Page 48 - Phonebox Magazine February 2014

Olney & Newport Pagnell Lions
Club News
155 For Six - Not Out!
Not the latest Australian Cricket Test score but the number of years service in Lions clocked up by six of our current members. District Governor, Sarbjit Assi visiting the Club at our first meeting of 2014 had the pleasant task of handing out Chevron Awards to six of our members. These awards, are made by International President Barry J Palmer and recognise key anniversaries of a member’s time since joining the family of Lions.
Lion Tom Hart (35 years), Derek Seymour and Trevor Aldred (30yrs), John Ferris (25yrs), Brian King (20yrs) and Walter Micaleff (15yrs) were all presented with their awards.
Another Six for Newport Pagnell
Anyone who went along to one of our new fairs held at the United Reformed Church last year will be delighted to know that we are returning to the town during 2014 but with six events rather than the three of last year.
Commencing in March with the Spring Artisan Food Festival we will also have an Easter Eggstravaganza, Mayday Gift Fair, Summer Gifts and Goodies event, Artisan food and drink fair and finishing up with our “last minute Christmas gift “event – there really is something for everyone. Full details of these events can be found on our website at www.newportpagnelllionsclub.org.
Malt at the Movies
Our fourth Malt whisky tasting is certainly going to be quite different from anything we have done before and unless we are mistaken, we could well be claiming a World’s First.
Instead of a tutor led tasting, we will be joining the cast of “The Angel’s Share” which is a hilarious but often touching tale from producer Ken Loach. We will be following Robbie and his criminal gang as they try to break free from the downward spiral that living in an inner city can often create. Having been sentenced to community payback, Robbie sees an opportunity which, if successful, could see him and his new family move away from a life of crime. All thanks to a new found knowledge of whisky. As the film runs, Robbie and his mates will be visiting a number of
distilleries and be taking part in a series of tastings which will give us an opportunity to join them as they learn about and develop their taste for good malt whisky.
The evening will culminate in an auction of various whisky related and other items. Unfortunately we won’t have the auctioneer, whisky guru Charles MacLean from the film, running our version of the auction, he has kindly agreed to send us some personalised items for sale.
This will be a free screening at the Carlton House Club on 14th March and anyone who wishes to participate in the tasting will require a ticket costing £20. Full details on our website.
Not So Winter Wonderland
In April, the club was approached by the organiser of Winter Wonderland a Christmas event planned for Emberton Park but subsequently moved to Campbell Park in Milton Keynes. We were asked to take on one of the attractions but in discussion at our next club meeting, we were uncomfortable about a number of aspects of the plans and consequently declined the offer to become involved.
The resultant event found itself in National press and TV but for all the wrong reasons. We gave a sigh of relief at how close we had been to being involved but felt more than a little satisfied that our concerns were justified but sorry that so many were disappointed when they should have been having a great time.
A major feature of the event was a mini ice rink which had seen many people pre purchasing tickets only to find that it failed to measure up to expectations.
MK Ice, operators of the not for profit organisation which runs the Ice Rink currently re-housed temporarily in the old Waitrose site, stepped into the breach and offered free ice time to everyone who had failed to ‘experience the ice’ at Winter Wonderland - a brilliant demonstration of true Social Responsibility and community spirit. Our club felt that we would like to help offset some of the additional costs which MK Ice were incurring with their offer and as a result, we arranged to present them with a small donation as a token of our thanks for bringing some Christmas Spirit back to an otherwise unhappy experience for many.
And Finally
Know of someone or some organisation which Lions could help? Do you know of an organisation, charity or someone who could benefit from support from the Lions Club? How do you go about asking us if we can help out? Not sure if we can assist? If you are on the web, the simplest way is to visit our website www. npolneylions.btck.co.uk and either go to our “Contact Us” page or email tonyhiggs.higgs@btinternet.com and give us an outline of what you would like us to consider. No computer? Then simply phone Lion John Ferris on 01234 712217 to start the ball rolling.
48 Phonebox Magazine