On a glorious sunny day South Lancashire’s Soroptimists took part in the closing rounds of the region’s annual bowling competition. A colourful event with the teams in their various club shirts, it was held at Nuttall Park, Ramsbottom, and hosted by SI Ramsbottom. In the team competition semi-final SI Bootle succeeded in beating SI Leigh, while SI St Helens lost by the narrowest of margins to SI Crosby. The stage was set, therefore, for an exciting match between the Merseyside sister clubs. Each of the six games was closely watched by the crowd of knowledgeable Soroptimists – and a few members of the public who strolled by. The end result was victory for SI Crosby, 91 points to 78. In the individual competition, the elimination rounds led to a final show-piece between Dot Massey and Paula Fox of SI Widnes. After a keenly-contested match, Dot emerged

‘Ladies who lunch?’ – no problem! Denise Baldwin (Regional President) was confident there would be an excellent response from South Lancashire’s Soroptimists to attend her fundraising event.  Held at the Red Hall Hotel in Ramsbottom, the event offered the opportunity for guests to browse and buy at the retail stalls, relax over a leisurely meal, and enjoy non-stop conversation. The stalls were kept very busy – the temptation of crafts, handbags, scarves, cosmetics and jewellery proving too good to resist. Stallholders generously donated prizes for the raffle; and ticket sellers were kept very busy as everyone ‘dug deep’ into their purses. After the meal, Velvet of Ramsbottom presented a fashion show – a selection of the store’s ‘absolutely fabulous ladies’ wear’. Models were all local volunteers – a touch that went down very well with the audience. On display on the catwalk was a wide variety of daywear and evening styles. Therefore the

The guest speaker at the summer regional Programme Action meeting was Anna Reeves, Manager of ACE Centre North, based in Oldham. The ability to communicate is fundamental to our basic quality of life. However for many people – whether because of physical impairment, language disorder or learning disability – effective communication is a challenge. There can be a massive gap between receptive language (understanding) and expressive language (communicating). So the ACE Centre enables people of all ages to face that challenge, and bridge that gap. ACE Centre North offers free information and advice on assistive technology for people with physical/communication difficulties. The Centre’s team of therapists, teachers and technicians provides help and expertise for families, schools and other organisations. Through assessment, training and ongoing support the staff put modern technology at the service of people who need a voice. By keeping up to date with

Margaret Baker, President SI Bolton, describes a tea party to remember. Last December I received a letter from the Lord Lieutenant nominating me for an invitation to a Royal Garden Party. It was a wonderful surprise and quite thrilling to receive the actual invitation itself in April. The weather had been dreadful so my sister (my guest) and I bought umbrellas (white and lacy, of course) for showers, and throwaway packamacs (see-through, of course) for sudden downpours; and I wondered how much thermal underwear I could fit under my posh frock to keep warm (answer – not much).  However, by the time the day itself arrived it was glorious sunshine with an  expected high of 26 degrees. (Decision now – how little could I wear under my  posh frock?) We entered by the Hyde Park gate and the first official I met asked about my chain of office. It was a pity

Over 130 Soroptimists from all over the North West attended the 2012 regional conference. Held at the Crowne Plaza Liverpool (John Lennon Airport) Hotel, the conference was organised jointly by South Lancashire Region and N.W.England & Isle of Man Region.  Taking the conference theme ‘Teamwork’ to heart, (SIGBI) Federation President Maureen Maguire and (SI) International Programme Director Hilary Ratcliffe gave wide-ranging presentations – and attracted a number of searching questions from delegates. Anne Holt, former President of Girlguiding (North West England) then looked at the history of Guiding, its present-day programme, and the options for partnership working with Soroptimists.  The afternoon was opened by Ben Mott, a dementia care specialist, whose lively and lucid guide to this complex condition kept everyone’s attention. The mood changed as Fiona Murphy, leader of the Bereavement Support Team at the Royal Bolton Hospital, described her work in graphic detail.

Soroptimists all over South Lancashire took the opportunity of staging publicity events on International Women’s Day. In Ramsbottom, Regional President Denise Baldwin joined fellow club members in the town centre to raise awareness about ovarian cancer. The Soroptimists gave out dozens of informative leaflets to women passing by.  In Southport, over 30 Soroptimists from several clubs gathered on the Marine Way Bridge. Organised by SI Southport, with participation from the Bootle, Crosby, Leigh and Liverpool clubs, the ovarian cancer event gained considerable local publicity. March is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.  At last year’s Soroptimist International Federation Conference in Brighton, the Southport club seconded a resolution for members around the country to promote awareness of the disease, in association with the charity Target Ovarian Cancer. Soroptimists are working to distribute information, increase knowledge of symptoms and raise funds to support work in this field.  Meanwhile, in