18 March. Our very good friend Katy Davis from Rotherfield rings to say that she has some hearing aids and other equipment to be collected.
20 March. Returning from a meeting of Lions in East Grinstead I collect 3 audiometers, one analyser and about 300 hearing aids from Katy. The aids will of course be sent to Frankland prison for checking and then returned so Katy can send them to Africa. The analyser will augment the testing equipment at the prison and at least two of the audiometers are likely to go to the Ukraine via Tony Williamson of Lancing and Sompting Lions Club.
22 March. As a result of call to Janet Davis at our Lions HQ in Birmingham, a lady in turn calls me from �Yours� magazine. An article on recycling obsolete and redundant items will be included in the issue coming out on May 22. The Used Hearing Equipment Project will be a feature. Now that�s yet another fillip, wonderful!
26 March. Splendid and long standing supporter Ann Perrett of Hearing Concern, Romsey ends me a most interesting copy of their magazine �The Communicator�. What is more, there is a sizeable two and a half pages included of our exploits; thanks Ann.
27 March. The latest box of �manna� arrives from Frankland. Now to find time to send the 350 odd hearing aids on their way.
8 April. After a month waiting a post card from Herve and Anne-Marie Mathieu-Bloise in Eu, France gets translated by our resident Franco English Lion Antony Reed. Whoops, Herve is off to the Ukraine shortly so we despatch 200 hearing aids off to him smartly!
8 April. On our way back from an RAF ex-apprentices weekend in Cornwall we call on Tracy Shepherd at The Dorset County Hospital, Dorchester. She, we hope, will be carrying on the good work of her predecessor in supplying lots of old hearing aids.
18 April. On the same trip we hand over two audiometers and a hundred hearing aids to Lion Tony Williamson, of the Lancing and Sompting Club. They are on their way to our friends in the Ukraine.
28 April. Off to the Lions Clubs main convention in nearby Eastbourne, the second sunniest place in England after Hastings! There we hope for a haul of hearing aids. However, I must take one of Kate Davis�s audiometers to John Cheetham of Peterborough Lions for him to pass to Cllr John Fox. John is off to the Ukraine in May, Vinnitsa I think?
1 May. Our weekend at the convention in Eastbourne proved most fruitful including hopefully, more donors of equipment. Also we gleaned three audiometers from the north, via Lion District Governor Huw Kershaw and a selection of unidentified, as yet electronic devices. We have a box of hearing aids from various clubs, as yet unpacked but they will be acknowledged when we can.
8 May. Now unpacked we can thank Stuart Gratrix and Lions of 105BN, Dennis Kemp of Rye Lions, Vicki Skeels of The Hearing Care Centre in Colchester, John Moore of Glantawe Lions and Ed Hall of 105EA. I am sure that there are others but they were anonymous.
10 May. About 400 hearing aids are on their way to Frankland Prison. We are also presenting them with the figurine that came from a girl in the Philippines recently. Five years ago she received one of our hearing aids from Lion Dr Hugh Thom. As a result she can now communicate easily, has been trained to make statuettes and figurines and is earning a good living. Tell us a more heart-warming story?
16 May. A very welcome 21 body aids and 72 in the ear hearing aids arrive from Gerald Adams of the West Exeter Lions Club as promised. They send behind the ear aids to a twin Lions Club in South Africa.
16 May. Masses of checked out hearing aids arrives from Frankland, just in time to send off before we go on holiday.