The first Regional Meeting hosted by SI Salisbury was held at Sarum College in the beautiful surroundings of Salisbury’s Cathedral Close, appropriately on the longest (and hottest) day of the year, just after the summer Solstice celebrations at Stonehenge, a few miles away. Members from across the Southern England Region were welcomed by SI Salisbury President Michele who explained that  the theme for the day was: “Inspiring women, inspiring each other” and she hoped that members would find inspiration from the day’s activities. There was a very short amount of Regional Business led by Past Regional President Kay Linnell, which included information on the forthcoming SIGBI Day of Action on 12 July – which will be  themed as the Day of Hope, a reminder to complete the railway station surveys by the end of June  and the new SIGBI Gender Impact Assessment (GIA) campaign which

We are constantly bombarded with statistics about the numbers of migrants coming to the UK. People come here for a variety of reasons. Many arrive legally, some do not. At our May meeting we welcomed two recent migrants from very different countries, but with something in common, it was almost impossible for them to stay safely at home. How and why did you come to UK? Zohra arrived here with her family from Afghanistan. Her father had worked for the Afghan Government catching international smugglers, a role in which he was supported by the UK Government. Although her father came from another province, she was brought up in Kabul. Her family were supportive and didn't treat her differently as a girl. However she spent a lot of time at home for fear of being judged by the cultural expectations of those around them. She finished

We welcomed DS Jen Jeffcoat-Marsh to talk to us about how Wiltshire Police are dealing with VAWG and Rape And Serious Sexual Assault (RASSO). She began by explaining about Op Soteria, the first National Operating Model (NOM) for the investigation of rape and serious sexual offences. It began in Avon and Somerset Police with the aim of bringing more rape and sexual assault cases to trial. It was rolled out across England and Wales in July 2023 after successes in pilot areas. A year later the Chief Constable in charge said: "As the report says, the system wide benefits this programme offers are ‘a major opportunity for the criminal justice system to finally give victims the service they deserve’ and only by working together and making this a national model, not only for RASSO but even for other types of crime, can we achieve this."

Our January meeting focused on good nutrition to keep us healthy. Our speaker, Amber Cotton is a Registered Nutritional Therapist who enjoys working with people to build a food program suitable to their age, lifestyle and health. Her topic for the evening was Mastering Midlife Metabolism. She spoke about the six pillars of Metabolic Health: Stress, Blood Sugar, Muscles, Movement, Sleep and Gut Health. The takeaway messages were importance of reducing the tendency to rollercoaster blood sugar, by regulating the amount of sugar and carbohydrates in the diet, both of which tend to spike blood sugar. Spikes increase inflammation and promote insulin resistance. One handy technique is to freeze carbohydrates before consuming which changes their structure into longer chains, making them a slower burn in our digestive system. So, cook your pasta and rice, then put in fridge for 24 hours before reheating, or freeze,