NWR’s Mary Stott, 2008 Woman of the Year..

Rosemary Lavies of the New Milton (Hants) group wins National Women’s’ Register Award

At NWR’s recent annual National Conference entitled ‘Is the Past our Future – Evolving & Adapting’ in Bath Rosemary Lavies of the New Milton NWR group became the fifth recipient of the Mary Stott Woman of the Year Award. This award recognises members’ personal triumphs and is a lasting tribute from NWR to Mary Stott. It acknowledges that the actions of one person can make a difference.
Rosemary accepted her daughter Rebecca’s challenge to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. She started training at her local gym, joined a walkers group in the New Forest and worked especially hard on the muscles need for climbing. They decided to make the attempt in January as that is best for good weather conditions. Once in Tanzania Rosemary was affectionately christened ‘Bebe’ (Swahili for ‘grandmother’) by the other members of her group.
They started their climb from a place called Nale Moru (1950m) which is the start of the Rongai Route. Here they met up with their porters and guides. Their ultimate aim was to reach Gilman’s Point on the crater rim at 5735m. Rosemary plodded onwards and upwards but at Williams Point, at 5000m and with the temperature -10degrees and only 50% oxygen, she was feeling so ill that she knew it was time to turn back as she was severely affected by altitude sickness. Bitterly disappointed yet at the same time flushed with the actual success of reaching as high as she did, Rosemary started the descent on the treacherous shale down a one in three gradient slope. (Daughter Rebecca did make to the summit at Uhuru Peak (5895m) later that day).
NWR, an organisation for all women, was started in 1960 by Maureen Nicol, OBE, from a letter in The Guardian. It is an organisation that has stretched the minds of many women who found themselves stuck at home with children in need of mental stimulation. Its belief in the ideal of Space to be You has allowed generations of mothers and wives to develop their confidence, to meet other women and make friends, discuss and debate any and all topics and expand their horizons for nearly fifty years now.
Last year’s winner, Barbara Lang, who had taken part in the Trans-Atlantic challenge (known as ‘the ultimate Tall Ship Adventure’; sailing a Trans-Atlantic Voyage on the tall ship SS Stavros S Niarchos to the Azores) attended the Conference Dinner to hand over the Quaich – the Scottish ‘cup of friendship’ (appropriate to NWR’s basic ethos). Rosemary also received a book token which acknowledges Mary Stott’s profession of journalism.