On Thursday, October 30, 16 members of SI Tenby joined with Soroptimists from across the Federation of Great Britain and Ireland to attend their 75th annual conference in Cardiff. Apart from it being the Diamond Anniversary of the Federation, the 20 clubs in the Wales South Region were very proud to be not only hosting the event, but also that the Federation president was from the region and a member of the Haverfordwest club.

Some 1,700-plus delegates gathered for the opening ceremony to see the flags from the 27 Federation countries being presented to the president, along with the flag of Soroptimist International and the United Nations. This was followed by a Welsh welcome of music and dance given by 'Euphor', a talented foursome on euphoniums from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama; the Cardiff Folk Dance Company, the official Welsh folk dance team; the harpist Kathryn Rees, who enthralled her audience with a superb recital; and Angharad Rees, the talented young soprano brought the evening to a close.

On Friday morning, Chris Moon MBE, the first of the three speakers, took the platform. He spoke of how he had overcome his horrific injuries, losing his lower right arm and leg, when mine clearing in Mozambique. With sheer determination to resume a normal life, within a year of leaving hospital he completed the London Marathon, got a degree in security management and later took part in the 135-mile Great Sahara Run.

All agreed that it had been an inspiring talk, given with much humour, from an inspirational man.

The remainder of the day was Soroptimist news and reports from across the Federation of all the work being done, the new projects being set up, the presentations of the Best Practice Awards, and closed with the second speaker Ian Woodall. One of the select few to have climbed Everest by its north and south sides, he took his audience with him from Base Camp to Summit and through the sad incident of having to leave a dying American woman climber to secure the safety of his own team.

An emotional storyteller, Ian brought the triumph and tragedies of climbing to his listeners.

That evening, the delegates were treated to another musical performance, this time from 'Cordydd', a very talented mixed voice choir. Starting with a group of friends in 2000, the choir now has a number of Eisteddfod wins under their belt, appear on television, are heard on radio and in 2008 released their first CD.

On Saturday morning, the annual general meeting was held, followed by the final speaker, Christina Lamb. An award-winning journalist and an inveterate traveller, Christine invited her audience to travel with her on her assignments, and did so, making her journeys seem real. Her description of her time with Benazir Bhuto in Pakistan and the tragedy that befell her was very vivid.

Bringing the morning session to a close, the delegates went en masse to Cardiff Bay where they joined with Oxfam in 'Bras in the Bay'. Soroptimist International and Oxfam have worked together since 2007 and this latest project was for the latter's 'Wastesaver' project for donated bras for Africa. The sight of many hundreds of women waving these items must have started many visitors to the Bay that day.

After a brief respite, a glittering banquet was held in the Cardiff International Arena to celebrate '75 years of service, 75 years on campaigning, 75 years of making a difference' to women and girls across the world.

The handover of the presidential term and regional officers term was done, the Soroptimist flag was presented to Manchester, where the 2010 Conference will be held, and in true Welsh style, music ended the night with a performance from 'Diva Delight', three young singers with beautiful voices that one minute held you captive and the next laughing.

A wonderful finish, to a very full, thought-provoking and enjoyable three days.