At our July meeting, Tasmeen Zeer from the Syrian Solidarity Group came to talk to us about the current situation in Syria.

Tasneem, who has Syrian parents but was brought up in Britain, gave us a helpful account of the history and personalities surrounding the current regime and the recent appalling events in Syria.

Unfortunately, because of bad weather, fewer members than usual attended, but we all found Tasneem's talk extremely interesting and there followed a thoughtful discussion about the possible consequences of regime change in such a troubled area.

John Reekie then encouraged all members to write or email our local MPs, Vince Cable and Zac Goldsmith, asking them to put pressure on the government to back the International Criminal Court and bring the Assad government to justice.

John also reminded us that there will be no group meeting in August, but we will reconvene in the Autumn at our usual venue.