Lion Ken Barker of Shirley lions Club is now suffering withdrawal symptoms as for the past two months he has been involved with the Olympic Torch Relay and then the Olympic Games itself as one of the “Games Makers”
Ken co-ordinated the 26 Lions Clubs from across the District who assisted with the Torch Relay as it came through their area and in particular the 54 Lions from the 5 different Lions Clubs of Balsall Common, Birmingham Exhibition, Castle Bromwich, Knowle & Dorridge, Shirley and Solihull who acted as stewards when the Torch Relay came through Solihull on Sunday 1st July.
Lion Ken said “I didn’t know 5.30 am existed on a Sunday morning but the early start was worth it to see the thousands of local people thronging the streets and the town centre to watch the torch pass by and the Lions were only too pleased to assist with the stewarding, as of course our motto is “We Serve”
Lion Ken was also one of the 70,000 Games Makers, the volunteers in the red and purple shirts who made the Olympics the success it was.
He continued “ I was lucky enough to be chosen as a volunteer at both the Lea Valley Water Centre for the white water canoe slaloms and at Hadleigh Farm for the mountain biking. The atmosphere and the noise when Team GB won both the Gold and Silver in the Men’s C2 double canoeing was something that will live with me forever”
Back home in Shirley, Lion Ken has no time to rest after all these Olympic duties as he continues working on the rescheduled Shirley Carnival and then the Blythe Valley Park Fun Run on September 16th. Anyone wishing to enter the Fun Run should visit shirleylions.co.uk and download and complete the application form.
