Over the past few months the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Society (OWLS) have been busy raising money for Help for Heroes with a whole host of events.

Functions have included an Oktoberfest, a garden party, celebrations for the Royal Wedding and Rugby World Cup and they even pitted their wits against teams from 28 Engr Regt and caterers from Barker Barracks, Paderborn at a quiz and karaoke night!

So far they have raised a total in excess of €2,600 for the charity, with a large portion coming from their recent games night.

After several members visited the Schützenfest in Meiersfeld-Rödlinghausen, where they witnessed members of the Schützenverein supporting the Yellow Ribbon initiative, OWLS chairman, Brian Smout invited members of the Schützen to join them for their games night.

The Yellow Ribbon initiative is very similar to the Help for Heroes charity and demonstrates civilian solidarity with the German Military on operations.

The night, which culminated in a hot buffet and included computerised dog racing, was a huge success with members from both club’s discovering exactly how much they have in common.

They both support local and military charities, both clubs support the local community and both clubs enjoy social events. There is even a cross-over with some members being in both clubs.

The Meiersfelder Colonel, Lothar Albrink, thanked Brian Smout for the invitation and looked forward to future close cooperation between the two clubs for both social and charitable events.

The OWLS are a civilian Anglo-German club who are situated in the Old Hobart Barracks in Detmold. It’s members come from all walks of life and many different nationalities.

From those currently serving to ex-Service personnel, from all arms and service, both British and German to civilian professionals, such as engineers, nurses and of course ex-pats – all are welcome to join in the fun.

It is an ideal place to brush-up on your language skills and discover the differences and similiarities in each-other’s cultures and new members are always welcome.

For more information on the OWLS, including contact details visit: www.lippe-owls.de

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Families from 3 CS Bn REME enjoyed all that was on offer at their
recent, fun packed Families Day, held on Barker Barracks.

With deployment just around the corner, this was the last opportunity to get everyone together to enjoy some quality family time and with the wide array of stalls, a stage and a central arena, there was plenty to do for everyone.

The Welfare Office team, Chris Benson and Ray Horsman ran a cake stall, ably assisted by their wives Maria and Jane, with all the cakes having been kindly donated by battalion wives.

A popular place with the children was the face painting stand, where Michelle Holford and Kath Torbet were busy all day creating beautiful designs of the children’s choice.

A number of cultural stalls also featured at the event, including a colourful Fijian stand, offering traditional food, crafts and music, a display of African crafts and a Caribbean stand, with authentic foods and displays explaining Jamaican culture.

Dancers also demonstrated Bhangra, a traditional North Indian after harvest dance and played traditional musical instruments.

The battalion’s chefs provided a BBQ, and a bar was available to keep everyone hydrated throughout the day. Musical entertainment was provided on the stage by an Elvis Presley act and band 3rd Emotion.

The central arena held family competitions, run by SSgt Steve Wooldridge and LCpl Adam Whiteley, which included a three legged race, a children’s sack race, an egg and spoon race and the old favourite, tug of war.

Alongside all of the other fun and games, there were also performances in the arena, from the African drummers and the Indian dancers.

Organiser Chris Benson said: “All proceeds from this event are going to the battalion’s PRI fund and we will be using the money to make improvements to the Cpl’s mess, which is where we will be holding all the family events for wives and children during deployment.”

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Both parents and children from the Musical Movers toddler group had a blast at a recent trip to visit the Defence Fire Service (DFS) Station on Normandy Barracks.

The group which meets every Thursday at 10.30am in the Pink Room on Normandy Barracks, focus on songs and activites around a monthly theme at their sessions.

The theme for June was Transport and this is what inspired the visit to the DFS station. Children and parents were allowed to have a closer look at the fire engines and even got to blast the fire hoses.

Everybody really enjoyed themselves and a huge thank you was extended to the DFS for making the visit possible and for showing the group around and letting them try the equipment.

Forthcoming topics are All about me, Autum/Harvest and its celebrations and of course Christmas. Activities will include making harvest themed foods, halloween decorations, bonfire night party food, collage creating and letters to Father Christmas!

Musical Movers restarted following the summer break on September 8, in the Pink Room at Normandy Welfare Office, 10.30am every Thursday and everybody is welcome.

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