May 2023 update
Welcome to Southwell!
Southwell Lions were out early on a sunny Sunday morning to replace the plants in the planters on the main entry roads to the town - from Upton, on Fiskerton Road, Halam Road, Lower Kirklington Road and Oxton Road. We look forward to seeing them later in the year when they're in full bloom!
Our special thanks to Dan at the Southwell Garden Centre, who donated the plants and gave us advice on nurturing them.
Our special thanks to Dan at the Southwell Garden Centre, who donated the plants and gave us advice on nurturing them.
This month, we made donations of:
- £250 to Magic Breakfast, charity that delivers free breakfasts to school children facing hunger every day to ensure they start their day the right way;
- £1,000 (as a pledge) to Friends of Southwell Parks towards the new skatepark
- £500 to an elite athlete at the Minster School, to help with essential equipment as she aims high.
April 2023 update
An adventure for Robin Hood Disabled Riders
Last month, we made a donation to the Robin Hood Disabled Riders, based in Bathley, so the riders can go on a weekend adventure break to Calvert Lakes in Keswick, where they will experience the great outdoors, from canoeing and sailing to zip wiring and archery - as well as horse riding, of course. On a warm, pleasant evening in April, we were privileged to meet the riders and the wonderful people who support them at the stables in Bathley, where the riders showed us their horse riding skills.
Riding is wonderful physiotherapy for those with physical disabilities. One of the riders with cerebral palsy starts the lesson with her knees drawn right up, so tight are the muscles in her thighs and groin. She rides bareback because her legs simply can’t manage the extra width and bulk of a saddle. By the end of the hour, thanks to the warmth of the pony's back and the gentle rocking movement of riding, this young lady's legs are stretched down, relaxed and without spasm and best of all, she’s pain-free. That's the wonder of horseback riding!
This month, we made donations of:
- £100 to Happy Days Childrens Charity
- £500 to Southwell Swimming Club towards new diving blocks
- £500 to Tü Vida, a young carers' support charity, towards a special day out to give them an exciting break from their caring responsibilities.
- £250 to Primary Wellbeing, a new mental and emotional wellbeing service for primary school aged children
- £380 to Southwell First Responders for new entonox kits
Dragons at the Minster!
For the fifth instalment of the Ukraine Families Story Club, organised by our Club, we took the Ukrainian families to Southwell Minster. After lunch, including mini-pizzas made by the children, at the Methodist Church Hall, we moved to the Minster for a dragon hunt followed by games and interactive story telling in the Chapter House. The children were captivated by the many dragons they found in windows and carvings throughout the Minster. The stories also involved dragons, along with kings, princesses and lots of rain! Many thanks again to Nicky Rafferty and the volunteers for making it a great day for the Ukrainian families, young and not so young. You can also see some of the Lions clearly enjoying themselves as they joined in the fun.
Helping Framework create homes for the homeless
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In February, we promised Framework a donation towards the building work for six new flats for rough sleepers in Nottingham. So we were delighted to present a cheque for £1,000 to Andrew Redfern, Chief Executive of Framework, at Framework's Service of Celebration and Reflection at Southwell Minster on 1st April. Lions Ian Gillings and Peter Brooker were also on hand to help with the collection and serving refreshments. |
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March 2023 update
Help for Lowdham School to put pupils through DAaRT
Southwell Lions were very pleased to be able to part fund this year's DAaRT programme (Drug and Alcohol Resilience Training) at Lowdham CofE Primary School and a few of us attended the DAaRT graduation at the end of the 10 week course. The pupils put on an entertaining, enlightening and enthusiastic presentation for their parents - well done all involved!
Playtime at Lowe's Wong Junior School
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Last year, we made a donation to Lowe's Wong Junior School towards new outdoor play equipment. Now that the equipment has been installed, we went to see it and to meet some of the pupils who use it. The equipment is very popular with the children and is used extensively every playtime.
Pictured with the children on the equipment are Lions Bob Callow and Nick Cocks. 
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Collection for Marie Curie
We were dressed up in silly hats again for two days in March when we spent two days rattling collecting buckets at Morrisons store in Newark. We raised nearly £500 for this great cause and appreciated the generosity of many of Morrisons' customers.
Planting trees to save the planet
Southwell Lions were in Caunton in March planting trees as part of the Trees for Climate scheme, a multi-million pound programme to help landowners to plan, deliver and manage woodland creation schemes across the country. These trees were planted on land belonging to Floral Media, where we will be holding our annual Charter dinner later in the year.
This month, we made donations of:
- £1,000 to Robin Hood Disabled Riders towards a weekend trip to Calvert Lakes in Keswick
- £100 to a local Guide, part of her fundraising for a Guiding and service trip to Denmark
- Half the cost of the DAaRT programme (Drug and Alcohol Resilience Training) at Lowe's Wong Junior School, Lowdham Primary School and Kirkington Primary School
- £250 to Prostate Cancer UK
Supporting the most vulnerable in our community
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In February, we made a donation to a long-established local charity, the Southwell Charity for the Poor and Sick Poor. Its rather archaic name betrays its origins in the 17th century, when a number of bequests and gifts were received from local benefactors to help the less fortunate, some of whom would have been their neighbours, which, over the many years since, have had often had a huge impact on their lives. That tradition continues to this day, with the charity still making small gifts to people in our community who have fallen on hard times but, for whom, it makes all the difference.
Pictured here are Lions Nick Parr and Peter Brooker, both of the Lions' Community Service group, Dean Nicola Sullivan of Southwell Minster, Lion President Alastair Murray and Robert Beckett, Secretary of the Charity. They are standing beneath one of the two recently restored commemorative panels, which give a record of benefactors and the history of the Charity, which is now known more sensitively as SCPSP or the Southwell Charities. |
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February 2023 update
The Ukrainian Families' Story Club
Just before Christmas, we asked some of the Ukrainian mums what could we do to help make their new lives in the UK more enjoyable and the result was the inaugural meeting of the Ukrainian Families Story Club on Saturday, 18th February.
Despite it being half-term, the Club was attended by 10 Ukrainian families living in our district. We all enjoyed home-made soup and rolls with pizza and chips for the children, and lots of home-made cakes. While the adults were eating and chatting, the children enjoyed some drawing, colouring and games. Then, the highlight of the day for both young and old, was the animated reading of the fairy tale, The Gingerbread Man. This was led by Oksana Tyminska and Anna Fedenko reading the tale in Ukrainian, and then Nicky Rafferty, a professional storyteller, telling the tale in English with lots of props and cuddly animals. Sadly the wily old fox got the gingerbread in both languages!
The Lions, together with Nicky, Anna, Oksana and other volunteers, will be hosting a further five meetings of the Ukrainian Families Story Club on the Saturdays, 11th, 18th, 25th March, 1st and 8th April at the Southwell Methodist Church Hall. Other Ukrainian families in our area are welcome to join us, but please let us know beforehand so we can make sure we have enough cake!
The Ukrainian Families Story Club is being funded by The National Heritage Lottery Foundation and donations from Southwell Town Council, Rotary, Southwell Lions and other private donations.
Despite it being half-term, the Club was attended by 10 Ukrainian families living in our district. We all enjoyed home-made soup and rolls with pizza and chips for the children, and lots of home-made cakes. While the adults were eating and chatting, the children enjoyed some drawing, colouring and games. Then, the highlight of the day for both young and old, was the animated reading of the fairy tale, The Gingerbread Man. This was led by Oksana Tyminska and Anna Fedenko reading the tale in Ukrainian, and then Nicky Rafferty, a professional storyteller, telling the tale in English with lots of props and cuddly animals. Sadly the wily old fox got the gingerbread in both languages!
The Lions, together with Nicky, Anna, Oksana and other volunteers, will be hosting a further five meetings of the Ukrainian Families Story Club on the Saturdays, 11th, 18th, 25th March, 1st and 8th April at the Southwell Methodist Church Hall. Other Ukrainian families in our area are welcome to join us, but please let us know beforehand so we can make sure we have enough cake!
The Ukrainian Families Story Club is being funded by The National Heritage Lottery Foundation and donations from Southwell Town Council, Rotary, Southwell Lions and other private donations.
We donated
- £750 to Bleasby Primary School for storage space and a canopy for their new outdoor learning area
- £1,000 to Framework, towards the building work for six new flats for rough sleepers in Nottingham
- £1,000 to Rainbows Childrens Hospice to buy new arts and crafts equipment and supplies, part of the therapy available to the young patients and their siblings
- £500 to Lifespring Food Club in Ollerton, to help them buy in supplies
- £500 to The Southwell Charity for the Poor & Sick Poor, to help fund their charitable work among the vulnerable in Southwell
- £500 to the LCIF appeal for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, which is distributed by local Lions Clubs in the affected areas. Lions International matches these donations by individual Clubs so our donation rises to £1,000.
January 2023 update
Christmas party for our Ukrainian guests
On Saturday, 7th January - the date that the Orthodox Church in Eastern Europe celebrates Christmas - we put on a Christmas Party for the Ukrainian refugees living in Southwell and surrounding villages.
The party was held at Southwell Methodist Church between midday and 3 pm and was attended by about 15 Ukrainian families, along with around five host families. They enjoyed a fantastic buffet of typical Ukrainian dishes such as Borsch, Vinagrette, Pierogi, Pieroski and Kutia, which had been prepared both by our guests and Rama and Mila from the Reindeer Inn on Westgate.
After their festive lunch, we introduced the 20 Ukrainian children, aged from 6 months to 16 years, to traditional English games such as Musical Chairs, Duck Duck Goose, Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Splat the Rat and Pass the Parcel.
Having grown up with these games, we thought that they would translate easily but the most fun by far was had when we ‘flew’ the large parachute and the children just ran under it!
An enormous amount of thanks are owed to
The party was held at Southwell Methodist Church between midday and 3 pm and was attended by about 15 Ukrainian families, along with around five host families. They enjoyed a fantastic buffet of typical Ukrainian dishes such as Borsch, Vinagrette, Pierogi, Pieroski and Kutia, which had been prepared both by our guests and Rama and Mila from the Reindeer Inn on Westgate.
After their festive lunch, we introduced the 20 Ukrainian children, aged from 6 months to 16 years, to traditional English games such as Musical Chairs, Duck Duck Goose, Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Splat the Rat and Pass the Parcel.
Having grown up with these games, we thought that they would translate easily but the most fun by far was had when we ‘flew’ the large parachute and the children just ran under it!
An enormous amount of thanks are owed to
- our guests for joining in the fun and preparing the food
- the host families
- Southwell Methodist Church
- Sam Scott
- Rama and Mila from the Reindeer
- Kimberley Davies-Phippen and Nicky Straw for the games and
- Southwell Town Council.
