Voted Best
ISSUE NO. 1762
Newspaper in Spain 2017 & 2018
COSTA DE ALMERÍA YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION
11 - 17 April 2019
Roaring success THE Lionaid second charity ‘Party in the Park’ was a roaring success, smashing last year’s target. More than €10,000 was taken on the day, and donations are still coming in. The Vera & District Lions Club Sunday event fully lived up to the expectation of a great family day out. Vera’s El Palmeral Park was bustling from the minute the gates opened at 12 midday right through to the last act as the sun went down. Local bands, dance groups and Irish folk groups generously donated their time and provided the live entertainment. One group even travelled all the way from Ireland to take part. The Lion Bar did a brisk trade in food and drinks throughout the day. There were stalls galore, and for children there were bouncy castles, a fairground and entertainers. Many local businesses generously donated great prizes for the tombola. One of the most poignant parts of the day was the raffle held in memory of Leo the Lion, the courageous little boy who died just before his fifth birthday in December 2017 after battling a rare form of brain cancer for much of his short life. A Garrucha interiors business donated €500 worth of items for the Leo Memorial Board prize. The lucky ticketholder, Frank O’Sullivan of the Patrick Pierse Irish band, promptly donated his winnings straight back to the Lions. Just as moving was the moment the
LIONAID: This year’s Party in the Park smashed last year’s fundraising total. wife of Paul Morrison, an MS sufferer fro m A n ta s , got up on s ta ge to te ll everyone how the Lions had helped her family, not only financially by funding his flights to Russia for stem cell treatment, but also by providing moral support. “An amazing day” was how event organiser Kay Frances described this year’s fundraiser. Kay issued a huge thanks on behalf of the Lions to all the volunteers who stayed from morning till night, and rolled up their sleeves and pitched in
Seeing is believing DRIVERS took a double take on a rainy roundabout in Roquetas de Mar on Friday night. Happily tucking into the roundabout’s lush grass was a fully grown… hippopotamus! After a quick green snack the hefty hippo legged it across a busy road, narrowly avoiding the traffic.
A video posted online of the huge beast near the shopping centre immediately went viral, receiving more than 14,000 views in less than an hour. The hippopotamus had escaped from a circus which had set up nearby, staff retrieving the runaway after the emergency services raised the alarm.
with the post-event clean up. Also to all the performers, and to the local council for their continuous collaboration with Vera Lions. Kay said the money raised from Party in the Park “will go to help local people in times of hardship.” Food banks, the supply of rehabilitation equipment, defibrillators in public places, vouchers for people who are unable to afford petrol to get them to and fro from hospital treatments: just a handful of the community causes earmarked for Lions donations.
WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM