NORMAL SERVICE HAS BEEN RESUMED

After last year’s Horse Show (the thirteenth !), which had to be postponed because of almost 2 weeks of continuous rain, we reverted back to almost perfect Horse Show weather this year.  With the rest of the country suffering from a wet summer it was very noticeable how dry it has been in Kent this year as we found it very difficult to push in the plastic post spikes more than a few inches. Colin (our sign man) earned his keep this year as he had to use an iron spike to make holes for 50+ signs he erects.

Apart from a minor hiccup on Saturday when setting up the Rings, (has anyone borrowed  a bag of electric tape !!) the whole show went very smoothly. In fact the only injury the ambulance crews had to deal with was a wasp sting !(John Ruck’s grandson).

We make money from the Horse Show from quite a few income streams. The main money spinner of course being the entries. This year we increased the price per Class but reduced it for ‘bulk purchases’ , the idea was to avoid having too many horse boxes to park and too many horses on the show ground, which slows the whole day down. We have yet to finalise the money count but first indicators seem to show we broke our record for entry income with less horses (we had almost 300 whereas in 2007 we had 360 which completely filled both parking areas).

The second income stream is from sponsors/advertisers in the Schedule. This is our insurance policy. If we have to cancel we can still pay any debts with the income from the Schedule. This year the number of advertisers was down because of the recession and we were hit by the withdrawal of our main sponsor. However, an anonymous ‘white knight’ came forth at the last minute and sponsored the Hospice in the Weald advert.

The third income stream is food. This is also very weather dependent. Too hot and the sale of drinks (low margin) goes up but food (high margin) is down. With cooler weather we can even run out so we have to rush off to Waitrose in Borough Green ! Catering is a fine balancing act ably organised by Ian and his sturdy team.

The fourth income stream comprises the various ‘pay as you go’ Rings such as the Dog Show, Dog Agility, Clear Round, Handy Pony and Gymkhana plus the raffle. This year all of these were well up on previous years.

We will not know exactly how much we have made until our hon. Treasury has finished his counting but at this stage our best guess is between £6-7000.  

What many of you don’t notice are the ‘logistics’ of the Show. The Saturday set up follows a well trodden path of begging and borrowing. There are over 30 jumps to be brought in (from Sevenoaks Riding Club, Lodge Farm and Platt). The tents comes from Scout clubs in the district and are put up and taken down with ease by a very efficient (most of the time) team of ex scouters.

Taking everything down after a hard day on the Show ground is a real test of stamina. However, this year the ATC excelled with many more volunteers which was a great help. .

Finally I would very much like to thank our committee (and those co-opted for specific skills !) and all of you, your ladies and friends for making it such a great day.

Sunday 14 June dawned fine and sunny and by 8.00am there was a hive of activity on Tonbridge Castle Lawn where the Lions and supporters were busy setting up there stalls for the afternoon fete.  Elsewhere around the town many groups were beginning to decorate their floats for the Carnival Procession on the theme of Cartoon Characters.  Further afield five marching bands were preparing for the trip to Tonbridge for the opportunity to compete in the first Southern England Parade Band Contest.

 Soon after 12.00 noon the crowds started to arrive at the Watergate to listen to the Oxted Band who kept them entertained until the arrival of the Carnival Procession and the stalls started to take money from the early arrivals.   At 1.00pm the roads were closed and the procession started the 1 1/2 mile journey to the Castle lead by the mayor, Cllr Sue Murray,  Cheryl Baker and the Lions President, John Cox, and their partners and the five marching bands.  By this time the High Street was packed with thousands soaking up the carnival atmosphere.  Over thirty different organisations took part in the procession.   After the procession had disbanded most of the crowd entered the Castle to try their hand at various games, buy articles from the stalls or watch the excellent entertainment on the Lawn.     The mayor and Cheryl Baker presented trophies to the winning bands, majorettes and other procession entries and later drew the winning tickets for the Tonbridge Carnival Raffle.  

The weather stayed fine all day and everybody seemed to enjoy themselves.   The public contributed very generously to the activities and although we do not know how much every stall raised it is expected to be well over £6,000 which is all used for local charitable causes.  

My thanks go to the Committee for making this such a successful event and for the public for supporting us so well.  

We are now starting to organise next year's which will be on Sunday 13 June 2010.

The cold and wet weather last Sunday morning (17 May) failed to dispirit the 163 walkers who set out to raise funds for their favourite local charitable causes.

Tonbridge Lions Club staged their 28^th Annual Charity Walk that provides a means for other charities to raise funds for themselves. There were 21 groups of sponsored walkers that included Beaver Scouts. Majorettes, Scout and Guide Band members and Junior Angel Bowls players and supporters.

The final sum raised by these groups has yet to be calculated as the sponsors’ money is still being collected but estimates indicate it will be well in excess of £6,000.

The Lions offered a choice of a 5 mile or 10 mile walk.  They had planned the routes, printed stage by stage instructions, and provided marshals and drink  stations along the routes. At the finish each walker had their sponsor form officially “stamped” to show that they had completed the walk and John Cox, President of Tonbridge Lions presented each one with a certificate.

Other beneficiaries of funds from the event include St Mary’s Church Tower Fund, Leigh; Burrswood Hospital Appeal, Groombridge; Tonbridge Mencap; Roselands Pre-School, Higham Lane; Kent Air Ambulance; Cancer Research; Parkinson’s Disease Society; West Kent Dyslexia Association.

The annual Tonbridge Lions triathlon was once again held on the 4th May and after a gap of two years at Sevenoaks whilst Tonbridge School re-developed the swimming centre, we returned to our spiritual home. Alarms went off early ( and even earlier for the committee) and the day looked set for good weather even though it was difficult to tell when still dark. We had 400 entrants with the first starter at 7.00am and the event did indeed start right on time.  The weather was  good throughout the event and 350 competitors completed the course with the overall winner being Neil Harris in a time of 1.07.50 who pipped last years winner Simon Mclaughlin by 1 minute. Neil also had a magnificent swim in a time of 5.13 and won the Norman Samms memorial trophy. Not all the athletes can complete the course in such fantastic times but all have their own stories and well done to all who finished what ever the time.

One competitor is worth a special mention, No 171 Eric Kitts. Eric was very severely mugged not too long ago and his attackers managed to break his jaw, his knee and an ankle. On  his road to recovery he was encouraged by a triathlete friend to train with him, which he duly did. Encouraged by this he decided to enter the Tonbridge Triathlon even though his ankle was not fully recovered. He was driven to compete by the fact he had managed to raise sponsorship for Leukemia Research in the region of £500 which is a magnificent acheivement taking into account the circumstances. Eric did indeed finish the course in 1.53.10 - well done.

The event would not be possible without the help of so many people and we thank everyone who helped and indeed the school for being such great hosts.

CHARTER NIGHT 7th March 2009

The club held its 59th Charter night  on Saturday 7th March 2009 at High Rocks ,Tunbridge Wells. The celebration was presided over by Lion President John Cox accomapanied by his wife Irene. The Worshipful the Mayor of Tonbridge and Malling together with his wife were present as were District Governor Jacqui Prebble and her husband and the President of Tonbridge Rotary, Club Mr Brian Buck with his wife. Approx. 140 guests enjoyed an evening of dinner and dancing and all look forward to our Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

PARTY  FOR  SENIOR  SINGLES 2009

The annual Senior Singles Party, organised by the Tonbridge Lions Club, took place at Tonbridge Baptist Church in Darenth Avenue on Saturday 28^th February 2009.

Singing, dancing and comedy was part of an afternoon’s entertainment staged for around 140 senior single citizens from Tonbridge, Hildenborough and Hadlow, by Lion members and their wives, who had been busy rehearsing for the show for several months.

During the interval, a tea party was enjoyed by all.  Tonbridge & Malling Borough Deputy Mayor, Cllr. Sue Murray and her husband Stuart attended and together with Lion President John Cox and his wife Irene, also joined in the fun.

There were many prizes up for grabs in the free raffle including hampers, tins of chocolate biscuits and plants.

The Chairman of the Senior Singles Committee, Lion Pete Davis said that the event is very popular and had been a great success, much enjoyed by our guests.

For the last 12 years you could almost rely on excellent weather for the Tonbridge Lions Horse Show. However, the 13^th year proved a point. It was so wet at Lodge farm Matfield that “we could have held a swimming gala instead “ said Bob Taylor the Horse Show Chairman. “However we decided we would postpone to the 28^th rather than cancel and someone must have been looking after us as yet again the weather was perfect”.

“We had about 250 entries this year which was down from previous years as many riders had other engagements” said Janey Williams, Show Secretary “ but as usual, everyone had a great time and enjoyed themselves. There were over 40 Classes as well as a Fun Dog Show”. “Our aim is to give everyone a chance to experience entering in a Horse Show from novice to experienced hands.” “Polly, who had never entered anything before won her Class and came away with the Challenge Cup ! “

The Mayor of Tonbridge and Deputy Mayor of Tunbridge Wells were on hand to help with the judging of the Fancy Dress Class with an amazing 15 entries. The eventual winners were Captain Max helped by Stewardess Zoe Sollis with their four legged BA plane !

This year the money raised will be going to Headway (which helps those with brain injuries), Safety in Action (which creates events to make youngsters aware of the dangers they face in everyday life)  and other local Tonbridge charities.

We would like especially to thank our Secretary Janey Williams and her team, all our judges, the Horse Show Committee, Lions and their wives and friends of Lions, all of whom gave up about the only good day in August and September to ensure the Show went on !

DIABETES TESTING WEEKEND 9TH/10TH AUGUST

Another successful event with the usual support from the general public. Over 150 tests were completed and there were a number of high readings which require further investigation by those persons' G.P's.

SENIOR SINGLES PARTY MARCH 2008

The annual Senior Singles Party, organised by Tonbridge Lions Club, took place at Tonbridge Baptist Church in Darenth Avenue on Saturday 15th March, 2008.

Around 30 Lions, together with their wives and Friends of Lions, staged an afternoon’s entertainment of singing, dancing, and comedy for over 120 senior single people from Tonbridge, Hildenborough and Hadlow.During the interval, tea, cakes and snacks were served by members of the club together with Cllr Ann Kemp, Mayor of Tonbridge and Malling. Her husband Jimmy was also there to join in the fun.

Refreshments were followed by a free raffle, with prizes including a hamper, boxes of chocolates and flowers, after which the show continued.

Committee chairman Dixon Hawkins said; ‘’ The day went well and was enjoyed by the audience and Lions and their ladies. We are very pleased that the Mayor Mrs Ann Kemp was able to attend. I would like to thank every one who helped to make the afternoon a success’’.