News

Santa has come to Henley on his sleigh once again this year continuing a tradition that goes back well over four decades.  For many years Santa’s Sleigh was organised by Henley Round Table but, sadly, their club folded earlier this year. When it looked like Santa would no longer bring his sleigh to Henley, Pam Phillips, a former mayor of Henley, stepped in to save the day.  Pam, now the newest member of Henley Lions Club, has organised 10 nights for Santa and his sleigh to tour the streets of Henley. His first night out was to have been on Sunday, 10 December, but conditions underfoot were too dangerous for his helpers and so the start was delayed until Monday, 11 December. Santa had a great night out and along with 11 collectors traveled along Hamilton, Vicarage, St Andrews, St Marks and the Gainsborough Estate. His travels will take him to Shiplake and then back to Henley over the next two weeks. Collections are going to support the Bishopswood School Christmas Party along with other local charities supported by Henley Lions.

Santa has been as busy as ever with all the young visitors who have come to see him at his busiest time of year.  Here’s a few photos that some of the parents have shared with us. Santa has now finished seeing children at his grotto and is busy getting his sleigh and reindeer ready for the big night. We wish all of Santa’s followers a very Merry Christmas!!!

Natalie Jennings gave a most informative illustrated talk to the club at our December meeting on her visit to Southern India doing voluntary work with the charity Restless Development.  Natalie’s excursion, which was partially supported by Henley Lions Club, lasted three months during which she and her volunteer colleagues worked with local volunteers to help improve the lives of local children and young adults. She was involved in everything from giving briefings on preventing dengue fever and personal sanitation to CV writing and job fairs. Natalie explained that she lived with a local host family who were lovely but had no running water in their home. She told the club how she learned to eat all her meals with her hands as the locals do and how she had to wash all her clothes in buckets of water.  Natalie explained how she now plans to go travelling for a few months before looking for a job in the field of environmental studies. The club membership thanked her for coming to tell us her story, congratulated her on her successful adventure and wished her well in her future endeavours.

Once again this year the Henley Lions supported the Henley Christmas Festival. The club set up “Noah’s Ark” which was a pick a straw game with small cuddly toy animals as the prizes.  Both the children and adults enjoyed taking their chances on winning one of the miniature animals. Club members braved the cold and the rain to man the stall and were very pleased with the overall results.