After 2 local Soroptimists, Pat Caulton and Christine White, went to meet him a few months ago, Simon Hayes paid a return visit and addressed the club and guests. He outlined the role of a Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), established by the Police and Social Responsibilities Act 2011, and his interpretation of that role since his election to the post on 15 November 2012. On appointment the Commissioner was required by law to produce a Police and Crime Plan, setting out how he is going to deliver on the pledges he made when he was elected, and how he will ensure the counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are going to be safer communities for everyone. Simon’s main priorities are: 1. improve frontline policing to deter criminals and keep communities safe 2. place victims and witnesses at the heart of policing and

Mothers and children from the local women’s refuge, accompanied by a care worker were guests of the club on an outing to Manor Farm Park. There is a working farm within the park, a Victorian house and school room, a play area, a shop and a cafe as well as a network of fields and paths. The children were introduced to some of the animals on the farm – cows, sheep, pigs, chickens,ducks, goats, rabbits, donkeys, ponies and turkeys by one of the farmers. She encouraged the children to stroke the bigger animals and to handle the baby rabbits, fluffy chicks and ducklings. It was lovely to see the children gaining confidence during the course of the day. One little girl was thrilled by the teddy bear hunt and also made a beautiful butterfly in the Victorian schoolroom. The club provided a picnic lunch which everyone enjoyed and the weather stayed fine during the crucial period!. It was a great opportunity for club members to meet the mothers and children in a relaxed setting. It also brought home to us how important and how necessary women’s refuges are.  

Christine Wilkes, a tireless veteran member of SI Gosport and Fareham, has had a busy time encouraging and organising  members to fill backpacks for young children who live in communities where poverty and hunger often prevent them from getting an education. The children are helped by Mary’s Meals, the international charity that asks organisations to fill backpacks with educational material to send to needy youngsters who are also given a daily meal at school. Christine organised the collection of essentials such as pencils, notebooks, soap, clothes and flip-flops for girls and a few boys and she also arranged a group of members to pack the items into 26 backpacks. She is pictured,on the right of the photograph, with club publicity officer Kay Mainwaring and some of the prepared bags.  

AROUND twenty club members and a few relatives enjoyed a guided walk around the lovely old market town of Bishop’s Waltham. What a history the town has! Bishop’s Waltham Society stalwarts Alan Inder, president, and Tony Kippenberger, chairman, informed and entertained with their knowledge of its past. It was a perfect summer’s evening to amble along the old streets and footpaths and to be told of the events that had unfolded over the centuries. After the Battle of Trafalgar French prisoners were billeted around the town and Admiral Villeneuve was held in the Crown pub, marked today by a Blue plaque. He was later executed on Napoleon’s orders. Many royal visitors were hosted at Bishop’s Waltham palace that was built as a residence for the bishops of Winchester. It’s now mainly a ruin housing the town museum in the grounds. The walkers are pictured,left, in picturesque

 LIFE as a district reporter on a local newspaper with its variety of articles was the inside story given to club members at the monthly speaker meeting. Kimberley Barber of The News explained that she covered such a wide range of stories on her patch, from Bishops Waltham to the outskirts of Portsmouth, that she had to be prepared for anything. “I now carry everything from wellies to a smart jacket in my car,”she said. Most stories are tip offs from the general public. One example was the coverage of the floods in Wallington last year when she was the first on the scene. Within hours of posting the story online the national media had descended on the village. The ensuing publicity meant Wallington received a great deal of support and flood defences were quickly improved. Local stories often feed up to the national media.

CLUB members were given a talk about Tanzania by a local woman who has an unusual passion – for rubbish. Lucy Swanbrow spoke eloquently about a number of environmental projects she had been involved in that were being carried out by Project Takataka, Kswahilli for rubbish. She explained that she first visited Tanzania to see her father’s cousin Faye Cran. She fell in love with the country and has consequently been back for several three-month spells and became involved in many charitable projects. “Tanzania has fantastic landscapes, wildlife and flora and the people are very friendly,” she said. But rubbish is everywhere, roads and rivers are clogged with detritus, the locals just drop their rubbish as they go. Trying to change this is a Herculean task. “It’s a country of extreme contrasts between luxury hotels and extremely poor rural areas where people are lucky to get one meal a

Examples of how policing has improved in relation to women, particularly victims of sex assaults and domestic abuse, were brought to the attention of the club as they marked their fortieth anniversary. Guest speaker Assistant Chief Constable Laura Nicholson, the only woman of her rank in Hampshire Constabulary, said that policing “is essentially about keeping people safe.” They had made significant progress in the way they dealt with women but, in her view, they could always do better. She recalled having to deal with her first rape and domestic abuse cases, in the late eighties, when it became clear how little support there was for women victims and how little training there was for police officers dealing with such incidents. “Today Hampshire has a stand-alone group that deals with rape and sex assaults and offers support for victims.” She talked of the impressive variety of posts she

   THANKS were due to everyone who had played a part in guiding the club through a second year without a president, members were told at the annual general meeting. Acting president Rosemary Bell said for the last year the club had also been without a secretary. “We’ve adapted and survived,” she said. “And with our fortieth anniversary coming up it will hopefully bode well for the future.” Christine Wilkes reported on the success of projects undertaken in the past year. These included raising awareness of the issues affecting women in prison that were flagged up at a meeting with the police commissioner Simon Hayes, violence against women with the distribution of 750 bookmarks to local youngsters, and 21 backpacks sent to Malawi for the charity Mary’s Meals. Donations of food were made to Fareham basics bank and 15 quilts given to children at the

ELEVEN Soroptimists from Southern England region went on a study tour of South Africa where they were the guests of seven clubs spread throughout the country. One of the eleven, club member Pam Grosvenor gave a wonderful talk illustrated with slides on the wide range of projects they visited in seven different parts of South Africa. “It’s one of the best things I’ve done as a Soroptimist,” Pamela told her audience. “We visited places tourists never normally visit and saw at first hand the work done by Soroptimists working with other organisations in a country with an enormous gulf between rich and poor.” As well as visiting impressive projects involving Soroptimists the group fitted in some sightseeing during their two-week trip and a highlight was seeing the Apartheid Museum and also the Soweto home of the late President Mandela. They began their tour at a

IT is a sad indictment that in 2014 there are a great many needy people in cities such as Portsmouth, club members were told in a talk by Jenny Johns, chairman of Portsmouth Family Welfare Association (PFWA). Despite the welfare state there are still a lot of people without homes, jobs and even food, she said. “We receive an average of ten requests for assistance every day and last year we helped 1,877 people by providing household items, clothing and sometimes food.” Mrs Johns has been chairman of the organisation for 12 years and club member Celia Veal serves on its committee. The group need around £10,000 a year to keep going and rely mainly on volunteers who also help with fundraising. Mrs Johns said changes in the benefits system had meant an increase in the number of clients asking for their help. “Someone loses