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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
International Women’s Day in Salisbury

International Women’s Day in Salisbury

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Despite a snowy start, followed by rain, a hardy bunch of Soroptimists gathered in Market Square to celebrate International Women's Day. We were joined by the Mother's Union, a delegation from Godolphin School and some other women. The event was organised by FearLess who support victims of domestic violence. Unfortunately the bad weather kept their representatives away but we were able to send them photos. The theme of this year's International Women's Day was 'Equity for All', so we joined hands in a circle: Link for Equity. In the style of the 'Hokey Cokey' we all walked into the centre shouting out our slogans of 'No to domestic Violence' and 'Equity for All'.   We then formed a circle around the sculptural installation by Standing with Giants  to show our solidarity and sympathy with the women of Ukraine and all that they are suffering at
Her Salisbury Story Wrap Up

Her Salisbury Story Wrap Up

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President Jenny Hair opened our February meeting by introducing our guest speaker Lucy Bridal from the Salisbury Museum. The museum is currently hosting an exhibition inspired by our project Her Salisbury Story. Jenny briefly outlined the project and all that it had achieved since its launch in 2020. The research and website are in their final phases and the museum exhibition has come at the right time to draw a line and say the project is done! Lucy explained how the exhibition was a perfect fit for the museum, being local, about the community and relevant to a wide audience. The women selected to be featured had specific links to objects in the collection. The curators were keen for the women to be displayed in context with an artefact. The storyboards were edited to be clear to read but with the intention of leaving the
More chairs please!

More chairs please!

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Our January meeting was one of our best attended yet! The dark, cold night did not deter Salisbury Soroptimists from turning out to discuss our projects for the year. In setting up the room we had to request more chairs to be brought in! We broke into groups around tables to discuss different aspects of the Women's Safety project which we are putting forward as our entry into the regional project competition. This project has already been making progress with streetlight audits and two successful conferences. We are now planning what more we will do this year. After the discussion and sharing of club news, President Jenny Hair welcomed two new members Virginia Haworth and Michelle Smith. We hope they will both enjoy being members! Members were alerted to our forthcoming events: March 8 - 1pm Link for Equity in the Market Square in support