2015 Santa Sleigh schedule

With Christmas approaching rapidly the Ironbridge Lions’ Santa sleigh is once again being readied for action. This year that readying has involved a major overhaul of the sleigh’s electrical system and we are indebted to Mark Bebb of Salop Leisure for the donation of two caravan batteries to drive the lights and music.

This year, as for very many past years, our schedule will be a mix of weekend collections outside the major supermarkets and evening tours of some of the major housing areas. Overall, the sleigh will be in action for around 50 hours and will involve more than 250 hours of support activity. A massive ‘thank you’ to all of those who take part in this – particularly to the Friends of the club without whom  it would not be possible.

Santa is due to make his first appearance at the Ironbridge Lights switch-on     on Saturday 28^th November and his schedule will then be as follows:

5^th December:          Madeley Lights switch-on, Anstice Hall, 1-6pm

12^th December:        Lees Farm 6-8pm

13^th December:        Tesco, Madeley, 11am – 4pm.

Lees Farm, 4.15 - 6.15pm

14^th December:        Stirchley, 6-8pm

15^th December:        Sutton Hill, 6-8pm

16^th December:        St George’s, 6–8pm

17^th December:        St George’s, 6–8pm

18^th December:        Asda, Donnington, 10am-4pm

19^th December:        Sainsburys, 10am-4pm

                                    Randlay, 4.15 - 6.15pm

20^th December:        Asda, Donnington, 11am-4pm

                                    Randlay, 4.15 - 6.15pm

23^rd December:        Morrisons, Lawley, 10am-4pm

24th December:       Morrisons, Lawley, 10am-4pm

IRONBRIDGE LIONS NEWS JUNE 2015

Welcome to the June 2015 edition of the Ironbridge Lions news bulletin which is distributed to members and friends of the club to provide a brief review of activities over the past month together with a look ahead at forthcoming project activity, social events and fundraising activities over the coming 2 months. 

All the items covered are open to both members and friends of the club and all can be found on the club calendar which lists important dates for the whole of 2015. You can also find the monthly Lions regional and national news bulletins by clicking the Member area tab at the top of the left hand margin of this page and then keying the password “oakbrook”. 
If you would like to follow the club on social media you will find our Twitter feed at https://twitter.com/IronbridgeLions and our facebook site at https://www.facebook.com/ironlions

MAY REVIEW

May was a fairly active month for the club with two Silver over the Bridge (SOB) sessions, and the Shrewsbury Fun day plus a zone social and charter events at Newport and Middlemarches.

Blood Bikes The SOB for Blood bikes was covered in the May newsletter - but the picture of Gordon on a motorbike is well worth showing again! As a result of a very successful session on the bridge the club was able to make a donation of £300 to blood bikes. This was in addition to the money raised by blood Bikes volunteers themselves on the day so the total raised was over £400. Blood Bikes is also the Zone project for this year and at the meeting on 14th May the club agreed to send a contribution of £150.

Medical Alert Dogs was the beneficiary for the second SOB session during the month.  Lions Club members were joined by Samantha Potts and her dog Charlie.

Sam lives in St Georges with husband Gary and 9 year old daughter Lydia and has a medical condition which causes up to 10 blackouts per day.  These attacks arrive without warning - at least as far as Sam is concerned. But amazingly, Charlie knows that an attack is imminent and is able to alert Sam by licking her hand vigorously. 

Charlie's arrival last September has transformed Sam'a life - reducing the risk of serious injury and giving her confidence to venture outside the house for short periods.

Just one of those amazing charities which we hear very little of and which are so deserving of support - a view clearly shared by those crossing the bridge on Sunday as this was one of our best bridge collections for some time and the club was able to make a donation of £450 to the charity.

Shrewsbury Fun Day is organised each year by Shrewsbury Lions on Whit Monday. We ran our usual year fun day activities such as noisy balloons, tombolla and football and added one  new element - a bric-a-brac stall.  All these activities did well and at  the end of the day we were able to add just over £300 to our charity funds.

Madeley War Memorial. Thanks to John Boydell, Frank Hill and Malcolm Appleton the area around the memorial had a spring tidy during the month.  We had expected the memorial to be moved to a new site this year but the plans for this appear to have been put on hold for the moment. 

Wellingtom Cottage Care We reported last month that the club had made a donation to this local charity and was in discussion regarding the possibility of providing some kind of support on an on-going basis. Following those discussions the club has agreed to make a 
further donation of £300 to be used specifically to assist individuals who find it difficult to afford the cost involved in travelling to the care centre. Further information about Wellington Cottage care can be found on their web site http://s424446717.initial-website.co.uk/

 FORTHCOMING SOCIAL ACTIVITIES 

Walk and meal.  This walk was planned for 12th June but unfortunately it has had to be postponed as so many members are on holiday at that time. We hope to be able to rearrange and further details will be circulated when a new date is fixed.

 Handover Dinner 25th June 2015. This event marks the end of our club year and it is the point at which those elected at the recent AGM take office. This year's dinner will be held at the White Hart in Ironbridge on 25th June and will include a three course meal at a cost of £20 per head. The menu is as follows:

Whipped Goats Cheese, Heritage Tomato Salad & Basil Oil 

Salmon Gravlax, Sweet & Sour Beetroot, Horseraddish 

Pork & Black Pudding Terrine, Celeriac & Mustard Remoulade 

Tomato & Basil Soup, Crusty Bread 

***

Crispy Pork Belly, Parmentier Potato, Black Pudding, Peas & Baby Onions 

Spring Pea, Wild Garlic and Goats Cheese Risotto

Grilled Rump Steak, Béarnaise Sauce, Chips

Fish Pie, Creamy Mash, Wilted Greens 

***

Passion Fruit Chiboust, Coconut Pannacotta
 Chocolate Brownie, Chocolate Sauce 
Sticky Toffee Pudding, Ice Cream 

All members, friends and family are welcome. please email June Softley (4cats@talktalk.net  ) or Colin Thompson (cthompson@bcs.org.uk) if you've not yet booked.

FORTHCOMING PROJECT AND FUNDRAISING ACTIVITY 

 Defibrillator for ironbridge. We are still "almost there" on the defibrillator project which was covered in last month's newsletter. The cabinet housing the defibrillator unit is being installed by Council contractors. Once that has been done and the defibrillator has been commissioned by the ambulance service we will arrange formal unveiling and  public training sessions. Ryan Kennedy of BBC Radio Shropshire (and Ironbridge resident) has kindly agreed to do the unveiling and Robin Bennett from Much Wenlock First Responders will do the training session.


 Silver over the Bridge. SOB is our longest running fundraising activity. Essentially it involves laying sticky tape across the Iron Bridge and inviting passers-by to put down their spare coins.  We also volunteer to man the Toll House on those days when we are collecting on the bridge.

We have scheduled 3 SOB sessions during June and July each focussed on a different charity:

Sunday 21st June - Midlands Air Ambulance

Sunday 5th July - Telford Young Carers

Sunday 26th July Macmillan      

Each SOB session runs from 10am to 4pm and is supported by Members and Friends working in 2 hour shifts – generally 3 people on the bridge itself and one person to man the Toll House.
Additional volunteers are always very welcome so if you’ve never helped at a SOB session why not give it a try. Visitors are general intrigued by the activity and we have some really interesting conversations so the two hours pass very easily.

Ironbridge Brass Band Festival 11th and 12th July. This is one of our biggest events of the summer season.  Although it is not itself a Lions club activity, members and friends of the club play a major part in both the planning and the operational support. This year volunteers are required as follows:

Friday 10th July - pre-festival working party
Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th July - Festival support activity

IRONBRIDGE LIONS NEWS MAY 2015

Welcome to the May 2015 edition of the Ironbridge Lions news bulletin which is distributed to members and friends of the club to provide a brief review of activities over the past month together with a look ahead at forthcoming project activity, social events and fundraising activities.  

For the forthcoming activities each of these monthly bulletins is focussed mainly on activities falling within the coming two months - so May and June in this case. All the items covered are open to both members and friends of the club and all can be found on the club calendar which lists important dates for the whole of 2015. You can also find the monthly Lions regional and national news bulletins by clicking the Member area tab at the top of the left hand margin of this page and then keying the password “oakbrook”.

APRIL REVIEW

1. Nepal. Apart from the General Election punch and Judy show, our TV news bulletins in the last week of April were dominated by the tragic impact of the earthquake in Nepal. One of the great strengths of the Lions is the ability to respond rapidly and generously to human need at every level - local, national and international. Lions Clubs International are actively involved in delivering support to the people of Nepal and as you may of seen from emails the club has agreed to make an immediate donation of £250 to support that effort with the possibility of a further donation when the matter is discussed at our next club meeting.

2. The Ironbridge Lions AGM was held on 9th April and the following members were elected to hold office for the year commencing 27th June

President - Mavis Derham

Vice President - Malcolm Appleton

Treasurer - Jill Marsh

Secretary - Frank Hill

3. An award for June. Those who read the Shropshire Star or the Telford Journal might have seen this news item recently. June is always embarrassed when we shine the spotlight on her but she is very much a lynch-pin of the club and It was a real pleasure to be able to recognise her enormous contribution with the award of a Melvin Jones Fellowship.

4. Support for Wellington Cottage Care - an interesting visit during the month to the old Wellington Cottage Hospital which is the home of Wellington Cottage Care. It's a great local charity providing excellent day care care services but attendance numbers have been adversely affected by the cut backs in Social services funding. Against that background the club agreed earlier this year to make a support donation and the main purpose of the visit was to present the cheque. We are now in discussion regarding the possibility of providing some kind of support on an on-going basis. Further information on the services and facilities available on the Cottage Care web site http://s424446717.initial-website.co.uk

5. April Fundraising. April is always a big month for fundraising activity with our Easter Teddies in various pubs and shops around the village and the start of the Silver over the Bridge season on Easter Monday. This year as usual the main beneficiary of the first SOB collection was Marie Curie and we were delighted to be able to send them£300 immediately after Easter. 


Knitted chicks holding miniature chocolate eggs have also become something of a feature of our Easter fundraising over recent years. These are very generously donated by our friends at the Park Lane knitting group and this year, as ever, the chicks sold very rapidly, producing a very useful addition to our charitable funds and some equally welcome publicity in the Lion magazine - see http://lionsclubs.co/members/images/Lions-Magazine/2015/LionAprMay15_150dpi.pdf-




6. Silver over the Bridge 3rd May.  Yes, I know this one falls outside the April window - but I couldn't resist the opportunity to show Gordon as boy-racer! The 2nd SOB session of the 2015 season was in support of Blood Bikes, a great voluntary organisation which provides emergency transport services between our hospitals. Blood Bikes volunteers- including  Ian Skoyles shown here - joined us for the day and brought one of their wonderful 1300cc Honda bikes with them. 

FORTHCOMING SOCIAL ACTIVITIES 

1. Middle Marches  Lions Charter Lunch 24th May

Middle Marches 31st anniversary charter event is being held at the Plough Wistanstow on Sunday 24th May. It's a difficult day for us as we have a Silver over the Bridge collection that day but we will have 4 members attending.

2. Zone Social and Quiz 28th May 2015

This event, to be held at the Down Inn Bridgnorth, is open to the 7 clubs in our zone – Bridgnorth, Ironbridge,  Middle Marches, Newport, Shrewsbury, Telford and Wrekin. It will include a two course carvery meal at a total cost of around £9 per head.  It should be a very pleasant evening and so far we have 12 names from ironbridge:

John Boydell and Elizabeth
Mavis and Pete Derham
Frank and Dot Hill
June and Norman Softley John and Jill Marsh
Elaine Bradburn
Helen May

3. Newport Lions Charter  Sunday 31st May

Newport Charter lunch is being held this year at Harper Adams University, Edgmond on 31st May. At present we have 5 attending from Ironbridge - June and Norman Softley, Mavis and Pete Derham and Charlie Miller. But the list is still open if anyone wishes to join them

4. Walk and meal  Saturday 20th June

This one is being organised by Jim Groves. This will be a gentle Orchid & Butterfly walk which will commence at 11.00 – meeting place to be confirmed. finish around 12.30 –1.00 followed by lunch at the Madebrook at 1pm.

5. Handover Dinner 25th June 2015

This event marks the end of our club year and it is the point at which those elected at the recent AGM take office. This year's dinner will be held at the White Hart in Ironbridge on 25th June and will include a three course meal at a cost of £20 per head. The menu will be distributed as soon as it is available

FORTHCOMING PROJECT AND FUNDRAISING ACTIVITY 

1. Defibrillator for ironbridge. We are almost there on the defibrillator project which was covered in last month's newsletter. Both the defibrillator itself and the cabinet have been delivered and we now just need to arrange the installation and the associated training and PR programme. More news on this as the plans develop



2. Silver over the Bridge. SOB is our longest running fundraising activity. Essentially it involves laying sticky tape across the Iron Bridge and inviting passers-by to put down their spare coins.  We also volunteer to man the Toll House on those days when we are collecting on the bridge.

We have scheduled 2 SOB sessions during May and June each focussed on a different charity:

Sunday 24th May - Medical Detection Dogs

Sunday 21st June - Midlands Air Ambulance 

Each SOB session runs from 10am to 4pm and is supported by Members and Friends working in 2 hour shifts – generally 3 people on the bridge itself and one person to man the Toll House.
Additional volunteers are always very welcome so if you’ve never helped at a SOB session why not give it a try. Visitors are general intrigued by the activity and we have some really interesting conversations so the two hours pass very easily.

3. Shrewsbury Fun Day Bank Holiday Monday 25th May

Held in the Quarry and organised by the Shrewsbury Lions Club, this is the first Fun Day of the summer season and we will have our usual stall with a range of fund-raising activities including tombola, noisy balloons and the football game. As for Silver over the Bridge sessions, additional volunteers are always very welcome.

4.  St Georges Summer Fayre Friday 12th June. 

Another in the series of fun days with day with activities similar to those for the 25th May. More details to follow and again, all offers of help are very welcome.

5. And finally ........ Charity Tea party 30th May

Not a club event but one that we are very happy to support. The event runs from 1430 to 1730 at Heritage House Great Bolas. Tickets cost just £5 and all profits go to 3 very worthwhile causes - the Breast Cancer Research Fund @ PRH, the Shropshire and Mid Wales Head and Neck Charity and Cancer Research. More information Here

Ironbridge Lions News April 2015

 Welcome to the April edition of the Ironbridge Lions news bulletin which is distributed to members and friends of the club to provide information about current projects and forthcoming social events and fundraising activities.

As mentioned in the introduction to last month’s bulletin, we are particularly keen that the Friends of the club, who play a vitally important part in the life of the club, should be kept fully informed about, and have the opportunity to be involved in, the full range of our activities.

Each of these monthly bulletins is focussed mainly on activities falling within the coming two months. All the items covered can be found on the club calendar which lists important dates for the whole of 2015. You can also find the monthly Lions regional and national news bulletins on the club web site http://www.ironbridgelions.org. Just go to the Member Area by clicking the tab in the in the left hand margin and then key the password “oakbrook” .

PROJECTS

Our main project at the present time relates to the provision of a defibrillator for Ironbridge. This is a much-needed facility for the village and we are delighted that the Ironbridge Rotary club and the Gorge WI have agreed to join with us to fund the purchase of the equipment and the cabinet to house it. It has taken us some time to find a suitable location in the centre but we now have agreement for it being placed on the wall of the public toilets in the square and we expect to have it installed within the next few weeks.

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

Bridgnorth Lions Charter Night 11 April (for details see the March newsletter)

We have 12 names on the list from ironbridge for the  Bridgnorth charter night, on 11^th April:

·     John Boydell and Elizabeth

·     Frank Hill and Dot

·     John and Jill Marsh

·     Colin Thompson and Margaret

·     John Toll and Anne

·     Gordon Weston

·     Siobhan Kilbane

Wrekin Lions Race Night 2^nd May  (for details see the March newsletter)

We currently have 4 names for the Wrekin Lions race night.

·       June and Norman Softly

·       Colin Thompson and Margaret

·       Siobhan Kilbane

Zone Social and Quiz 28^th May 2015

This event, to be held at the Down Inn Bridgnorth, is open to the 7 clubs in our zone – Bridgnorth, Ironbridge,  Middle Marches, Newport, Shrewsbury, Telford and Wrekin. It will include a two course carvery meal at a total cost of around £9 per head.  It should be a very pleasant evening and so far we have 11 names for ironbridge:

John Boydell and Elizabeth

Mavis and Pete Derham

Frank and Dot Hill

June and Norman Softley John and Jill Marsh

Elaine Bradburn

Handover Dinner 25^th June 2015

Advance notice of our annual handover dinner eld at the White Hart in ironbridge on 25^th June. This event marks the end of our club year and it is the point at which the new President takes office. More de to be tails in the next edition of this newsletter but in the meantime you might like to note your diary.

FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES

Collection at ASDA Donnington – 4 April

We will be collecting for the club’s charitable funds at the entrance to the ASDA Donnington store on Saturday 4^th April with the support of our Mascot Dandy Lion. Volunteers will work in 2 hour shifts between 10AM and 4PM.

Additional help is always welcome on these sessions so if you have a couple of hours to spare do please let us know.

Silver over the bridge

Silver over the bridge (SOB) is our longest running fundraising activity. Essentially it involves laying sticky tape across the Iron Bridge and inviting passers-by to put down their spare coins.  We also volunteer to man the Toll House on those days when we are collecting on the bridge.

We have scheduled 9 SOB sessions over the course of this year, each focussed on a different charity – including:

Easter Sunday 5^th April – for Marie Curie

Sunday May 3^rd – for Blood bikes

Sunday 24^th – Medical Detection Dogs

Each SOB session runs from 10am to 4pm and is supported by Members and Friends working in 2 hour shifts – generally 3 people on the bridge itself and one person to man the Toll House.

Additional volunteers are always very welcome so if you’ve never helped at a SOB session why not give it a try. Visitors are general intrigued by the activity and we have some really interesting conversations so the two hours pass very easily.

Shrewsbury Fun day Bank Holiday Monday 25^th May

Held in the Quarry and organised by the Shrewsbury Lions Club, this is the first Fun Day of the summer season and we will have our usual stall with a range of fund-raising activities including tombola, noisy balloons and the football game. As for Silver over the Bridge sessions, additional volunteers are always very welcome.

Charity Tea party 30^th May

Not a club event but one that we are very happy to support. The event runs from 1430 to 1730 at heritage House Great Bolas. Tickets cost just £5 and all profits go to 3 very worthwhile causes - the Breast Cancer Research Fund @ PRH, the Shropshire and Mid Wales Head and Neck Charity and Cancer Research. More information Here

And Finally………..

We wish you a very pleasant Easter break and If you would like to join us at any of the events and activities listed above or if you need any further information, please contact:

Colin Thompson  mailto:cthompson@bcs.org.uk; or June Softley  mailto:4cats@talktalk.net