Carols 2011

The Carols by Candlelight 2011 were blessed by beautiful weather again. As darkness fell and the battery operated candles were switched on, the Devonport community present (most of them I am sure!) savoured the magical atmosphere and joined in singing traditional Christmas carols with local talent.

Santa arrived in a horse-drawn carriage from Hurlfield Farm this year - see below!

Lions Xmas party 2011

That's it folks, 769 Melrose Road Saturday 18 December 2011. RSVP to Lion Robert or Lion Lady Michelle. It's worth the drive, trust me! Click on the <link> for directions from Devonport, and click on the above invitation to see the full size one.

See you there.

Becks Hardware BBQ

Lion Hos (above) and Lion Geoff (below) spotted at the Becks Hardware carpark. Becks Hardware is celebrating their re-branding and the City of Devonport Lions Club was invited to do the BBQ. All proceeds going to the Lions Club. The BBQ was in high demand, both times I stopped to call in there was a queue at least 5-10 deep!

Good warm-up for the Carols by Candlelight event tomorrow, Sunday  11 December. 7pm at the Bluff's Soundshell. All members should be in attendance wearing Christmas attire and a Lions shirt! Members needed to help set up 9-11am and 5-7pm. We'll have the caravan selling food and it will be a fun night as it always is at the Soundshell.

Saved by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter

No one will enjoy the 2011 Christmas party like Lion Cathy! She survived the following ordeal last month:

About 2130hrs yesterday the Police Westpac Rescue Helicopter was activated by Tasmania Police in relation to the search for a woman reported missing whilst kayaking on the Mersey River, Devonport.

The woman was located in her kayak at approx 2345hrs.  She was taken into the helicopter and flown to Devonport.  The woman was cold but uninjured.

Her reply, before being fined by the Lion Tamer, was that her mate had called the police after being stranded in deep mud and low tide. She claimed to be warm and asleep in her kayak at midnight when they got rescued within hours of the tide coming back. Cathy complained about the helicopter's heater not working. It was all terribly exciting, except for the cleaning of the muddy kayaks afterwards...

Although Lion Cathy nor her friend had requested a helicopter rescue, the crew of the rescue helicopter is always enthusiastic to come out. Of course preference will always be given to life-threatening cases, cases such as this where we  might consider it overkill are still treated as a good exercise, a chance to hone their skills in finding stranded people at night, and due to the less critical nature have minimal risk of failure. It must be remembered that being stranded on a flood plain can be very dangerous, as Cathy could've been surprised in her warm sleep by a torrent of cold water. People have drowned in bath tubs, and no situation involving water and nature can be dismissed as trivial at any time. Thank you to the Westpac Rescue Helicopter and crew, we think you do a fantastic job!

Christmas Spirit 2011

President's Words: "Congratulations to the Lions who worked on our Float in the Devonport Christmas Parade: we were awarded runner up in the Community Section.  Lead by Deanne, our float featured skateboards and razor scooters promoting the Lions East Devonport Skate Park project.  Local skaters Bobby and Mark joined us on the float."  

Other Points:

• Becks BBQ on Saturday 10 December.
• Christmas Carols by Candlelight at the Bluff on Sunday. All hands on deck 9-11am and 6-7pm to help set-up. Grab a burger or snag from our Lions Club van for tea! Watch out for Santa who is alleged to arrive by horse and cart!!
• Thank you Hos for clearing up an old ladiy's yard. Lions is donating a load of mulch to finish off the job properly, and some Lions muscle will be engaged to move a shed. Things we do!
• Only 1kg Christmas cakes left for now! The 1.5kg ones are on order and due any time. Contact Lion Sam! If you are not a Lion member and want one check your local stores!
• Magic Show; The Lions share of the event was over $5K, which considering how many people benefited from the event is one of the most worth while events on our City of Devonport Lions Club calendar! We would love to see the show have a late afternoon session, but Michael Boyd's World Festival of Magic has a tight schedule and our hands are tight... 
• And before I totally loose your attention,.. if you are planning to travel to Korea in 2012, why not register as an early-bird for the 95th International Lions convention in Busan before 30 December and save.

World of Magic

The World Festival of Magic with illusionists Michael Boyd and his ever so attractive assistant Nichola Jayne is the longest running international magic show of its kind. The 90-minute family orientated show has been touring for 22 years in 55 cities throughout Australia and New Zealand, and this week it was the City of Devonport Lions Club who organised their return to the North West.

Local business houses were invited to pay for tickets which were subsequently distributed throughout the community to deserving individuals and organisations. Over 500 people attended the two shows, complete with children from East Devonport Primary and the School of Special Education and many many others.

This year's performance even included Thurton, a well traveled duck. Thurton was able to defy the space-time continuum with Michael's magic. As per usual, this annual Club event was a great success both for Devonport, the town we live in, and for our Club.

Xmas Parade 2011

The annual Devonport Apex Christmas Parade was held again last Friday, December 2. Devonport was in luck with the weather and The City of Devonport Lions Club was prepared and ready for the show with their own float.

The Parade was a huge success, bigger than ever, people lined the streets for the entire route from town to Fourways and back. With belly dancers, go-karts, stunt riders, musicians, vets and pets, classic cars (where was our Citron DeuxChevaux Two CV??), electricians, fairies, bicycles,... you name it!

Bobby Medcalf was given a special honour on our float, and skateboards featured prominently on our float. Bobby was the prime person responsible for the East Devonport skatepark which is about to be built thanks to his initiative, Lions funding and organisation. Onya Bobby, luv yer work!
We'll be back next year!