DG Blog 2026 - 2027

Saturday 1st August - MD Council Meeting (Zoom)

All day Multi-district Council Meeting with 7 other District Governors from across GB, together with the General Action Team leaders, Multi-District Secretary and Treasurer.

Thursday 30th July - Zone Ambassador meeting (Zoom)

First Zone Ambassador meeting. Discussed the role of ZMA and how we can best support Clubs in our District to retain and grow their membership. Good attendance and some great ideas shared and discussed.

Wednesday 29th July - Zone Chair meeting (Zoom)

Very positive meeting. Well attended.

Sunday 26th July - Cabinet and Handover at Alton House Hotel

We held our first Cabinet meeting in Alton. It was great to see so many of the voting members of cabinet at the meeting. After lunch we had a brief Handover ceremony. A big thank you to Di for all the hard work she has put into District 105SC over the past 12 months.

Saturday 25th July - Wokingham Lions Music Club

I helped on the bar at the Wokingham Lions Music Club. 2 shows were performed by the 'Very Beautiful South' band. It was a great success, enjoyed by over 400 attending the 2 performances.

Wednesday 22nd July - Zone F Meeting

I attended Zone F's meeting after celebrating our wedding anniversary with a delicious dinner. It was a very positive session run with great efficiency by Jo Manisier, our new Zone Chair. It was great to see the majority of our clubs represented. It was also very pleasing to meet Wahib. He was recently inducted as a new member into Windsor Lions (Early July) and was already attending a zone meeting by the end of July! What commitment so early in his Lions career.

Tuesday 21st July - Wokingham Lions Trustee Meeting

Monday 20th July - Multidistrict DG Meeting (Zoom) and Wokingham Theatre

Opportunity to discuss a few urgent Multi District issues. Followed by some down time, visiting Wokingham theatre to see 'An ideal husband' which we thoroughly enjoyed. An excellent production as always.

Sunday 19th July - Collecting the dogs after being away for Convention

Highlight of the weekend. Think we missed them more than they missed us!

Saturday 18th July - Sunday 19th July- Marvellous Festivals

A very hot and dusty Marvellous Festival, the UK's biggest and longest running Tribute festival which has been running for 23 years. Wokingham Lions were supervising the car parking and also the silent disco. Great event and during down time Lions were able to enjoy some of the fantastic bands playing throughout the day and into the evening. A great weekend of fun and fellowship for the whole community.

Saturday afternoon we finished our car parking stint at 2:00 and drove across to Cambridge to celebrate a 50th birthday with Tim's nephew in law. Returning back for Marvellous Festivals by lunch time on the Sunday!

Friday 17th July - Finally home

Arrived back in the UK on Friday morning at 4:45 after another 13 hour flight. Caught up on admin, washing, shopping and tried to keep going to avoid too much jet lag.

Wednesday 8th July - Friday 17th July

On Thursday 9th July, I celebrated my birthday in style. Beautiful dinner, attentive staff and amazing views from the restaurant.

We also went sightseeing both in Langkawi and Kuala Lumper.

In Langkawi we went island hopping and visited Eagle island where we fed the eagles, swooping down into the water to collect raw fish. We also walked across the Skybridge, a suspension bridge spanning two mountain peaks.

In Kuala Lumper we visited Petronas Towers, looking at fantastic views from the top! We also visited the Batu Caves with the temples inside, Kuala Lumper Tower which was only a few minutes walk from our hotel, the second Kuala Lumper Tower picture was taken from our hotel window.

Tuesday 7th July - End of Convention

Lions members managed to break the current World Record for having the most people doing Tai Chi at the same time. This replaced the International parade that normally takes place during International Convention. Unfortunately the Chinese authorities wouldn't allow the parade to take place this year.

Convention now closed, a welcome opportunity to explore Hong Kong before travelling onto Malaysia for a well earned break before returning to the UK. We managed to see some of Hong Kong on a few trips into the city. Eric Chan, a UK Lions who used to live in Hong Kong, organised a trip to a couple of excellent lesser known tourist attractions, which was followed by a delicious meal in a private club - very colonial.

Saturday 4th July - Monday 6th July - Convention

The 3 plenary sessions of the 108th Lions convention took place over the Saturday through to Monday. There were a mixture of speeches, inspirational presentations reporting on Service projects being delivered throughout the world, interspersed with some great entertainment. International President Mark Lyon delivered a motivating speech outlining his aims for his year. His motto for the year is 'Rooted in Service', emphasising that Lions primarily exist to serve within our local communities.

In the final plenary session, all 750 District Governors were formally inducted. They swore the oath of Lions International and had their ribbons removed all at the same time. A very moving occasion, followed by lots of cheering around the arena - 18,000 delegates celebrating!

Thursday 2nd July - Friday 3rd July - Photo Opportunity

Up early for breakfast and a photo opportunity with International President Mark Lyon. He had photographs taken with each of the 750 District Governors present at the Conference. Makes smiling for your wedding photos look easy!

Thursday afternoon and Friday were taken up with seminars with International President Mark Lyon followed by workshops for the District Governors. The day was completed with a superb Chinese District Governor's Banquet.