Our first of hopefully many visits to the Green Bean Community Market at Whitley Bay Metro station. The Green Beans Market takes place at Whitley Bay Metro Station on the last Sunday of each month between 10am and 3pm. The community-led market focuses on healthy food, local produce, gardening and upcycling. WE ARE BEING RECOGNISED AND NOTICED IN OUR COMMUNITY!! W

Following on from a most successful Safari supper last year to raise club funds the fun continued as we acknowledged the lengths our Suffragette Sisters went to get the vote for women and although there is still a journey ahead we are with them every step of the way. Music, laughter and some good food with friends on a summer evening in the sunshine at the coast, weather permitting!  Our suggested dress code: Suffragette colours, hats, sashes -or full Suffragette ensemble – with a prize for best dressed.  With a huge thanks to chefs and hosts for amazing hospitality.  With guests from Newcastle Building Society and the induction of three new members the evening was another success and with £287.60 raised for club funds to be used when club member Shirley Hallam succeeds Linda Johnson as our Regional President for another ‘bit of a do’

Regional President Linda’s neighbours and friends are always up for supporting the terrific work of our club and have generously contributed to a final huge total of £1185

A wonderful morning was spent at Bradley Hall Gardens with members from SI Sunderland, SI Tynedale, SI Newcastle, SI Middlesbrough and SI Tynemouth, Whitley Bay & District, all clubs from the East of the SINE (Soroptimist International Northern England) region who got together to support SI Cockermouth in raising awareness and funds for Brain Tumour Research on Thursday 2 August. Members, as ever,  were very generous with a huge £203 raised through donations for BrainTumour Research in memory of two lovely members from SI Cockermouth, who recently lost their lives to this disease.They were the founding President Wendy Dempster and treasurer and past club President Diana Clark; both had more than 30 years service each. A message from Jane Inman, IPP of Northern region At our Friendship Coffee morning and Open Garden yesterday we had  a super turnout with more than 40 members and friends enjoying chat

MANZINI – trustees of the Manzini Youth Project provided tuition, materials and guidance for the girls to cut and prepare the several layers needed to stitch together to make re-usable sanitary protection for the students in Manzini, ensuring they can attend school during menstruation. Harbour – the aim for our working day was to make cotton bags for the mothers and children of HARBOUR, a local refuge. They will later be filled with toiletries and treats.      

A huge thank you to all of our guests: the girls from Whitley Bay High School, family, friends, our club members and guest Tricia, from Harbour. So, the room got booked, the quizzes created & printed, food ordered, raffle prizes collected, tickets printed and sold, displays made, wine and water collected, room organised, hamper created, balloons inflated, snacks eaten (so unhealthy girls!), raffle tickets sold, and so the quiz began with Charlotte excelling as quiz person………….each quiz round totalled, money totted up to reveal an awesome £360 raised for Harbour. So here are the final results – so close. 1st    JJ & the WKDS – 102 2nd   Last Again – 98 3rd   StevB – 90 4th   Spanish Battery – 89 5th   6 – 86 6th = Spice Girls,  The Passion Fruits – 85 8th   Wait for it – 82 9th   NCPG – 71  

Our ‘FAIRLY PRICED SHOP’ raised £144 and more to come as we intend to sell the remaining items on ebay. 50% to ‘Stop the Traffik’ and 50% to club funds. .                https://www.stopthetraffik.org/campaign/fashion/ http://www.ntdf.co.uk/  

Thirteen girls from the newly formed WBHS Soroptimists group (Whitley Bay High School) attended an after school meeting with Dame Vera Baird QC, MBE. Dame Vera told them how she had come from a poor family and was the first to go to university and how she thought about a few different things like medicine before deciding on law, what it was like to be a junior barrister then a senior QC, then an MP and Solicitor General. They were fascinated by her careers and asked some searching questions including questions around any sex discrimination she had faced. She also gave them some insight into very high profile cases she had fought at the Old Bailey representing women who had murdered their husbands after being abused for years We were there about 90 minutes (it was supposed to be 60 but they asked so many questions) She

Celebrating 70 years of 63 at the House of Lords On 2nd May 2018, 112 guests enjoyed lunch at the House of Lords, generously sponsored by the Baroness May Blood of Blackwatertown MBE, to acknowledge 70 years of Number 63 and to celebrate the achievements of the National Osteoporosis Society (NOS) and The Integration Education Fund Northern Ireland, (IEF). The guests enjoyed a prosecco reception, regrettably indoors rather than on the stunning terrace due to rain, rain and more rain! http://www.number63.co.uk/