By 2014, emojis were in popular use. Which is not to say that everyone used them, of course, but still. We all knew what they were used for.
It might seem unfair to suggest that our monthly Business Meetings were capable of inducing yawns, but it’s true nevertheless that after a decade of attending to business, even the most earnest Lions were probably getting just that bit tired of the rigmarole. At least, we could consider, at least we were out for a bit of a craic, a social evening loosely masquerading as a business affair when we could conduct the great affairs of state over which we had responsibility.
But on our meeting of February, 2014, there were so few attendees (nine recorded) as against non-attendees (12 recorded) that it must have felt a bit damp squib-ish. The most salient business agenda items seemed to be the receipt of thanks from various local beneficiaries like the Primary School, which in the event was being forced to return the cheque for £350 because the club they had envisaged would not be able to run after all.
Otherwise, various members reported from other venues (like the Pantomime rehearsal), but new requests for funding received relatively short shrift. Peter Aldcroft lightened the mood with a PowerPoint Presentation describing the current status of the new Folk Festival, which was reportedly well-received.
Arrangements seemed to be well in hand for the Charter Night dinner/dance scheduled for Saturday the 8th of March, though it seems that we were some staff short in terms of dealing with glassware and washing-up. Members seemed delighted, however, at Larry Winger’s report from the Allendale Village Hall and Recreation Ground charity that grant money totalling some £38,500 had been received on the charity’s behalf by GroundSource for the development of a new skate park and that the old ramps needed to be demolished and taken away.
And that was about it for the meeting. The next meeting, scheduled for the 3rd of March, seemed likely to see us in full organisational mode to ensure that the Charter Night had lift-off.
The toast, as usual, was to Lions Clubs International, or ‘Else-see-I’.