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Scientist recognised!

Scientist recognised!

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On Wednesday 7th September the Salisbury Civic Society and Salisbury Soroptimists unveiled a blue plaque to Dr Marina Seabright at the Old Salisbury Infirmary on Fisherton Street. Guests included former colleagues of Dr Seabright who came from far and wide to honour her memory. President of Salisbury Soroptimists, Jenny Hair, recalled working with Dr Seabright when she was a young HR executive. Marina had not wanted to follow rules and procedure, but urged Jenny to find a way to get what she wanted to happen. We later heard from John Harvey that his rapid promotion may have been one of those issues! Mayor of Salisbury, Atiqul Hoque, and Dame Rosemary Spencer, Patron of the Civic Society, did the honours and unveiled the plaque. The invited guests were welcomed into the community lounge of Pembroke House for refreshments and a presentation about Dr Seabright. Dr Christine
Striving for equality in CoE

Striving for equality in CoE

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Our guest speaker, the Right Reverend June Osborne, spoke about the challenges that women have faced, and still face, in the hierarchy of the Anglican Church. Until recently, June was Bishop of Llandaff in the Church of Wales. In 1994 she was one of the first women to be ordained in England. She moved to Salisbury and served as Canon Treasurer until her appointment as Dean in 2004. She remained in Salisbury until her consecration as Bishop of Llandaff in 2017.  June was subjected to an investigation following an allegation of bullying, but the allegation was later dropped. June also discussed the challenges faced by other women in different spheres of life. The Right Reverend June Osborne speaking to our July 2023 meeting President Jenny welcomed Leonie Maclay as a new member of Soroptimists International. Jenny repeated her plea to members to come forward to
Uplifting Support!

Uplifting Support!

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On Monday evening 20 Soroptimists and friends met to count bras. Yes, the annual Bras and Bubbly! The evening began with the great unloading of bundles, bags and bags of bras collected from all over Salisbury and surrounds (and some donations from farther afield!). Let the counting begin! A system quickly emerged: count piles of 10, pass to 'bagger' who counted 10 piles of 10 into a bin bag and tied the top. Penny wrote out the labels so that Afreebra know there are 100 bras from Salisbury Soroptimists in each. Any neighbours who heard us talking about putting bodies in bags..... we were talking about lingerie!! Kind donations which were not quite usual bras. We hadn't anticipated four-legged help, but Helen's dog had other ideas. Once the hard counting was over there was time for socialising over a glass or two and some nibbles.
June raffle

June raffle

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Sad that we are already past the summer solstice, our June meeting cheered us up by welcoming three new members to our club! Welcome to Kathryn Furnell, Mandy Ford, and Janet Draper. We also held a small raffle to raise funds for the President's Appeal. Each year the President of Soroptimists International chooses projects around the world, one in each federation. This President's Appeal is called Opening Doors to a Brighter Future and projects are taking place in Cambodia, Uganda, Georgia, Trinidad and Tobago, Paraguay and Malawi. We watched a short video in which Maureen introduced the projects. In our section getting to know each other, we heard from Peggy Jackson about her life before, as and after being a female clergy in the Church of England. Peggy Women's Safety initiative update Club members conducted an Ask Angela test - otherwise could have been called
People in the Park 2023

People in the Park 2023

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Members of the Club had an enjoyable and rewarding day at People in the Park on Saturday 20 May in Queen Elizabeth Gardens while showcasing the Making our City Safer project on their stall. The weather was fine and warm all day and there was a lot of interest from locals and visitors alike who called by for a chat. Thanks to Eleanor, Virginia, Sue, Rebecca, Janet, Annette, Jenny and Michele for their help. The Club used the opportunity to launch their latest survey of views about safety in Salisbury, which will provide an update to the opinion survey carried out by the OPCC last year, as the questions are broadly similar. Altogether a successful day, with lots of interest in the work SI Salisbury members are doing to help make Salisbury a safer place for women and girls. Please do add your views to
AGM 2023

AGM 2023

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AGMs are formal affairs but we wanted to also celebrate all that we have achieved this year, and there is quite a lot to remember. Our meeting was opened by President Jenny Hair introducing the order of proceedings. She then thanked those who had served on the Executive Committee, many of whom took on new roles this year. In particular she thanked those who had provided stability and experience on the Committee. Jenny noted that while we have lost some members this year, we have welcomed more, two of whom were inducted at the end of the meeting. Welcome to Glynis and Hilary! Jenny said that one of the most difficult things about her role is balancing the varying needs of all the membership. She noted that not everyone can get involved with projects, but that the club needs to cater for all members. Our
Blue Plaque Triumph!

Blue Plaque Triumph!

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Her Salisbury Story has been an amazing journey for Salisbury Soroptimists and on Thursday 13th April we witnessed another milestone, the unveiling of a Blue Plaque celebrating Frances Hale on New Street. This is only the 5th plaque to celebrate a women in Salisbury out of over 25. Our president, Jenny Hair, who also managed the project, spoke to the gathered crowd before the Mayor Tom Corbin and Jane Howells jointly pulled the scarf to reveal the plaque.  This was a joint ceremony with Salisbury Civic Society who sourced the plaque and arranged for installation. The invited guests walked to Salisbury Museum to see the Her Salisbury Story exhibition, which sadly had now closed due to renovations to the museum. If you missed it, see how it looked below. You can see the inspiration board on which visitors left their messages about women who have
March mixture

March mixture

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It was great to see another full house for our March meeting, at which we were joined by our Regional President Kay Linnell, accompanied by her travel companion Barbara Jeremiah. Kay will shortly be handing over her chain of office to our own Lisa Scandling.   In a bid to drum up more volunteers for the Executive Committee we conducted a 'speed dating' round tables.  Existing (or past) office holders who are stepping down, were able to explain their role to members. If anyone who wasn't at the meeting is interested in taking on a role, please get in touch. We are looking for someone to look after Programme Action (projects: monitor active projects and report on them to region and HQ), and a Vice-President; a year in training to take over as President.   Teresa updated us on progress by EdUKaid which is one
Jolly Hockey Sticks!

Jolly Hockey Sticks!

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A successful promotional day was held at Salisbury Hockey Club on Saturday 1 April. Eleanor Evans, Virginia Haworth and Liz Batten chatted to team players and audience members about our 'Making our City Safer' campaign There was a particular focus on  'changing the dialogue' and involving men and boys in helping to prevent and stop violence against women and girls. We were pleased to be joined by Regional Programme Action Chair Louise Daborn who paid us a visit during the afternoon, after she had paid a visit to the Her Salisbury Story exhibition in Salisbury Museum.  The matches played that day qualified the Women's First Team for Premier Division 1! See report here.   Liz, Eleanor and Virginia Left to right Eleanor, Virginia, Louise and Liz The matches played that day qualified the Women's First Team for Premier Division 1! See report here.
A Question of Women

A Question of Women

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On a wet March evening an excited hubbub was heard from Harnham Parish Hall as the Salisbury Soroptimists' annual Charity Quiz got underway. Ten teams gathered around tables, pens poised as the first round began. Starting with rounds 'Fings ain't what they used to be' and 'Who said what?' teams racked their grey cells and were ready for their fish (other options available!) n chip supper. A further two rounds entitled 'It's all in a number' and 'Leading Ladies' took proceedings to another break. The former round involved a bit of head scratching to first know the numbers in questions, then to add, subtract, multiply or divide according to instructions. Leading Ladies were not just actors, but women in leadership roles in diverse sectors. Our charities To give our quizzers a break we had brief presentations from our two charities for which we were raising