The Lions Club of Morpeth mainly serves the needs of the town; however on occasions it spreads its net to other parts of the county. Recently, Lions Lilian Nelson and Simon Pringle had occasion to visit Blyth to fulfil four promises.

As Simon had worked in Blyth for many years he has maintained contacts that participate in the annual Dickens of a Draw. So it gave him much pleasure to deliver cheques to three of the participating organisations. For the first time this included The Dales School in Blyth. Deputy Head Sally Collins thanked the Lions saying that the money would help provide extra sensory equipment for the school.

Lilian’s Blyth involvement arose through a meeting with Peter Douglas who is Service Manager at Blyth Riverside Resource Centre. She mentioned how the Lions often provide ‘Message in a Bottle’ units to individuals and organisations. These ‘bottles’ are plastic lidded tubes that contain medical information filled in by the individuals to which they relate.

A sticker can be attached to a front door so that in an emergency, ambulance personnel, for example, know that medical information is contained in the house. Usually this might be in a fridge or cupboard and so a further sticker is place on the front of the whereabouts. In this way the reasons for possible medical problems can be quickly ascertained.

When Peter heard about this he requested an initial supply of the ‘bottles’ for use by the Resource Centre users. Accordingly these have been supplied.

If any reader feels the ‘Message in a Bottle’ might benefit them, they can contact Lilian on 01670 518773. There is no charge involved in supplying the bottles as the Lions Club look on this as a Community Service.