This is the interview that started the Meet the Lions series when it was first trialled way back during COVID times. In this post we meet Lion Brian P.

We asked Lion Brian HOW and WHY he became a Lion. 

"It’s actually quite a sad story. In 1999 I laid my late wife Sylvia to rest following her six month battle with spinal cancer. That very day it would have been our ruby wedding anniversary (40 years). I was distraught. Sylvia had been a truly wonderful wife and mother.
At the funeral I met a former colleague, the late John Robinson, who I had worked with previously in Luton and Magor. He suggested that I come along to some of the Lions meetings, which I did. I loved what the Lions were doing, and in 2000 I was enrolled with a ceremony as a new member. Looking back, I threw myself into Lions, to keep myself occupied and make myself useful. There is a happy ending to this story in that I met my now wife, Margaret, in 2005 and we’ve been happily married, living locally ever since."

We asked Lion Brian what made him happy about being a Lion:

"What really makes me happy is being a member of a team of like-minded people, giving back to the community, raising money wherever there is a need in the local community."

Finally, as a Lion what's the craziest thing you've ever done? 

"On my 79th birthday I raised over £300 for the Lions Club by jumping out of an
aeroplane at 1500ft in a tandem parachute jump. I liked that so much, that on my 80th birthday I then decided to do a wing walk and raised a similar amount for Lions."

Well, we don't know about you, but we're all feeling a bit queasy after that, and totally in awe at Lion Brian's dedication to volunteering for the local community. Thank you for telling us your story.