Some keen club members set out on a bright morning last week for Lee-on-the-Solent Recreation Ground. They were there to replace the repaired plaque next to one of our 3 cherry trees. They had been waiting patiently for an appropriate day – preferably not raining but while the ground was still soft – to achieve their goal.
At the club’s December meeting members packed Christmas bags. The completed bags will be donated to those from the local Re-Engage groups that we support. It is a fun activity after a business meeting, and was enjoyed by all present. (The picture of us doing this last year was included in the montage at conference in Birmingham) One member of the club had suggested that we also collect socks for the homeless. So there was a cosy pile of socks collected on the side table at the meeting too. These were taken to a contact in Portchester, to donate to the homeless. And the bags for Re-Engage were delivered in time for Christmas!
Last night club member Ros attended the Orange thee World event at the Spinnaker Tower. She met up with Julie, from SI Winchester, who was also there to lend some support. The event was more high profile than before, with a community choir singing a range of songs. SDA members were there in force, as were ladies from Cosham Inner Wheel, who were wielding collecting tins. Both groups were handing out leaflets so awareness was raised! The photo shows Ros and Julie by the SDA banner, and one of the Tower in all it’s orange glory. Ros had taken the opportunity to wear her new orange dry robe, but thinks it’s unflattering: she said “… it makes me look like an orange caterpillar (I just hope there’s a butterfly inside!).”
At our recent club meeting we had a speaker from My Sisters’ House. She asked for any donations of toiletries, and so each member of the club brought what they could. This was later assessed as being worth the equivalent of £233.30 and the charity issued a certificate to recognise the donation.
To celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March 2025 the club has been collecting toiletries to donate to My Sisters’ House. Pauline dropped in at their Chichester base earlier in the week, and more donations have been collected at our business meeting, to be delivered over the weekend. We are happy to continue to support this charity, after we donated £50 as part of our 50th anniversary celebrations last year. They support women in difficulty or crisis. They work with you to improve your welfare and wellbeing, reduce your risk of domestic abuse and support your recovery, and help you reach your goals for employment, education or training. Their services are delivered by women, for women.
The club sent a team to support the local Rotary club Quiz, held to raise funds for The Lockswood Care + Wellbeing Centre (Age Concern), and to subsidise charity users of The Wheel House, Hillhead, like us. The team started well, and was winning after 4 rounds… …but unfortunately the music song words and obscure general knowledge rounds knocked them down to 4th out of 11 teams! Never mind, and well played!
We celebrated the lunar Year of the Snake a little after the actual day, which was on 29 January. Members of the club met for a meal at the local restaurant offering Asian flavours to brighten your winter. It certainly did that! Ros even came suitably adorned with a snake pendant; happy Chinese New Year to us all.
A past member of our club was a leading light in Bishops Waltham in Bloom, and was remembered by the Quiz organisers as they celebrated the 15th year of the quiz. We field a team in memory of Pam, and this year had two team tables. The event is well supported, with a total of 27 teams this year. We came 11th and 19th, which is lower than previously, but it’s the taking part that counts!
As a club, we have chosen to support Children on the Edge as our charity for the coming year. We recently sent them the money we raised from the club BBQ earlier in the year, supplemented by money from other events. This was timed to coincide with The Big Give 2024, and our donation was therefore doubled up. We have now received an email thank you from Eloise Armstrong, Fundraising Manager at Children on the Edge. She expressed how grateful they are for our support, and how delighted they were that our gift of £1,000 could be doubled – and turned into £2,000 to Children on the Edge. This can help provide a safe space for 16 children to learn and thrive for a whole year in 2025. She included a short video and message from their CEO Rachel Bentley, marking the impact of our
We have been celebrating our club anniversary by nominating 50 charities for a donation of £50 from the Charles Jacob Charitable Trust. Each day, for the 50 days since the anniversary of our charter on 4 May, we have put up a Facebook post about one of our nominated charities, in a random order. We hope that our donation of £50 is useful to the charity for work in the local area, and supports the aim of the Trust to help the disadvantaged.
