4th September 2011 - It's a special knockout
The club joined others from Kent in hosting a special knockout competition for a number of local clubs and societies whose members have special needs. Nobody really cared who won - it was just a great day out and a lot of fun for everyone concerned.
24th June 2011 - Change-over night
June is the month in which we get a new president so members gathered at Giovanni's restaurant for the formal change-over, although there was a rumour that some hadn't actually gone home since the French visit the previous weekend!
Joining us for the evening was Regional Chairman Len Button (on the left) and he joined outgoing President Steve Warren in addressing the assembled Lions (and partners), although I'm not certain why he had to hold his hand to do so.
He then presented Lion Phiiip Martin with a badge for his work as Zone Chairman and another award to Steve Warren.
Determined not to go quietly or to be outdone by the Regional Chairman, outgoing president Steve Warren decided to hand out a few prizes of his own
19th June 2011 - Language no barrier to friendship
The club is twinned with its counterpart on the coast of France - Lions Club Calais Pays D'Opale - and, once ina while, we go and have a day out with them or they come and have a day out with us.
The trouble is that only a couple of them speak English and only a couple of us speak French but it doesn't seem to matter too much as our mutual wish to extend the hand of friendship across the Channel says it all. There may be a lot of nodding, smiling and pretending you understand what they are saying but the message always seems to get across.
The plan was simple enough, pick them up at Dover Ferry Terminal and show them around a bit before lunch, but the best laid plans "oft gang awry" as they say and ours was no exception. Instead of driving straight to the arrivals hall and picking them up as they came through customs, we found ourselves on a magical mystery tour of the docks that ended up with the going through the same customs hall twice. For some strange reason, the first time round, the customs officers insisted that two of the Folkestone Lions submitted to a body search before allowing the coach to proceed.
On the way out, the coach driver turned left instead of right, which took us straight back to the entrance of the customs hall we had just been through. As everyone started to sweat over who would get the once over this time, they took pity on us and waved us through.
The French delegation finally emerged from the arrivals hall and we made our way to the first stop of the day, the Battle of Britain Memorial at Cape Le Ferne with its iconic statue of an airman gazing towards the skies over France. The memorial is built on the site of a war-time coastal gun emplacement so the French coast is clearly visible on the horizon. A recent addition is the wall displaying the names of "The Few" who took part in the Battle. In the picture on the right, Lion Hudson Dixon is pointing out the badges of the squadrons that took part, including a number of those made up from French pilots.
Few people who see the memorial statue, which is mounted on a plinth in the middle of a huge propellor laid out on the ground, leave without being touched by its simplicity and the way that it embodies the waiting game that the battle involved and the spirit of those that fought in it.
Next stopon the tour was the Hawkinge Battle of Britain museum whcih seemed to fascinate and enthrall the French delegation. This seemed to be because the museum collection contained exhibits concerning both sides in the conflict. I guess museums in France are naturally reluctant to include anything German. As the President of the Calais Lions club put it later in his speech. "You may have them in your display cases but we had them for real for five years"
The party then moved to Giovani's restaurant in Folkestone for lunch. For once, the lunch lasted longer than the speeches and not just because of the language difficulties. Lion President Steve Warren, on the last function of his term of office, handed over to Anthony Dunning, who addressed the Calais club member in fluent French before translating the French Club President's response into English for the benefit of the locals. The only trouble was that he carried on translating even when the French president finished his speech with a bit in English.
Things were going so well in the restaurant that the host club had to cancel a planned trip to the historic Folkestone Leas water balance lift otherwise they would have failed to get the Calais club members back to Dover in time to catch their Ferry.
26th May 2011
It's a bit like having to taste the cakes your kids bring home from school but in this case its other people's children studying catering at the "K" college in Folkestone. In the first case you smile and say "They're lovely" even if they aren't. In the second, you can say what you really think.
The "K" college, like many others with a catering section, runs a small restaurant where they give their students the chance to hone their catering skills in a realistic environment and serving real customers. The Folkestone Lions Club, forever on the lookout for a cheap meal, rose to the challenge and presented themselves at the "K" Restaurant - willing to risk all in the cause of college catering.
All feelings of being well-dressed lab rats for the students to experiement on quickly disappeared as the first course (of three) appeared on the table. Admitedly, there's a bit of a way to go before they get a Michellin star but I've been served a lot worse in far swankier restaurants. The starter was followed by an equally impressive main and dessert.
The evening was also an opportunity to hand over a cheque to the Breast Cancer charity for the money raised at the Jazz Spectacular last month and this was accepted on the charity's behalf by Carol Saunders, herself a breast cancer sufferer.
19th March 2011
The club has a night off from its fund-raising effort with one of its most popular social activities - the progressive supper. It's a hell of a job for the person putting it all together but great furn for all those taking part.
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Everyone taking part receives "sealed orders" that must not be opened until 5.00 pm on the night of the supper. Inside the envelope is the location of your first course and you arrive to discover who your fellow guests are an what is on the menu.
At the end of the course you get more sealed instructions that tell you where your next course is. Once again you don't find out who your fellow guests are and what is on the menu until you get there. Similarly for the sweet . Everyone finaly gets together for coffee at the final location - usually the President's house.
The real excitement, though, is for those that are cooking one of the courses. They have to leave the previous course at the same time as everyone else and then get home in time to prepare it before their guests arrive - once again they have no idea of who is coming until they get there.
As a result, everyone shares an enjoyable meal with at least 18 other people .
