THE ROYAL British Legion, Enniskillen has opened its doors to the community once again, only this time with a change of scenery for locals to enjoy.
The local branch which recently applied and won a grant from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust of nearly £30,000, used the money to refurbish seating in the lounge and bar area, which over the years had become “drab and unusable” due to age and damage.
“All of this work of course had to be done amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, which left the whole works up in the air, but with members assisting with opening up and closing the Legion, all the work was achieved,” explained John Jones, branch chairman.
“The Legion is there first and foremost for our benefices and to the family of serving members and with local people using the building for bingo, bowls, highland dancing, social drinking and other entertainment.”
Speaking to the Herald about the Legion’s recent re-opening, and what it meant for locals, John added, “The re-opening and the new refurbishment’s have meant everything to the local community and we just hope and pray that Covid starts to ease so that we can use the building to its full capacity.
“The bingo is up and running and we’re just waiting for the government to release a date for us to start hosting our social and highland dancing.
“You should have seen the smiles on people coming in for the return of Tuesday night bingo. Even though we still had social distancing measures, you could just sense that sigh of relief from people. It was great to get a taste of normality back.
“From speaking to people, social isolation was getting to them. It was the loneliness of it all, as we can only do so much on the phone.
“The Legion has again become the hub in which you can find friends old and new, from across all communities in everything that we do.”
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