’ with Richard Curtis and other works include ‘Mrs Brown’s Boys’ and the adaptation for television of ‘Esio Trot’. <\/p>\n You can find more information about Parkinson’s disease at\u00a0http:\/\/www.parkinsons.org.uk\/<\/a><\/p>\n ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————<\/p>\n 15th June 2015<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n At June\u2019s meeting we were joined by Peter Barker, a volunteer on the Otmoor Reserve, who\u00a0gave a wonderful informative and illustrative talk on the wild life and flora on Otmoor\u00a0throughout the seasons. The RSPB owns the Reserve of about 1000 acres and we heard\u00a0about the great variety of birds that is present throughout the year from starlings roosting in\u00a0the reed beds in winter to turtle doves in summer and despite the high losses of lapwings to\u00a0predators, they are still one of the success stories on Otmoor. As well as the variety of birds,\u00a0Peter also highlighted the many other species such as; rare butterflies, deer, dragon flies\u00a0leverets that find the ideal habitat in Otmoor. We were all definitely inspired to go and visit.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Otmoor Birding blog<\/a> has lots more information and photos of the birds at Otmoor.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————<\/p>\n 15th April\u00a02015<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n April’s meeting saw our annual AGM, celebrating all of the hard work by Sarah as our President for 2014\/15. Thank you Sarah! We now welcome Ros and Moira as our new joint Presidents for the year!<\/p>\n We also had a buffet, but you don’t want to see pictures of us eating!\u00a0So here is the lovely Sarah, Moira and Ros\u00a0marking the handing over of the Presidential chain.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————<\/p>\n 18th March 2015<\/p>\n At March’s meeting we took the time to hear some of our own member’s stories. Moira told us\u00a0about her time living in Uganda battling with geckos, limited electricity and living very far from the nearest town as a newlywed and for 15 years thereon! Carolyn shared her experience of being a Pets as Therapy (PAT) dog owner, providing joy and companionship to elderly residents with her lovely dog Millie who was also put to the test with a scent trail challenge on the night! Margaret shared her story of her time in picturesque Switzerland with her husband as part of the church community for students all over the world.<\/p>\n To close the night we marked the UN’s World Water Day (22nd March) with a quick fire quiz to help raise our awareness of water scarcity, sanitation and supply issues globally.<\/p>\n ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————<\/p>\n March 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2018As a first timer I reflect on how exhilarating and informative being a delegate\u00a0has been. Attending Soroptimist International events reinforced both what an amazing and\u00a0effective organisation I belong to and also how important our project work and consequently\u00a0the data collected is in helping to maintain our ECOSOC status. I am proud to say I am a\u00a0Soroptimist. From the many events I attended it was apparent that the Nordic countries\u00a0really are in the forefront of gender equality. As the Minister for Gender Equality for Sweden\u00a0stated \u2018feminist thinking goes into the budget so the Minister of Finance has to be onboard<\/em>\u2019.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Perhaps this is telling us something!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n Harrogate November 6th 2014<\/p>\n WOMEN LEADING CHANGE TOGETHER<\/p>\n Harrogate welcomed around 1,300 delegates of which 8 attended from SI Pxford, from most countries of our Federation to the 80th Conference. It is the place where the first Federation Council Meeting was held in 1934!<\/p>\n We were informed and entertained by three excellent key note speakers. Sahar Hashemi\u00a0(OBE), co-founder of the UK\u2019s first coffee bar chain certainly lived up to her reputation as\u00a0one of \u2018UK\u2019s most inspirational female entrepreneurs and a powerful speaker on innovation\u00a0and entrepreneurial mindset\u2019. Professor Susan Vinnicombe (CBE), whose Research Centre\u00a0is unique in Europe, spoke of gender diversity on corporate boards, women\u2019s leadership\u00a0styles and the issues involved in women developing managerial careers. A most informative\u00a0and interesting talk.<\/p>\n Dame Jenni Murray (OBE) entertained us through recalling many of\u00a0her experiences whilst interviewing on Radio 4\u2019s Woman\u2019s Hour. Evening entertainment\u00a0by the Harrogate Band and the award winning White Rosettes culminated in an excellent\u00a0conference.<\/p>\n We can now look forward to Glasgow which will be the venue of the 81st\u00a0Federation Conference in November of next year and where our very own Jenny Vince will\u00a0be in the Chair as Federation President.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————<\/span><\/p>\n 15th October 2014<\/p>\n We were joined in October by Ann and her very soft friend, Mya who both volunteer as a fantastic team for the charity Pets As Therapy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Set up over 30 years ago, the charity has over 22,000 registered pets (dogs, \u00a0cats and a few rabbits!) who provide theraputic visits to communities (schools, residential car homes, hospitals) to help support individuals and groups through contact with animals.<\/p>\n Since becoming a volunteer a year ago, Ann has managed to reach out to over 5 Oxfordshire schools helping to tackle illiteracy problems. How you might ask? Through their Dog2Read \u00a0scheme!<\/p>\n Mya has become a celebrity within schools, she’s even had good behaviour and performance awards named in her honour! By providing an alternative outlet and setting for reading, children who struggled with literacy were able to move up to 2 reading levels over the period of 2 weeks!<\/p>\n Mya and Ann have also helped dog-phobic individuals tackle their fears, encouraged a resident to talk again following regular visits and provided good dog ownership guidance to children. Ann has also supported one volunteer with her dog who suffers with a disability causing shortened femur bones, to help facilitate conversations with children about disabilities, becoming a school celebrity in her own right!<\/p>\n A big thank you to Ann and Mya who came to speak to us, and for Carolyn who brought her own PAT volunteer, Millie with her to join us for the evening.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————<\/p>\n 17th September 2014<\/p>\n We had a talk from Stephanie Wilde about the benefits of mindfulness to help relieve anxiety, depression, everyday stresses as well as taking more time to appreciate things we may take for granted.<\/p>\n For many of us it was our first venture into mindfulness, and not knowing what to expect we decided to take the plunge and were guided through a few exercises by Stephanie, our lovely Traute’s daughter who has found mindfulness a great source of support and calm.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We started with a simple breathing exercise and moved on to lesson one – the raisin. Some of us can’t stand raisins, while others can’t get enough of them, so exploring all of the textures, smells and taste of our raisins brought a completely new experience to us all!<\/p>\n It’s safe to say that we left September’s meeting feeling quite calm and prepared for our next day, with a new appreciation of this great form of meditation; some of us looking to explore Mindfulness more fully in future. Thank you Stephanie!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————<\/p>\n 16th July 2014<\/p>\n At July’s meeting, we heard from two of our good friend’s from SI Thames Valley\u00a0Soroptimist Group, Rosie and Johanna. One of the smallest groups in the region but by no means small in their ambitions.<\/p>\n The London Chilterns Soroptimist Groups have been avidly knitting hats over the past few months for the Kori Project; helping keep communities warm during the cold nights in Sierra Leone, where owning clothes is a luxury not often experienced by many in the Kori Region. Rosie and Johanna came to tell us how the Kori Project is progressing, tackling Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and now constructing the first library to be built in Sierra Leone since the Civil War!<\/p>\n From raising money, making hand-made sanitary towels, to sending shipments of books, seeds, shovels and soft furnishings, they have been able to support a community to educate and empower women and young girls. Rosie has also helped educate women around safe birthing practices, helping to address the very high mortality rate for expectant mothers.<\/p>\n Their big focus for the Kori Project is to stop the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) which has been practised in Sierra Leone for many generations. Rosie, an incredible Soroptimist who was born in the region, has unparalleled understanding of the superstitions and taboos associated with FGM, and has helped educate and empower both potential victims and women performing the procedures to find alternative, sustainable and secure income through farming. By giving women the tools they need, the farming communities have thrived across other villages in one of the most fertile areas in the region. Men and young boys have been engaged around the topic, and now the practice is nearly eliminated within these farming communities supported by Rosie, Johanna and the club.<\/p>\n ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————<\/p>\n By supporting communities, families, couples and individuals, the Abingdon Emergency Food Bank has helped over 700 people and received over 9500 donations over the past year. They have provided a friendly face and a warm, safe environment for those in need. Sometimes those who find asking for help difficult or daunting, often from situations out of their control.<\/p>\n To donate to the Abingdon Food Bank and help them to collect the items most in need at the moment you can visit their website:\u00a0Abingdon Emergency Food Bank<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————<\/p>\n 15th May 2013<\/p>\n Speaker: Suzanne Holbrook<\/p>\n Suzanne is the Vice President (Women) for the Oxford University Student Union. She\u00a0gave a most interesting and challenging talk on projects aiming to change the attitudes\u00a0and behaviours of students around sexual consent in order to create a culture of healthy\u00a0sexual communication and eliminate violence against women and girls.<\/p>\n Suzanne\u00a0appealed for funding and circulated leaflets and her funding proposal to all present.<\/p>\n Suzanne’s talk gave rise to many questions\u00a0and enthusiasm to help her projects. Pam suggested we forward any further questions to\u00a0Suzanne and discuss how to move a possible project forward at at future meeting.<\/p>\n http:\/\/ousu.org\/get-involved\/campaigns\/ithappenshere\/sexualconsent\/<\/a><\/p>\n Speaker: Barbara Beach<\/p>\n Barbara talked about her family’s years of fostering a number of children and astonished\u00a0and amused us with her many anecdotes. It is clear that several children benefited\u00a0greatly from the care they received. We also got to know much more about Barbara’s non\u00a0SI life which was especially fascinating.<\/p>\n Speaker: Jenny Vince<\/p>\n Jenny talked about the future of SIGBI and began by asking us to note down why we joined and what we expect of the organisation in the future. Membership is ageing and\u00a0declining so it is essential to take action. Jenny will feed back our comments together\u00a0with those from other groups to whom the presentation will be given.<\/p>\n ‘Associate\u00a0membership’ and’ light touch clubs’ are being trialled to see if possible members might\u00a0be attracted in the first instance by a less structured approach. We discussed why SI\u00a0seems to have a low profile when we have UN representation.<\/p>\n ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n 20\/3\/13<\/p>\n Speaker: Andrea Oughton, Country Commissioner Girlguiding Oxfordshire<\/p>\n Andrea gave an illustrated and enlightening talk on Guiding as it is today. She first\u00a0demonstrated the close links between the aims of Guiding and those of Soroptimism,\u00a0demonstrating the logic of the increasingly close connection between the two organisations.<\/p>\n The new Guiding motto is \u201cWe discover, we grow\u201d and no longer, \u201cGirls in the lead\u201d. She\u00a0went on to explain that Guiding is the largest voluntary organisation in the UK with 80,000\u00a0adult volunteers and 500,000 girls involved. One in four eight year olds in the UK is a\u00a0Brownie. To put this in perspective, the membership would fill Wembley Stadium more than\u00a0six times and it would need 9,000 double-decker buses to transport members there.<\/p>\n Guiding provides an important Girls only space which all girls can join regardless of class,\u00a0race, religion or handicap. The Organisation is seeking to shed its white, middle class image\u00a0and many aspects, including the format of the Promise, are being reviewed to take account\u00a0of the variety of members involved now. Girls in 144 countries take part. The age ranges\u00a0covered are: Rainbows 5-7 (4-7 in Northern Ireland where they were first piloted), Brownies\u00a07 \u2013 10; Guides 10 \u2013 14 and Senior Section 14 \u2013 25. Guiding is no longer a \u201cUniformed\u00a0Organisation\u201d. Members at all levels choose from a variety of approved clothing and are\u00a0involved in choosing their group activities. There is a strong emphasis on fun as well as\u00a0encouraging girls to learn skills and to develop a high level of self-esteem. All levels of\u00a0Guiding still take badges but these are often very different from those that members of SIOD\u00a0would have experienced when young.<\/p>\n Research has shown that two thirds of award winning women had been involved in Guiding which reflects the success of the Organisation.<\/p>\n ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n 20\/2\/13<\/p>\n Speaker: Joanne Swift<\/p>\n Joanne Swift \u00a0spoke briefly of her personal background, her job as a lawyer in the local government\u00a0sector and being a Soroptimist since 2001.<\/p>\n She has taken on several officer roles, often doubling them, and has recently taken over\u00a0from Yinka Soetan as Regional President. Her informal theme for the year is \u2018Awareness,\u00a0Advocacy and Action\u2019, in particular raising awareness of the inappropriate incarceration\u00a0of women, and the movement \u2018Taxis against Trafficking\u2019.<\/p>\n The larger part of her talk concentrated on the future of Soroptimism and the challenges\u00a0facing the organisation, with membership numbers falling by 3% each year. She remains\u00a0convinced that the most effective way of increasing membership is through personal\u00a0contact. Two pilot projects are being considered to ease the membership problem:\u00a0Associate Membership and a virtual club or \u2018Light Touch Club\u2019 to be discussed at the\u00a0next Regional Meeting. Her own club in Aylesbury has only 15 members, but they\u00a0nevertheless feel they do make a difference.<\/p>\n ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n 21\/11\/12<\/p>\n Speaker: Dr Malcolm Benson<\/p>\n Dr Benson trained in London Hospital around the same area and time as the recently televised\u00a0period drama, \u2018Call the Midwife\u2019. He also studied philosophy at the Open University,\u00a0most useful in his subsequent involvement in medical ethics.<\/p>\n He gave a brief overview of the common framework used in the analysis of medical\u00a0ethics, the four-principle approach postulated by Tom Beauchamp and James Childress:\u00a0Beneficience (acting in the best interests of the patient), Non-malficience (doing no\u00a0harm), Autonomy (respect for the patient\u2019s right to choose or refuse treatment), Justice\u00a0(the fair distribution of scarce health resources).<\/p>\n Inevitably, conflicts arise between these and other general principles, religious and\u00a0cultural concerns. These values can only offer board guidance for understanding\u00a0conflicts, not answers on how to handle particular situations.<\/p>\n ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n 19\/09\/12<\/p>\n Speaker: Lisa Whiteside<\/p>\n Lisa talked about her work as a Colour Analyst and Personal Style Consultant with\u00a0the country\u2019s leading Image Consultants, House of Colour.\u00a0It all started 28 years ago when she saw how a friend, almost overnight, dramatically\u00a0enhanced her appearance. Until then, Lisa, like so many of us, had a wardrobe full of\u00a0clothes and nothing to wear.<\/p>\n Essentially, all of us are born naturally suited to a range of colours within one of the\u00a04 seasons; the range of colours may change every decade or so, but never the season\u00a0\u2013 once a winter, always a winter. Clients go through a colour analysis, which can be\u00a0followed by a shape and style analysis as well. All of which results in a new image,which will make the right impression, and more importantly create a new inner self-confidence. Inevitably clients will also save time and money, and as an added bonus,\u00a0will be able to pack everything needed for a fortnight\u2019s holiday in one small suitcase.<\/p>\n ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n 18\/07\/12<\/p>\n Speaker: Pam Lee<\/p>\n Pam joined SI in 1974, and 11 years later began her Soroptimist \u2018career\u2019 almost by\u00a0chance (as so often happens) when she offered hospitality to a visiting American\u00a0Soroptimist lawyer from Sacramento. By the time she had attended the International\u00a0Conference in Melbourne in 1987, she was hooked.<\/p>\n Pam spoke about 3 journeys in particular, to Cameroon, India and the Caribbean\u00a0Islands. The charter ceremony in Cameroon was very moving, as is the start of any\u00a0new club. Her Soroptimist journey seemed to involve a lot of visits to prisons, and at\u00a0Limbe, she was presented with an intricate model of a cockerel, made by the inmates\u00a0from different types of woods available in Cameroon. In 1998 she went to India for\u00a0charter ceremonies in Agra and Madras, but also visited Bombay, Poona, Calcutta and\u00a0Burdwan. The Madras Club has gone from strength to strength and she still cherishes\u00a0the hand-painted Ganesh presented to so many years ago. She briefly mentioned her\u00a0visit to the Caribbean where Soroptimists are highly thought of.<\/p>\n Pam brought along a selection of gifts from her travels, including an impressive\u00a0collection of badges both from her visits and conferences.<\/p>\n ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n 20\/06\/12<\/p>\n Speaker: Teresa Mangonon<\/p>\n After 27 years in the Philippines, where she registered as a nurse, TM went to Ireland.\u00a0Her work in care of the elderly began here. She has also worked in care of the\u00a0disabled at a Leonard Cheshire Home in South Oxfordshire. Care of the elderly differs\u00a0from that of the disabled principally in the dramatic reduction of funding coupled with\u00a0equally high care expectations.<\/p>\n She started at the Albany Care Home on 20 December 2011. The home had been\u00a0under an embargo for 18 months and her role was to turn it around. The first of the\u00a0radical changes she introduced was to celebrate Christmas for staff and residents\u00a0alike. She proceeded to update necessary equipment, set up a Residents\u2019 Committee\u00a0and to encourage staff to think of the residents as their employers. Residents were\u00a0involved in the recruitment of new staff. And staff training included \u2018stepping into the\u00a0shoes\u2019 of residents.<\/p>\n She spoke of the sad realities of growing old and her focus is to improve the residents\u2019\u00a0quality of life.<\/p>\n ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n 16\/05\/12<\/p>\n Speaker: Susaan Norwood<\/p>\n Susan Norwood spoke with vision and passion about her groundbreaking arts-based,accredited, educational resource, Project Volume, which was founded in concept in\u00a02007 and became a charity in 2009. Dance has a remarkable ability to unlock learning\u00a0potential, and the project is committed to raising the potential, profile, voice and\u00a0visibility of those with learning disabilities.<\/p>\n Susan studied at Dartington College of Art, specialising in Choreography, and\u00a0subsequently spent 12 years exploring the use of visual art, film and theatre in the\u00a0teaching of dancers with disabilities. She has worked with the most respected dance\u00a0companies, choreographers and artists; and more recently, with researchers at Oxford\u00a0University.<\/p>\n She recently secured funding to put on a performance, exploring an exchange between\u00a0a visual artist (Thomas Houseago) and dancers, at the Museum of Modern Art in\u00a0Oxford. She is currently working with a special needs school in Blackbird Leys.<\/p>\n ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n 15\/2\/12<\/p>\n Speaker: Pam Goddard and Erica Smith<\/p>\n In 2005 Erica and Pam took on Felicity Hat Hire in Leamington Spa as a franchise, but two\u00a0years ago set up Hats & Co., and modernised and developed the range of their products to\u00a0include fascinators and other accessories. They aim for originality and exclusivity, and buy\u00a0from established and award winning designers such as Vivien Sheriff and Richard Design.\u00a0They gave a brief history of hats which started out as protection against the elements, with the\u00a0earliest representations from ancient Thebes, Greece and Rome. In was in the 17th century that\u00a0women\u2019s headgear developed in its own right; Milan and regions in north Italy led the market\u00a0at the time, hence the term \u2018milliner\u2019. Interest in hats began to decline in the 1950s and in the\u00a01960s there was much more emphasis on hairstyling. But there was a revival of interest from\u00a0the 1980s, not least due to the influence of the Princess of Wales.<\/p>\n Erica and Pam clearly adore hats. The presentation proved to be thoroughly entertaining,\u00a0occasionally hilarious, and much appreciated by all.<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.hatsandco.co.uk\/<\/a><\/p>\n ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n 18\/1\/12<\/p>\n Speaker: Nicola Blackwood MP<\/p>\n After a humorous introduction, Nicola Blackwood, the first female Oxfordshire MP, gave\u00a0a lively and entertaining description of her work as an MP and explained her long-standing\u00a0interest in issues of Domestic Abuse and Human Rights. She pointed out that, as an MP, she\u00a0had already responded to 13,000 letters and that the buck really stops with her, as no one\u00a0else can decide for her constituency. Remarkably for such a young and new MP, she was\u00a0appointed to the Home Affairs Select Committee after only two months in which role she has\u00a0to be non partisan. Inevitably, she has to prioritise her work but she tries to operate on the\u00a0principle of \u201cnever let the urgents crowd out the importants.\u201d<\/p>\n She was remarkably well informed in addressing issues of violence against women and\u00a0children, both here and abroad. Domestically, there are around 14,500 cases of abuse against\u00a0women and children a year to address which the Government is developing an action plan.\u00a0Dealing with conflict zones, where it is used as a weapon of war, it is easier to initiate action\u00a0against assault on women than it is to initiate their involvement. Only 8% of peace negotiators\u00a0are women; women make up 70% of the world\u2019s poor and 80% of the world\u2019s illiterate. ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n 16\/11\/11<\/p>\n Speaker: Steve Molton<\/p>\n Steve Molton from Brightwell Bees, whose hobby became his occupation, gave a fascinating talk about the Honey Bee. These bees don\u2019t hibernate but manage to maintain a temperature\u00a0of 35 degrees within the hive all winter where they huddle together for warmth and change\u00a0positions, so that those on the outside can get warm too. Even in February they go out to\u00a0pollinate.<\/p>\n Their system of honey production is highly scientific from the construction of the cells in the\u00a0comb where every angle is precisely measured, to the production of specific temperatures for\u00a0precise activities. If they attack, it is never random and their means of communication gives\u00a0precise instructions for the location of pollen.<\/p>\n Approximately one third of all fruit and vegetables in the UK are pollinated by bees and they\u00a0have a commercial value of about \u00a32m for hire as pollinators. There is no evidence that UK\u00a0hives are affected by Colony Collapse Disorder and, even though there are problems with\u00a0Varroa mites, UK hive losses have returned to normal.<\/p>\n At the end of his talk, members had the opportunity to purchase honey and beeswax products.<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.brightwellbees.co.uk\/<\/a><\/p>\n ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n 15\/6\/11<\/p>\n Speaker: Debbie Rogers from Bournemouth SI<\/p>\n An outline of the origin of the project was given for new members and then an update of the\u00a0amount of funding raised (c\u00a320k) and issues to be faced.<\/p>\n Many things have changed since the project began \u2013 political, social, climatological, legal\u00a0\u2013 which could require a rethink of the original plans and the most effective ways to use the\u00a0funding for the education of Bangladeshi children. Some of these include:<\/p>\n – Would it be cheaper to rent than to build?<\/p>\n – Would slum clearance affect the usefulness of the building?<\/p>\n – Would it be better to help children now rather than several years down the line?<\/p>\n They are also looking at new ways of raising funds; considering offers of free land; working\u00a0alongside UNICEF for the training of teachers.<\/p>\n An invitation was issued to SIOD members to visit Bangladesh in Nov. 2012 with theBournemouth club. The visit would include a trip to Chittagong.<\/p>\n ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n 16\/2\/11<\/p>\n Speaker – Claire Chidley<\/p>\n It would be impossible to summarise the exhilarating journey on which the speaker took\u00a0members as she performed her whistle stop tour through about 74 slides from all over the\u00a0world.<\/p>\n A Soroptimist herself, she has had a dynamic career in local government, economic\u00a0development and city planning. She now works internationally as a consultant encouraging\u00a0managers and developers to think more widely and creatively about city development.<\/p>\n Some points from her talk to stimulate thought:<\/p>\n – What makes a great town or city in one place wouldn\u2019t necessarily be successful in\u00a0another. Each place needs to feature its own strengths.<\/p>\n – It\u2019s essential to think creatively. Not just in terms of the Arts but also in terms of\u00a0education, social development and political creativity.<\/p>\n – A creative society finds imaginative solutions to problems and empowers. It crosses\u00a0boundaries and thinks of the bigger picture.<\/p>\n – People need to be ready for change and to predict the future. They need to think\u00a0differently (360 degree thinking) and to change their mindset.<\/p>\n – Cities that are culturally diverse are more successful.<\/p>\n ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n 20\/8\/11<\/p>\n Held in the beautiful Long Gallery of Abingdon Abbey. Our members organised a delicious three course buffet and raffle for our Soroptimists, members of Steppin Stones and friends. All profits went to Steppin Stones.<\/p>\n ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————<\/p>\n 8\/12\/10<\/p>\n Much festive fun had by all! Food, mulled wine, games and singing…. Thanks to Chris for the beautiful real holly and ivy decorations.<\/p>\n ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 08\/05\/10<\/p>\n Held in the beautiful Unicorn Theatre of Abingdon. A total of \u00a32000 was raised and shared equally between the Fabric Fund\u00a0of St. Nicolas Church Abingdon and our Presidents Project \u201cCementing Futures\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n 20\/10\/10<\/p>\n Speaker Anna Scarna –\u00a0a Research Psychologist at Oxford University Warneford Hospital and Senior Lecturer in psychology at Oxford Brookes.<\/p>\n After explaining the nature of bipolar disorder, Anna Scarna described the side effects of an experimental mixture of amino acids on those who took it. Her research involved trying to block the excessive amounts of dopamine in manic patients by nutritional means, without replicating any side effects associated with conventional medication. The outcome has been the production of a yoghurt-type drink which has proved successful throughout rigorous trials. Although not as potent as dopamine-blocking medication, this product allows the patient to have control as they can take the compound when they recognise the need.<\/p>\n ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n 16\/6\/10<\/p>\n Speaker Yolanda Tapping<\/p>\n Yolanda started by talking a little about Malaysia, especially about how diverse the population is. She is Chinese Malaysian, so her food is influenced by this. She started by cooking a chicken curry, followed by a vegetarian noodle dish. It was great fun with her portable, electric woks and we learnt how to count to 10 in Malay. There were lots of useful tips about how to make the perfect stir fry. Everything smelt delicious and fortunately we got to eat it all. While we ate and drank jasmine tea, we browsed her stall of Malaysian crafts.<\/p>\n Yolanda does cookery demonstrations for adult learning, but also does catering.<\/p>\n<\/a>Madagascar \u2013 What hope for the Big Red Island?<\/h1>\n
<\/a>Programme Action<\/h1>\n
<\/a><\/a>Let’s Celebrate Women – A Better Tomorrow for\u00a0Women Today<\/h1>\n
<\/a>
Sakura Japanese Ladies Choir<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\nExcellent speakers included Jackie Chappell, entrepreneur founder of The Ironing Lady, Ruth Dearney CEO of Stop The Traffic spoke movingly and with inspiration about the work of her charity reminding all of us that trafficking is the fastest growing crime in the world today and Alison Bird introduced us to the Buddy Bag Foundation.
\nSuper entertainment was provided by the Sakura Japanese Ladies choir and members of the MK Ladies Football Team ensured we were all wide awake for the afternoon session – great fun!
\nThis was a wonderful day for everyone present.<\/p>\nAdvances in Medical Genetics<\/h1>\n
\nDid you know that humans share 90% of their genes with mice, 30% with yeast, 40% with worms and 70% with zebra fish but as expected 99% with chimps. Apparently we have a fully functioning gene for wings – it’s just switched off!<\/p>\n
\nDeirdre and her department are based in Oxford but they hold clinics in neighbouring counties as well.<\/p>\nPhilppine Community Fund<\/h1>\n
\n<\/a>Sheila Elsey gave an inspiring talk about the work of the Philippine Community Fund<\/a> at this month\u2019s club meeting. The PCF improves the lives of the poorest Filipino communities through health, education and family enhancement programs. Sheila shared with us photographs of some of the people who are benefiting from their work. In the last 13 years the organisation has built a school from 78 freight containers providing education for 800 children – an amazing achievement. The adults and children who are supported live in the most impoverished and squalid conditions including in shanty towns by city rubbish dumps where residents search for recyclable rubbish. PCF provides adults skills training and livelihood projects which offer families an alternative to waste picking. The photograph shows some of the items made by local women and some men that are sold to provide them with an income.<\/p>\nHuman Rights Day and Regional Meeting<\/h1>\n
\nJan Dalrymple, CEO of Safer Places<\/a>, lead the day and spoke about the range of much needed services the charity provides for adults and children affected by domestic and sexual abuse. This was a most inspiring and informative day.<\/p>\n81st SIGBI Federation Conference<\/h1>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a>Fundraising For Our Club International Project in Nepal<\/h1>\n
<\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\nParkinson’s Fundraising Evening<\/h1>\n
<\/a>
\nHe entertained the audience with many recollections of his life as a writer and although now living with Parkinson’s disease it is not as he says ‘the end of the world’.<\/p>\nAn Otmoor Year<\/h1>\n
<\/a>All change at Oxford & District!<\/h1>\n
<\/a>Getting to know you and UN World Water Day<\/h1>\n
Commission On The Status of Women 59, United Nations Headquarters, New York<\/h1>\n
<\/a>Club members Jenny Vince, SIGBI President and Ann Hawken attended CSW59 in New\u00a0York as part of the 16 strong SIGBI delegation.\u00a0Soroptimist International of Great Britain and Ireland achieved ECOSOC status in 2013 at\u00a0the UN for the work that it does for women and girls worldwide and at this year\u2019s CSW\u00a0Soroptimist International both sponsored and lead a number of events.\u00a0Ann writes,<\/p>\n80th SIGBI (Soroptimist International Great Britain & Ireland) Federation Conference<\/h1>\n
<\/a><\/h1>\n
Meeting Mya and Ann – Pets As Therapy (PAT)<\/h1>\n
<\/a>Mindfulness<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/a>The Kori Project<\/h1>\n
From Christmas Turkeys to Weekly Essentials…<\/h1>\n
<\/a>At June’s meeting, members brought a variety of food and non-food essentials to be donated to The Abingdon Emergency Food Bank.<\/p>\nThree speakers!<\/h1>\n
Update on Guiding in Oxfordshire<\/h1>\n
SILC Regional Speaker<\/h1>\n
Medical Ethics<\/h1>\n
House of Colour<\/h1>\n
A Soroptimist Journey<\/h1>\n
Elderly Care<\/h1>\n
Project Volume<\/h1>\n
Hats for all Occasions<\/h1>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/h1>\n
Women, Peace and Security<\/h1>\n
\nFemale participation is now hanging in the balance. UN Women has been launched to\u00a0help counteract this but \u201cno one can run fast on one foot – you can\u2019t make progress without\u00a0women.\u201d On a more positive note, she gave many examples from around the world of
\nsuccesses where women had been involved.<\/p>\nThe Incredible Honey Bee<\/h1>\n
Update on Cementing Futures<\/h1>\n
What makes a great place to live and work?<\/h1>\n
Friendship Lunch for Steppin Stones<\/span><\/h3>\n
Christmas Party<\/h1>\n
<\/p>\nMediaeval Banquet<\/strong>
<\/h1>\nA Nutritional Strategy to Treat Bipolar Disorder<\/h1>\n
Malaysian Cookery Demonstration<\/h1>\n