Uckfield & District Lions Club

19/10/2026

08/10/2026

Uckfield & District Lions has always supported local schools & continues to do so this year by funding their entry into the national Lions’ ROAR competition. This is an annual event & seeks to identify the best innovative ideas from primary school children across the country. These are showcased via zoom at a National Awards Day in December.

The ideas aim to improve everyday life. These have to be in the form of a practicable gadget or machine that will improve some aspect of life, whether in the home, the environment, healthcare or any other aspect of life. Each school arranges its participants into teams of three or four, who have to make a model of their invention, & advertise it with a poster & a jingle. At the end of the project, each school judges its entries to identify a winning team, who record a video which is sent for selection for the next round of the competition.

This year, twelve local schools are competing. The ideas are developed during the first six weeks of the autumn term, when Uckfield Lions will visit the schools & assist with the launch of the programme & the judging if required. The best idea will represent the South-East in the national ROAR competition. Participating schools from around Uckfield are:

Blackboys, Bonners Maresfield, Buxted, Framfield, Harlands Uckfield, High Hurstwood, Little Horsted, Manor, Nutley, Rocks Park, Rotherfield, St. Philips Uckfield.

08/10/2026

On Friday evening October 2nd, Uckfield Lions staged a ‘Toad-in-the-Hole’ competition at the Belmont Centre. This is a traditional Sussex pub game where the players toss discs onto a lead table-top with a hole in the centre, from a distance of 8 feet. Eleven teams of four took part, & snacks & drinks were on offer. It was a convivial evening as well as a competitive one. Eventually, the ‘Leadbetters’ triumphed in a tense & close fought final round. The evening was staged as both a social event, & to raise money to donate to local charities & good causes.

16/09/2026

Uckfield & District Lions are offering the ‘Lions Child Sight UK’ programme to local schools, in which lions undertake screening for visual defects in all primary school children. The NHS believes that c.13% of children under 11 have an undiagnosed problem with their eyesight, that nobody is aware of. Where-as adults will notice changes in their sight, small children who have always seen the world in a particular way, will probably not realise that there is anything wrong.

To provide this service Lions have bought a number of specialist cameras. When a child looks into the camera the instrument will identify any possible concern & no physical contact occurs. This screening service indicates situations where there may be a problem & parents will then be advised to take their child to an optician, who will make the necessary diagnosis.

Uckfield Lions have been trained to use the cameras & have been DBS checked to enable them to go into schools. By detecting potential sight problems at a young age, prompt eyesight correction may be made. There are some eye conditions easily treated in very young children, which become progressively more difficult to treat after the age of around six years. According to educational experts 80% of learning is visual & 40% of the brain processes visual images, so that if a child cannot see well, their learning is badly hampered & early diagnosis will therefore assist their education.

This vision screening programme is offered by the lions entirely free of charge to primary schools. Eye tests & glasses are also free for children whilst they are in full-time education, which is a further advantage in picking up problems early. There are already 5 local schools taking advantage of the programme, with more to confirm.

15/09/2026

Date for your diary, Friday 2nd October, get a team together and have a go at a good old Sussex tradition. Contact [email protected] to enter your team.

07/09/2026

Date for your diary, get a team together and have a go at a good old Sussex tradition. Contact [email protected] to enter your team.

01/09/2026

Karen Walker was inducted as a new member of Uckfield & District Lions Club at their monthly business meeting on 12th August. Dramatis Personae from left to right: Carol Grant (President), Chris Macve (sponsor), Karen, Andrew Lodge, Keith Grant.

30/07/2026

On Sunday 26th July, a sizeable group of Uckfield & District lions attended the Zone BBQ at Abbott’s Wood. After an initial scare from a spot of rain, blue skies & sunshine prevailed.

Graham Baldwin grilled everybody’s meat with military expertise, & Anita dispensed salad & delicious puddings. The climax saw Graham handing over the presidential collar to our new president for 2026-27, Carol Grant. Carol’s first task was to accept the shield for the zone Olympics, which Uckfield have won this year, largely thanks to the Ireland family!

30/07/2026

On Friday 24th July, a large group of Uckfield & District Lions, with other members from 105SE region, visited KSS Air ambulance’s base at Redhill aerodrome.

We were met by Helene Poursain, their publicity & fund-raising manager, given refreshments & a fact-filled talk on the problems of raising £57,000 per day, which is the cost of keeping their helicopters flying!

Her act was followed by our own Uckfield Lion Leigh Curtis, CEO at Redhill, who gave us a detailed tour of the building, explaining the mechanics of how they respond to an emergency. During this, we met the pilots, doctors & paramedics on stand-by, & were shown how they go into action.

The climax was of course, to visit a helicopter standing ready on the tarmac. Leigh & a pilot colleague invited us to climb inside, patiently answered all our endless questions, & explained every aspect of the helicopter.

Our thanks go to Leigh & his staff for giving us an in-depth & expert insight into KSSAA, with additional arcane information on aviation, weather forecasting & emergency medicine in the field. We returned with our enthusiasm to continue fund raising for KSS Air ambulance rejuvenated!