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November 2025 | Phonebox Magazine 53It%u2019s a Busy Time Coming Up %u2013 as we roll into the Christmas Period.We are busy preparing ourselves for our busiest time of year: helping with Olney Fireworks; participating in the Newport Pagnell Christmas Lights Switch-On Event; organising our Lions Craft Fair; developing our Town Calendars; getting our tree ready for the Christmas Tree Festival and arranging our Christmas parcels distribution %u2013 Phew!But before we start - we have some sad news!It is with a heavy heart that I must report that our great friend, and fellow Lion, Jon Tuddenham, passed away on 26th September at Milton Keynes University Hospital, following a brave battle with cancer. Jon was a great asset to the club with his energy and his strong desire to serve his local community. Jon was also a Trustee of the Club, Chair of our Service Committee and a real gent! We will truly miss you Jon, RIP.FUND RAISING EVENTSFun Quiz: We held our Charity Pub Quiz, hosted by The Swan Inn & Bistro, on the 29th September. It was a great night. We had eight local teams, (about 45 people), including teams from our neighbouring Lions clubs, Newport Pagnell Rotary Club and local residents. The raffl e went really well too! We had some super prizes %u2013 all kindly donated by our own Lions (especially Lion Steve), by Newport Pagnell Rotary Club and by KyeLee Flowers of Olney. Thank you to them all. Also Thank You to Roger Mann for lending us the PA. The event raised almost %u00a3350 %u2013 Thank you so much for your fantastic support. Town Calendars: We%u2019ve been making good progress with our new Town Calendars, with around %u00a31,700 already pledged by local business, and %u00a3600 of that has been paid in! We are extremely grateful for that support.Dickens of a Christmas Lions Craft Fair: It%u2019s still early days, but we have already had a good number of stall-holders already signed up. As usual, this prestigious craft fair, will consist only of superb quality, hard-crafted goods! Perfect for your last minute Christmas presents. Free Admission, Newport Pagnell & Olney Lions (CIO)but we are asking for %u00a31 voluntary donation for Lions local charitable causes. We are also kicking off , (rather early), the celebrations for our 50th Anniversary by including in the centre-fold, some photos and associated text to illustrate 50 years of Lions!DONATIONSWe recently received an award from Lions International all the way from the US. We were very pleased to receive a little present from Lions International! This recognises that we donated around %u00a3650 to LCIF causes in the last Lions year: In particular, we supported the fl oods in Valencia appeal; the wildfi res in California appeal and we made an undesignated donation too. Internationally, we also donated a further %u00a3300 to the Ukrainian Stove Appeal; and the District 121 Polish Flood Appeal. BTW - in the same period, we also donated %u00a32,795 to National causes and %u00a34,666 to local charities / charitable causes!SERVICE ACTIVITIESLions Recycling Projects %u2013 SpectaclesNew collection point in Cranfi eld! We are delighted to announce that we have a new collection point for your old and unused spectacles! You can now drop them off at Haseldine Funeral Services, at 192 High Street, Cranfi eld. Thank you so much to Perry Haseldine for his great support for this important work. MEETINGS and SOCIAL EVENTSClay Pigeon Shoot with Rushden & District LionsWe had an enjoyable afternoon with Rushden & District Lions Club, at their annual Clay Pigeon Shoot - held in aid of Brain Tumour Research.%u2018Cheese, Wine and Nibbles%u2019 %u2013 with Newport Pagnell Rotary ClubWe attended a lovely event with the Newport Pagnell Rotary Club held at the Old School House in Broughton.That%u2019s all folks!(Registered Charity Number 1184025)New multi-artist exhibition comes to MK GalleryStriking expo, that has just launched in Milton Keynes, brings together a diverse group of international artists from painting, drawing, photography and fi lm%u2018To Improvise A Mountain%u2019 is at MK Gallery, Midsummer Boulevard, Milton Keynes until 25th January, 2026. More details: www.mkgallery.org.