Three members of SI Sevenoaks joined past member Ann Hines to help serve a special cream tea to the Monday Afternooners, a monthly club for disabled adults in the Bromley area.  We have been doing this for more than 10 years and were delighted to discover that it was the Club’s 25th Anniversary!  Ann made a superb iced celebration cake and scones with jam and cream, and Margaret, Kathy and Sandie supplied cakes, savouries and sandwiches which we took along to Bromley UR Church Centre.  We were joined by 20 members, helpers and representatives from Bromley Mencap.  Lots of balloons, party poppers and fizz were provided, plus a challenging quiz!  It was great to see how much the club members enjoyed the event, and we did too! Sandie Higgs, PAO

We held another Orange the World event this afternoon at Bojangles Coffee House, Dunton Green. SI Sevenoaks held another successful Orange the World event with tea, coffee and cakes at the very smart Bojangles Coffee House at Dunton Green, just north of Sevenoaks.  Eight members and one guest had a lively chat and we were able to hand out a leaflet or two! Sandie Higgs PAO SI Sevenoaks  

The gardening team of SI Sevenoaks, headed by Mary Hogarth, were delighted to receive certificates from the Sevenoaks Town Council.  The town won three gold medals, including for Sevenoaks Vine, where our team has looked after the sensory garden for over 7 years.  In addition to the certificates, we have been given vouchers for a lunch out together at The Anchor in Sevenoaks – an unexpected reward for all our hard work! Sandie Higgs Programme Action Officer

SI Sevenoaks welcomed outgoing South East Region President Alison Driscoll to their club meeting on 8th October.  Alison gave us a really good talk about the ABCD charity for which she has raised an amazing amount during her year.  We were delighted to have her at this meeting as it was our changeover from President Pauline Payne, who has run the club magnificently for 18 months, to our new President Margaret Crabtree, who has so kindly agreed to take over after a relatively short time as a member of the club!  Huge thanks to Pauline and congratulations and good wishes to Margaret from all the SI Sevenoaks members!  Pictured are Pauline, Margaret and Alison. Sandie Higgs PAO, SI Sevenoaks

“SI Sevenoaks Club were delighted to hear that Sevenoaks Vine, an area of pretty garden which members had been tending for 7 years, had been awarded a gold medal in the South and South East in Bloom Competition, and in addition has won an award for best park in the area!  A team of 10 volunteers, led by Mary Hogarth, and comprising Shirley Brigham, Anne Bond, Vicky Tibbits, Tracey Kemp, Penny Robbins, Wendy Metcalf, Kathy Jordan, Sandie Higgs and former member Isobel Groves (who put forward the project in 2018 and had liaised with Sevenoaks Town Council over the years) worked hard all summer to keep the area pristine and colourful for visitors to enjoy. Our photo shows Mary at the Town Council offices with the awards!” Sandie Higgs Programme Action Officer SI Sevenoaks

SI Sevenoaks members were delighted when the Sevenoaks Station Manager, Gemma Louro, presented them with a voucher for £250 for plants and equipment for use at Sevenoaks Station.  The voucher was awarded by South East Rail.  Sevenoaks member Sandie Higgs went to select some colourful autumn plants and, after a busy session cutting back the existing Perovskia, planted Rudbeckia Goldblitz, large Impatiens and Echinacea Purpurea!   We still have nearly £200 to spend in the spring!  Pictured are the plants and Sandie at the station. Sandie Higgs PAO, SI Sevenoaks

12 members and friends of SI Sevenoaks gathered at the elegant Buntastic Café in Sevenoaks High Street to enjoy a coffee and chat and to draw attention to our Orange the World Campaign to end Violence Against Women and Girls.  In the light of the dreadful figures released by the BBC this week, we are very conscious of the scale of the problem and are keen to highlight it as much as we can.  The café owners were very helpful and let us leave the posters in place for other customers to see. Sandie Higgs, PAO SI Sevenoaks

SI Sevenoaks members with guests from SI Bromley and SI Tunbridge Wells clubs enjoying a coffee morning at the home of Sevenoaks PAO Sandie Higgs on 28th May. Despite the absence of sunshine a pleasing turnout resulted in the raising of £310 for the local Refuge and Dasghara Girls’ College in West Bengal.

SI Sevenoaks congratulate SI Bromley and SI Croydon and District on their very successful Friendship Lunch at Chelsfield Lakes Golf Club on Saturday 18th May. Pictured are SI Sevenoaks members Wendy Metcalf, Sandie Higgs, President Pauline Payne and Jenny Webb.

During the past year members of SI Sevenoaks have been busy raising funds for the education of women and girls in rural Africa (CAMFED), as well as for local charity Arts Without Boundaries. Over the summer months we will be supporting Sevenoaks Women’s Refuge and Dasghara Girls’ College in West Bengal. Soroptimist Paramita Biswas, who founded the college, tells us that financial help towards their travelling expenses would be greatly appreciated by the students, who live in remote villages. We continue to enjoy weekly zoom conversations with the girls. We are hoping for fine weather for our main fundraising event, a coffee morning hosted by Sandie Higgs at 164 Chesterfield Drive, Sevenoaks, on Tuesday 28th May from 10 am to 12.30 pm. Pauline Payne President SI Sevenoaks