The University of Leeds Ladies' Club
Autumn 2026
Monthly Newsletter - July 2026
Dear Ladies,
Welcome to the July 2026 edition of the monthly newsletter.
Dates for your diary
Tuesday 11th August at 10.30 am at the Golden Beam, Otley Road, Headingley. (See front page)
As usual, this will be a ‘drop-in’ session for which there is no charge. Coffee/Tea and other drinks are available to purchase and for those who wish to stay on and have lunch afterwards this also can be purchased, again at own cost.
As this is such a popular event in the calendar, we have booked additional dates for coffee mornings on the second Tuesday of each month until December. The dates booked are
Tuesday 8th September,
Tuesday 13th October,
Tuesday 10th November
Tuesday 8th December,
all at 10.30am.
Members will be pleased to know that the Autumn schedule of meetings is almost finalised and you may wish to add the following dates to your diaries.
Wednesday 16th September – Harvest Lunch
Members may well remember the annual Harvest Lunch which formerly opened proceedings for each academic year with a lunch at University House. With the advent of the Covid virus in 2020 it became impossible to hold any events in University House and sadly, this remains the situation to date.
However, we have made a booking for a revised Harvest Lunch which will be held in the dining room at Headingley Golf Club on Wednesday 16th September.
A Flyer with full details together with a Booking Form, will be sent out in the middle of August and members are asked to return the booking form to the Club Secretary, Mrs Moira Wallace by no later than 31st August.
Please note that, as the Golf Club is a commercial enterprise, payment must be made in advance. Full details of payment methods will be included in the booking form.
Thursday 8th October – Talk by Robert Gee on the History of Cakes
This talk will take place in the TV Lounge at the Headingley Golf Club.
Once again, we have managed to secure the services of our old friend Robert Gee, who will give us his latest talk, this time on the History of Cakes. This will be accompanied by refreshments (yes, you guessed it…tea/coffee and Cake!) plus a free ‘Cake Raffle’ during the course of the afternoon. As always, Robert’s talk promises to give us all a very enjoyable afternoon
Full details, with Flyer and booking information will be sent out in the middle of September.
Thursday 12th November – A talk by Dr Diana Wetherill on her Life as a Police Surgeon
This talk will take place in the TV Lounge of the Headingley Golf Club.
Member and former ULLC President, Dr Diana Wetherill, has agreed to give a talk on her very varied life as a Police Surgeon. This promises to be a fascinating and enlightening talk and I am certain we are assured of a most interesting afternoon.
Further details will be sent out in Mid-October. So do keep an eye on your inbox.
Thursday 16th December – Annual Christmas Lunch
This will be held in the Dining Room at the Headingley Golf Club.
Details are being finalised and more information will be sent out in due course but do put the date in your diary. Diaries at Christmas fill up so quickly and we would hate anyone to miss out on what is always a most enjoyable start to the Festive Season.
News of Members
I have heard that Anne Mark has had an operation on her hand and is encased in Plaster for the time being. We hope that this is not too painful and debilitating and send all our good wishes for a speedy recovery
She has my personal good wishes as I too have had a problem with my hand. After a fall in mid-July, I broke my left hand and have also been encased in Plaster. Thankfully I have now been released from my plaster cast/cage and have a brace and splint which is much easier to handle.
I am pleased to say that I have not had any new information about member’s illnesses, so can only hope that everyone is keeping fit and well and enjoying the beautiful sunshine, though perhaps not at the level of heat we have had.
To all our members who have on-going health issues, or have family members with health issues, we send our very best wishes for better health in the future.
News from the Groups
Garden Group Report May – July 2026
Garden Group meetings have continued to take place each month, and have been well attended. The business of the meetings has been conducted in informal discussion. Gardening problems, successes and advice feature prominently. The challenges are endless. We took a few minutes to learn how to identify vine weevil, although one or two of us couldn’t bear to even look at a picture of this most unwelcome destroyer of potted plants. Remembering the flowers we used to see growing on roadsides and in fields directed our thoughts to the hobby of flower pressing. Having been given a small press recently it inspired me to look closely along the hedgerow to the side of the Otley Road, walking towards Lawnswood Cemetery. Red clover, ‘eggs and bacon’, cow parsley, daisy, dandelion, speedwell, ragwort and, walking in the opposite direction towards the work at Lawnswood roundabout, beautiful red field poppies, thanks to the disturbance of long untouched ground allowing seeds to germinate. Although the recent heatwaves have given gardens and gardeners a hard time, roses seem to have thrived. We’re determined to thrive too, and find that tea and cake help enormously.
Heather Harrison
Book Group 1 June 2026
Book Group 2 – July 2026
The Book Group met on Thursday 30th July when they discussed their book of the month, The Wide Sargasso Sea’ by Jean Rhys.
The book had a mixed reception as a few of us liked it very much, more appreciated it but didn’t really enjoy it. However, our thanks go to Val for her lucid introduction.
Thanks go also to our Hostess, Anne, who kindly agreed to host the meeting despite having had an operation on her hand and now sporting a large plaster cast. She was aided admirably by her husband, Alan, and our thanks go also to him for hosting a most enjoyable afternoon.
The group agreed not to meet in August because of the current incapacity of some members and the holiday arrangements of others. The next meeting will take place on Thursday 24th September when the book of the month will be The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow. This has been proposed as a pleasant easy read. I suggest that if you want to cheat you can watch the excellent BBC TV adaptation on the BBC I-Player!
Christine Roy
And Finally
Members will be aware from the June newsletter that at the AGM in June, President Judith stepped down. As is the custom at the end of the AGM, the new committee for 2026/27 was announced and there are now two important vacancies for 2026/27 and those are for a President and a Vice-President.
If you feel that you would be interested and perhaps would like to explore taking on one of these roles, please ask any member of the committee, who will be pleased to explain what the roles involve.
As we will be without a President or Vice President for the foreseeable future, the committee has established a number of sub-committees to arrange and organise all the forthcoming social events so that the year can proceed with as little disruption as possible.
Offers to help the Committee are always welcome, and we are keen to follow up on any interest to assist in a more "bite sized" way, for a one-off event, or meeting.
The committee are a very friendly and relaxed group who meet about 5/6 times per year, Meetings are always accompanied by tea and cake! The members are a shining example of effective collaborative working, and with the Autumn programme of events now in place we are looking forward to an enjoyable Autumn term.
If you feel you may be interested in finding out more about the committee, or the roles of President and Vice President, why not come along to the next committee meeting to find out what it is all about. This will be held at the Headingley Golf Club on 3rd September, time to be confirmed.
If you would like to know more about the Club in general, please visit the website on:
universityofleedsladiesclub.co.uk
I hope you have enjoyed reading this newsletter. The August newsletter will be sent out at the beginning of September. If you have any items for inclusion, please could you send the details to me by no later than 28th August.
Best wishes,
Carole
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