I AM delighted to say that despite the treatment he is undergoing our president managed to bring his quiz team, The Kickers, along to our quiz night to help us further support The Macmillan Nurses. A total of 17 teams joined us in the Cliddesden Millenium Hall thereby raising £600 for an excellent cause. Our usual Quizmaster, Maurice, was absent due to a prior family engagement. But, his stand-in, Dianne, did a stalwart job in his absence. She even made a good shot at the question “If you speak Inuktitut, what is your nationality?” Answer: Canadian. Maurice, your P45 has been prepared.

Two weeks after the quiz, The Apollo Big Band appeared for us at Queen Mary’s College as the final for the year of our annual Concerts for Charity programme. It is a real tribute to the growing, and very much deserved popularity of this group that we were able to sell even more tickets for their show this time than we did last time. And there was plenty to enjoy.

The first half was redolent with music associated with Michael Buble, Cole Porter and Glenn Miller. The second half took a more romantic turn with “The Son of a Preacher Man”, “Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps”, “The Very Thought of You”, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” and “Love for Sale” until the mood and the beat were turned up with “It Don’t Mean a Thing if it ain’t got that Zing – a beautifully crafted and entertaining programme. As a result we were able to donate £1,000 to the Basingstoke Multiple Sclerosis Society to help with their work with the sufferers of that debilitating disease.

Local community assistance: In addition to the above donations we spent £470 on a variety of domestic appliance repairs and emergency utility top-ups.

EBOLA: Our international fund has already contributed US$ 150,000 to fund sanctuaries and food for the 5,000 orphans created by the disease. They have asked clubs all over the world to help. We have contributed £500. This does not seem a lot. But, the cumulative donations by clubs will be more than sufficient to fund the construction of orphanages and the necessary ongoing support.

We have the advantage of 167 Lions Clubs in the affected areas and a structure that ensures that money allocated goes where it will do the most good Christmas: We have a list of charitable organisations that we will be helping to give the people they support a decent Christmas. We usually donate about £3,500. So, in the lead up to Christmas we’ll be out collecting at most of the major stores to enable us to bring that little bit of extra cheer to those who might otherwise have little to celebrate. Please help if you can.

Next year: Having had January off to recover, we’ve invited ABBA Sensation to come back and perform us once again on February 21 at QMC. It is a real dance and sing along evening – close your eyes and they could be the originals.

Then on March 7 we’ll be having our annual Swimathon at the Sports Centre in town. Teams of swimmers swim in relay for 30 minutes to see how many laps they can clock up for charity. It’s a great target to aim for so why not get your team together now and make sure you get in a few practice sessions after the festive season to get in shape and build up your stamina. You’ll need it!

Check out our website basingstokelions.org.uk events calendar and upcoming events pages.