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December 2025 | Phonebox Magazine 55A NEW LION JOINS OUR PRIDE!We are really delighted to report, that at our meeting this month, we inducted a new member, Lion Sylvia. She will be a great asset to the club with her great enthusiasm and strong, pragmatic approach to projects and process! We are all very pleased to have her join our team. The photo shows Lion Sylvia receiving her membership pack from her %u2018sponsor%u2019 colleague, Lion Nur.DONATIONSAt our last meeting we committed to the following donations, in line with our remit to support local, national and international causes:%u2022 A donation to Maya%u2019s Mission %u2013 a local girl who is Fund Raising for a special wheelchair-like device that can climb stairs (!) to give her further independence%u2022 A donation to the Lions District Youth Celebration %u2013 a large party for 450 disadvantaged and disabled young people%u2022 A donation to the Lions International Disaster Relief fund for supporting relief for the victims of Hurricane Melissa %u2013 which left a trail of devastation in the Caribbean Also, we%u2019ve had a great response to people donating to us in memory of our friend and colleague Lion Jon. We are exploring what do with money - such as a perpetual Trophy, the %u2018Tuddenham Cup%u2019, for one of the youth football teams in Newport Pagnell %u2013 or a plaque to put on a local park bench. We%u2019ll let you know what we decide.FUND RAISING EVENTSTown Calendars: Our new Town Calendars have come back from the printers and are now on sale in a number of retail outlets in Olney and Newport Pagnell. They look great %u2013 and will be available at the usual outlets again this year. We are very pleased to report that Simona%u2019s Traditional Tearooms will be joining our selling partners this year! We%u2019ll post a full list of our retail Friends on our Facebook page soon. We also plan to sell them at the Newport Pagnell Christmas Lights Switch-on Event and at our Dickens of a Christmas Lions Craft Fair.Newport Pagnell Christmas Lights Switch-on EventWe attended the NP Christmas Light Switch-On event - and met loads of people!Dickens of a Christmas Lions Craft Fair: We have had a good number of stall-holders 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 %u2013 but we are asking for %u00a31 voluntary donation for Lions local charitable causes.Collection Tins: We received nearly %u00a370 from our collection tins.SERVICE ACTIVITIESOlney Fireworks Event MarshallingWe had a great night helping TOG, %u2018manning%u2019 the admission gates at Newport Pagnell & Olney Lions (CIO)the annual town fi reworks display. We had a strong team. Around a core group of our own Lions - were Lions from MK Central, NP Rotarians, and some of our good Friends - (plus a couple of TOG%u2019s to keep their eye on us ). We were directing, scanning and selling tickets - for a crowd of around 4,000! THANK YOU to everyone - great job! A special %u2018congratulations%u2019 to The Olney Group for organising such a great event. The photo shows part of the overall team, of around 15, getting set up, early doors.Encounter with North Carolina LionsOn a recent holiday, our good Friend, (and former Lion), John Ferris, found himself sitting down to dinner, with some Lions from two (diff erent) Clubs who came all the way from North Carolina! They were very interested in the work we were doing especially our Message in A Bottle, Calendars, %u2018Plugsters%u2019, etc.So, we thought we would send them some little goodie bags, to show them the sort of things we do %u2013 and perhaps give them some helpful ideas! Thanks John!Christmas Tree FestivalWe will be entering a tree again this year. Thank You to Lion Nur for looking after this one!MEETINGS and SOCIAL EVENTSTour Around St Lawrence%u2019s Church in BroughtonDuring our social with NP Rotary, and as a special treat, we had a tour around St Lawrence%u2019s Church (see below). The building is a redundant Anglican church in Broughton, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The church stands on the eastern periphery of Milton Keynes, between the A4146 and (former) A5130 roads. It is listed at Grade I because of its %u201cremarkable series%u201d of medieval wall paintings %u2013 which are quite beautiful! That%u2019s all folks!(Registered Charity Number 1184025)Autumn Concert Raises Funds For Macmillan Trust The concert on the 8th November in support of the MacMillan Trust took place at the Cowper Memorial Reform Church in Olney. It was very well attended. Money collected plus donations raised another %u00a31000 for the trust.It featured Blandine Pluck with Richard Heyes on the piano and Carolyn Ridout on the cello and the energetic and talented Olney School of Dancing. Special guests for the event were the internationally acclaimed operatic tenor and colonatura soprano Bonaventura and Jennifer Bottone. The fabulous Sarah Jones Jazz, the rhythmic melodic MK Acapella and the entertaining saxophonist John Pinkerton. Catering by the Little Hermitage in Olney was delicious and sponsored by BTM Language Services. An enjoyable time was had by all.