NEWSLETTER - AUGUST 2021
Unable like various to have communed together for many a long month, the Basingstoke Lions Club made their July 2021 ‘Handover to new Officers’ event count!
As guests in the lovely garden of our outgoing Lion President Tony Bamberger after his sterling successive years of service in the role, we saw in the incomer (though hardly a newcomer) in the form of Rex Sinden – and we’ve lost count how many times he’s been President! As usual we combined the event with the presentation of our ‘Lion of the Year’, this year to Anousjka Selders, our social media guru, Welfare Committee Chairperson and, through the past months of the vaccination programme, a regular volunteer at the local centre. Also issued was a Membership award to Annie Vicars, but importantly we honoured 2 long-serving members with the highest award to any Lion, the ‘Melvin Jones Fellowship Award’, he having founded the organisation in 1917. Recipients were retired Lion Barry Morgan and, as he was at the time of ‘Handover’, EX Lion Philip Wilson, ‘ex’ because, having hung up his leonine hat in a moment of May madness feeling that after 33 years he had no more to give, 4 weeks later he found that ‘more’ and rescinded the resignation! Had clearly missed us – as we had him!
And on the ‘Business’ side, we’ve continued to respond to the welfare appeals from various in the community, will stage our annual Swimathon in October, have planned more of our popular quizzes, and will be at the upcoming Transport Festival, the Treacle Fayre and Yateley Fayre (each with our putting game), meaning ‘Lennie’ gets to leave his own Lockdown Lair! This he (she??) did for the first time at a recent Saturday market - in 27 degrees! The sympathy vote from the public resulted in £17 in the bucket – every coin very welcome.
Just would’ve been nicer for ‘Lennie’ if the pipe on the Camelback watercarrier, between body and costume and operated by a cord to the left paw, had actually met the level of, and thus reached down INTO, the water supply – it didn’t!
Fancy being a part of this fun? See: CONTACT US or phone: 0345 833 4341
