February Action Meeting

We now have special action groups to lead Club Action during the year.   They will focus on Modern Slavery, Violence against Women and Climate Action.  There is also a Lobbying Group that will raise awareness about these various issues.   At present we are following two pieces of legislation of special interest:  firstly, the minimum age for marriage: it is at the report stage in the House of Commons; secondly, the PCS and Courts Bill:  the members of the House of Lords are considering the amendments.

The Sheerwater district of Woking has high social needs.  We are therefore looking at what we can do to help the residents in this area.  We welcome the news that a community kitchen will open next month.  It will be run by Foodwise.

We agreed to make a donation of at least £100 to the Soroptimist International (Sigbi) Disaster Emergency Committee for Afghanistan.  We will also continue to collect and send items to the Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline (dressings and hand cream).

Domestic Abuse

Help for the victims of domestic abuse:  On 25 January 2022, the government published new guidance to help the victims of domestic abuse.   The guidance recognises that ‘many victims of domestic abuse are forced to flee their homes to seek safety and support in a refuge o other form of temporary accommodation. This is often in another local authority area in order to put a safe distance between themselves and their perpetrators’.  So the new measures aim to making finding a suitable place to stay easier.  Read more here

Sidney Sime

Our first invited speakers of 2022 revealed a local ‘Hidden Gem’ : the Sidney Sime Gallery in Worplesdon.

Illustrator, artist, caricaturist and a master of the mysterious…….we were enthralled when Mary Broughton and Jan Messinger talked to us about Sidney Sime and his work.  The Sidney Sime “Hidden Gem” of a gallery in Worplesdon holds a fine collection. Mary and Jan showed us many examples of Sidney Sime’s fantasies, illustrations, landscapes in oil, character drawings….  leaving us planning to visit the gallery  – we want to see more!