Soroptimists from Southampton, Chichester, Winchester and Cambridge clubs joined members for a fun evening of skittles and curry. Half a dozen teams took to the bowling alley at Southwick Park Golf Club after a splendid curry supper. The lead changed hands a few times over three rounds until finally one of three teams from the home club, Celia Veal, her husband Gordon and friend Pat Bennetta, were declared winners. The event was organised by Stella Astbury, MC was Tracy Gardiner, and a total of £147 was raised for the club’s charity fund. A raffle run by Rosemary Bell raised £75.

Ten keen Soroptimists, one Soroptimister On the day of Action which happens once a year With their back bags, litter pickers, red gloves, yellow vests (Fareham Borough Council provided all the gear.)   Out on the beach in the hot bright sun With the swimmers and sunbathers working on their tans We found sweet wrappers, crisp packets, bottle tops, drinking straws Plastic bags, bits of string and squashed drink cans.

MEMBERS enjoyed a leisurely walk around Titchfield on a very warm July evening with a talk by local historian George Watts. They set off from the community centre car park to the ancient St Peter’s parish church where Mr Watts pointed out that the building had evolved over the centuries since its beginning in the year 680. He reeled off many interesting facts such as the inclusion of Roman bricks in the facade, doubts about whether Titchfield existed as a community when the church was built and how the impressive Wriothesley family mausoleum came to be established in one corner. He mused over whether William Shakespeare had visited the area thanks to the patronage of the Earl of Southampton who had built a stately home nearby. Mr Watts said that his own theory that Shakespeare had spent his “lost years” at Titchfield was as likely

Caroline Barfoot visited the club to give a talk on social media – which followed on nicely from a recent short course taken by about 12 members at Fareham College; you can find her profile on Solent University staff page at this link, on Facebook here, on Twitter here, on LinkedIn here and on Pinterest here! She gave a quick overview of the main social media applications, hoping to show their scope and power for good. She explained that each had their own particular slant on enabling communication: whether sharing what we like, what we think, what we work as or what hobbies we have. • Facebook is for what and who you like, and to get a message out to the world (e.g. David Cameron, or Heinz soup); • Twitter forces you to be concise, to say what you think in less than 140

There had been a touch of apprehension at the start of the new Soroptimist year but the concern had proved to be unfounded, acting president Christine Wilkes told members at the annual general meeting. It was the beginning of a new reign with the club being run by the executive committee in the absence of a president. Thanks to some earlier planning everything had gone smoothly, there were few problems with continuity, people pulled together and the club was very supportive, particularly when it came to filling the 21 backpacks for Mary’s Meals charity. She said the executive would continue to run the club in the year ahead with a rota for president for the month with the added responsibility of coping without a secretary. “The past year was quite a good one with everyone involved.” Lesley Hobbs reported on programme action activities including the

According to the old adage a picture may be worth a thousand words but quilter Alison Jenkins showed members that there’s a story behind every piece of her handiwork. Alison, a retired teacher and former club president, said that she had been sewing since her junior school days. Encouraged by her mother, a keen sewer and embroiderer, she made her own school cap and apron and eventually progressed to making all her own clothes before taking a place at Bath College to study home economics with dress as her secondary subject. “In my final year I made a wedding gown for a friend,” she said. When she married and became a mother to two boys she bought a knitting machine so sewing took a back seat for a while as she made sweaters for her sons. After retiring she took up quilting on the recommendation of