Congratulations must go to Lion Brian Smith who was our club's represenative on the organising committee. His report back to the Lions club just showed what can be done. Yes there was preparations for the event by our members with some memorable moments along the way. The first of these was supposed to be a "howling" success. The howling didn't eventuate as the 10kgs of onions that had to be peeled were done outside on the trays of two utility vehicles with the breeze coming from behind us.
You have to be cunning. A large plastic tub three parts full of water kept the "stinkers" in chech as well until one rather smart Lion decided to act like Taliban guerilla and started lobbing missiles that landed in the tub and drenched the front of the writer's pants. Needless to say I was accussed of wetting my pants. I can assure readers it was wet but not warm.
As the sun sank gently in the west all the stinkers were peeled and sliced into rings ready for the weekend four buckets of them.
Now our lady members arrived all smelling sweet and fragrant with their perfumes wafting around the worksite. By the time they left the combination of perfumes and onions left a lot to be desired and may I suggest that it would be a day or so before the onion odour departed and I'm speaking from experience with them in the past.
Now Pancake mixture, oh dear, oh dear, four by two litre containers filled in the time it took to peel and slice ten Kgs of Onions? One person commented that at this rate we would still be there at midnight.
Not a chance. Out of the back of my car came a large mixing bowl used for making the family Christmas puddings and a beater mix Lion Christine and I soon worked out the quickest and easiest method of production that saw a full bag and half turned into many two and three litre containers full. In the meantine the food blender was still churning away with 375grams mix add 380mls water beat the crap out of it, add a bit of mix and a bit of water, beat it again, then fill a container to hald full and start the process all over again.
Well what the heck, we all had a ball at each others expense and that was what it was meant to be, a fun night. The worst part was cleaning up afterwards. However by 9:30pm all had left for home.
Relay for Life on Saurday 24th and Sunday 25th March was yet another experience. The moment the o
nions went onto the hot plates to cook and caramellise was the moment the hungry hordes decended on us. Hamburgers, Sausages, Savaloys, Steaks and Pancakes were in hot demand and at one stage there was a que fifty metres long. It was just too bad that Lion Sue Perry-Keene had boiled the kettle ten times to make coffees for us all. Nine times she failed due to customer demands. The tenth she just turned her back and did what she had tried to do an hour or so earlier. Sue that was a most welcome cup of coffee I can tell you.
Anyone who knows greek mythology will recall the story of the Argonauts and the Sirens whose melodious voices lured sailors to their deaths. Now would you believe me if I told you that the Sirens are still alive and well in the form of the young female adults who became some of our best customers. Talk about wrapping some of us around their fingers with their sense of humour and dare I say it, exceptionally good manners that little extras were not a problem. What surprised me most was the fact that the girls would ask for and get what they wanted while the boys stood back urging the girls to get what they wanted, the lazy beggers.
The resulting figure as of the count Sunday was $263,627.00 with more to come in. Add the $80,000.00 from the Smithton event and the figure becomes absolutely outstanding. Well done North Western Tasmania. You have again raised the bar to new heights with over $2.4 million raised since the events inception twelve years ago with less than one third of the population base of the state.
To all the Lions members, partners, and volunteers, thank you for a job well done. Our contribution has been estimated to be $2,200.00 for this year. Congratulations also applies to those Lions clubs and Leo's who walked the event from start to finish, well done all.
I will add images as soon as they become available from our club photographer Lion Sheree Archer.
uth of the Year Two Youths of the Year. Grammar has not just one, but two winners of the prestigious Lions Club Youth of the Year competition. Sarah Norris and Nick Connelley both won not only the public speaking section of their respective Club finals, but they also were both the outright winners. Each progresses to the next level, the Regional finals, to be held very soon. To even have a single winner at club level is a wonderful achievement, as competition is always fierce, and it seems amazing that a small state like Tasmania can produce so many eloquent and concerned students to reach the level of Regional competition.
Youths of the Year are judged not just for academic, sporting and public speaking achievements, but also for leadership, cultural ability and social concern. They are, as their title suggests, true youths of outstanding merit, who usually continue to be leaders in their chosen fields later in life. Congratulations to our ambassadors, Sarah and Nick, and good luck in the next round of competition.
