Lions
Club of
South Woodham Ferrers
Our Twin Club In Ireland
During the Lionistic year 1995-96 the District Governor of
105-EA Lion Phil Nathan and his fellow Governor Lions Pat McCoole,
who was serving as District Governor for 105-I, formed a close bond.
This bond led to a Friendship Agreement being signed between
their two clubs, Thurles in Ireland and South Woodham Ferrers in
England.
As bonds of friendship developed the two clubs decided to Twin and this has resulted in sharing a joint project and regular visits between the Clubs to attend one another's Charter Anniversary Night.
Long lasting links with Thurles were established in the autumn of 1996 when three Lions from South Woodham, Graham Kirkland, Allen James and Ian Hammond, took part in the annual jail break from Chelmsford prison. The idea being to travel as far as possible in 15 hours without spending any of their own cash but, at the same time raising funds for the Essex Boys Clubs and their chosen charity, Guide Dogs for the Blind.
Their destination was Thurles, to visit our twin club, little did they know what the Lions of Thurles had in store for them. Without any warning they were ‘arrested’ by customs, their vehicle was searched by Jake the sniffer dog, escorted to Thurles where they stood ‘trial’ in one of the local bars and finally, after being sentenced they were sent around the rest of the towns bars to collect their ‘bail’ money.
All in all a great weekend was had , which is still talked about today, raising in excess of £1,500.
During the 2001/2002 Lionistic year the two clubs worked together on a joint project helping towards bringing children from Chernobyl over for a holiday. Lions from Thurles travelled to England to attend a fund raising event which took the form of a 60’s disco, the money raised being used to fund one Childs journey over from Chernobyl. The Lions of South Woodham Ferrers then raised the money, through sponsorship, to purchase 30 rucksacks for the visiting children. These were then filled with pens, paper, toiletries and lots more - things which our own children take for granted but which our friends from Chernobyl do not have.
LIONS LINDA AND ALLEN JAMES TRAVELLED FROM ENGLAND, TO MAKE THE PRESENTATION OF RUCKSACKS TO ALL OF THE CHILREN VISITING FROM CHERNOBYL THEY WERE JOINED BY LION MARTIN TAYLOR OF THURLES LIONS CLUB
Our Friendship with Thurles is just an example of how, wherever
you go in the world you are not far from a Lions Club and a warm
welcome to both new and old friends.
www.thurleslions.com
Copyright © 2008 Lions International District, 105EA