September 2021

The month got off to a great start with the return of Dining Club.  Seven of us went to The Waterway for our first restaurant meal in far too long and we all enjoyed it, so more are planned.    Our zoom CafĂ© Club started up again on Monday afternoons.   

On 8th September we were joined on Zoom by Simon John, who provided us with an excellent insight into the phenomenon of Modern Slavery. Simon provided some horrifying statistics relating to the life expectancy of women who have been trafficked and forced into prostitution.  Internationally, he explored the link between cheap merchandise purchased here in the UK and the exploitation of workers involved in the production elsewhere. Simon said that if we were to suspect coercion, in relation to a person working in a nail bar or car wash, we should not address the issue directly, but inform authorities such as https://www.modernslaveryhelpline.org/report .  

We had a couple of very enjoyable walks this month too (the weather has been so much better than August), one along the Thames to Teddington complete with a pub lunch and another to Kew Gardens.   Written by Angela