Page 94 - Phonebox Magazine August 2011

The Lions Den
www.npolneylions.btck.co.uk
Snuggling Up
From Threads and Patches to Lions Quilts
The majority of children come
from a loving family
background, but for many,
conflict and violence at home is commonplace. Imagine what
would go through a child’s mind
if they experience violence aimed at their mother or themselves on a daily basis.
For a mother facing such a dilemma, where will escape come from? Who can help?
What can she do?
We are very fortunate in the Milton Keynes area to have MK Act, better known as MK Women’s Aid which provides refuge, counselling and support to women and their families who may have been caught
up in such a situation. In their view, domestic violence is physical, sexual, psychological or financial violence that takes place within an intimate of family-type relationship and that forms a pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour. Their full time and volunteer staff have a vast amount of experience in such situations and have considerable resources available to help families who face domestic violence.
Over the years, our club has been pro- active in providing support to the MK Women’s refuge and in addition to financial donations, have in the past arranged for
many mothers/children to visit the Panto in MK Theatre, a first ever experience for many.
This year, it is sad to report that the Refuge has a need to expand with a large number of brand new accommodation units becoming available but as you can imagine, this involves a major investment for the charity and makes a considerable call on the resources which they have.
Most of the Lions Clubs in the area have become involved in helping furnish the units and our club, in association with Threads & Patches, a Bletchley based craft shop, have taken on the task of providing a large number of quilts which will be gifted to children arriving at the refuge. The quilts have been financed by our club with clients and customers of Threads and Patches doing the skilful bit of putting them together at volunteer workshops at the shop in Watling Street, Fenny Stratford.
Some of the Lions even tried their hands at stitching but it was pretty clear that we are better fundraisers than machinists and the experts soon ‘tactfully’ gave us feedback on our sewing skills when they offered us a cuppa in the ‘men’s waiting room’ (yes, they do have such a room – specially set aside for husbands whose wives attend the frequent workshops which the shop run).
Once complete, the quilts will be donated to MK Act in time for the opening of their new accommodation and, as the units become occupied, new residents will be given a quilt to keep and hopefully it will help the youngsters to have probably one of their cosiest night’s sleep in a long time as they escape the problems of their previous home.
Any reader who would like to find out more about the work of MK Act should have a look at their website at www.mkweb.co.uk/mkwomensaid/ or ring the 24 hour helpline on 0808 2000 247.
Coming Soon!
Interested in malt whisky?
Our next event is titled “Malt & More”, a tutored whisky tasting session when a minimum of five malt whiskies will be sampled under the guidance of Michael Hopert from Royal Mile Whiskies in Bloomsbury, London. Royal Mile Whiskies won Whisky Magazine’s retailer of the year 2010 and he is a renowned expert in the whisky field so if you would like to know more about “the water of life”, come along and enjoy an evening which will be a little bit different.
In addition to tasting the five malts in our main list, a number of other whiskies will be ‘exposed’ to the nose and palate of those attending along with a range of other interesting and educational ‘extras’ which will make for a full evening’s entertainment.
The date for your diary is 23rd September 2011 at Carlton House Club and if you would like more information why not visit our website, www.npolneylions.btck.co.uk. Let us know if you are interested in coming along and we will give you advance warning of where and when the tickets, costing £20, can be bought. This will give you an opportunity to purchase yours before the official launch date and which we hope will be a sell out.
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94 Phonebox Magazine