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November meeting and talk

November meeting and talk

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November meeting and talk Our November meeting and talk were held at the Holiday Inn, Scotch Corner.  This was an open meeting with guests, to hear a fascinating talk from Elizabeth Smith, Public Events Coordinator (North East) of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.  It was surprising to discover that they not only work to maintain the many war grave cemeteries and memorials in the UK and Europe, but in many other parts of the world as well, from South America to the Far East.  It is also remarkable that new burials continue to take place, as bodies from both World War I and World War II are still being discovered.  Many of our members and guests have visited these sites, and been moved by what they represent.  An excellent talk! Good news from SI Harare Chris Bowran updated us on good news from our sister

Soroptimists in October

Soroptimists in October

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Here is an update of what’s happened for our Soroptimists in October. Monthly Meeting Talk We met at the Scotch Corner Holiday Inn Hotel, which is likely to become our new regular meeting place.  The meeting began with a talk by member Barbara (Babs) Hunt about the Institute of Advanced Motoring (of which she is a member), and the courses offered to brush up driving skills.  The IAM offers a range of courses to different types of road users, and the local group, based in Northallerton, is active in promoting its services and road safety concerns. Babs suggested that members consider taking a course, or at least trying a free taster session.  Probably a good idea! Invitations to join activities in the community Just the Job is holding an Open Day on 6th November at their Gallowfields site, and has asked the Soroptimists for volunteers to

September Meeting

September Meeting

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Meeting Speaker SI R&D held it’s September meeting at the Colburn Village Hall on 16th September.  The meeting began with a fascinating talk by local ex-army man Bryan Selkirk.  He has been working for over 20 years with  Charity Chernobyl Aid UK to support families from the Chernobyl area, which is now part of Belarus.  Bryan hosted visiting children who came for holidays for a number of years, when they were able to have helath checks, and explore the area.  He then went on to help set up a wheelchair-friendly home for disabled children – for whom conditions are otherwise very bad – and a respite home for families.  For the next 10 years Bryan drove a truck as part of a humanitarian convoy to Belarus carrying donations of clothes and equipment.  Sadly, the pandemic forced these to stop, but he hopes that they will

July Meeting Face to Face

July Meeting Face to Face

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We were able to hold our July meeting face to face – the first time since February 2020.  It was lovely! We met at Colburn Village Hall on a beautiful sunny evening for a meal and get-together, with a low key business session. Angie Dale and Colburn Community Action We began with a short talk from Angie Dale, mastermind and leader of Colburn’s response to the Covid crisis.  This comprised a PPE sewing bee, which produced 250 PPE garments a week for local health services. She also established a food-share bank (to which we contributed), which enabled many local families in hardship to collect essential supplies to keep them going during lockdown. She added a clothing and household goods exchange to the list, all based in the Village Hall.  As if this was not enough, the community group she leads provided lunches for local schoolchildren

Mr Yorke’s Open Garden

Mr Yorke’s Open Garden

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We were pleased to be able to participate in Mr Yorke’s Open Garden day in Richmond in June.  This event was part of the Richmond 950 celebrations, and SI Richmond and Dales manned a refreshment stall in aid of our President’s charity, Just the Job. Members baked and donated cakes for the stall, together with tea and coffee supplies.  We also raffled two hampers filled by members donations.  Luckily the weather was good, and we were able to raise £445.50.  We had a superb selection of cakes, prompting many compliments from the visitors. Marcia and Dennis McLuckie, whose garden this is, expressed their sincere thanks to SI Richmond & Dales for taking care of all the refreshments. As we have not yet been able to meet in person for a club meeting, we also took advantage of this event to present President Sharon with the

June Meeting via Zoom

June Meeting via Zoom

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History Talk Once again, we held our June meeting via Zoom.  We began with a fascinating and informative talk by Mike Wood of the Richmondshire Museum, for which we were joined by some of our Friendship Link members.  Mike spoke about Richmond’s history as part of the Richmond 950 Anniversary celebrations. Commemoration After the talk we had a minute’s silence in memory of SIGBI President Johanna Raffan, MBE, who sadly died recently, during her year of office.  She is a great loss to Soroptimism. Programme Action & Activities Our new President Sharon has been busy keeping up with the Yorkshire Committee and Programme Action group. She has also registerered for the SIGBI and Centenary Conferences later this year.  She was sorry to announce that our planned coffee morning for July has been cancelled due to the extension of Covid restrictions. Happily, dates have been offered

May Meeting & Programme for 2021-22

May Meeting & Programme for 2021-22

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At the Zoom May Meeting our new President Sharon Hanson-Cooper presented her programme for 2021-22.  This is published on the Club Website under About Our Club, together with the new list of  Club Officers, and our Friendship Links.  We will be having an interesting mix of social, informational and programme action based meetings and events, as we continue to support Just The Job, and our SI Harare friends in Zimbabwe.  As the Covid crisis rolls back towards “normal life”, we hope to be able to meet physically instead of via Zoom soon. and options are being explored for a suitable location.  We also hope to restart our long-running “Sharing Our Skills” project in the New Year, in association with Richmond School.  We congratulate two of our former “SOS” students on recent achievements: Becky Potts has achieved a place at Leeds University to do a Masters

Update on Chikupo School

Update on Chikupo School

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We have an update on Chikupo School in Zimbabwe which we have been assisting through SI Harare.   We received these photos from the Head of Chikupo School, showing their new veg plot where they grow vegetables for the local community. It’s good to see the hosepipe with water pouring out. We sent money towards their new water supply, as they’ve suffered badly in recent droughts.  The Headmaster said “you played a big role in the project and we will always be grateful”.

Steak and Kidney Pies

Steak and Kidney Pies

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  A special donation:  the club decided to bring a little treat to the families using the foodbank housed at the Village Hall in Colburn.  Angie who runs the project told club members that Fray Bentos steak and kidney pies are regarded as a luxury by it’s customers. They are not bought by the foodbank because the pies cost more than the foodbank limit per item.  The club therefore contributed 8 meat pies, plus another 3 vegan and vegetarian ones for those with particular needs.  They were quickly snapped up!