MEMBERS were given an interesting insight into the life of women in Poland by an unusual speaker who could herself qualify as a topic for a talk.  Catherine Grosvenor, a linguist and a playwright from Edinburgh, told the club about the cultural differences that she uncovered as she researched for her play Cherry Blossom, performed in both Scotland and Poland.

A niece of President Pam Grosvenor, Catherine explained that ten per cent of the Edinburgh population was Polish, a figure achieved in around four years.  She is pictured left with her aunt.

She spent a year working on her play and spoke to as many Polish people as possible – in Edinburgh and in Poland.

“I was struck by the contrast in women’s lives in the two countries,” she said.

“Women in Poland are firstly wives and mothers and there is emphasis on looking good but they can also be incredibly strong characters.”

For example, two women she met in Edinburgh had arrived there unable to speak a word of English yet they were running their own businesses within four years.

Catherine said she had been sceptical that Soroptimism would play a big part of women’s lives in Poland so she was surprised to discover that there were 12 clubs there with around 200 members, all chartered in the late 90s after the fall of communism.

“Ideas about charitable giving are different in Poland,” she said. “There’s no way they’d send money to Haiti, for example. Partly because money’s tight they tend to think that you should look after your own.”

She said that whereas Soroptimists in the UK did a lot of work to support refuges for the victims of domestic violence, in Poland there wasn’t even a phrase for it.

“They might call it violence in the family but it isn’t something people talk about and they would probably see it as a problem for individuals to sort out although there is currently a campaign aimed at stopping parents from hitting their children.”

She said Poland was a fascinating country with complex people and an interesting future.

A veritable feast of traditional fare was consumed in fairly large quantities accompanied, naturally, by a dragon and lots of Chinese music played on a Yu, an ancient type of mouth organ that looked very much like a model of the Empire State Building!

Front row, club secretary Pat Caulton, left, and Lesley Hobbs; back row, Rosemary Hampton, President Pam Grosvenor, Treasurer Ann Pibworth and her friend Sue Paterson.

We charged £3 entry fee, which included tea/coffee and a mince pie. Initial estimates show that we made in the region of £700 from the day, in aid of the Alzheimers Society.

Special thanks to Peter, for valiantly braving the cold and torrential rain, in full wet weather gear, to man the car parking all day!

Club members held a farewell lunch for them on Sunday 8th November hosted by Pat and Dave Hanns. Club members contributed different dishes and some 20 club members and their husbands enjoyed the excellent food and wine, well up to the club’s usual standard!

We drank a toast to Janet and Rob and wish them well in their new life.

One person commits suicide each week in South East Hampshire, club members heard.

The Portsmouth and East Hampshire branch of Samaritans, based at 296 London Road, North End, is part of a nationwide network of more than 200 in the UK, the local director told us.

Known simply as John to preserve his anonymity, he stressed that the Samaritans is not a secret organisation. It is simply felt that people might find it difficult to unburden themselves to someone they knew.

Set up in 1961, the local branch has around 100 volunteers and no paid staff. They were left the North End premises in a legacy but because they received no national funding they needed to raise £40,000 a year to run the local service that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“Problems begin as stress then develop into distress, despair and suicidal thoughts,” said John, a volunteer for 32 years.

“Ideally we’d like people to get in touch with us early on so that we can stop this process occurring, but ultimately we will still support those who want to commit suicide.”

Confidentiality is paramount and they never report crimes. People contact Samaritans for many reasons, including bereavement or debts, and often they just want someone to talk to.

A rigorous selection process for volunteers coupled with hours of training over months means they become expert listeners.

“It’s quite a special experience knowing that you are helping a despairing person at say, 4 o’clock in the morning,” said John.

Volunteers always work in pairs for security and support reasons, and counselling is available for them if they have to deal with a particularly distressing caller.  As well as providing emotional support for around 65 telephone callers a day, the local branch receives three to four emails a day.  Contact can also be made in person or by text or via the website www.samaritans.org/portsmouth

Helping hands: club President Pam Grosvenor, wearing the chain of office, with some of the members who were working hard behind the scenes at the annual quiz night, from left, Rosemary Hampton, Pat Hanns, Maureen Hine, Margaret Wilkinson and Stella Astbury.

Quiz fans from around Hampshire descended on Stubbington, Fareham, to have some fun at the club’s annual quiz night and to help raise money for charity.

Around 90 people packed into the Crofton community centre for the event organised by membership secretary Maureen Hine.

The Quizmaster, with a touch of magic, was Mr Peter Thomas from Poole. Helped by volunteers, he entertained his audience with a variety of intriguing tricks in between the six rounds of questions. These covered a wide range of topics, with questions like “In Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream what is the name of the Queen of the fairies?” (Answer: Titania) and “During World War II what was the government’s recommended depth for a hot bath?” (Five inches).

There was good-natured competition between 15 teams battling to be the winners. This accolade eventually went to a team calling themselves Vital Statistics comprising Stuart Blackburne and Sarah Bishop from Portsmouth and four members of Winchester Soroptimists: President Kim Fielder, Margaret Lovell, Jan Harding and Gina Bird.

Stuart Blackburne also won a subsidiary quiz with ten questions on French wines.

A raffle raised £210 and helped to boost the amount raised during the evening to more than £730.  Proceeds will go to the Alzhaimer’s Society, the charity chosen by President Pam to benefit from funds raised during her year of office.

The sun shone which added to the enjoyment of visitors at the annual event organised in conjunction with Contact the Elderly, the charity that arranges regular Sunday afternoon tea parties for people over 75 who live alone with little or no social support.

President Pam Grosvenor, is pictured centre, with Pat Hanns, right, and Christine Wilkes, getting ready for the event.  She thanked everyone who had baked, made sandwiches, drove, hosted, waitressed and cleared up.

“It was a very successful afternoon and everyone seemed to enjoy it.”

“This has been a busy summer and I really appreciate the support you’ve all given to club events and the work you’ve put in,” she told members.

She made her way to Dover, for a standard training day of a few hours in the harbour on Saturday, and waited to hear the weather forecast for the rest of the Bank Holiday weekend.  If the wind and sea state had calmed down enough, she’d have been off!

The UPDATE on 2nd September was that gale force winds were still forecast in the Channel, so Ros again had to wait by the phone for the right conditions to appear.  We all hoped that she wouldn’t be kept on tenterhooks too long before she set out for her swim.  She’d go with the best wishes of all members of SI Gosport and Fareham, and various other supporters such as the Southampton swimming club (link).

The next likely tide was due on 11th September, but there was no phone call as the weather was again bad. Ros went to Dover for her standard training weekend, but didn’t get the chance to go while she was there.

On the weekend of 19/20th Ros did cross the channel, but on a ferry with a celebration dinner for one of the organisers of the event!  The next appropriate tide was to be on 24th Sept, with possibly 20 people waiting to make their attempt.  As last year, they may have to extend the season into October, but it all depends on the wind dropping below about Force 3 for an individual to be allowed to tackle the swim.

ROS STARTED HER CHANNEL SWIM AT ABOUT MIDDAY ON 26 SEPT.  She had been called to Dover on Friday, with the expectation of starting her swim at 2pm on Saturday afternoon, but it got brought forward.  The update at 6:30 from Tanya, travelling with her on the support boat, was that she was going well and they had reached the English shipping lane.  By 9:30 Sue (that she stays with at Tenterden, and who had a relay attempt aborted earlier this week) said she had been swimming for just over 8 hours and was almost half way to France.  The period through the night, when the air temperature is colder than the water, was going to be more challenging, but we hoped that France would be well within reach at sunrise.

AND THE MESSAGE FINALLY GOT THROUGH AT 9AM ON SUNDAY MORNING 27 SEPT, THAT SHE HAD SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED THE CROSSING IN 20 HOURS 17 MINS.  CONGRATULATIONS ROS!