I was born in London hence the accent, my father being MA Oxon teacher of history and an archaeologist, my mother an industrial chemist and archaeologist. Most of my childhood was spent on archaeological digs and in historical research with my parents. I have one sister who is a chartered electrical engineer. My daughter is a forensic scientist.

The region covers the right hand lower corner of Britain. There are 15 clubs in the region the oldest being Croydon chartered in 1927 and the 2 youngest Lewes and Folkestone charted in 1965. Our last regional project was on Rail Safety I have a copy with me the next regional project we are looking into obesity and alcohol in children and the influence advertising has on them. Croydon club had a project on children working such as paper rounds which I also have the finished report with me. Folkestone club is working at present with South Kent College on an investigation into date rape drugs, I understand that our testing can only be done up to 6 hours whereas in the USA it is 72 hours and I know Folkestone club would like assistance in this area. Most of the clubs in the region support their refuges with welcome boxes and Christmas gifts. Further details are on our web site www.soroptimistgbi-see.org.uk.

You will also find the details of the Seraphs in the last years' conference report. The seraphs are students at a University. We are hoping to spread this to the other universities in the region as the pilot has gone well. Even though they are not truly Soroptimists they have a constitution based upon ours.

The other new idea is a totally virtual club which headquarters has just given the go ahead for. They will be Soroptimists paying dues but will not physically meet unless they attend a function such as a regional meeting. This is ideal for those who travel whilst working or who only spend a few months per year in England also the disabled who cannot get to meetings as either the venue or their health does not allow.

My club Gravesend & District covers an area from Bexley on the outskirts of Southeast London along the Thames corridor to the river Medway and out into the countryside to the south of Brands Hatch. Gravesend is about 25 miles from London Dartford (M25) being about 15 miles.

The name does not derive from the end of the graves from the Black Death in the 1600's but from the Anglo Saxon Lord Graffa, it is the end of his land. The word Ham in Anglo Saxon means homestead and the borough council adopted this into the name of the borough being Gravesham, Graffa's homestead. Gravesend is the beginning or end of the Port of London, the river pilots board the ships to see them up the river and we have a custom house and since last year and the report on the Marchioness riverboat disaster an inshore lifeboat.

You may have heard of the Neolithic skull the Swanscombe man thought to be the missing link in the Northern hemisphere which turned out to be a Victorian spoof was supposedly found in the chalk pits at Swanscombe between Dartford and Gravesend. What is real is the children's book Stig of the Dump written about the chalk pits.

Real evidence of early settlements are Roman at Northfleet a villa now under the new International Railway station out along the Darenth valley south of Brands Hatch race circuit to Lullingstone my personal claim to fame. My father with a friend found the site excavated in the 1950's and here he found my mother and they rest together there on the site of one of the oldest Christian churches in Britain.

The earliest exposed site in the area is a Tudor blockhouse opposite the Clarendon Royal Hotel on the riverfront. The Clarendon Hotel was originally built by the Duke of York as a summer home and was made famous as the hotel where Dot Cotton went to stay in her search for her son Nick in Eastenders the TV soap.

Those who remember the 60's a song Fever about Princess Pocahontas the Native American princess who fell in love with a sea captain John Smith died in the town and her grave and statue are now in the churchyard of St George's church.

General Gordon of Khartoum had a residence as well and the gardens of his house now form part of the river front leisure area. Next to this is a Napoleonic fort, which was used in both world wars as air raid shelters, and AK AK posts, there is a bandstand and free concerts are given thought the summer in the arena.

Charles Dickens lived at Gads Hill and wrote Great Expectations about the area. The forge of Pips parents still stands; Gads Hill house is now a public school.

Lord Darnley had his home in Cobham now a public school, who is Lord Darnley, cricket. The Ashes cricket trophy was on the mantel in his house and a servant knocked them over and refilled it with ashes from the grate. Cobham church holds the best collection of memorial brasses in the country.

Most of the architecture is Victorian or Edwardian, it was developed as a second Brighton. Many famous events happened in the town including the tight ropewalker Blondin walking from one chalk cliff to the other at Northfleet. Each road is individual as sea captains purchased land and built houses with unique features from their favourite places, pillars and ornate plasterwork are the main oddities. Gravesend has the second largest Asian community in Britain and they are building a new Sikh temple a cross between the Taj Mahal and the Golden temple at Amritsa.

Many people emigrated from Gravesend and the prison hulks were moored in the river. Cruise liners still dock on the opposite side of the river at Tilbury in Essex.

Shrimp boats went out to fish the mud banks, Thames barges still race on the river. Each year there are 3 regattas including the shrimpers.

In the chalk pits at Greenhithe near Dartford is the largest covered shopping centre in Europe Bluewater. At Northfleet just outside Gravesend is the International Railway station with the high speed link when completed 2 1/2 hours to Paris 3 hours to Brussels and 12 mins to London at present 45 mins plus.

Gravesend club was 50 years old last year Dartford and Bexley clubs are now amalgamated with us hence the District.

Our club is one of the few who still have their own housing association we have 4 houses 3 converted into flats and a 2 bedroomed family home. The original price of the properties ranged from £6k to £30k the total of the properties is now in excess of £1m.

Over the past five years our programme action work has included Women against violence with 2 members on the domestic violence forum committee, work with the women's refuge, attendance at regional and national conferences on trafficking of women and children, personal safety and refugees of which we have about 100 families in the borough.

Limbs for life with speakers from Landmine action the group concerned with the clearance of landmines, assisting friendship link club Freetown Sierra Leone with capitation and conference fees, education of a girl, seeds and tools for a gardening project which we along with Sevenoaks club for their dental project have just won the Daphne Whitmore Rose Bowl.

Lifelong learning with the programme action officer attending a study day on ageism, speakers on equal pay and opportunities for women and work in local schools with slow learners.

Science and technology speakers on GM food, DNA and chemicals in everyday life. An article on waste minimisation and recycling was published in Soroptimists in science, technology engineering and research.

Habitat the culmination of this project was the A-Z of recycling booklet. A survey of misuse of disabled parking facilities at supermarkets and the town centre, cleaning of the foreshore of the Thames and speakers on the environment and global warming.

Health, as many club members are health professionals the areas covered have been breast cancer and the extension of screening the post 64 year olds, the dangers of tobacco chewing (gutkha), drug smuggling by Jamaican women, investigation into teenage pregnancy and fund raising for sight savers.

Our main club project last year was a recycling booklet published in conjunction with the local council. We work closely with the domestic violence forum and refuge making welcome boxes for the women and children. Some of the misters help out with decorating the refuges. We are starting to work with the youth forum and a cyber café the gr@and that includes health care advice for youngsters away from their GP in an informal setting.

Our friendship links are with Glostrop Denmark, Wuppertal Germany, Sidney Australia, Freetown Sierra Leone and Kingston upon Hull UK.

We raise funds for our charities through events at our social meetings, auctions and open speaker nights, quizzes and from the community by recycling our not wanted possessions on market stalls and boot fairs. We started last year an annual event an antiques roadshow.

We are trying to work closer with the community and get better known.

I have several copies of the recycling booklet with me which I have given to Norma along with the Rail Safety Project and the project from Croydon club on Working Children. If you do ever get to England just remember the right hand lower corner before you fall of the White Cliffs of Dover and end up in France and the European Federation. Several regional members are very involved in the London Club '63' and many clubs including mine use the residential club for a weekend away.

Our oldest member is just over 90 and attends meeting regularly. We had the youngest president who became pregnant and gave birth during her year in office but as yet no club member has got married whilst in office but I can live in hope!!!!!!!!!!

Soroptimism has changed my life radically and for that I wish to thank all of my sisters all 93,000 of you for making my life worthwhile.

Last night I gave out to the club Presidents scarves from my region, bud vases from my club's 50th anniversary and tea towels depicting the places in my town mentioned in this presentation both from my club.
President Elect Takiko this is a tea towel for you in memory of this weekend.
This watercolour painting of Oast Houses at Penshurst is for your region and so I give it to Governor Kathi for her safe keeping so that you will never forget me as your first Grant of Friendship recipient."

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